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"The apparel oft proclaims the man," Polonius advises Laertes (Hamlet, I: 3), butit is doubtful if God paid heed during Creation. "The two of them were naked, manand his wife," Genesis 2:25 reports, "yet they felt no shame."

Only after the incident of the serpent and the eating of the apple were Adam's andEve's eyes "opened" and they became aware of being naked. "And the Lord God madeskin garments for them and clothed them," it says, prior to the expulsion from theGarden of Eden. In the perfect world God had hoped to create, clothes didn't makethe man.

Yet even if only a concession to human weakness, clothing has long played asignificant role in Judaism. Clothing has reflected religious identification,social status, emotional state and even the Jews' relation with the outside world.The ancient rabbis taught that maintaining their distinctive dress in Egypt wasone of the reasons the Jews were worthy of being rescued from servitude.

The Torah says little about clothing, either descriptively or prescriptively.Without explanation, it prohibits blending wool and linen in a garment, in thesame verse forbidding "mixing" different seeds and species of cattle (Leviticus19:19). It forbids men from wearing women's clothes and vice versa (Deuteronomy22:5), without specifying the characteristics of either. It also requires Jews toput fringes on the corners of a four-pointed garment (Numbers 15:37-41), both as away of identifying the Jew and reminder reminding the Jew to observe the mitzvot.

On the other hand, the Torah provides extensive detail regarding the clothing ofthe priests, and particularly the High Priest, for their duties in the Tabernaclein the desert (Exodus 28), later adopted for the Temple in Jerusalem. Yet whilethe High Priest's garb was elaborate, colorful and full of symbolism, for YomKippur, the one day a year he would enter the most holy portion of the sanctuary,he was to wear only white linen (Leviticus 16:4), a sign of humility. Whiteclothing became the symbol of purity, and black a sign of mourning. Nowadaysmourning is indicated by the tearing of a garment.

When the Jews were sovereign in their land in ancient times, the standard of dressof those who were wealthy, such as successful landowners, reflected their status.The nobility and upper classes dressed more elegantly. The styles of theneighboring peoples also had their influence. But when the Jews were exiled (70C.E.) and lived under foreign control, the impoverishment of many Jews becameevident in their dress.

In some cases, over time the Jews adopted distinctive dress voluntarily, toseparate themselves from the prevailing culture. In others, they were required bylaw to dress in a particular way, e.g., special hats and badges in medieval Spainand 13th-century Poland. Jews of Eastern Europe came to adopt fashions of theearly modern Polish nobility, such as the black robe (caftan) and the fur hat(shtreimel), which are still worn by various groups of ultra-Orthodox Jews.

The origins of men covering their heads with a hat or yarmulke (skullcap) are notclear. The Talmud relates several incidents where covering the head is considereda sign of submission to divine authority. Some attribute it to the Jews' need ordesire to differentiate themselves from the Christians, for whom removal of thehat was a sign of respect. By the 16th century, it had become common enough to becodified as normative behavior among the more observant, who still cover theirheads all day or at least during prayer and study.

For women, the uncovered head was from earliest times considered immodest, if notworse. Married women covered their heads so as not to draw the attention of othermen. The sheitel (wig) worn by very religious married women is a relatively late

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variation on this. These practices are observed today only in very traditionalcircles.

Over the ages, rabbinic authorities often spoke out on two matters related toclothes-- against excessive or gaudy styles and in favor of keeping clothing,particularly for women, "modest." On the other hand, it has long been a custom forJews to have special clothes for Shabbat and festivals, contributing to thespecial character of these days.