By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

Picture the holy Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, known as the No’am Elimelech – a towering 18th-century Chassidic master whose writings and very name reflects the idea of, “Hashem is my king.” This tzaddik, who drew thousands to the path of dveikus Bashem with his profound teachings and personal example, reveals to us a stunning truth about Adam HaRishon’s original state in Gan Eden.

Before the first Aveirah, Adam HaRishon dwelled in pure ruchnius – spirituality, connected to the Etz Chaim – the Tree of Life. Let’s  imagine such an existence.

 Pure light.  Pure spirit.  

Pure Dveikus to Hashem.

But after the Aveirah, something profound happened – humanity descended into the physical realm, and Hashem clothed Adam and Chava in “garments of skin.”

Here, however, is where matters get interesting.

In Lashon HaKodesh, the word for skin –  ‘ohr’ with an ayin – is intimately connected to the word for light – ‘ohr’ with an alef. Do we see the magnificent potential here? Even in our descent, the possibility of growth and ascent was woven into the very garments that  we wear.

Every single week, we have the opportunity to experience this transformation ourselves. When Erev Shabbos arrives, we don’t just change our clothes – we participate in a cosmic change and elevation. When we remove our weekday clothes, we are not just changing outfits. No.

We are symbolically shedding our physicality, the mistakes, the errors.  The ill-treatment of others around us that are a tzelem Elokim and a chailek Elokah mima’al.  We shed the mundane concerns of the week.

When we put on our Shabbos clothes – oh, what a moment of sheer kedusha! It is not just a nice suit or a beautiful dress. We are clothing ourselves in garments of Ohr – light! We are connecting ourselves to the Aitz Chaim – the Tree of Life! We are, for these precious 25 hours, elevating ourselves to taste that original spiritual state that existed before any sin, before any cataclysmic descent.

This is why our Shabbos clothes feel different, why they make us stand taller, feel holier. Because they’re not just clothes – they are spiritual tools or ladders, connecting us to the highest realms of existence and Kedusha.

So today, when we prepare for Shabbos, let us remember that we are not just getting dressed. We are participating in a transformation that echoes from Gan Aiden itself. We are turning skin into light, physicality into spirituality, mundane into Kedusha!

This is the power of Shabbos. This is the magic woven into every thread of our Shabbos garments. May we merit to fully experience this elevation every single week, and may our Shabbos clothes truly become garments of light, illuminating our homes, our communities, and our very souls with the radiance of holiness!

This article is based on the writings of the Noam Elimelech and the Ma’or Vashemesh – Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Epstein of Krakow. Writing in the late 1700s, his teachings illuminated deepeer meanings of Shabbos for generations to come.

The author can be reached at [email protected]