JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

(F. Thureau-Dangin, Arslan Tash (1931), 111–2, pl. 33:43; N. de
Garis Davies, The Tombs of Menkheperrasonb… (1933), pl. iv).
Pieces of cloth were frequently added to the basic garment in
order to cover the shoulders (Boeser, op. cit., pl. xxiv). The tunic
was a short, sewn garment, usually with short sleeves. It
was made of one piece of cloth specially woven for this purpose
with an opening for the head in the center. The cloth
was folded along the shoulder line and sewn along the edges,
thus making a garment which covered the upper part of the
body. The tunic was often made with a woven decoration or
later embroidered.
The clothing shown on early Mesopotamian and Egypt
monuments emphasizes ethnic differences. Most apparent
are the shorter lengths, relatively lighter weights of the materials
(including translucent cloth) – especially in the case of
women’s wear – and the head coverings worn in Egypt, while
the northern countries used longer and heavier clothing. The
materials from which the garments were made also show ethnological
differences. The garments depicted on a number of
Mesopotamian monuments of the third millennium B.C.E.
are made of heavy wool strands, fastened with large laces, or
sewn with strips of animal skin. Noticeable ethnological differences
also appear in head coverings. Wigs seem to have been
widely worn by both men and women. A common style was
a band circling the hair, tied at the back or side. On the majority
of the Egyptian monuments feathers worn on the head
depict Ethiopian captives. Headgear crowned with feathers is
characteristic of the Sea Peoples (T. Dothan, Ha-Pelishtim ve-
Tarbutam ha-Ḥomrit (1967), figs 1–7). Skullcaps resembling
cones and cylinders decorated with ribbons and lacing were
common in Babylonia and Assyria. Covering the head with a
kerchief was customary in Egypt and Canaan. The most common
sandal had a leather sole held in place by straps. Sandals
could be partly closed, covering half the foot, or completely
enclosed. However, the figures on monuments are usually
shown barefoot.
[Ze’ev Yeivin]
Talmudic Times
Talmudic and midrashic literature is replete with information
on matters of dress and clothing, usually supplied incidentally
as part of a comment on biblical themes or in connection
with religious law and custom which often concern
matters of dress.
The importance of clothing in adding to the confidence
and dignity of man is stressed in the Talmud: “fine garments”
are among the things which “enlarge man’s mind” (Ber.
57b), and “a man’s dignity is seen in his costume” (Ex. R.
18:5). Apart from the special and distinctive garments which
characterized the scholar, he was enjoined to be spotless and
neat in his dress: “A scholar on whose garments a stain is
found is worthy of death” (Shab. 114a), and he should not go
out in patched shoes (Ber. 43b). An incident related in the
Midrash is based upon the fact that *Yannai mistook an ignorant
man for a scholar because he was elegantly dressed
(Lev. R. 9:3).
dress
As many as 90 different articles of clothing are listed by
Krauss, but the Talmud enumerates the 18 articles of clothing
which were regarded as indispensable and which could
therefore be rescued from a fire on the Sabbath. The lists given
both in the Babylonian (Shab. 120a) and the Jerusalem (Shab.
16:5, 15d) Talmuds, apart from some differences in spelling,
are practically identical, affording a picture of a man’s complete
apparel. On the upper part of the body, next to the skin,
he wore a sleeveless tunic which was covered by a shirt
(ḥalluk). Over this came an outer tunic, and the top garment
was a cloak. A hollow money belt was worn. The lower part
of the body was covered by breeches, over which trousers
were worn; on the feet were socks and shoes. A girdle was
tied round the waist and an apron was also worn. A felt cap
covered the head and a hat was worn over this. A scarf completed
the attire. Even the order of donning the clothes was
laid down (DER 10). Apart from the shirt and the girdle, all
these garments were worn by the Greeks, and this raises the
question of whether there was a distinctive Jewish dress in
talmudic times.
There is evidence that there was. With regard to men, the
Midrash states that Moses was called an Egyptian (Ex. 2:19)
because he was dressed as such and not as a Jew. In one version
of a well-known Midrash, one of the reasons given for the redemption
of the children of Israel from bondage is “that they
did not change or substitute their [distinctive Jewish] dress”
and on the verse “Lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone,” a Yalkut
(Num. 768) states, “they are distinguished from the other
peoples in everything, in their dress…” Generally speaking,
however, it would appear that apart from the *ẓiẓit enjoined
by the Bible, the dress of the ordinary people was similar to
that of non-Jews. The scholar however wore distinctive garments.
The scarf worn by ordinary people, which was probably
fringed, became the *tallit of the scholar. The Talmud indicates
its severe displeasure of the common person who wore
the tallit of the scholar (BB 98a). The scholar’s shirt covered
his whole body, so that his skin was invisible, and his tallit
completely covered the shirt (BB 57b), so that “the scholar was
recognized by the manner in which he wrapped himself in his
tallit” (DEZ 5). He wore a distinctive hat, a kind of turban (Pes.
111b). Judah b. Ilai used to wrap himself in his fringed shawl
and he looked like an angel of the Lord (Shab. 25b).
It was regarded as immodest and against Jewish custom
for a married woman to wear her hair loose. The difference
between the costume of women in Ereẓ Israel and Babylon is
noted; in Babylon the women wore colored garments, while
in Ereẓ Israel they wore starched white linen garments (Pes.
109a). Black clothing was worn as a sign of mourning, trouble,
or distress (Ḥag. 16a), or when appearing as a defendant
in a lawsuit (TJ, RH 1:3, 57b). When R. *Akiva had to break
to R. Eliezer b. Hyrcanus the news of his excommunication
he “clothed himself in black” (BM 59b). A complete change
of garments was enjoined for the Sabbath, and this was regarded
as so important that biblical sanction was found for
it (Shab. 113a, 114a).
ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6 13