(א) לכבוד ולתפארת שיהיה נכבד ומפואר במלבושים נכבדים ומפוארים, כמו שאמר הכתוב כחתן יכהן פאר (ישעיה סא י), כי אלה הבגדים לבושי מלכות הן, כדמותן ילבשו המלכים בזמן התורה...
(1) For honor and for splendor: That he should be honored and glorious with honorable and glorious clothing, as the verse states (Isaiah 61:10), "as a groom who ministers in glory" - as these clothes were the clothes of royalty. Their likeness was worn by kings during the time of the Torah...
- Does what I wear actually have any bearing on what I do/feel/act?
...לילך למקום אחר וילבש שחורים כל זה כדי לשבור את יצרו שהאכסניא לבו שבור כדאמרינן כלבא בלא מאתיה שב שנין לא נבח. וכיון שעושה כן לבו נשבר ונמצא נמנע מאליו.
- What we wear has an effect on how we act.
(א) מִי שֶׁמֵת לוֹ מֵת שֶׁהוּא חַיָב לְהִתְאַבֵּל עָלָיו (וְעַיֵּן לְקַמָּן סִימָן רג), חַיָּב לִקְרֹעַ עָלָיו. וְחַיָב לִקְרֹעַ מְעֻמָּד, שֶׁנֶאֱמַר, וַיָקָם הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיִקְרַע אֶת בְּגָדָיו. וְאִם קָרַע מְיֻשָּׁב, לֹא יָצָא, וְצָרִיךְ לַחֲזוֹר וְלִקְרֹעַ מְעֻמָד. לְכַתְּחִלָּה צָרִיךְ לִקְרֹעַ קֹדֶם שֶׁיִסָּתְמוּ פְּנֵי הַמֵּת בַּקֶּבֶר בְּעוֹד חִמּוּם צַעְרוֹ.
(ב) עַל הַמֵּתִים שֶׁהוּא מִתְאַבֵּל עֲלֵיהֶם, צָרִיךְ לִקְרֹעַ בְּבֵית הַצַוָּאר לְפָנָיו. וְצָרִיךְ לִקְרֹעַ מִן הַשָׂפָה וּלְמַטָּה, וְלֹא לְרֹחַב הַבֶּגֶד. וְצָרִיךְ לִקְרֹעַ בְּמָקוֹם שֶׁהַבֶּגֶד שָׁלֵם מִתְּחִלָּתוֹ, וְלֹא בִּמְקוֹם הַתֶּפֶר.
(1) When a person suffers the loss [the death] of one for whom he is obligated to mourn, he must tear his garments because of it. He must tear his garments while standing, as it is said, "And the king arose and tore his garments."1II Samuel 13:31. If he tore his garments while sitting, he has not fulfilled his obligation, and he must again tear his garments while standing. Initially he should tear them before the deceased is covered in the grave, when his sorrow is still intense.
(2) For the dead for whom one must observe laws of mourning, the tear in the garment must be made near the front of the neck. It must be made from the top, downward, and not in the width of the garment. The tear must be made in the very cloth of the garment,2The custom among certain “liberated” Jews to pin a black cloth on their garment and to tear it instead of the actual garment, certainly does not meet the requirements of Jewish law. and not at the seam.
- We see that what we wear also has the ability to reflect an emotional and mental state.
- And by applying the principal of אחרי הפעולות נמשכים הלבבות, we can also say that what we wear has the ability to influence our emotional and mental state.
מתקיף לה רב ששת טריחותא למיסר המייניה ועוד ליקו הכי וליצלי משום שנאמר הכון לקראת אלהיך ישראל
Rav Sheishet strongly objects to this: Is it a burden to tie his belt? In addition, if it is a burden, let him stand that way, without a belt, and pray. The Gemara answers: It is necessary to wear a belt while praying, since it is stated: “Prepare to greet your God, Israel” (Amos 4:12). One must prepare and adorn himself when standing before God.
(ט) מַלְבּוּשׁ תַּלְמִיד חָכָם מַלְבּוּשׁ נָאֶה וְנָקִי. וְאָסוּר לוֹ שֶׁיִּמָּצֵא בְּבִגְדוֹ כֶּתֶם אוֹ שַׁמְנוּנִית וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּהֶן. וְלֹא יִלְבַּשׁ לֹא מַלְבּוּשׁ מְלָכִים כְּגוֹן בִּגְדֵי זָהָב וְאַרְגָּמָן שֶׁהַכּל מִסְתַּכְּלִין בָּהֶן. וְלֹא מַלְבּוּשׁ עֲנִיִּים שֶׁהוּא מְבַזֶּה אֶת לוֹבְשָׁיו אֶלָּא בְּגָדִים בֵּינוֹנִים נָאִים. וְלֹא יְהֵא בְּשָׂרוֹ נִרְאֶה מִתַּחַת מַדָּיו כְּמוֹ בִּגְדֵי הַפִּשְׁתָּן הַקַּלִּים בְּיוֹתֵר שֶׁעוֹשִׂים בְּמִצְרַיִם. וְלֹא יִהְיוּ בְּגָדָיו סְחוּבִין עַל הָאָרֶץ כְּמוֹ בִּגְדֵי גַּסֵּי הָרוּחַ אֶלָּא עַד עֲקֵבוֹ וּבֵית יָד שֶׁלּוֹ עַד רָאשֵׁי אֶצְבְּעוֹתָיו. וְלֹא יְשַׁלְשֵׁל טַלִּיתוֹ מִפְּנֵי שֶׁנִּרְאֶה כְּגַסּוּת הָרוּחַ אֶלָּא בְּשַׁבָּת בִּלְבַד אִם אֵין לוֹ לְהַחֲלִיף. וְלֹא יִנְעַל מִנְעָלִים מְטֻלָּאִים טְלַאי עַל גַּבֵּי טְלַאי בִּימוֹת הַחַמָּה. אֲבָל בִּימוֹת הַגְּשָׁמִים מֻתָּר אִם הָיָה עָנִי.
