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   other religions are welcomed and encouraged to return to practicing
   Judaism at any time.

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Subject: Question 10.10: Who is a Jew?

                                  Answer:
   
   You had to ask this question? You really had to ask "who is a Jew?"??
   Come on, couldn't you have asked a hard question, like whether Adam
   had a pippik or not? (pippik means navel, a/k/a 'belly button')
   
   For thousands of years the answer was simply someone born of a Jewish
   mother, or someone who undertook a conversion, which involved
   accepting the yoke of the commandments, an immersion in a mikveh
   [ritual bath], and for men, circumcision, the latter two in the
   presense of witnesses. And then came modern times. Hooboy! You sure
   you aren't interested in Adam's pippik?
   
   Anyway, then came modern times, and along came new answers. First the
   oldtimers complained that the newtimers weren't kosher to do a
   conversion and then the newtimers got newfangled about the yoke and/or
   the immersion and/or the circumcision and boy did the oldtimers really
   got unhappy with this and then the issue got more confusing when the
   Israeli government started guaranteeing automatic citizenship to Jews
   resulting in a play it by ear like no one who takes up other religions
   is accepted but the latest round of yelling was when the newtimers
   started accepting Jewish father and Jewish upbringing and at this
   point we give up and are asking all prospective posters of this
   question to first tell us whether Adam had a pippik.
   
   The only thing that is universally agreed is that the practicing of
   other religions is the same as the rejection of Judaism.
   
   Even within Orthodoxy the answer gets, uh, "flexible" at times. (You
   thought this was just newfangled vs oldfangled? Heh!) When the Nazis
   were trying to figure out whether to murder the Karaites quickly or
   slowly, they asked several Orthodox rabbis if the Karaites were Jewish
   or not. (You figured out the answer? Maybe you belong in yeshiva!)
   Nineteenth century Samaritan massacres by Islamic zealots were stopped
   when they got official word that Samaritans are Jews, i.e., people of
   the book. There have been conflicting answers regarding the Ethiopian
   Jews.
   
   Another bit of Orthodox "flexibility" comes regarding Conservative
   conversions. Such a person (a sofek) is not counted as Jewish for
   anything positive, but is often treated as Jewish for things negative,
   just in case. Thus, a sofek may not be called to the Torah, or even be
   counted for a minyan, but would not be treated as a Shabbos goy. (He
   would be expected to do a divorce in the traditional manner, but this
   shouldn't be a problem, since as a Conservative he holds by that too.)
   Conservatives often act the same towards Reform conversions, and even
   within all three movements, there is often rejection of lenient
   leaning conversions.
   
   Reform Judaism rules that the children of two Jewish parents are
   considered Jewish. Reform also rules that when one parent is Jewish
   and the other gentile, the identity of the child as Jewish must be
   established subsequently through Jewish education and positive Jewish
   acts such as Bar Mitzvah, Confirmation, etc. This is known as the
   "[5]Patrilineal descent" ruling, because it considers the child of a
   Jewish father and gentile mother to be Jewish without a conversion
   ceremony, as opposed to "Matrilineal descent" in which the child of a
   Jewish woman is automatically Jewish, irrespective of paternity or
   subsequent practice. If you want to look at [6]the text of the
   decision, which is a recurring debate topic on S.C.J, it may be found
   at the URL
   [7]http://www.ccarnet.org/cgi-bin/resodisp.pl?file=mm&year=1983.
   
   While countless treatises have been written on this subject, some
   readers recommend the Chabad/Lubavitch booklet "Who is a Jew?" by R'
   J. Immanuel Schochet, available from SIE, 788 Eastern Pkwy, Brooklyn,
   NY 11213.

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Subject: Question 10.11: What is the origin of Matrilineal Descent?

