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SHTREIMEL SABLE
FUR TAILS
The
"Shtreimel" is what all married Hasidic men wear on Shabbas. Made out
of genuine fur, it is the the most expensive Hasidic item around, ranging in
price from $2000 to $4500. It is usually the bride's father who purchases the
Shtreimel for the groom upon his wedding.
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A shtreimel is a fur hat worn by many married Hasidic
Orthodox Jewish men on Shabbat
(the Jewish Sabbath) and during other festive occasions. Ukrainian
and Lithuanian
Hasidim generally do not wear a shtreimel. The Gerrer
Hasidim from Poland
wear a spodik
instead of a shtreimel.
Made out of genuine fur,
typically from a sable,
it is the most expensive article of Hasidic clothing, ranging in price from
$1800 to $5400. It is usually the bride's father who purchases the Shtreimel for
the groom upon his wedding.
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SABLE TAILS (Russian
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Shtreimel
Tilep Silk coat and fur collar
Shivchei Habaal Shem Tov contains a great deal of material about the customs
that R. Israel Baal Shem Tov and his students introduced, as well as about their
new way and behavior. From this work, one can construct a portrait of the way of
life of R. Israel Baal Shem Tov and his students. As is known, Hasidim wear a
shtreimel on the Sabbath. In Galicia and Hungary, the shtreimel was made up of
thirteen strips [shpitzn]. In Poland it was a tall spodek. [In Galicia the
rebbes would wear a spodek only on a holiday, for Hanukkah candle-lighting and
for the rosh chodesh meal.] In Cracow, those related to the rebbe wore a sable
kolpak [kolpik night cap]. [Before I was married and while still in the rebbe
court, I myself wore such a cap.] In Congress-Poland, Hasidim wore tall
shtreimels, or velvet or silk caps.
When did rebbes and Hasidim begin to wear shtreimels on the Sabbath?
According to Rabbi Aaron Wertheim (Halachos V'halichos B'chasidus, p. 196),
Rabbi Pinchas Koritzer taught that the acronym of "Shabbos" is "Shtreimel
Bimkom Tefillin"--"the shtreimel takes the place of tefillin."
The only source that Rabbi Wertheim provides is an old Hasid from whom he heard
it. [I am familiar with this saying as well, but attributed to a later rebbe.]
If we were to accept that this was taught by Rabbi Pinchas Koritzer, then we
would have to say that he wore a shtreimel on the Sabbath. However, this source
is not reliable.
According to a story in Rabbi Shai Zevin's Sipurei Hasidim (I p. 20 #223),
those in the company of R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi--the founder of Habad
Hasidism--wore shtreimels.
R. Levin tells the following story:
There was a custom in Rabbi Shneur Zalman's minyan that whoever was called up
to the Torah had to put on a shtreimel. If he didn't have his own shtreimel, he
would borrow one from the shamash, who had one specifically for that purpose.
Once, somebody needed the shtreimel, but the shamash had misplaced it.
And so he lent the man R. Shneur Zalman's shtreimel. After the prayers were
over, when R. Shneur Zalman put on his shtreimel, he sensed that one of the
Hasidim had worn it. When he summoned the shammash and asked him if anyone had
put on his shtreimel, the shamash told him what had occurred. Rabbi Shneur
Zalman called for the hat maker, and instructed him to rip open all the seams of
the shtreimel and to remake it. After the hat maker put the shtreimel back
together, he placed it into the oven to dry, as was the custom. But he forgot to
take it out, and it was burnt. He came to R. Shneur Zalman to tell him what had
happened. But before he could do so, R. Shneur Zalman asked him, "What
happened? Was the shtreimel burnt?"
"Yes," said the hat maker.
"It doesn't matter," said the rebbe. "Go home in good
health." And the rebbe ordered a new shtreimel.
R. Zevin, who came from a line of Habad Hasidim, no doubt heard this story
from Habad Hasidim. [R. Zevin does not provide sources for his stories.]
If this is indeed a Habad tradition, then we see that R. Shneur Zalman and a
few Hasidim wore shtreimlech. According to this story, the rebbe even wore a
shtreimel during the week.
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Russian Sable Regular $25
Russian Sable Dark Silver $40
One of the methods of
sanctifying the Sabbath day and making it special, unique and different from the
other days of the week is the concept of bigdei Shabat - Sabbath clothing. Jews
traditionally wore special garments in honor of the Sabbath. The origin of this
custom is quite ancient, with Rashi and Midrash ascribing it back to the time of
the Judges and to the encounter of Ruth with Boaz. The Bible records that Ruth
dressed carefully and uniquely for the occasion and the rabbis interpreted that
to mean that she wore her special Sabbath clothing. Throughout the ages, the
form, color and style of the special Sabbath clothing may have changed but the
basic concept of honoring the Sabbath with special Sabbath clothing has remained
constant. Even amongst the poorest of Jewish families, some special clothing for
Sabbath wear was always present.
Currently, in our more affluent times, Sabbath clothing has taken on a new and
relatively more luxurious dimension. In Chasidic circles, satin and brocaded
long coats (mostly black in color), together with expensive fur hats (shtreimel)
are de rigeur for male Sabbath clothing. The fur hats are copies of the types of
headgear worn in the eighteenth century by Polish and Russian nobility and
royalty. Some decades ago, when there still was a Soviet Union, there was an
exhibit in New York entitled "Treasures From the Kremlin." Among the
items displayed there was the shtreimel of Peter the Great. It is identical to
the shtreimel worn by many if not most Chasidic Jews on Sabbath and holidays
today. The major and to my eyes the only difference is that Peter the Great had
a gold cross on top of his shtreimel! Non-Chasidic male Jews wear dress suits,
or Prince Albert frocks for their Sabbath dress. Here is Israel, the custom of
the Ashkenazic Jerusalem men is to wear silver or white robes on the Sabbath,
while the Sephardic Jews wear white garments according to the tradition of the
great sixteenth-century mentor of kabalah, Rabbi Isaac Luria Ashkenazi (Ari).
Modern day male Israelis, who because of our desert climate eschew wearing
jackets, robes and/or ties, wear white shirts in honor of the Sabbath. Whatever
the garb, the unifying factor is that millions of Jews wear some special type of
clothing in order to mark the day of the holy Sabbath.
Women have much greater variety in their choice of Sabbath garments. Again, the
unifying factor is that the garments worn are of best quality and fit the
category of being "dressed up." Children also are provided with
special Sabbath garments. I remember fondly and with great nostalgia how our
children when they were yet young and small would speak about their new shoes as
being Sabbath shoes. The moment of wearing new clothing for the first time was
also usually reserved for the Sabbath day or for holidays. The tradition of
special clothing for holidays was even stronger than the one for Sabbath
clothing. Sabbath clothing was worn for all special family occasions as well, as
well for important communal events. It was a sign of respect for the event to
wear one's Sabbath clothing. In 1882, the great Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin,
the head of the nineteenth-century yeshiva of Volozhin, and an ardent lover of
the Land of Israel, wore his Sabbath garments in honor of receiving a bottle of
wine from Baron Rothschild's Carmel Wineries in Rishon Leziyon delivered to his
home! Many Jews wore their Sabbath clothing on the day that they were privileged
to reach the shores of the Land of Israel. Thus, Sabbath clothing to Jews became
more than just cloth, leather and fur. Sabbath clothing became the external
symbol of the internal holiness of time, space and the soul of the Jewish people
throughout the ages.
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