(9) The disciple of the wise should wear becoming and clean clothes, and it is forbidden to have a spot or grease or anything of a like unclean nature, found upon his garment. He should not wear clothes fit for a king such as trimmed with gold or purple which attract everybody's gaze, nor the clothes of a pauper which put the wearer to shame, but average garments of becoming style. He should not wear transparent garments as, for example, garments made of very fine linen which are made in Egypt; nor should they be too long, trailing upon the ground, like the garments of the arrogant, but it may reach to the heel, and the sleeves to his finger-tips. He should not permit to trail his fringed garment, as it appears arrogant, save only on the Sabbath, if he has no other to change. He should not wear patched-up shoes, patch upon a patch, in summer time; but in winter time it is permitted if he be poor.
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- This is to express something to the outside world.
- Expressing a certain stature and respectfulness of a Talmid Chacham.
- It doesn't end with your external, physical appearance.
- Once you start wearing nicer clothes, you still need to work on yourself.
- Ultimately, the most important thing is what is on the inside, not the outside—who you are as a person, etc.
We all know that the way we dress speaks a lot about our personality, but as the years pass, numerous scientific studies have shown that what we wear also affects the way we think and behave. Even though these researches are mainly small, due to a great number of them, the first results mostly show that we actually feel different while wearing different types of clothes.
Some clothes make us feel more confident and more creative, other types of clothes makes us feel physically stronger and finally, a certain type of clothing makes people consider us more intelligent, unique and/or rebellious.
Clothing affects your self-confidence
According to a paper from Social Psychological and Personality Science, a certain number of subjects were instructed to wear casual clothing and formal clothing before taking intellectual tests. Those wearing formal clothing performed much better in the given tasks, especially when it comes to creative and organizational tasks, which confirmed higher creativity capabilities. So, next time you are facing a demanding task at work, make sure that you dress up, as it will make you feel more confident and focused.
Communication and clothing
Another important aspect of your character that it is affected by clothing is communication. In a study reported by the Journal of Experimental Psychology, subjects were required to wear formal and informal clothing in negotiation meetings. Those who wore business suits performed much better, as they assorted dominance over the person with whom they were negotiating.
On the other hand, those wearing informal clothes, sweatpants to be precise, had much lower testosterone levels and had lower scores when it came to persuasion skills. So, next time you are negotiating for a business deal, make sure that you suit up.
Attention and clothing
An interesting research published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology back in 2012, showed a higher level of concentration with people who were told that they are wearing a doctor’s white coat. The study participants wore a painter’s smock, whereas others wore doctor’s coats. The ones dressed in doctor’s coats displayed incredibly higher results in attention demanding tasks. So, next time you are lacking focus, simply put on a doctor’s coat and immerse yourself in that concentration demanding task.
Effects of color on physical performance
The color of your clothes is not something you would expect to be affecting your physical or mental performance, however, two different researches showcase the effects of color on people’s physical and mental performance. The first study was published by the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology where the sportsmen were dressed in red and blue sport shirts. Those wearing red performed much better when it came to lifting weights before combat sparring.
Another important effect of the color red was that the heart rate of the participants wearing it was higher during the whole training process. Even though those wearing red sport shirts were more aggressive, it did not bring them more victories during combat practice.
Clothing and breaking the social norms
This study is particularly interesting, as it is dedicated to those who decided to break the rules of what they are expected to wear. We are all familiar with different social norms and respective dress codes followed by people in certain institutions. For example, when we think of a stock broker, we imagine a man wearing a suit; when we think of a surgeon, we imagine a man in scrubs, etc. However, according to several experiments published in the Journal of Consumer Research, breaking the expected dress code slightly can improve how you are perceived by the crowd.
According to the article, a man attending a black-tie affair, courageously decided to show up with a red tie. The results were astonishing, as people viewed this individual as someone who has a higher status and who is more capable and successful in all aspects of life. He was perceived as someone who is very confident and breaking the dress code brought about positive opinions. Another very interesting scenario was a professor in red Converse sneakers, who captivated the audience more easily as they valued his uniqueness.
The later interviewed audience revealed that the man was considered more intelligent and much more competent throughout the lecture. These examples clearly show that it’s possible to show your rebellious character by going against the established rules a little bit. But don’t overdo it, as it can seriously backfire.
The aforementioned studies show how important dressing actually is. When you are getting ready for the next business meeting, keep in mind that your clothes actually say much more about you than you might think.