                                  Answer:
   
   The Torah does not always state every law explicitly. In the case of
   Matrilineal Descent, the practice is derived from Deuteronomy 7: 4,
   "Because he will lead astray your son from before Me" To understand
   this verse, look at the preceding verse, which states: "And you shall
   not intermarry with them, your daughter you shall not give to his son
   and his daughter you shall not take for your son". Verse 4 should have
   stated "Because SHE will lead astray your son", for the non-Jewish
   girl that your son married ('your' meaning Jewish) should be the one
   that would lead your son astray. So who is the 'HE'? It might be the
   girl's father, but in general, women leave their father's house and
   live in their husband's house; they would then not be living with her
   father. Hence, it would not make sense for the girl's father to lead
   "your son" astray if your son doesn't live with him.
   
   The Rabbis concluded that 'HE' is the man that your daughter married,
   and 'your son' mentioned in verse 4 is your grandchild, meaning Jewish
   grandchild. Thus, verse 4 is referring back to the middle section of
   verse 3. It reads like this, "your daughter you shall not give to his
   son because he will lead astray your son" This shows that the child of
   a Jewish girl and a non-Jewish boy will be Jewish.
   
   It is not uncommon for the Torah to refer to a grandchild as an actual
   child. For instance, Kings I 15: 11 states, " And Asa did that which
   was correct in the eyes of God just like David his father". David was
   not Asa's father. He was his great-great-grandfather.
   
   Additionally, Leviticus 24:10 speaks of the son of an Israelite woman
   and an Egyptian man as being "among the community of Israel" (ie, a
   Jew). On the other hand, in Ezra 10:2-3, the Jews returning to Israel
   vowed to put aside their non-Jewish wives and the children born to
   those wives. They could not have put aside those children if those
   children were Jews.

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Subject: Question 10.12: I've heard that Jewish parents consider an
         intermarried child as "dead". Is this true?

                                  Answer:
   
   There are many believe that Judaism teaches that the family must
   consider as dead (and as a result, perform appropriate mourning
   practices such as sitting "shiva") for a child who marries a non-Jew.
   However, it is not clear the anyone does this. It is definitely not
   halacha (Jewish law), nor is it widespread enough to be a custom.
   
   This "legend" arose because, until recently, those who had interfaith
   marriages often abandoned Judaism, becoming apostate Jews. The custom
   of sitting shiva for apostates seems to be based on a misunderstanding
   of a passage in the Or Zarua (13th cent), which stated that Rabbenu
   Gershom (11th cent) sat shiva for his son, who had become a Christian.
   My understanding is that Rabbenu Gershom sat shiva when his son died,
   despite the fact that he had apostasized, not when the son became a
   Christian. The halakhic discussion of this point, which starts in the
   Or Zarua, goes back and forth on whether or not we follow that
   practice, but, there is no suggestion that we should sit shiva when
   someone leaves Judaism.

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Subject: Question 10.13: Why is the conversion process so complicated? The
         matriarchs didn't have to convert.

                                  Answer:
   
   Jewish tradition dates itself back to Sinai. In other words, "the
   Torah" that the Jews recieved in the desert includes not only the text
   of the Five Books, but also a vast body of what we generally call Oral
   Torah. This means that the laws of conversion, or at least, the
   principles from which they derive, are as old as the Torah.
   
   Before the covenant at Sinai, there wasn't really Judaism per se. One
   could join the earlier covenant that G-d made with Abraham, but there
   could be no parallel to the conversion of today. The forefathers'
   wives therefore didn't need to formally convert. And, depending upon
   the sequence of events, if Jethro became a Jew before the revelation
   at Mount Sinai (which is the order the stories are told in the text)
   he didn't have to formally convert either.
   
