Tetzaveh and Anavah (Humility) Based on The Mussar Torah Commentary

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z"l, https://www.rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation/tetzaveh/do-clothes-make-the-man/
Indeed this whole section of the biblical narrative strikes us as strange, given all we know of what has come before. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not wear special clothes. Nor did Moses. They were shepherds. They dressed simply. In any event, what they wore is utterly irrelevant to the biblical message.... Judaism — the religion of inwardness, not appearances; of ethics, not power; of character, not the formal dress of office – is not the place we turn to, to find the specification of official uniforms.

It may seem strange to be discussing humility in connection to highly adorned and rather expensive attire. What could humility have to do with priestly garments?

Rabbi Leah Lewis, "Anavah-Humility: The Breatplate of Anavah" in Rabbi Barry Block's The Mussar Torah Commentary: A Spiritual Path to Living a Meaningful and Ethical Life (p. 126). CCAR Press.
Power and prestige were given to the Kohein Gadol (“High Priest”) with the express purpose of serving God and others—and not to bolster the self. To act with anavah does not simply mean to refrain from standing out. Instead, to act with anavah means to limit “oneself to an appropriate space while leaving room for others.”1 Identifying our “appropriate space” in different contexts is the first step of this Mussar challenge. What follows is the task of filling that space—no more and no less.

Dr. Rabbi Norman Cohen, Masking and Unmasking Ourselves
Perhaps the vestments of the High Priest, which carried the aura of the garments placed on Adam in the garden of Eden, symbolized the covenant between God and Israel and therefore the expectations of both the priest and those whom he served.

Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin, Ha'amek Davar
For honor and splendor. This is only said about the garments of the Kohein Gadol. Aharon was required to act with special piety and to set himself apart from the people, which was liable to bring upon him an accusation of haughtiness. Therefore it was necessary that he be distinguished in his dress so that all would know that God had chosen him to be the “Throne” of the Shechinah.

Rabbi Leah Lewis, "Anavah-Humility: The Breatplate of Anavah"
Parashat T’tzaveh teaches that occupying one’s rightful place requires finding a divine balance. The finest fabrics, metals, and gems were reserved for the High Priest, yet they were used to remind him that there was a place and need for every tribe and every person. To adorn him with this accessory meant to burden him with his responsibility for others. Four rows of three stones leave no single center point, just as there is no single individual at the center of Am Yisrael... There is some truth to the adage: clothes do “make the man.” But as Parashat T’tzaveh suggests and Mussar confirms, it is not the size of our closets or the labels sewn on our garments that define us. Rather, the things we wear on the outside have the potential to function as instigators of internal, spiritual exercises. Like the stones on the breastplate and its placement, each of us bears a sacred duty. We must consider where we fit into the broader world, and occupy our rightful space—no more and no less.