Before the sin of Adom Harishon, there was no such thing as clothing. Only after the sin did Adom and Chava feel the need to get dressed. The simple reason is that once evil entered the world, the world became a mixture of good and bad.
On a deeper level, before the sin, the body was in its purest form. It was completely a vessel for the neshama, helping it serve Hashem. But once evil became mixed into the world, the body could begin to be viewed as its own separate entity, disconnected from Hashem and from spirituality.
In truth, this happened to the entire physical world. Before the sin, everything was seen as a revelation of Hashem. Afterwards, people could mistakenly look at the physical world as something existing on its own, seeing only its outer layer and forgetting that everything is really part of Hashem’s Oneness.
The same thing happened with our own bodies. Instead of the body simply being the means through which the neshama experiences and serves Hashem (like the body is a pair of glasses through which the neshama sees the world), a person can begin to identify with his body as if it is who he really is. He can come to see the world as purely physical, without recognizing the spiritual reality beneath it. This is the worst thing that can happen!
The more we know that we are a chelek Eloka mima’al, a part of Hashem Himself, the more we understand that our bodies are holy as well. Since the body of a Yid is so, so, incredibly heiligeh, the klippos pay more attention to us, trying to hijack us from having the proper view of the world around us. Goyim who are focused on physicality rather than spirituality may be fine with leaving their bodies improperly dressed. But a Yid knows that the klippos want us to view the body as an independent entity instead of as a vessel for the neshama.
This is one of the reasons a Yid dresses with tzniyus. By covering the body, we are declaring, “I want my body and soul to work as one unit, so I am covering up my body so it doesn’t appear to be its own entity. My body and my neshama work together as one. My body exists to help my neshama serve Hashem.”
(The klippos see the spiritual potential in the human body, so they cling to people in order to conceal their spiritual side. This is why an undressed person awakens ta’avos. But the klippos do not attack animals as much, because there is less holy potential there. That is why an undressed animal does not awaken ta’avos.)
There is a beautiful mashal that helps bring this idea to life.
A certain school was informed that, because of the excellence of its students, the president would be coming for a visit. The school was given four weeks to prepare the building and make everything fitting for such an important guest.
The administration decided to buy magnificent curtains to hang behind the podium where the president would speak. A week before the visit, a representative from the White House came to inspect everything. He was very impressed by all the preparations the school had done to make the campus a befitting reception for the president, but he insisted that they replace the curtains.
The administration was puzzled. “These are the most beautiful, highest quality curtains! Why would you want us to take them down?”
“They certainly are,” the representative replied. “But that’s exactly the problem. If the backdrop is too beautiful, people may end up looking at the curtains instead of listening to the president. The backdrop should be elegant, but simple, so that everyone’s attention stays where it should be — on the president.”
The same is true for us. The body is precious, holy, and deserves to be treated with dignity. But it is not meant to become the center of our attention. When a Yid dresses with tzniyus and in a Yiddishe way, he reminds himself and the world that the body is the vessel, while the neshama is the true focus. The body’s greatness lies in its role as the vessel that holds the neshama, and the vehicle through which the neshama serves Hashem. We should therefore be careful not to present the body in a way that distracts from that mission and instead redirects attention to itself.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 92.