National costume of the Jews: photo, description

Who can name the main feature, how do Jews differ from other nations? National Costume. The description of it will be presented to your attention in the article, since it is clothing that always sets the Jew out of the crowd.

Jews are the people of the West Semitic group, akin to the Arabs and Amharis (Ethiopians). Yes, strange as it may seem, the Arabs and Jews, eternally at war and dislike each other, are close relatives, roughly like Russians and Poles.

However, religion, culture in general, and clothing in particular in these peoples are completely different. The traditional clothing of the Jews is very colorful and highlights the representatives of this nation from the crowd. People modern and far from religion - and the manner of Jews dressing entirely based on religious beliefs - it may seem ridiculous and some old-fashioned, "anachronistic." What does the national costume of the Jews look like? Black frocks, hats, belts - these items of Jewish costume became the "calling card" of a true Jew. A little less known yarmulka - a round cap. However, this is not all the details of the Jewish wardrobe. What does the national costume of the Jews look like? The photo in the article shows us the image of a real Jew dressed according to all the rules of his people.

Jewish ideology in clothing

National suits of the Jewish people go back to ancient times. For centuries, they constantly changed, and the reason for this - the desire of the Jews to disguise themselves (because in many countries they were forbidden to live at all or allowed to settle in strictly designated places) or to assimilate. The last trend appeared at the beginning of the XIX century: educated representatives of the Jewish people decided to change their traditional outfit for European clothes; They began to dress according to the fashion of those times - so the long black frocks and hats entered into Jewish life. Later, this style was "conserved" and became one of the variants of "traditional Jewish" attire, while in the rest of the world it went out of fashion.

But in this transformation there is a definite meaning - national, ideological and even religious. His principle is reflected in a popular anecdote. Ostensibly in the beginning of the XIX century, one of such educated Jews approached the rabbi, who seemed to be the guardian of ancient piety, and, deciding to "pin him down", asked: "Rebbe, what did our forefather Abraham wear?" The rabbi said coolly: "My son, I do not know what Abraham was wearing - a silk dressing gown or a fine dress; But I know for sure how he chose his clothes: he watched how the Jews dressed and dressed differently. "

Indeed, from time immemorial, Jews have sought to differ from all other peoples and have done so with greater fanaticism than all other eastern peoples. The pagan religion of Jews is still persistently refused to be called "paganism" (although, strictly speaking, "true paganism" can be recognized only as Jewish faith, since it practically did not mix with foreign cults).

Jewish music, cooking, behavior, clothing - all this should always be not like the surrounding, but how it should look like, it's the tenth thing. Even kashrut - a list of culinary (and not only) dogmas - many Orthodox Jews interpret only this: "Kashrut was introduced in order to distinguish a Jew from a non-Jew." Similarly, with circumcision ...

Therefore, it is not surprising that the Western European costume of the beginning of the century before last today is officially considered to be traditional Jewish clothing. The national costume of Jews in Russia may seem strange and unusual, but these are traditions of another people that need to be respected.

Ermolka

This is the very round cap. Jews from the former USSR are accustomed to believe that its name is formed from the Russian name Ermolai. But when they come to Israel, local people explain to them that the cap is so called from the expression "yere malka" - "afraid of the lord". That is, wearing a yarmulke, in theory, means that its owner deeply and piously believes in God.

How to choose a yarmulke?

Choosing a yarmulke is not a simple task as it seems to the uninitiated. In Israeli stores, they are sold as ordinary caps - on the shelves are laid out yarmulki of various sizes, materials, colors and styles. However, what exactly the buyer chooses depends on the characteristics of his religion and spiritual mood. For example, Hasids do not recognize velvet and crocheted skullcaps. A religious Jew acquires a cap of the style worn in his community. This is also a reflection of the principles of Judaism: to outsiders it appears to be a monolithic, uniform cult, but in fact it is divided into dozens of currents, differing in dogmas, rules, clothing, etc. Relations between many currents are far from friendly.

