The letter Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, serves as a separator. On one side it has a Yud going up, and on the other a Yud going down. Heaven and earth, with Heavenly blessing coming down and Man striving upward. The separator, however, serves to connect as well. The Vav in the middle of the Aleph must be connected to both Yuds, and through it they, in turn, are connected to each other.
The four white priestly garments were worn to correspond to the holy Tetragrammaton. The additional four golden garments of the High Priest corresponded to the less concealed Four-Letter Name, "Aleph Dalet Nun Yud". The first garment mentioned corresponds to the Aleph. Like Aleph, it connected the two separate straps that went over the shoulders and made them into one garment. On each of the shoulder straps was a stone on which was carved the names of six tribes. On his forehead, the High Priest wore one word; on his shoulders it split into two; on his chest it split into twelve. Under his armpits, he wore a cloth belt that went around his torso thirty two times, the numerical equivalent of the word Lev, the heart. Like the diaphragm, it separated between his chest and his abdomen, his upper being from his lower being. Like all garments, the priestly garb served to express externally what existed inside. Like the holy Menorah lit up the world and the holy incense spread the smell of the Garden of Eden, the priests taught holiness through their clothes.
Separating in order to connect is the basic theme of Creation.
Adapted from Rabbi Vali's book on Shemos. Questions and subscriptions can be mailed to: the Yeshiva