   We do find that the Israelites who left Egypt were taken through the
   same steps that a convert would take today: the men were obligated to
   circumcise themselves before leaving Egypt, they immersed themselves
   three days before the revelation, and they were formally asked if they
   would accept the yoke of observance the day before recieving the
   decalogue. The Talmud find allusions in the book of Ruth that indicate
   that she converted according to the current process. The same word,
   "geir", is used in the Torah to describe two kinds of people. As this
   causes confusion, the Talmud utilizes adjectives to distinguish the
   two. The "geir tzedek" (righteous convert) is what we usually think of
   when we say "geir". However, there is also the person who decides to
   observe the 7 categories of laws required by G-d's covenant with Noah.
   In modern parlance such a person is called a "Noachide" (or Noahide).
   
   How does this relate to "geir"? Here's how. A Noachide who agrees to
   live in a Jewish Israel, within a government run by Torah law (such as
   that of the 1st Temple period, or under the Sanhedrin, or after the
   messiah establishes a third commonwealth), but as a non-Jew is called
   a "geir toshav" (a resident alien). A geir toshav only goes to court
   (which can be any three observant Jewish men of sound mind) and
   proclaims his/her acceptance. Because of the ambiguity of the term
   "geir", people reject our beliefs about the origins of the Oral Torah
   assume the two, geir tzedek and geir toshav, are identical. This would
   make it seem that the text is only obligating a proclamation of
   acceptance. This, however, leads to inconsistancies. On the one hand,
   "one law shall you have for yourselves, for the geir and for the
   native of the land". Including rituals. This expression is used
   (amongst other places) in discussing fasting on Yom Kippur, where the
   punishment is phrased as "he will be cut off from amongst his people,
   Israel". So, this geir is a member of Israel. However, the word "geir"
   as used in a verse about working on the Sabbath does not assume that
   when G-d speaks to Israel, the geir is included. "Do not do any work,
   [neither] you, your son, your daughter, your servant, your
   maid-servant, your animal, and the geir who is within your gates." The
   geir isn't included amongst the "you". There are numerous examples of
   each side of this dilemma.

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Subject: Question 11.1.1: Dress: Why do some Jewish women wear wigs or cover
         their hair with a snood, beret, tichel, turban, kerchief or hat?

                                  Answer:
   
   Within Orthodoxy, it is considered a breach of modesty for a married
   woman to have uncovered hair while in the presence of men other than
   her husband. Customs differ as to how much hair can be showing beneath
   the head covering, or if a wig is better/worse than a hat of some
   sort.

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Subject: Question 11.1.2: Dress: Why do many Jewish men wear head coverings
         (variously referred to as "yarmulkas," "skullcaps," and "kipot")?

                                  Answer:
   
   The customary Jewish head covering (for simplicity, we'll call it a
   kipa (singular of kipot), although all the terms refer to
   approximately the same thing) is a sign of humility for men,
   acknowledging what's "above" us (G-d). An additional explanation is
   that in ancient Rome, servants were required to cover their heads
   while free men did not; thus, Jews covered their heads to show that
   they were servants of G-d. It's necessary for men to cover their heads
   during certain prayers (whether it be by a kipa or another
   headcovering), and for one making blessings all day, it's inconvenient
   to keep donning and removing a kipa. In some places, the type of kipa
   and way of wearing it expresses affiliation with a particular yeshiva
   or political viewpoint. In other places, it doesn't really matter.
   
   Many Ashkenazi rabbis acknowledge that wearing a head covering at all
   times was once considered an optional "midat chasidut" [pious act] but
   that nowadays, full-time head covering is the norm except under
   extenuating circumstances.
   
   Sephardic communities generally did not have the custom of wearing a
   kipa all the time.
   
   Some diaspora Jews leave off the kipa at school, work, or when
   testifying in court, because of real danger or uneasiness in appearing
   in the secular world with an obvious symbol of Jewishness.
   
