At an asifa for bochurim entering mesivta in preparation for the new school year, mashgiach Rav Meir Tuvia Pollak took aim at various fashion styles among yeshiva bochurim, specifically the small hat brims that have become in style.
“I saw a new hat with no brim around it,” said Rav Pollak, “just some wire around it,” he said, taking a jab at the tiny brims. “You buy a hat and you get a sardine rod…the fisherman came.”
He went on to discuss some other social pressures when it comes to clothes.
“Suddenly, a bochur discovers that his roommate is ironing his socks. Tell me, are you drunk? Ironing socks? …Designer socks, style socks… Soon we’re going to have a reversed suit, with the whole lining on the outside.”
WATCH:
Limaaseh, these chitzoni
Limaaseh, these chitzonius things are the ikar when wants to get married. Midos tovos are meaningless and worthless. It’s all about what color shirt and hat he wears.
Could you imagine?
and one day we will see people speaking without hats!
which would lead to r”l I hsudder to even think it, no ties We have completly lost our tzura of a ben torah oy mah haya lanu
One bachur conceded to fictitious news outlets on Sunday that bachurim have become so narrow-minded when it comes to clothing and apparel, that “the only hat brims they will wear are narrow ones.”
“These kind of narrow-minded restrictions definitely narrows down your choice of brims to only the narrow brims,” the bachur said.
As far as the “reverse suits, with the whole lining on the outside” is concerned, the bachur said that this is already a fait accompli.
“The reverse suits are already an irreversible fact of life,” the bachur said. “So much so, that anyone who refuses to wear his lining on the outside is considered an outsider.”
“The bachur added: “I find it ironic that, if you don’t iron your socks, they look at you in irony, as if YOU’RE the ironic one!”
“We definitely need to iron these things out before it’s too late,” the bachur said.
Thank you Funny Commenter!!
I remember when wide brims became the in thing and back then people made fun of the wide brims.
BUT one thing has to be clear. How people used to dress has no bearing on how Bnie Torah (should) dress today.If Bochurim today dressed in white suits and light gray hats like they did in Der Mir and some guy wanted to be cool (or socially off) and put on a black suit and hat, then yes he would be doing the wrong thing.
Why do you have to put everything down?
Stop raising yourself up by putting everyone down.
The Tzitzis down to the knees, the ‘cockaroach’ killer pointy shoes, the narrow pants, the monogrammed shirts seem to all be OK. Just the narrow brim is the problem.
Maybe they’ll talk about the next thing when are ready to enter 10th grade.
If you’d listen to the clip, you’d see he’s not just talking about the brim. He’s calling out the cufflinks, the fake suit-pocket handkerchief, the designer socks, and I’m sure the entire speech had more items.
Reb Eli Teitelbaum once said if the only way to sell Yiddishkeit is by banning everything, you’re bankrupt.
Wear SOMBREROS. Brim wide enough now?
Repeat
Wear big black sombreros. Brim wide enough now? Personally, I can’t wait until turbans come back into style.
Repeat
Wear big black sombreros! Brim wide enough now? Personally, I cant wait until turbans come back in style.
Okay, that’s enough now.
you can put in reverse also, if you have a big brim you look like you are a member of a mariachi band
We don’t make styles of clothing. We buy what the manufacturers and retailers sell whether we like them or not. Look at photos of the ’60-’90s hats , eyeglasses and wigs. A few years ago , the suits and pants were so insanely tight fitting that I wore my worn old suits till they disintegrated and I’m not a heavy guy. Remember the jumbo wide brim hats 10-15 years ago ? We buy what’s available.
i have an issue with the skinny pants fad..it really is disgusting.. also not healthy..there will be an increase in infertility if there isn’t one already…
Which is the effect or cause?
I wear white straw hats in summer, because I believe more strongly in the obligation of ונשמרתם מאד לנפשותיכם than in your anti bias of current hats, and felt hats in summer cause me a headache, and it based on the verse I just mentioned, it is 100% אסור מדאורייתא to ever cause myself a headache.
Feel better. Narrow brims are not due to practicality.
Why is it OK for men to wear tight pants but women not? Why is there no tzenius guidelines for men?
It’s not okay; it is a violation of tznius for men, too, not only women.
But it’s a much bigger problem if a woman were to do that.
There are. It’s just not advertised.
Peeking for either gender is hardly appropriate
How come women aren’t accepting guidelines
How unfortunate to make this the core focus, regardless of the importance. The “shmuez” should address authentic yiddishkeit, intellectual integrity, enjoying learning and davening etc.
Start focusing on real yiddishkeit. Then talk about the size of hat brims!
You missed the point.
What kind of hat did Moshe Rabbeinu wear?
“If you wish to know what color shirt Rashi wore, ask Leopold Zunz. If you wish to know the interpretation of Rashi’s writings, ask me.”
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Remember, he is talking to eighth graders!
When you are in chinuch, you need to know the age you are talking to.
This is their language.
Halachic question: What if one has a choice of only two hats left in the store to buy– a grey hat with a wide brim or a black hat with a narrow brim? What would be the Psak?
Hashkafic question: What about those who have crossed the line with brown shoes and loud socks? Why can’t bochurim today just be content with the white shirt, black pants, black hat, and plain belt–and look like a standard ben Torah al pi Shulchan Aruch? What’s with this need for individuality? The need to express one’s individuality is not a Torah value.
It comes from too much ashirus, wealth. When we were growing up our parents barely made ends meet so we couldn’t afford all these crazy trends and mishugasim. There were a very few yichidim who stood out by dressing different than others but no one was jealous or felt pressure to keep up with these crazies. We never felt pressure to keep up with the Joneses/Goldbergs.
Ner Yisroel is not a Yeshiva that into how bochurim should be dressing but Rav Ruderman used to say over that when was a boucher learning in Slaboka he went to meet the Chofetz Chaim who criticized him for two things (1) his peyos were too short (2)he was wearing a red tie. Rav Ruderman for his part said that he barely even knew what color tie he was wearing. He had bought was available. But the CC did notice and said that a Ben Torah should not be wearing a red tie