A Taste of Shabbos – Parashat Vayeishev

Have you ever thought about how clothes are related to your inner being? The Torah has lots of references to clothes. However, there doesn’t seem to be much connection between Shabbat and clothes. Of course, it’s good to look nice, especially if other people are around. It’s why for non-Jews going to church involves wearing ‘Sunday best.’ But is there more? Let’s see if this week’s Torah portion sheds some light on this subject.

There are a few significant references to clothes in Vayeishev. First is Yacov making a garment for the son he feels will take over the leadership of the others. The other is when the brothers remove his garment and dip it in blood so the father Yacov will think that Yosef was killed by a wild animal. Later in the following portions, Potifar’s wife who tries to seduce Yosef, pulls off his Egyptian robe. (and Tamar in the middle of the Yosef story, dressing up as a ‘woman of the street.’) There is a wealth of symbolism here; let’s see what it has to do with Shabbos.

There are no hard and fast rules about Shabbos garments, but traditionally there has been a long history about Jews wearing clothes specially designated for Shabbos. Why? With regard to colors, from mostly Kabbalistic sources, white has been the preferred color for Shabbos clothes. It is considered a color of purity and holiness, much as the cohanim, the priests in the holy temple, wore white when performing their service. There is a story of a rabbi who tried to replicate the spirit of the Sabbath on a weekday. He prepared special food, prayers, and unique Shabbos garments, and indeed he felt very ‘Shabbosdik.’ Feeling concerned, he went to his rabbi and asked, ‘How then can Shabbos be special, if I can feel it during the week?’ The master replied, ‘When you put your Shabbos garments on, since they were already imbued with the fragrance of Shabbos, you could actually experience Shabbos during the week.’

So, sometimes, clothes can express a deeper aspect of the person. There are many Hassidic customs of wearing formal, even royal looking clothes on Shabbos. This is not a clear commandment; it is more reflective of one’s appreciation of the ‘special guest’ quality of the Sabbath. Though there are many women who light the candles while wearing robes and slippers, the Hassidic masters in particular, urge women – the ones who are the first to bring down the Shabbat energy of the Shechina, the divine presence, – to ‘make it real’ by dressing for the occasion. It is not for the honor of the husband, the children, or any guests, but rather for one’s own inner resonance with the Shabbos queen.  

There is a debate about the first set of garments made for Adam and Chava, called ‘Katnot Ohr’, garments of Ohr. Katnot is the same root as the robe Yacov made for Yosef. Now, the word Ohr, can mean both ‘skin’ and ‘light’, depending on the Hebrew spelling. Some of the mystics suggest that the skin element is the garments of our persona that we wear during the week, while the light garments are the parts of our being that we wear on Shabbos. Therefore, it makes sense to find actual material ‘garments’ for clothing that are considered of high quality.

According to this, when Yacov made Yosef ‘ketonet pasim’, he made that ‘technicolor coat’ an appropriate fit for the deep wisdom and potential for holiness that he saw in Yosef. True, one might, as some sages posit, that Yacov was trying to ‘cover up’ Yosef’s spirituality by a fancy cloak. How to resolve both perspectives? As we are taught, garments are like words – they both reveal and conceal. Much more can be said here, but the practical point is to consider that what you wear on Shabbos can either conceal or reveal, cover up or manifest the added soul we are all gifted when Shabbos comes in. Hoping your Shabbat clothing can, like Yosef’s, help you to feel the exalted state that Shabbos brings to you.