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| Uniformity reigns supreme! (image from a Chabad wesbite) |
Although there are differences between various Charedi Hashkafos one can almost always identify which Hashkafa they adhere to by the way they look. A typical Chasid will look pretty much the same as his fellow Chasidim. Chabad has their own look that makes them distinctly different than other Chasidim. The Lithuanian Yeshiva world too has its own look. Which is often referred to as ‘Black Hat’. That involves students dressing identically by wearing white shirts, dark slacks and a black fedora. That ‘look’ is being insisted upon at increasingly younger ages. Even before high school. I recall a few years ago a local Charedi elementary school here starting to require white shirts and dark slacks to be worn by all of their 8th graders.
It was not always that way. Diversity was the rule when I was in elementary school back in prehistoric times. (OK, I’m kidding. But it must seem prehistoric to young people today over 60 years later.)
The day school I attended in Detroit in the late 50s had students and teachers from a variety of Hashkafos. The principal was a Hirschean (TIDE). One vice principal was a Chasid of the Satmar Rebbe. The other vice principal was of the Lithuanian type yeshiva mold.
Throughout my 5 years there, my Rebbeim included a Lubavitcher (...who was clean shaven. In those days it was not uncommon for Lubavitchers to shave); a Telzer; and 2 Hirscheans. There was no doubt about their personal Hashkfaos and who they considered their mentors. But they were all part of the same faculty and administration – fully integrated into the educational paradigm of the fledgling day school system back then. Needless to say, students were from homes whose Hashkafos were wide ranging. But they did not have the distinctive uniform look of differing Hashkfos of our day. They looked like typical young elementary schools students.
Throughout my 5 years there, my Rebbeim included a Lubavitcher (...who was clean shaven. In those days it was not uncommon for Lubavitchers to shave); a Telzer; and 2 Hirscheans. There was no doubt about their personal Hashkfaos and who they considered their mentors. But they were all part of the same faculty and administration – fully integrated into the educational paradigm of the fledgling day school system back then. Needless to say, students were from homes whose Hashkafos were wide ranging. But they did not have the distinctive uniform look of differing Hashkfos of our day. They looked like typical young elementary schools students.
This mode of dress continued into high school. When I was in Telshe, students wore a variety of clothing that was not distinctive at all. Although students there were required to wear jackets and hats for Tefillah B’Tzibur, the jackets were not the typical suit jackets you see today. Nor were the hats the typical fedoras you see today. I recall Chicago Dayan, Rabbi Shumel Fuerst (who was a student along with me at the time) wearing a leather jacket and a cap for Tefilla B’Tzibur. The non distinctive look was the look of the day. The focus in Telshe high school was on Mussar (Jewish ethics) and our studies. - both religious and secular. Not on achieving some sort of cookie cutter look.
One may ask, why should I care about how students look today? Let people dress the way they choose. Maybe they just want to fit in. And their Mechanchim are providing a way for them to do that.
Maybe. I get the desire to fit in. But it comes at a price. A look that has become so standard that veering away from it will get a reprimand from a Rebbe, Mashgiach or principal. In other words, this is more than about making their students comfortable by everyone dressing alike.
The problem is the by-product. Their individuality is stripped from them. They are not only encouraged to look the same - but to think the same. Which is helped along by the look. When a certain look is focused upon - other things get less attention. The outside look becomes more important that what is on the inside.
Maybe. I get the desire to fit in. But it comes at a price. A look that has become so standard that veering away from it will get a reprimand from a Rebbe, Mashgiach or principal. In other words, this is more than about making their students comfortable by everyone dressing alike.
The problem is the by-product. Their individuality is stripped from them. They are not only encouraged to look the same - but to think the same. Which is helped along by the look. When a certain look is focused upon - other things get less attention. The outside look becomes more important that what is on the inside.
‘Al Tistakel B’Kankan’ say Chazal. Loosely translated that means ‘Do not judge a book by its cover’. Apparently the current generation of Charedi leadership seems be focusing more of the cover. I have seen some pretty atrocious behavior by some these students while dancing at weddings. In one case I remember a Rosh Yeshiva defending it when a guest at the wedding questioned him about it.
That same Rosh Yeshiva no doubt looks down at even well behaved non Charedi Yeshiva students – not even considering them Bnei Torah. If that doesn’t translate to considering externals more important that internals, I don’t know what does.
Let me hasten to add that misbehaving students is not limited to the Charedi world. In my experience it is happens with both Charedi and modern Orthodox Yeshiva students. The point is only in how important ‘the look’ of a Yeshiva student has become in the Charedi world.
That same Rosh Yeshiva no doubt looks down at even well behaved non Charedi Yeshiva students – not even considering them Bnei Torah. If that doesn’t translate to considering externals more important that internals, I don’t know what does.
Let me hasten to add that misbehaving students is not limited to the Charedi world. In my experience it is happens with both Charedi and modern Orthodox Yeshiva students. The point is only in how important ‘the look’ of a Yeshiva student has become in the Charedi world.
The question is why? Why is the way a Charedi student looks so important now? Why the shift in emphasis?
It is about removing all influences from the student that are not in consonance with what they teach. The idea being that if one looks a certain way, he will more likely behave a certain way. Looking different has become the new ideal. It entails being different. It is also about instilling a sense of superiority in their students. Which also means excluding all Jews that do not measure up to their standards Separation allows them to see other Jews - even observant ones - as second class Jews. One that dare not be allowed to influence them.
But that comes with the high price of arrogance and bad Midos (character traits). It also comes at a price of being unable to enrich themselves with knowledge of other Hashkafos. Instead they are being fed half truths, exaggerations, and in some case outright lies about those Hashkafos from some of their Charedi mentors.
Which negates the legitimacy of God fearing Jews. Without any chance of learning from them what their actual Hashkafos are since they are discouraged from interacting with them. I was told by one student that graduated from high school a couple of years ago that he does not values non Charedi Jews at all - even of they are observant! I doubt he is the only one.
But that comes with the high price of arrogance and bad Midos (character traits). It also comes at a price of being unable to enrich themselves with knowledge of other Hashkafos. Instead they are being fed half truths, exaggerations, and in some case outright lies about those Hashkafos from some of their Charedi mentors.
Which negates the legitimacy of God fearing Jews. Without any chance of learning from them what their actual Hashkafos are since they are discouraged from interacting with them. I was told by one student that graduated from high school a couple of years ago that he does not values non Charedi Jews at all - even of they are observant! I doubt he is the only one.
The previous generation of religious leaders did not have this anywhere near their religious paradigm. Individual differences were not only tolerated, they were encouraged. Looking uniquely different than everyone else was not a value. When looking at archival photos of Yeshiva students in pre-Holocaust Europe one will see clean shaven young men dressed in the modern clothing of the day.
I do not recall who it was it was but one Charedi Rosh Yeshiva of that time required his students to shave. Beards were not permitted except for the few students that came from Chasidic backgrounds. If a non Chasidic student tried to grow a beard, he was required to shave it off.
Post Holocaust America was like that too. The Detroit school I attended had students from homes with a variety of Hashkafos. Which included Chasidim, Lubavitch, Hirscheans, Modern Orthodox and even non religious homes. We all attended the same school. We were all integrated under the banner of Mitzvah observance without regard to how we looked.
Post Holocaust America was like that too. The Detroit school I attended had students from homes with a variety of Hashkafos. Which included Chasidim, Lubavitch, Hirscheans, Modern Orthodox and even non religious homes. We all attended the same school. We were all integrated under the banner of Mitzvah observance without regard to how we looked.
That has all changed these days. And as far as I am concerned we are a lot worse off for it