Keeping our steps headed in the right direction

The final verses of our parasha focus upon the mitzvah of building a stone altar for the purpose of bringing korbanot (offerings) in the service of Hashem: “And when you make for Me an altar of stones, you shall not build them of hewn stones, lest you wield your sword upon it and desecrate it. And you shall not ascend with steps upon My altar, so that your nakedness shall not be exposed upon it. (Shemot 20:22-23)

The first pasuk contains the prohibition of using metal-hewed stones to build the mizbeach (altar), since metal symbolically represents war and destruction – the polar opposites of the altar’s purpose. The second verse forbids the use of steps leading to the mizbeach, so that the Kohanim’s “nakedness shall not be exposed upon it” when they ascend to perform the avodah (service). Rashi, based upon the Mechilta, clarifies the halachically acceptable mode of the mizbeach’s construction: “And you shall not ascend with steps: When you build a ramp for the altar, do not make it with steps, eschalons in Old French, but it must be smooth and slanting.”

There is a logical problem with the phrase, “so that your nakedness shall not be exposed upon it,” however, that must be addressed. In fact, based upon Shemot 28:42, this issue could never arise: “And make for them linen pants to cover the flesh of [their] nakedness; they shall reach from the waist down to the thighs.”

In other words, all the Kohanim wore linen undergarments beneath their mandated priestly clothes in order to guarantee that they would remain covered at all times while serving in the Mishkan and the Beit Hamikdash. If that is the case, why does the Torah stipulate, “And you shall not ascend with steps upon My altar, so that your nakedness shall not be exposed upon it?”

Rashi, once again based upon the Mechilta, formulates this issue in the following fashion: “So that your nakedness shall not be exposed: Because due to the steps, you must widen your stride, although it would not be an actual exposure of nakedness, for it is written: “And make them linen pants.”