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 וְכִבַּדְתּוֹ, you should call Shabbat “a day of delight,” Hashem’s holy day “honorable” and
honor it. The Gemara (Shabbat 113a) explains the word וְכִבַּדְתּוֹ, 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.
