ציטירנדיקער פּירוש אויף בראשית 38:19

In line with the main topic of this chapter, clothing seems to take on unusual import in the story of Tamar – especially in the discussion of Tamar’s meeting with Yehudah at Petach Einayim. When the Torah goes into such great detail, telling us that she took off one set of clothing for another and then that she removed that clothing and put the first set back on (Bereshit 38:14 and Bereshit 38:19),¹⁹⁷Bereshit 38:14, 19. it is clearly inviting us to understand the relationship between Tamar and her clothes.

[...] And after it introduced this, it returns to explain Scripture which says: “And HaShem descended” (Genesis 11:5), and it is asked on which side [is] the designation “descent” of Him Blessed be He and the designation “seeing”, and it says: “He descended from holiness to profane, ‘and a cape-tool’ (ורדיד פריסא), to inspect what they had built, and they had established a place to wake up in the world to a deity for them” [Zohar I.75b]. He [the Zohar] says, that from the perspective of His being clothed in the garments of profanity in the secret of the six days of work, as has been explained above, [that is] that this belongs to his providence for those below, it is said with respect to Him “descent” and “seeing”. And this is רדיד פריסא, as if He has clothed Himself with a veil צעיף – veil [is in] Targum Jerusalem [on Genesis 38:19] רדידא, and similar וכן ואת הרדידים “and the capes” [Isaiah 3:23]. And פריסא is a curtain, and thus in the language of our Sages of blessed memory, a פריסא is a tool (תשמיש), of the tool the explanation [is] a curtain that one spreads in front of the [Torah] Ark, is a tool for the Ark, and the Ark is a tool for the Torah Scroll [Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 26b]. As if to say He has stretched and flattened a curtain on Himself in the shape of a robe, [in order] to observe through it what the Generation of the Dispersion had built, and they all agreed as one to inspire awe in the world and to make a god for them. And the explanation of וירד from the word רדיד is, that intention in it is to make known that He sees and is not seen, similar to one who stands behind the curtain and sees another person but he [himself] is not seen. And you already know that all that is stated on this, is from our side, not from the side of He that is blessed, God forbid! And the Rabbi of blessed memory [Maimonides] already elaborated in the Guide of the Perplexed on the removal of all forms that in the Torah are attributed to Him that is blessed.