Q&A: Rabbis Who Deal with Socks Instead of 'Educating'
Rabbis Who Deal with Socks Instead of 'Educating'
Question
It was just published that at a "preparation" conference for small yeshivot in Bnei Brak, Rabbi Hamekhin stood up and spoke:
1. Against hats with narrow brims
2. About the fact that there are modern boys who iron their socks,
poor neighbors, what a disgusting smell they have.
That’s called a "disgusting modern type."
This seems like a very low level of "preparation" for yeshiva.
Or maybe I just don’t understand what a yeshiva is?
Answer
Preoccupation with clothing is very common in Haredi institutions. Because they try to avoid dealing with it, they keep coming back to it and investing effort and energy in it, both among girls and among boys. And that is, of course, the opposite of modesty. Like the Kotzker’s story about someone running away from honor while looking back over his shoulder. And similarly, kollel men do not engage in earning money and make do with little, and therefore a great deal of energy in their lives is invested in financial questions. And so on.
But of course it depends on how much emphasis is placed on it, and in what context. Sometimes people speak against excessive attention to clothing, and then there is certainly some point to it.