   Many non-Orthodox Jews (and some modern Orthodox Jews) do not always
   wear a kipa. This is because some sources make covering the head by a
   Jewish male a special practice of the pious (midat chasidut). However,
   these movements do recognize that it is a Jewish way of showing
   reference and respect, as well as a positive means of identification
   (which can serve as a barrier against assimilation). Some movements
   have specific recommendations as to the time that a kipa is worn; for
   example, Conservative practice is to cover the head in the following
   situations:
     * Whenever in the sanctuary of a synagogue.
     * When praying and when studying or reading from sacred literature.
     * Whenever performing any ritual.
     * When eating, since eating is always followed by a benediction.
       Some follow the minhag of certain Jewish communities in Germany
       where they cover their heads during the blessing before the meal
       and during the benedictions after the meal, but not during the
       meal itself.
       
   In Israel wearing a kipa also has a social significance. While wearing
   a kipa shows that you are somewhat religious, not-wearing one is like
   stating "I'm not religious". The style of kipa in Israel can also
   indicate political and religious affiliations.
   
   The wearing of the kipah at school and work has increased in recent
   years. These are also affectionately called "beanies," "holy
   headgear," "Yamahas," "Yid-lids," and "Kapeles." (Similarly, some hair
   coverings for married women are affectionately called "shmattehs.")
   
   On Usenet, some related, but not necessarily common, "Jewish" smilies
   might be:
   
   (;;:-)
          Clean-shaven smiley wearing a kipa
          
   @:-)
          Modest married smiley wearing snood/beret
          
   {:-)
          Modest married smiley wearing sheitel (wig)
          
   [|:-)}
          Smiley wearing black fedora and short beard
          
   {|B-)==
          Smiley wearing glasses, streimel (fur hat), and long beard
          
   (;{8-{)}
          Smiling bearded guy with (most of) his own hair and a kipa
          
   :---)
          Antisemitic long-nosed smiley
          
   From whence does the term originate? The word yarmulke is Yiddish.
   According to Leo Rosten's The Joys of Yiddish, it comes from a Tartar
   word meaning skullcap. Some rabbis claim it comes from the Aramaic
   words "yerai malka" (fear of or respect for The King). The Hebrew word
   for this head covering is kippah or kipa (pronounced key-pah).

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Subject: Question 11.1.3: Dress: What is a Tallis? Tzit-tzit(those fringes)?
         Why do Jews wear them?

                                  Answer:
   
   The Torah commands us to wear tzitzit (fringes) at the corners of our
   garments as a reminder of the commandments [Num. 15:37-41, which is in
   the third paragraph of the Sh'ma, recited during the morning and
   evening prayers]:
   
     Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them that they shall
     make themselves tzitzit on the corners of their garments,
     throughout their generations and they shall place upon the tzitzit
     of each corner a thread of blue wool. These shall be your tzitzit,
     and when you see them, you shall remember all of God's commandments
     so as to keep them. You will then not stray after your heart and
     eyes after which have lead you to immorality. You will thus
     remember and keep all My commandments, and be holy to your God.
     
   This is reiterated in Dvarim (Deuteronomy) 22:12:
   
     You shall make for yourselves twisted threads on the four corners
     of your garment with which you cover yourself.
     
   This commandment only applies to four-cornered garments, which were
   common in biblical times but are not common anymore. Since the normal
   clothing in our time does not have four square corners, Traditional
   Jews wear a garment that is specifically made to have four corners so
   that the mitzvah can be fulfilled. This is known as the "Tallit Katan"
   and is usually worn under the shirt. This garmet is similar to a
   poncho. The tallit katan is worn under the shirt, sometimes with the
   tzitzit hanging out so they can be seen.
   
   All garments of a certain size or larger that have at least four
   corners must tzitzit attached. The original requirement was to have a
   blue thread among the other threads. However, since the precise shade
   of blue is no longer known and the source of the dye used, only the
   other threads are used (except among certain chassidic groups that
   claim to know the dye formula). Typically, these threads are white.
   Why? Although technically, they can be of any color, there is a debate
   as to which color is the ideal: some say they should be white, some
   say the color of the garment. The question is avoided by wearing a
   whilte garment.
   
