The French soldiers at the beginning of World War I marched into battle wearing bright red and blue uniforms. The colors were absolutely resplendent, helping make the men look sharp and organized. They also made the soldiers very clear and easy targets for the German machine guns. In response to the many casualties suffered in the early months of the war, soldiers were issued less ostentatious uniforms. But why did they have the uniforms to begin with? Wasn’t it obvious that they made for easier targets?
Prior to the advent of smokeless bullets, once hostilities commenced, the battlefields quickly became engulfed in smoke, making it nearly impossible to see anyone or anything more than a few feet in front of you. There was a greater fear of being shot by someone on your own side than by an enemy soldier. Thus, soldiers wore bright uniforms in order to make them more visible to their nearby comrades. The French also used bright-colored uniforms to build their esprit de corps. French morale was seriously damaged following their defeat in the Franco-Prussian war in 1870. Fancy uniforms were considered a way to rebuild the army’s confidence. Only after the initial battles in 1914 did the French command realize that the time had come to change the battle uniform.
Uniforms in the military (as well as in other organizations) serve a purpose. Soldiers wear their ACUs (Army Combat Uniform) while performing military and combat duties. They wear service uniforms, which are more formal in style, for official events. They wear PT (Physical Training) uniforms during exercise regimens. In other words, by looking at the uniform of a soldier a person can tell what function he or she is performing.
This is perhaps most evident on an aircraft carrier, where due to the noise level, people must be able to visually identify each other and their jobs. The people in charge wear yellow shirts. Blue shirts are worn by junior sailors who serve as tractor drivers and aircraft elevator operators. The people who wear purple shirts are responsible for fueling the aircraft. The green shirts run the catapults and assist in landings. The red shirts are in charge of ordnance disposal, weapons maintenance and emergency first responders. By simply looking at the shirt a person is wearing on an aircraft carrier deck a person can tell what he is doing and who to go to for what.
The importance of uniforms is underscored in this week’s parsha. The Torah describes in extensive detail the sacrificial service performed by the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur. At times the Kohen Gadol performs his duties in the outer areas of the Temple, while at other times he must enter the Holy of Holies and perform his duties there. While throughout the year the Kohen Gadol wore a uniform of eight pieces, on Yom Kippur there were times he changed into a uniform with only four pieces of clothing. Each time he entered the Holy of Holies he removed his eight-piece uniform and donned his specially-made four-piece white uniform.
Rashi, based on the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (26a) explains (16:4) that the reason the Kohen Gadol changes into a white uniform, without the gold of his normal uniform, is that the “prosecutor cannot become the defender.” This refers to the fact that the gold of the eight-piece uniform would conjure up images of the golden calf and thus undermine the defense argument offered by the Kohen Gadol on behalf of Bnei Yisrael.
Rav Zalman Soratzkin, in his commentary Oznaim L’Torah, wonders why the Kohen Gadol wears gold at all – even outside of the Kodesh HaKodashim – if it is a reminder of the Eigel Hazahav. Rav Soratzkin offers a very insightful answer. While in the Kodesh HaKodashim the Kohen Gadol’s focus is singular – to ask G-d to forgive Bnei Yisrael. In this capacity the Kohen comes before G-d as humble as he can without even a trace of something that could hurt Bnei Yisrael. Outside the Kodesh HaKodashim, however, is a different story. There the Kohen performs his duties and interacts with many people of the nation. His job is not simply to offer the sacrifices but to rebuke Bnei Yisrael and inspire them to repent. In this case wearing the gold serves a very important purpose. It reminds Bnei Yisrael of the golden calf and induces them to repent. Hence, we see that the Kohen Gadol’s two uniforms each served a purpose.