National costume of Jews: photo, description

Who can name the main feature, thanAre Jews different from other peoples? 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,related to the Arabs and Amharis (Ethiopians). Yes, strange as it may seem, the Arabs and Jews who are always warring and dislike each other are close relatives, roughly like Russians and Poles.

However, religion, culture in general, and clothing inIn particular, these peoples are not at all alike. 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 ideas - it may seem ridiculous and some old-fashioned, "anachronistic." What does the national costume of Jews look like? Black frock coats, hats, belts - these items of Jewish costume became the "calling card" of this 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 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 costumes of the Jewish people go their own wayroots in antiquity. Over the centuries, they have been constantly changing, and the reason is 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 areas) 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. Allegedly at 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 dressed in - a silk dressing gown or a fine dress; but I know for sure how he chose his clothes: he watched how the Jews did not dress, and dressed differently. "

Indeed, from time immemorial, Jews have soughtdiffer from all other peoples and did so with greater fanaticism than all other Eastern peoples. The pagan religion of the Jews is still persistently refused to be called "paganism" (although, strictly speaking in science, "Jewishness" can be recognized as true "paganism" because 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 thatWestern European costume of the beginning of the century before last today is officially considered a 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 Soviet Union are used to believe that its name is derived from the Russian name Ermolai. But when they come to Israel, the local people explain to them that the cap is so called from the expression "yere malka" - "afraid of the lord". That is, wearing a skullcap, in theory, means that its owner deeply and piously believes in God.

How to choose a yarmulke?

Choosing a yarmulke is not as simple asseems 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 yarmulki. 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 seems 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

National costume of Jews includescloak. 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. A cloak can be worn under clothes or worn from above, like a shirt, but the brushes are always located on top of trousers. Each brush has eight threads. Here, too, there are elements that are characteristic of various currents of Judaism.

The most interesting and even the mysterious part is one(there may be two of them) 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 accessory of only the specified Jewish currents.

In fact, attempts to restore the ancient recipeand to 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 work.

Tsitsit, according to religious canons, shouldwear all men who have reached the age of 13. 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

National costume of Jews must includeself 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 "kakke" (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 character of the crease, and other elements indicate to which Judaism the hat owner belongs, and even what has the social status.

Streimble

Streimble is the third type of headgear,which is part of the national costume of the Jews. But it is common only among Hasidim. Stramble is a cylindrical fur hat. They also have more than two dozen types. In this case, three large groups are distinguished: the actual penalty is wide and low, of the correct shape; Chernobyl is simply a low, more free 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 penalty, which are only the heads of communities.

Tie and Beard

There are elements of clothing that onlysome Jewish communities. 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 connected 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 costumeJews? In some communities (for example, the Litvaks), there is also an old-fashioned element of the wardrobe, old-fashioned according to European concepts, like a coat. 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 - 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 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!