   Note: There is a complex procedure for tying the knots of the tzitzit,
   filled with religious and numerological significance. The tying
   pattern symbolizes the 613 traditional commandments in the Torah.
   
   Why do tallit typically have blue or black stripes? The reason why the
   tallis is striped is simply because that was the fashion in Greece and
   Rome. But this doesn't answer the question of why blue or black?
   Tzitzis are supposed to include a thread of blue wool in each tassle.
   Most believe we do not know the specific dye needed for the mitzvah.
   In memory of this dye, some adopted a custom to place a blue stripe on
   the garment itself. Others decided to add a black stripe of mourning
   for the lost element of the mitzvah. The black stripe gained
   popularity in Europe of the 15th through 19th centuries, when
   black-and-white clothing was more common for Jews in general. The blue
   stripe is now seeing a revival in the 20th and 21st centuries, but
   it's actually the older of the two customs. It just seems to us to be
   more modern. Sepharadic Jews believes the debate over what color is
   appropriate precludes wearing colored stripes, so they wear white
   stripes (or a different weave) on their talleisim. Maimonides was of
   the "same color as the garment" camp. For Baladi Yemenite Jewry (those
   Yemenite Jews that resisted the influx of Syrian customs), Maimonides
   is the final word on Jewish law. So, they do not wear a tallis of any
   particular color. One will often find an older, more traditional,
   Yemenite man wearing a rich blue or red tallis with matching strings.
   With or without stripes.
   
   A tallis can be made of any fabric. Ideally it should be wool or
   linen, as there is a rejected opinion that requires one of those two.
   However, since it's a rejected opinion, using anything else is no big
   deal. In practice, however, since you can't find linen strings to hang
   on the tallis and you can't put wool strings on a linen garment due to
   shaatnez, Wool is the norm (at least in Orthodox, Sepharadi, and
   Yemenite circles). Some even make a point of wearing a wool garment
   for the tzitzis worn under the shirt. As for the minority of the
   garment (if it is made of wool): assuming you avoid linen, any other
   thread can be included in the minority of the garment -- silk,
   artificial fibers or metal.
   
   During prayers, the custom is to wear a four-cornered shawl with
   tzitzit (Tallis Gadol) and pray while wrapped in it. There are
   different customs as to when this is done. Most Ashkenazic men will
   begin wearing the Tallis when they get married. In some Sephardic and
   German-Ashkenazi communities, a boy will put on a tallis when he
   becomes a bar-mitzvah (13 years old). There are some communities that
   begin this earlier. Customs vary among liberal Jews as to who wears a
   tallis, and when it's worn.

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Subject: Question 11.1.4: Dress: What are those black boxes and leather
         straps Jewish men wear?

                                  Answer:
   
   They are called "tefillin" (mentioned in the Torah as "totafos", and
   often seen in English translations as "frontlets"). They contain
   parchments with verses from the Torah. During the weekday morning
   service, one of the boxes (the "Hand t'filluh") is placed upon the
   left arm so that it rests against the heart, and the suspended leather
   strap is wound around the left hand, and around the middle finger of
   that hand. The other box (the "Head t'filluh") is placed upon the
   head, above the forehead, so as to rest upon the cerebrum. This is in
   fulfillment of the Torah commandments. If you go to a traditional shul
   and lack tefillin, you can be sure that someone will lend you his and
   assist you in fulfilling this mitzvah.
   
   Note that the actual commandment is to wear them anytime, all the
   time. That is, anytime a day for a moment to fullfill the obligation,
   and all the time to fullfill the non-obligatory commandment. The
   rabbis forbade wearing them at nightime (except under very specific
   circumstances) so they must be worn during the day only.
   Traditionally, we consider wearing them for prayers important, though
   that should not be confused with the actual commandment. Hence, their
   primary use during services.
   
