Put simply, the essence of modesty is protection.
In the material world, a person puts on warm clothing in winter to protect against the cold. Likewise, in the spiritual world, everything needs protection. We must safeguard the world created by the Almighty.
And the more precious something is, the more protection it needs.
One of the greatest Jewish kings was King Hezekiah. Concerning the verse “Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain; a woman who fears the L-rd shall be praised” (Proverbs, 31:30), our sages said (Sanhedrin, 20a): “‘Charm is deceptive’ refers to the generation of Moses; ‘beauty is vain’ refers to the generation of Joshua; ‘a woman who fears the L-rd shall be praised’ refers to the generation of Hezekiah.”
Hezekiah was a completely righteous man. He brought the entire Jewish people back to Torah. He thrust a sword into the entrance of the study hall and proclaimed: “Anyone who does not study Torah will be run through with this sword!” And indeed, “they searched from Dan to Beersheba and did not find a single ignorant person; from Gevat to Antipatris, all the men, women and children were thoroughly versed in the laws of tumah and taharah (purity and impurity)”! (Sanhedrin, 94b)
And so, the book of the Prophets (II Kings, 20:1-18) relates that King Hezekiah fell ill.
What happened? Through his prophetic gift, Hezekiah saw that he would have a wicked son and decided not to marry at all. The prophet Isaiah came to him and said: “You will die, and you will not live”—meaning that he would die in this world and be deprived of the World to Come. After this, King Hezekiah prayed and repented. The Almighty heard his prayer and sent Isaiah to him, who told him: “Thus said the L-rd, the G-d of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I am healing you; on the third day you will go up to the House of the L-rd.”
Hezekiah asked the prophet Isaiah: “What will be the sign that the L-rd will heal me?” Isaiah answered him: “This is the sign for you from the L-rd that He will fulfill the word He has spoken: the shadow will move forward ten steps or go back ten steps.”
In other words, the sun would stand still in Hezekiah's honor.
The prophet then tells us: “At that time, Berodach-Baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been ill.” He saw the miracle. The sages relate that he woke up and was surprised that it was still so early. When he learned that the sun had stood still because of the Jewish king Hezekiah, he immediately sent him letters and a gift.
When Berodach-Baladan's messengers arrived, King Hezekiah showed them all his treasures: “He showed them his treasure houses: the silver and gold, the spices and precious oils, his armory and everything in his storehouses. There was nothing that Hezekiah did not show them in his house and throughout his domain.” Rashi explains: “There was nothing that Hezekiah did not show them—he showed them the Ark, the Tablets and the Torah scroll.”
Hezekiah showed them absolutely everything; he even took them into the Holy of Holies! He did this to show how wealthy and respected the Jewish people were, and thereby sanctify the Name of Heaven.
“The prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and said to him: ‘What did these men say, and where did they come from to visit you?’ Hezekiah said: ‘They came from a distant land, from Babylon.’ He (Isaiah) said: ‘What did they see in your house?’ Hezekiah said: ‘They saw everything in my house; there was nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.’ Isaiah said to Hezekiah: ‘Hear the word of the L-rd. Behold, days are coming when everything in your house, everything your fathers have gathered to this day, will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will remain, said the L-rd. And they will take some of your sons who will be born to you, whom you will father, and they will be court attendants in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”
Hezekiah had good intentions—to raise Israel's standing in the eyes of other nations. Suddenly, the prophet came, reproached him for a terrible crime, and told him of the dreadful punishment that awaited him!
What, then, was Hezekiah's sin?
The point is that truly precious things are not shown to others! We cannot know what is in our friends' bank accounts! A person is willing to tell anything about themselves, except about the money they have on deposit! In the past, bank account printouts were even marked “secret”…
The Temple was enclosed on all sides. And the Holy of Holies was even more secluded, for it held what was most precious to the Jewish people—the Ark containing the Tablets and the Torah scroll!
The High Priest was the only person permitted to enter the Holy of Holies, and it is written: “No one shall be in the Tent of Meeting” (Leviticus, 16:17). The High Priest was there alone. There, in the Holy of Holies, were cherubim, symbolizing the Almighty's love for the Jewish people, and this love had to be concealed: “No one shall be in the Tent of Meeting.”
We pray in a synagogue, rather than in the street. Our sages say (Berakhot, 34b): “An impudent person prays in a valley.” And we study Torah in the study hall. For the bond between the Almighty and the Jewish people is a bond of love; it is so precious that it must be concealed and hidden!
Precious things are hidden; it is in the nature of things.
And there is a good reason for this—precious things must be safeguarded! If a person walks down the street holding a wad of banknotes, some fellow could leap out from around a corner at any moment and take them away.
A person who needs to transport a large sum of money will take the plainest little bag they can find at home, dress as simply as possible, and travel by bus rather than by taxi. All of this is to attract as little attention as possible, so that no one would even think they were carrying a lot of money.
That is how the world works...
to be continued