Treating the Symptom Instead of the Disease

Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok Rebbe (VIN)

I have to admit I was somewhat impressed by the Shtreimel (furry head covering) I saw one Chasid wearing over Yom Tov. I thought it was kind of cool the way the fur was trimmed at the bottom with razor edge precision. It looked almost regal. As did the Chasid wearing it. His Chasidic Kapoteh was tailored to look as though it was custom made (It may in fact have been.) At the same time I wondered why in the world this particular hat has become de riguer for Chasidic Jews. What is it about this covering that makes it any more Jewish than a fedora  or even a baseball cap for that matter?

This is but one item that makes Chasidic clothing unique. The fact is that Chasidim go well out of their way to look unique.    Different from everyone else - even from some of the most religious right wing Yeshiva/Lithuanian type Charedim – who generally wear suits and ties.

I have been told that the reason they do this is that they consider modern dress to be a violation of the Torah‘s requirement of ‘Lo Seielchu B’Chukas HaGoy. Which loosely translated means ‘statutes of non Jews’. In the eyes of the Chasidic world anything that originates in the non Jewish world comes under that rubric. Hence requiring them to adopt their own mode of dress. That is why they look different than everyone else.

This is not to say that they dress like slobs, God forbid. There are plenty of those in all segments of Judaism. Just as there are those who dress impeccably. But being different is one of the primary tenets of Chasidus.

Dressing differently also helps them in their isolationist tendencies - desiring not to be influenced by a culture that they see almost entirely as anathematic to Judaism. That is also the reason that most Chasidim of larger sects like Satmar learn to speak English as a second language and refuse to offer a  secular curriculum in their schools.

These differences are not just with modern Orthodox Jews but with ‘Lithuanian’ type Charedim as well.

To the best of my knowledge, only Chasidim understand Chukas HaGoy this way. The rest of the Orthodox world (at least as far as Ashkenazi Jews are concerned) do not see dressing in modern era clothing as Chukas HaGoy. That term is reserved for the cultural behavior that can lead to the sin of idolatry. Or at perhaps other sinful behavior.

This is why some of the biggest Lithuanian Gedolim of the last century wore suits and ties. And even if they at some point decided to wear a ‘Frock’ (a Lithuanian style Kapoteh with the 2 buttons in back) they never abandoned the tie. Even if they had long beards that might cover up the tie. Ties are clearly not a piece of Jewish clothing. It is just a matter of the style of dress in civilized societies. And there is no Halachic or Hashkafic objection to dressing accordingly.   

The Chasidic world nonetheless insists that it is, which enhances their isolationist tendencies and thereby limits their ability to provide for their families. This might help explain why nearly 100% of the people I saw collecting Charity in Shul every morning during my stay in Israel were Chasidic.

Now I am certainly not advocating that their daily pleas for charity be ignored, God forbid. Nor am I saying that all I saw were impoverished Chasidim.  The abovementioned impeccably dressed Chasid was clearly not poor. And there were a lot more like him.  But I have to admit being troubled by the fact that giving them charity every day tends support s way of life where collecting charity is their way of making a living.

That being said,  I’m glad that the Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok Rebbe is mitigating the expense of a buying a Shtreimel. (Some of them cost upwards of $1000.) But in my view, he’s treating the symptom and not the disease.