Cape

The national costume of the Jews includes a cloak. In Hebrew it is called "talit katan" or "arbekanfes". Like the yarmulke, this is also an obligatory attribute of the Jewish costume. It is a piece of quadrangular material with a hole for the head and four brushes (tzitsit) at the edges. The cloak can be worn under the clothes or worn on top, like a shirt, but the brushes are always located over the trousers. Each brush has eight threads. Here, too, there are elements that are characteristic of particular currents of Judaism.

The most interesting and even mysterious part is one (there may be two) thread in the brush, painted in blue. It means that the owner of this cape is Radzinsky or Izhbitsky Hasid. Concerning the origin of such threads there is a legend. It is believed that the blue paint - "theylet" - was present on Jewish clothing in ancient times, but two thousand years ago the recipe for its preparation was lost. At the end of the 19th century, the Hasidic rabbi Gershon-Hanoch received a new ticket, but his recipe was not recognized by most representatives of the Jewish community as "the same" paint. Therefore, this tohelet remained an attribute of only the above-mentioned Jewish currents.

In fact, attempts to restore the ancient recipe and get a theylet were assumed by many Western and Jewish scholars, beginning with the Middle Ages. Archaeologists, investigating the remains of ancient factories, and modern chemists also contributed to this matter.

Tsitsit, according to religious canons, should be worn by all men who have reached the age of 13 years. This means coming of age (bar mitzvah). Wearing brushes testifies that the boy is already able to answer for his actions and participate in the affairs of adults, including reading and discussing the Torah in the synagogue.

"Casket" and hat

The national costume of Jews must include a hat. Each religious Jew must wear a yarmulke. However, it is usually hidden under the second headgear. It can be a hat, a hat or a "kasht" (he is a "dashek") - a cap of an old style. The latter is especially popular among Russian and Polish Jews, including Hasidim.

But the most famous traditional black hat. Its Jews wear on weekdays. Do not think that all hats are the same: by its appearance, the identity of its owner can be told even more than the passport. The size of the hat, its position on the head, the nature of the crease, and other elements indicate to which Judaism the owner of the hat belongs and even which has a social status.

Streimble

Stramble is the third type of headgear that is part of the Jewish national costume. But it is common only among Hasidim. Stramble is a cylindrical fur hat. There are also more than two dozen types. At the same time, three large groups are distinguished: the actual penalty is wide and low, of the correct shape; Chernobyl is simply a low, freer form; And the spodik is a very tall fur hat. Shtramble Hasidim is only worn on solemn occasions - in Shabbat, on a wedding and other holidays, during a visit to the rabbi. There are also types of shambles, which are only the heads of communities.

Tie and Beard

There are elements of clothing that only some Jewish communities recognize. One of them is a tie. It is the prerogative of only Litvaks. But the Hasidim hate cravings; This they explain by the fact that the first act in tying a tie is tying a knot that has the shape of a cross. All that is associated with the cross, a zealous Jew is supposed to be hated.

Another part of "clothes" is a beard. Some Jews walk clean-shaven, others neatly trim their beard, but the Hasidim do not recognize any modification of the beard, so they have the thickest and blackest of all Jews.

Frak

What else can be included in the national costume of the Jews? In some communities (for example, the Litvaks), this old-fashioned element of the wardrobe, like a dress coat, is also old fashioned according to European concepts. It is also black, long and has no pockets. It is interesting that the buttons on the dress coat (and on any male Jew's clothing) are fastened so that the right floor covers the left one - that is, from the point of view of a non-Jew, "in a feminine way." The Jews put on the frock, as a rule, during the holiday.

What does the national costume of the Jews look like? Photos in the article clearly show us a colorful and unusual for a simple European style of clothes. This may seem strange to many, but the Jews are special. They are firm in their views and faithful to their customs. And these traits would not hurt every nation!