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23
votes
3answers
2k views

Should one ask a non-Jew attending synagogue to wear a yarmulke?

It says in Divrei HaRav (by R. Hershel Schachter, p143) that when they asked R. Aharon Kotler whether a non-Jewish secular studies teacher in a yeshiva should be asked to wear a yarmulke, he said he ...
20
votes
4answers
378 views

Maintaining Tzniut in Uncomfortable Social Situations

How can a teenage girl, who recently started practicing the laws of tzniut as well as feasible, balance those laws with the prohibition against embarrassing her family members, who are embarrassed to ...
18
votes
2answers
781 views

What are the sources for women to wear/ not wear pants?

I have heard that the argument is beged ish / kli gever, and I have heard people say that even if that was once a real reason for it it doesn't apply today for various reasons. I understand that the ...
17
votes
2answers
263 views

What kind of kippah is this?

This photo of my great great grandfather was taken around 1900. He's a Lubavitch Jew from Belarus. His name is Zalman Malkin. He is from Liozna. The story of his life is here: ...
15
votes
4answers
366 views

How does an outsider know how to dress for a particular Orthodox community?

Standards of dress (at least for women) aren't nearly as consistent within Orthodoxy as we might wish. Wearing exactly the same halachically-correct clothing I have been under-dressed in some places ...
14
votes
3answers
192 views

Must EMTs and others rend Kriyah each time they see a patient die?

I was looking at Yoreh De'ah 40:5 (יו"ד סימן ש"מ ס"ק ה) and Moed Katan 25b (כה עמוד ב), which require Kriyah (garment-rending) for all who are there at the time of death. It would seem to me that an ...
13
votes
4answers
553 views

Need to treat a kippah respectfully?

Do we need to treat a kippah with more respect than a normal hat? I frisbeed a couple of kippahs across the room to a friend and he became indignant at me throwing them on the floor. I remember as ...
11
votes
10answers
415 views

Garments that unintentionally require tzitzit

Have you ever encountered in the wild (i.e. owned, considered purchasing in a store, seen worn by an observant Jewish man) a garment that requires tzitzit but that was not made for them (i.e. not a ...
11
votes
7answers
646 views

Do Chasidim avoid wearing ties?

Do Chasidim not wear ties as a rule? If so, is this by design or an accident of history? If by design, where can I find said intended reason in print?
11
votes
5answers
606 views

Wearing your tzitzis out

Why do certain people wear their tzitzis out for people to see, and others do not?
11
votes
2answers
147 views

Gap zip up sweatshirt Kesivah on Shabbos?

Does zippering up a sweatshirt like this one, which when zippering causes the letter A to become a letter create a problem of Kesivah on Shabbos? Is an Old Navy sweatshirt where the word Old is on one ...
11
votes
2answers
493 views

What is the red string all about?

Where did the concept of wearing a red string come from? I have heard different opinions ranging from "you should definitely wear it" to "its forbidden like idol worship" - who is right?
10
votes
7answers
568 views

Why wear Black hats

Why do people wear black hats if their kippa has 2 layers?
10
votes
6answers
683 views

Wearing a kippa at work

If one has a job where his employer informs him that if he wears a kippa he will be fired, does he have to wear a kippa?
10
votes
1answer
730 views

Can you see your wife unclothed?

I think someone in another question here (or on another site?) said he was told by his "chassan teacher" not to look at his wife unclothed. It seems like this is not the real halacha to me, or at ...
10
votes
2answers
202 views

Dangling tzitzit

Do tzitzit need to dangle? Can one use some velcro to pin the strings down along the side of the beged so that they don't dangle down and get in the way of things?
10
votes
3answers
362 views

Tying a Tie on Shabbos

How should one tie a tie on Shabbos (or yom tov) so that it doesn't have any knot problems? In other words there are lots of ways to tie a tie. I was wondering which of these are okay for use on ...
10
votes
1answer
190 views

Plastic gloves in Halacha

If someone touches something while wearing gloves (i.e. waterproof rubber gloves), does that halachically count as touching? Practical examples include: Touching a neveilah, whether or not you ...
10
votes
1answer
144 views

Moshe's Mask and Purim?

Is there a connection between Purim masks and the mask Moshe begins wearing at the end of Parshat Ki Tisa? It seems too much of a coincidence that it's read near Purim for there to be none.
9
votes
3answers
273 views

Is cross-dressing permitted on Purim and if so why?

As part of dressing in costume on Purim is a person allowed to put on clothes normally worn by the opposite gender? If so, where does this heter come from in the face of the biblical prohibition ...
9
votes
3answers
476 views

Wearing clothes backwards or inside out?

As a kid, I was told that if you wear clothing backwards or inside-out then you will forget your Torah learning. What is the source for that claim, and why is that specific outcome tied to that ...
8
votes
1answer
482 views

Can a mother undress in front of her daughter?

Can a married woman with children undress in front of her daughter to try on clothes assuming she would be in undergarments?
8
votes
4answers
392 views

Why wool and linen?

Shatnez is the prohibition of wearing clothing that contains both wool and linen. I understand that the Torah tells us that the two materials are specfiically wool and linen, which is a perfectly ...
8
votes
4answers
268 views

Permissibility of Wearing Shorts

Is there anything wrong with men wearing shorts (i.e. short pants)? If there is, why would it be any different than wearing short sleeves?
8
votes
1answer
443 views

Male tzniut: Swimwear

Seeing as summer is coming, I thought I'd clear up a few questions about male tzniut with regards to swimwear. Namely, my real question is: what is required? I live in southern California, so outside ...
7
votes
3answers
178 views

Crocs on Yom Kippur?

