Hello everyone,

I always wonderd about the Hassidic clothes, what's the reason for the hat, the coat etc. ? These type of clothing are not fixed in the Torah, Tosafta, Mishna, and the Talmud (Bavli and Yerushalmi) as far as I know, wouldn't it ?

Thank you,

Ohad.

This post was last modified: 10-21-2007 08:59 PM by Rabbi Walters.

The main significance is that Jews always would dress in respectable clothes -- ones that were noble, but not overstated or showy. This is a balance of being a "prince" because one is the son of G-d and one represents Him, together with modesty.

Therefore, Jewish law dictates that everyone strive to wear clean, neat, and respectable clothes. This is especially true of a Torah scholar who must be much more particular of his appearance and all of his manners for sake of bringing respect and honor to the Torah he represents.

For this reason Jews would always dress in respectable conservative clothes for their time. The hassidic garb you see today is the respectable conservative dress of pre-WWII Europe.

In addition, most Hassidim created a strong subculture in order to survive the strong pull to assimilate during the time of the enlightenment movement in Europe. Therefore, Hassidim became extreme about not compromising in anyway to society around them. And this strong stance kept them going, while as other could not withstand the influences around them. One of the key elements of this was not changing their dress, each group keeping the custom which was local to their place.

(I have also heard that black became customary as a sign of mourning for the exile and destruction of the Holy Temple. Previously, each tribe would wear its own colors. But now out of mourning, most wear black.)

Chabad, never had an exact or strict garb. Rather, the idea was just to wear something appropriate, so that when you walk in the street it is obvious to yourself and to others who you are and what you represent. It is like a uniform for a soldier or a policeman, someone should be able to know that you represent Judaism and approach you with questions, etc. This knowledge also keeps you from doing things that would reflect badly on what you represent.

Do most observant Jews know which tribe they come from even nowadays? Very curious.

Most do not. Some people know that they are Priests (Kohanim) or Levites (both from the tribe of Levi). Others know that they come from the Davdic lineage (the tribe of Judah). But otherwise, the differences between tribes has been mostly lost, because they are not practically significant, and so were forgotten. (Also, most of the Tribes were exiled. So pretty much all known Jews today are from the tribes of Levi, Judah, or Benjamin.)

For example, I do not know which tribe I am from. But my mother and my wife's mother are both from the tribe of Levi, daughters of Kohanim (Priests). That means that Aaron the Priest was my great great grandfather! And Moses was my great great uncle! It's really neat if you think about it. And I have some friends that know they come from the Davidic lineage.

This post was last modified: 11-19-2007 12:41 PM by Rabbi Walters.