Kabbalah Zakharia 3:4: Sha'arei Kedusha

וַיַּ֣עַן וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אֶל־הָעֹמְדִ֤ים לְפָנָיו֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר הָסִ֛ירוּ הַבְּגָדִ֥ים הַצֹּאִ֖ים מֵעָלָ֑יו וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֗יו רְאֵ֨ה הֶעֱבַ֤רְתִּי מֵעָלֶ֙יךָ֙ עֲוֺנֶ֔ךָ וְהַלְבֵּ֥שׁ אֹתְךָ֖ מַחֲלָצֽוֹת׃

Lalu ia berkata kepada mereka yang berdiri di hadapannya: “Tanggalkanlah pakaian yang kotor itu darinya.” Kemudian ia berkata kepada Yosua: “Lihatlah, aku telah menghapuskan kesalahanmu darimu, dan aku akan mengenakan kepadamu pakaian yang indah.”

Sha'arei Kedusha

As known, the physical body of man is not his actual identity. It is merely called human flesh, as in the verse,4Job 10:11 “You clothed me with skin and flesh and covered me with bones and veins.” Furthermore, it is written,5Exodus 30:32 “It may not be applied to the flesh of man etc.” From this we understand that man is the inner aspect, whereas, the body (the flesh) is similar to a garment. The intellectual soul of man, which is his true identity, is invested in the body as long as he remains in this physical world. However, upon death, he is divested of the garment of the body and instead, becomes clothed in a spiritual, rarified and pure garment. This is as scripture states,6Zechariah 3:4 “Remove the soiled garments from upon him;” and he said to him, “Behold, I have removed your iniquity from upon you and dressed you in a pure garment.” This garment is called, “The Raiment of the Rabbis.”
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