When the mercury passes 90, most New Yorkers start to wilt. Many resort to shorts and tank tops, even in the office.
More than a few bankers and lawyers reach for their seersuckers.
Yet amid all the casual summer wear, in some neighborhoods more than others, Hasidic men wear dark three-piece suits crowned by black hats made of rabbit fur, and Hasidic women outfit themselves in long-sleeved blouses and nearly ankle-length skirts. To visibly cooler New Yorkers, they can look painfully overdressed.
Some New Yorkers who are not Hasidic surely ask themselves: How on earth do they stay cool?
“I think I’m not as hot as other people because the sun is not on me,” said Chany Friedman, who was shopping recently in Borough Park, Brooklyn, with two of her five children in tow, wearing a sweater and dense stockings in addition to other concealing clothing. “If I’m covered, the sun is not on me. I’m happy that I’m not exposed to the world.”
Using a Hebrew name for God, she added, “That’s what Ha-Shem wants from us.”
“Does anybody ask a congressman why he walks into Congress with a suit or a Wall Street executive why he goes to work in a suit?” asked Isaac Abraham, a leader in the Satmar Hasidic community.
Hot and cold is all in the mind anyway, argued Shea Hecht, a Lubavitch Hasid who heads the movement’s educational outreach arm. In his dark suit and gray fedora — Lubavitch garb differs from that of other Hasidim, though it is still conservative — he sometimes chuckles at people in Bermuda shorts.
“Why are they spending so much money on only a half a pair of pants?” he said. (Cue rimshot.)
Still, Hasidim have found subtle ways to beat the heat.
The shtreimel, the tall, cylindrical, Russian sable hat that Hasidic men wear on the Sabbath to dignify the day, has been modified in recent years, with holes in the crown to provide a kind of ersatz air-conditioning. Those innovations may not seem to offer that much relief, but in Hasidic philosophy, it is more important to please God.
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13 Responses
1. What percentage spends the summer in the mountains?
2. What percentage have air conditioning?
Chassidishe malbush developed not only in the cold climes of North-eastern Europe, but also during the Little Ice Age, when even their summers weren’t that hot. The mekubolim of Eretz Yisroel wore white, and I often wonder why chassidim don’t adapt to hot climates and seasons in that way. Keep distinct malbushim by all means, but why must they be black all year round and in all countries, and why can’t the fur be replaced by straw for the summer?
Akuperma:
1. Very few outside NY, US.
2. 0% outdoors.
The Times likes exaggerating disparities involving Chasidish & Chareidi Yidden and the rest of humanity, as usual.
Of course women are dressed Tzniusdik and men are completely attired. But going with hat and jacket all week, many yes and many no. Come to Boro Park and see how many men go with yarmulkas/shirts on the street. Even on Shabbos afternoon plenty of men stroll without Streimel/Bekishe.
Every time I read one of these articles in the NYT, it becomes more ande evident how poor they are at real reporting and reaffirms my decision not to subscribe.
It leaves me wondering what the real story is in the national and international news they “report” because they seem so completely cluless on simple items.
Hashem made Humans incredibly adaptable, able to survive in diverse conditions. People in Russia get used to cold, in Nevada they get used to heat. Of course if I were to go to these places I would be uncomfortable, but it doesn’t mean that they are suffering.
A few years ago I had to work on top of a building repairing the roof for few days in the summer. I changed my woolen tzitzis to be outside my shirt instead of inside, and that simple change made a world of difference. Even a slight change from what you get used to is all that is needed to feel warmer or cooler. If I had been used to working in the heat, I wouldn’t even have needed that small change.
I am not chassidish, but I walk around with a hat and jacket even on the hottest summer days. I survive just fine (and I stay in the City.)
Two years ago the queen of England was in NY City while it was this hot, and the news reported her as the only person in the city with long sleeves, because that’s how royalty dresses.
sane conservative: Those without the hat and jacket in the street are the more modernishe.
Notice how the Times will question the chasidim where both the women & the men adhere to a level of tznius (men in keeping with their levush & women because of modesty) but they won’t question Muslims (l’havdil) who cover way more than chasidish women & stand out in a secular crowd more than chasidish women many of whom dress quite stylish though tzniusdik. It of course is politically incorrect to point out that the muslims are different and may offend them, something the Times would never do.
Looks like there’s no other important news out there…..
#9 – I don’t see this article as questioning anything. It seems like a simple “interest piece” to fill space. Not everybody is out to get you, sometimes not even the NYT 😉
First off, many non-Jews wonder how South Floridian Jews settle all the days in the Succah each Succos; so this is not something new for many people.
Secondly, men do have the choice of wearing short sleeve white shirts as they do not. The “Brooklyn” thing (to me) is to wear long sleeves and cufflinks year round.
Thirdly, black attracts more heat. Perhaps women can choose an attire option other than black, if they choose.
Just my simple observations….
“but in Hasidic philosophy, it is more important to please God”
I, for one, dont believe hashem is any happier with men wearing fur hats and knickers, then he is with men wearing black hats or yarmulkes.
Looking dignified and Tznius with conservative clean clothes , yes, but clothes copied from goyim in Russia from 200 years ago.Not in my book.