Clothes: an Anthology

They cover our body and reveal our soul. They enhance one trait, embellish another, camouflage a third, and even tailor us a whole new identity. They are our filter and mirror, our badge and disguise, our defense against the world and the part of ourselves most susceptible to its influence.

From a philosopher's skullcap to a soldier's boots, from the Chassid's long black coat to a poor bride's trousseau, from the three garments of the soul (thought, speech and action) to the High Priest's eight vestments (the breastplate, apron, cloak, crown, turban, tunic, belt and breeches), from Jacob's historic disguise to a vision of G-d in the laundry room, clothes, in their various functions and forms, are the topic of this anthology of stories, sayings and essays:

The Talmud on Clothes

The Removable Self
by Yanki Tauber

In the Fitting Room of the Soul
by Chana Weisberg

Why the Long Black Coat?
by Yrachmiel Tilles

The Man in the Glass Case
by Dr. Yitzchok Block

A Soldier's Boots
by Colonel Jacob Z. Goldstein

G-d in the Laundry Room
by Chana Weisberg

Faking It
by Yanki Tauber

New Clothes
told by the Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch

A Rebbe Goes Shopping
told by the Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch

The Second Suit
a Chassidic story

Hypocrisy
a Chassidic story