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High Holiday Dress
As we approach the High Holidays, many of us start to think of what we will wear to services. After all, as we are about to start a New Year, we want to buy and wear a new outfit or a new accessory. Women may get a new dress, a new suit or a new skirt; or perhaps just a new hat or head covering. Men may get a new suit, a new shirt or just a nice new tie. And so we come to shul, standing in front of the King of Kings on Judgment Day (after all, that is what Rosh Hashanah is called), dressed nicely and in “business attire” – putting our spiritual affairs in order with The “Boss.”
On Yom Kippur, it is customary to wear white – white shirts, white dresses, white blouses and (at least for men) a white kittel over our street clothes. The wearing of white has several significant reasons:
- A white piece of paper is a blank slate; as we start a new year, our records are clean. We have the opportunity each year to have good (or bad) deeds recorded on our ledgers, but we are given the chance each year to start anew.
- White reminds us of purity, free of sins. Just as the Torah scrolls are “dressed” in pure white mantels, so too, we come to shul on Yom Kippur as pure souls, not contaminated with our mundane concerns of eating, what jewelry to wear or what fragrance to apply. On Yom Kippur, we come “baring” our souls to G-d, and signify this with wearing white.
- When a Jew is buried, he or she is wrapped in a white shroud. The wearing of white, and especially the kittel, reminds us that one day, we, too, will be wearing this white garment; and therefore, we come to shul on Yom Kippur truly praying for the gift of life for the coming year. This adds a certain sense of solemnity to Yom Kippur. Though the day is not a sad one, it is certainly a very serious, solemn Day of Awe.
In addition to wearing white on Yom Kippur, we also don’t wear leather
garments, shoes or belts. Leather comes from an animal that was killed in order for us to use the hide. It would be a matter of chutzpah on our part to stand before G-d begging for life, while wearing something that required us to take another creature’s life! In our society, we are perhaps somewhat removed from the act of animal killing for our meat and leather goods, but in ancient days, in a more agrarian society, people would have been much more aware that animals were raised and slaughtered for the products that we consume.
So, this year, when you come to shul for Rosh Hashanah, dress nicely, with clothing that is modest, dignified and appropriate for being in the Court of Hashem. And on Yom Kippur, wear white, and sneakers or artificial leather shoes. Besides the fact that it is most appropriate to wear these non-leather shoes, in many cases, they are much more comfortable on our feet than dress shoes (and I am sure, high heels!). Since we know we will be standing for much of the day, our “soles” will thank us, just as our “souls” are spiritually being uplifted by the High Holiday experience.
L’Shana Tovah U’mituka Tikatevu
Alvin Stern |