   The two boxes each contain four sections of the Torah inscribed on
   parchment. These passages cite:
    1. The Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) - pronouncing the Unity of The One
       G-d.
    2. Vehayah (Deuteronomy 11:13-21) - expressing G-d's assurance to us
       of reward that will follow our observance of the Torah's precepts,
       and warning of retribution for disobedience to them.
    3. Kadesh (Exodus 13:1-10) - the duty of the Jewish people to always
       remember the redemption from Egyptian bondage.
    4. Vehayah (Exodus 13:11-6) - the obligation of every Jew to inform
       his children on these matters.
       
   A good summary of the laws and customs regarding Tefillin may be found
   at [5]http://www.ahavat-israel.com/ahavat/torat/tefillin.asp.
   
   One of the medieval blood libels was to tell gentile peasants that
   Jews poisoned wells, and received coded magic instructions in small
   black boxes. The mobs would destroy the expensive tefillin to open
   them, and mistake the Hebrew verses as "magic codes," followed by the
   usual rape, murder, and pillage of Jews that (alas) characterized much
   of medieval Europe.
   
   Note that in some congregations, women also wear tefillin. Although
   halakha exempts women from this mitzvah, it does not explicitly
   prohibit them from following it. Some segments of Orthodoxy do feel
   that actions that are not commanded must be considered as forbidden.
   Others feel that people should not take on additional responsibilities
   until they fully carry out those actions that are commanded. Thus,
   while women such as Bruria (Rabbi Meir's wife) or Rashi's daughters
   may have been on a high enough level, women nowadays are not on a
   level that would allow them to wear tefillin.
   
   However, non-Orthodox movements, and some liberal segments of the
   Orthodox community, do permit it. In those movements that permit the
   practice, the wearing of teffilin has become an important way for
   Jewish women to express their Judaism.

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Subject: Question 11.1.5: Dress: Why do many Jewish men sport beards and/or
         long sideburns?

                                  Answer:
   
   The Torah, the Five Books of Moses, has a commandment not to shave the
   corners of the head. [Specifically, Leviticus 19:27 says, "Do not
   round the corner of your head."] The Torah also forbids a male Jew
   from removing hair from one's sideburns and temple are (known as
   pei'ot ha-rosh). Actually, the sideburns merely have to be long enough
   that one can pull on the hair, and the beard area can be shaved with
   something other than a sharp blade (many people accept the use of
   electric shavers). But specifically within the Chassidic community,
   there is a custom not to shave (and frequently not even to trim) the
   beard, and to permit the sideburn area (all the way up to the top of
   the ear) to grow long as well (the long sideburns are called peyot) .
   Some tuck the hair up under their kipot/skullcaps, while others curl
   the hair. Many Orthodox say the payes (a.k.a. earlocks/sidelocks)
   begin right at the temple, to just behind the ear, and must grow no
   shorter than the top of the cheekbone. Then they are to be worn pushed
   forward of the ear so as to be visible. Many, following Rabbi Nachman,
   grow them long because he said he could "pull them by their payess out
   of hell" once he was in Paradise!
   
   Another note related to the "not rounding of the corners". This is in
   direct relation to the passage about not harvesting the corners of the
   field, but leaving it alone for G-d. Finally, in not rounding "the
   four corners" of the face, we have a comparison with the tzitzis at
   the four corners of the tallit. People forget that the hair, the
   harvesting, and the tallit are all mitzvot.
   
   On a practical level, shaving or trimming of the beard is not
   permitted on the Sabbath or Holidays, and for a few stretches during
   the year [such as portions of the time between Pesach and Shavuos]. A
   beardless man will grow days or weeks of stubble, but a bearded man
   who doesn't shave or trim his beard during that time will not look
   significantly different.
   
