Shabbat Clothing- Clothing for the Soul

Welcome to Embrace Shabbat. As we enter the summer season, it is important to speak about a challenge that many people face: wearing Bigdei Shabbat for the entire day, despite it being hot and uncomfortable. There is a source for wearing special Shabbat clothing in a passuk in Yeshayahu (58:13): וְקָרָאתָ לַשַּׁבָּת עֹנֶג לִקְד֤וֹשׁ ה’ מְכֻבָּד וְכִבַּדְתּו ֹ, you should call Shabbat “a day of delight,” Hashem’s holy day “honorable” and honor it. The Gemara (Shabbat 113a) explains the word וְכִבַּדְתּו ֹ, and honor it, to mean that one’s clothing on Shabbat should not be like their clothing during the week. Rabbi Yochanan would refer to his clothing as “ מְכַבְּדוֹתַי ,” my honor, showing that appropriate clothing was a sign of honor for Shabbat. Additionally, our Rabbis teach that one should have a special tallit for Shabbat that is separate from his weekday tallit . What is special about the tallit that it is singled out for Shabbat? There are many sources that speak about a Shabbat tallit and special Shabbat clothing: The Midrash (Beraishit Rabba) teaches that when ויברך אלוהים את יום השביעי , G-d blessed the seventh day, וּבֵרְכוֹ בָּעֲטִיפָה he blessed it with atifah , which the Rabbis explain refers to the concept of special Shabbat clothing. Similarly, when the Gemara (Shabbat 25b) speaks about preparations for Erev Shabbat, it cites Rabbi Yehuda bar Elai as using a bowl full of hot water to wash his face, hands and feet before wrapping himself in a tallit , like an angel. The Rambam teaches that one should pray Mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat with his tallit on (the Yemenites follow this custom). Furthermore, it is brought down in the seforim that one should wear his Shabbat clothing until after Havdalah, and some say until after Motzei Shabbat. But Shabbat is over already! There are no other laws about Kavod Shabbat that extend past Shabbat. What is special about it? The Tikunei Zohar (11b) says that on Shabbat, the neshama is cloaked in clothing of light. Originally, Adam HaRishon wore כתנות אור , clothing of light , but when he sinned, it changed into כתנות עור , leather clothing . Every Shabbat, we go back to the level of Adam HaRishon before the sin and receive a higher level of neshama. The passuk in Yeshaya (24:15) alludes to this: עַל־כֵּ֥ן בָּאֻרִ֖ים כַּבְּד֣וּ ה’ בְּאִיֵּ֣י הַיָּ֔ם שֵׁ֥ם ה’ אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל , therefore, honor Hashem with lights… The light refers to the special clothing that the neshama wear on Shabbat. Rav Wolbe teaches that the more holy something is, the more honor one must give it. There are two different types of kavod . There is a general kavod for Shabbat; Shabbat is holy, so one must honor it. But there is an additional respect that we need for ourselves; there is a self-respect that one develops from wearing Shabbat clothing, which symbolizes the extra kedusha that one receives. The Gemara (Shabbat 13b) says that when Naami told Rut, “Put on your clothing,” she was referring to the clothing of Shabbat. The Sefer Yoma d’Nishmita explains that since the purpose of Rut and Boaz getting together was to produce David HaMelech, who would ultimately fix the sin of Adam HaRishon, the clothing that Rut put on symbolized the כתנות אור that Adam wore pre-sin. We see from here the special importance of Bigdei Shabbat. It is for this reason that a person wears Shabbat clothing until after Shabbat and Seudat Reviit; they must remain in their special clothing until after the neshama yetaira leaves. Have a Shabbat Shalom.