Anyone who has ever followed a “Bible in One Year” reading plan or done their own dive into the Bible is soon surprised by extensive passages that deal with how people should dress in the Old Testament. Exodus 28, for example, gives a long, detailed example of how to construct an ephod, a garment explicitly to be used by the priests. It seems like an arbitrary list of details to the casual reader, especially when having just left the high drama of the ten plagues and Israel’s escape from Egypt across the Red Sea. Yet Mark Gerson, author of God Was Right: How Modern Social Science Proves the Torah Is True, believes passages like this are much more than a simple fashion statement.

Gerson pointed to a Yale study where students who wore business suits negotiated better than those who wore casual clothing. He also noted how sports players dress, knowing their performance will improve if they show up dressed ready to play. Called “enclothed cognition,” it’s a psychological term that refers to “the idea that what we wear influences how we think, feel and perform.”  And while a person who is feeling depressed may dress in a way that reflects their feelings, dressing for happiness might have the ability to impact how he or she feels. “Once again, God was right. Clothing isn’t just about appearance or comfort. It’s a tool for shaping who we are,” wrote Gerson.

Referring to the example of the ephod, Gerson wrote that it was about more than ritual. “These aren’t ritual decorations. They’re instruments of transformation. The priest doesn’t just look holy. By wearing sacred garments, he begins to feel holy — and that changes how he behaves. The Torah understood long before modern science that clothing shapes consciousness.” According to Gerson, God didn’t just want people to look the part of joining in His holiness. He wanted them to feel the part.

Meital Peleg Mizrachi, a post-doctoral fellow in the economics department at Yale University, sees a strong connection between the Jewish tradition and fashion as well. But where Gerson sees a connection between Torah clothing guidelines and impacting mindset, Mizrachi sees a call to good stewardship. ““The more I dive into the Bible, the more I see there is a longstanding connection between sustainability and Judaism. There are Bible verses commanding us to save the world,” she told The Times of Israel. “Sustainable fashion might just be a mitzvah [commandment].”