בְּגָדִים

One must guard clothing greatly, not to disgrace them but to keep them well from stains and dirtiness. For the clothing themselves, they judge a person if he does not honor them properly. [And] The greater one is, the more he needs to guard his clothing, for the greater one is, the more he is meticulously scrutinized (29, 3).

Through not guarding clothing from stains, through this, one causes a separation between the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah (-Divine Presence, holy kingdom). Then the evil maidservant, which is the kingdom of wickedness, rules, and he is like one who rebels against the kingdom. [And] Through this, his livelihood comes with toil and heaviness (-difficulty) (ibid.).

Through making a nice garment for the tzadik, through this, one clothes the Shechinah (-Divine Presence) in radiant garments, and all judgments are sweetened (42).

Clothing should always be whole and not torn, for when clothing is torn, G-d forbid, it is a breakage of protection, because clothing is in the secret of the chashmal [Ezekiel 1:4, modern Hebrew borrowed this word to use it for electricity, but the verse is obviously referring to a spiritual force which is frequently discussed in Kabbala], which is protection (127).

The Adversary and the Other Side seize a person by his clothing, that is, they burden him with the preoccupying concerns of his garments and attire. For the preoccupying hassle over the necessity of the clothing and garments of a person, they greatly confuse a person and prevent him from the service of Hashem, may He be blessed. But one whose heart is strong in Hashem does not pay attention to this, even though he doesn’t have a garment to wear, he does his part in the service of the Hashem according to his ability, until Hashem looks down and sees from heaven [Psalms 33:14] (Sichot HaRan, 100).