   To be specific, the Law is that one must not use a straight razor
   (including safety-razors) on one's temples or to shave one's beard.
   Those Jewish men who have wanted to be clean-shaven have had various
   options; in the past century, either depilatory powder (ancestor to
   Nair), or electric shavers. Electric shavers (at least most of them;
   check with your local Orthodox rabbi for acceptable brands) function
   like a scissors: two relatively dull blades pinch off the hair, rather
   than one very sharp blade slicing it off.
   
   Chasidim and some others have kabbalistic reasons for growing a beard,
   so they will not take advantage of modern technology. Otherwise,
   Jewish men having beards have it for other reasons, be they simply "to
   look Jewish" or style or whatever.
   
   As for sidelocks, that is a result of a peculiar interpretation of the
   law against shaving one's temples. The basic law is that there must
   remain enough hair to bend it over with one's fingers; that can be as
   little as 1/2 inch or so. Some, notably Hungarian chasidim and
   Yemenites, do not cut the sidelocks at all, and they grow very long.
   Most chasidim have short sidelocks: thin, 2-3", that they tuck behind
   their ears, so you won't see them.
   
   Many who grow long peyos do so for Kabbalistic reasons. One of the
   opinions in Kabbalah is that the peyos need to be worn long only until
   the beard grows in. Once the beard grows, the peyos of the side of the
   head should not be allowed to grow down beyond where the sides of the
   beard begin to appear.
   
   Finally, some Jewish men just don't like to shave.

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Subject: Question 11.1.6: Dress: Why do some Orthodox Jews, especially
         Chassidim, wear a distinctive style of clothing (i.e., fur hats,
         black coats, gartel)?

                                  Answer:
   
   The particular appearance is a matter of local custom for the group.
   
   Black Clothes:
          Black is the color of Gevurah (severity), and thus is a
          symbolically appropriate garb for serious and important events
          (praying, holidays, etc.) Those who wear such clothes all week
          are thus indicating that their daily life is also bound up in
          divrei yirah shamayim [fearing heaven].
          
          It is worth noting that black was the traditional colour of
          formal wear among many circles in the 18 Century CE. Hassidic
          garb is based on what the first Rebbes wore, and by and large
          represents the colours worn by Polish and other central
          Europeans.
          
   Gartel:
          It is required by the Shulchan Aruch (code of Jewish law) to
          have a separation between the top half of the body and the
          bottom while praying. Those who do not wear a gartel hold that
          other clothes satisfy the halacha; e.g., a regular belt or the
          waistband of his pants.
          
   Hat:
          A double head covering (and more complete head covering than a
          kippot) is used during davening. Some choose to wear it all the
          time, but it is not required. Some wear it while eating.
          
          The style of hat varies by groups, and the black hat is
          relatively modern. In the pre-war Lithuanian Yeshivot, grey
          suits and grey fedoras were the style and many in the Litvish
          tradition still wear grey and blue suits. In Jerusalem until
          the 1960s, Panama Hats were worn in the summer by some Haredim,
          and one very occasionally still sees Haredim wearing them.
          Right now in the yeshivah world, black suits and black
          [5]Borsalino hats seem to be de rigeur; yet it wasn't that long
          ago that many yeshivah bocherim wore black berets, and flat
          caps were not unknown.
          
   Some wear a (distinctive) gartel or hat (or simply a
   not-so-distinctive jacket) just for davening, to provide extra honor
   when talking to G-d. There is also a kabbalistic justification of the
   double head covering that refers to two distinct aspects of one's
   soul.

------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Question 11.1.7: Dress: What is Shaatnez?

                                  Answer:
   
   `Shaatnez' is the occurence of wool and linen in the same garment.
   There are various prohibitions (Lev 19:19, Deut 22:9-11) against the
   mingling of different kinds; this is one of them. A linen tie worn
   with a wool suit is permitted, but a wool suit with linen threaded
   buttons is prohibited.
   
   While in practice, many garments do not have any Shaatnez and may be
   assumed to have none, the particulars vary by garment type. The
   padding in many garments such as suits or the embroidery thread, such

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