Is one allowed to wear crocs on Yom Kippur? Or are they too comfortable or something???
7
votes
4answers
418 views

What do you have to check for Shatnez?

What do you and what do you not have to check for Shatnez?
7
votes
2answers
210 views

What are the issues with wearing gloves on Shabbos?

I know that there are differing opinions on wearing gloves outside on Shabbos, and whether that constitutes carrying, or may lead to carrying. So, what are the halachic problems/concerns with wearing ...
7
votes
2answers
71 views

Dressing similarly at a Din Torah - When did this change and why?

Gemara Shevuos 31a says that if two people come to Bais Din one dressed in rags and the other dressed in expensive clothing, we make them dress similarly. Sefer Hachinuch Mitzva 235 indicates that ...
7
votes
1answer
72 views

Source for wearing special clothing on Rosh Chodesh

Is there a source for wearing somewhat festive clothes on Rosh Chodesh? I have seen some people who hold this custom.
7
votes
1answer
93 views

What was Moshe's “masveh”?

The Torah relates that Moshe donned a מסוה to hid the luminescence of his face, when addressing the community. What was the nature/appearance of this "masveh"?
7
votes
0answers
93 views

Tznius of the times [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: What are the sources for women to wear/ not wear pants? Why cant women wear baggy pants when now-a-days women who are "tznius" wear tight skirts or skirts above the ...
6
votes
7answers
528 views

Why do Sephardic Jews dress in black and white?

Many observant sephardim in Israel, especially those in yeshivot, dress in black and white. Does anyone know how this happened? There is no tradition of Jews in North Africa or in the Middle East ...
6
votes
5answers
342 views

Kippa in Torah?

Where does it say in the Torah to wear a Kippa?
6
votes
4answers
386 views

hat and jacket during davening

I wear a hat to davening normally. Is it better to daven with a minyan without a hat or without a minyan with a hat?
6
votes
2answers
358 views

When and why did the black velvet yarmulke become the standard for some communities?

Ashkenazi yarmulkes from around 200 years ago closely resemble the Yerushalmi style - white knitted with a tassel on top. Today, the vast majority of Chasidim and Yeshivish Jews seem to wear black ...
6
votes
3answers
112 views

Esrog flax on woolen clothes

I haven't seen it in a few years, but esrogim used to come wrapped in flax. Or, at least, a yellowish, brownish, hairy substance people called "flax", which leads us to my first question: Was it ...
6
votes
4answers
643 views

why do jewish women wear so much black?

Usually, the color white is associated with purity (as indicated by the kittle). I don't know if the opposite color in the spectrum represents the opposite of purity (yes, I know it's not technically ...
6
votes
2answers
104 views

What to wear when being oleh l'regel?

Chazal (berachos 54a and 62b) tell us that one cannot come in to the Temple with a walking stick or shoes. The gemara (ibid) explains that wearing shoes is a sign of disrespect for the holiness of the ...
6
votes
2answers
101 views

Nice clothes for Hanukkah

Is there a reason to wear special nice clothing on Hanukkah? I would guess not as since there is no festive meal, it doesn't seem like it is a festive day. Ideas anyone?
6
votes
2answers
244 views

Why does Halacha say to tie your shoes in a specific order?

What is the point of putting on your right shoe and then your left? (And if you're a righty to tie your left shoe and then your right.)
6
votes
1answer
286 views

How to Tear Kriyah

What is the proper procedure for tearing Kriyah (e.g. for Aveilus* or visiting the Kosel)? * May we never have to do so
6
votes
1answer
54 views

Why did the animals of Ninveh have to fast and wear sackcloth?

In Yona 3:7-8 we find that the people of Ninveh included the animals in their teshuva process. Why make the animals fast and don sackcloth? How was this part of the teshuva process?
6
votes
2answers
180 views

Wearing Gold On Yom HaKippurim

Besides for the minhag that one should not wear jewelry on Yom HaKipurim because of the "fear of the judgment" there is also the minhag to not wear gold (even as a decoration on a tallis or kittel) ...
5
votes
4answers
151 views

Check cashmere for Shatnez?

Is one required to check cashmere clothing for shatnez? Cashmere is a kind of wool that does not come from sheep.
5
votes
4answers
691 views

Wearing a Kittel at the Seder

I grew up with my father wearing a Kittel at the Seder. My father wore a Kittel at the Seder immediately from when he got married. Over the years I have heard that some people do not wear a Kittel the ...
5
votes
2answers
158 views

How can people who dress in “only” black lead tefillah, the Mishna warns us against those “machmir” about colors?

We learn in Mishnah Megillah 4:8 that if someone insists on wearing only one color when they pray we do not let them be the "shliach tzibor" (prayer leader). This is because we suspect he is involved ...
5
votes
4answers
1k views

Is there a problem with women wearing red clothing?

I've heard that red clothing is forbidden for women to wear because it's immodest. Some recent psych research confirmed that men are more attracted to women in red. So that means it's prohibited, ...
5
votes
3answers
170 views

Amalekim's disguise as Canaanites in Chukas

Rashi (in parshas Chukas perek 21 pasuk 1) says that Amalek attacked the Jews, and that the pasuk calls them Canaanites because the Amaleikim had learned the Canaanite language (so the Jews would pray ...
5
votes
3answers
449 views

Wearing a gartel

Where did the minhag of wearing a gartel come from?

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