Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Flip Flop goes the Picture



This week's Mishpacha magazine saw fit to take a perfectly good picture and flip it around for no good reason. The result was making Jews who were so makpid on wearing their clothes buttoned right over left seem as if they didn't care. How unthoughtful of them. Of what benefit was it to flip the picture? what was accomplished? I dare say that all it did was hurt people's sensitivities without accomplishing anything at all. Also, would someone please tell all the Charedi newspapers and magazines that writing "Rav" instead of "Reb" on every Rabbinic personality sounds cheesy and wrong. Even the old Artscroll biographies knew that it was silly to write Rav Yaakov when he was known as Reb Yaakov to all. I can just see it: "The Story of Rav Reuven," it just sounds so wrong. Here too; there was no "Rav Burechel," only Reb Burechel, and if you're going to address his as he was lovingly called, Burechel, then do it right! I'll go out on a limb here and call for the return of two things to our culture that seem to be no more: the 3/4 jacket aka drei fertel rekkel, and the trips to resort towns. The jacket, pictured here, is a comfortable alternative to the very long and cumbersome lange rekkel, which was almost to the floor in those days. It's old-fashioned, yet somewhat advanced, and a lot easier to wear on those hot summer days. The same goes for the Rabbonim going to resort towns like this one here or Marienbad, Krenice etc. Today they go to Miami or the Catskills and hide amongst their people. Then they would walk the streets with large crowds or at the very least a small entourage behind them. How great the kiddush hashem must've been then! Imagine going to Lake George and seeing a great Rebbe walking along the Main Street with a whole entourage! I say bring those times back!!!


What the picture REALLY looks like

19 comments:

  1. Good point! I read the article as well but wa surprised that I never heard of him. Who was this Sternthal?

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  2. The closest thing to Marienbad is that hotel in Shveytz

    They say Klausenberger Rebbe was makpid on his buttons in the eymek habuchuh

    Tzig, you should be thankeful that they got the 'u' right, in stead of writing Baroch.

    Bring back the old days in the hotel where R' Yeruchem Gorelek heard his name being called on the loudspeaker, calling him to the front- where he was surprised to meet the Gaon Hador (didn't know he was at the hotel) who wanted to speak to him. About what?
    Lehrnen

    Like a certain Litvishe Rosh Yeshiva who just passed on, when he had to recover from surgery he took the opportunity to learn Eyruvin in Fallsberg. His wife sent a message that he must stop- doctor said he needs rest. He sent her back a message, via his daughter, tell the mamma that she shouldn't shter the datcha

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  3. For some reason, just like in Europe, the Datcha pictures are the best. The old hotel where the Gaon Hador and the Posek Hador (no nats)used to go to- best pictures from there

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  4. Tzig
    Remind me: the lady who davend in Frankels and wrote that Artscroll book about remaining backwords (great last conversation with her mother- gave Maybe chills)
    What was her relationship with R' Burechel, slipped my mind, remember?

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  5. OT: Do Lubavitchers consider "Chabadsker" a derogatory term?

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  6. 1. Whats the big deal of right over left . I know all the Teyre here but its not earth shaking. Frankly being honest in business is much mor important.
    Reb Mayer Bar Ilan writes in his memoirs that in Lita he met clean shaven Jews who were yereim and in Glaicia Chassidshe Yidden who were apikorsim.
    Three quarters coat , we (Lithuanian Jews) did not wear such.Perhaps the new fangled Lubavitcher surdut of post 1950 is like it but in fact very different. No one in Lita or White Russia wore such. If you had a beard you wore a kapote (a surdut) or a suit. If you were clean shaven you wore a short coat.
    In hUngary people clean shaven wore bekitches vechuli. This is a Galicianer or Hungarain fashion statement.
    Datche I am surprised that you a Lubavitcher get excited over this.
    Bobover people told me that davke Reb Shlomo wore a regular shirt in the uS BECAUSE of the tzaros of 1940-1945...

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  7. http://matzav.com/tzig-sounds-off-flip-flop-goes-the-picture/

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  8. But since "deliberate action" even in secular matters is a "BIG" deal among chasidim.

    Right over left on a coat is a major issue for chasidim more than a shtreimel, I should say.


    Hirshel is right, as a chasid I examine pictures of frirdige with a sharp eye to these things. I guess most chasidim do.

    As for Hungarians wearing bekishes, thats a new one to me. No they did not. Some Rabonim did but as my father O"H told me his Rebbe (a Hungarian Ashkenaz) had a bekishe with 'grude tashen" as a real bekishe has the pockets from behind and vertical, he had them horizontal in fron, as such it is a plain coat of silk.

    But regular oberlanders folk never wore any sort of silken dress.

    Just the "Kumets buhrd" [goetee] and kortze rekel

    YOsef 718

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  9. Schneur
    When did the lubavitcher sirtuk come into chabad custom? Did the Rayatz wear a Poilish bekiche?

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  10. Yosef
    The belzer Alim Letrufa had a article running on the left/right issue for 10 weeks

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  11. Yohcee 718,
    You are talking for yourself when you make "right over left" a big issue by chasidim,and I think most chasidim do not check with a close eye what side was over what.Especially in light of where these people ended a few years down the line with Hitlers approach.

    It's time people stopped making small nuances in garb and minor customs the major issues of chasidim and chasides.Only a shallow person will take this as the message the Chassidus came to bring to the world

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  12. "Bobover people told me that davke Reb Shlomo wore a regular shirt in the uS BECAUSE of the tzaros of 1940-1945..."

    What have the tzaros to do with which shirt you wear?
    Have you seen what shirts some rebbishe in Williamsburg wear?
    Can't describe it exactly, but it has starnge sleeves

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  13. Hirshel
    Does he wear the white socks as his FIL? Or at least the half pants with black socks? from the picture it seems like the Rebbe Reb Burechel stopped wearing them LO Oleini in his hey days

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  14. Yumy
    The Belzer Rov Reb Aron wore his golus clothes under his Rebishe clothes for a good few years, The first shabos in Haifa he didn't wont to change in to the Chassidc garb as shtriemel etc.. his modern sister Perlow begged him and cried that he should don the rebishe clothing again, don"t judge people that lost their families with klal yisroel

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  15. What's the story with those vertical pockets in the back? How is one meant to use them? I've see them around and wondered about that.

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  16. Good grief, boys and girls!!! Do you have any idea how ridiculous it is to pay any attention to these silly and antiquated modes of dress when every frum community is drowning in such serious problems?

    No wonder we are often a laughing stock to others!!!!

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  17. Well, some might say that it was the dress that kept Jews out of trouble. That the reason there's all this trouble in our communities is BECAUSE people are not careful about their dress.

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  18. To those who are saying that there are more pressing issues I don't understand why you are being so critical. It's not as if this is being represented as the biggest issue confronting klal yisroel. It is just a short obervation in a blog pointing out the disregard for and misrepresentation of something that was done davka in a certain way by great people.

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