Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Wearing Shabbos clothes on Shabbos Chazon

The Gra has a famous comment about Shabbos Chazon. The Rama based on the Rishonim paskens that a person should not change their clothes for Shabbos Chazon, but rather wear weekday clothes. The Gra disagrees and says that אבילות בפרהסיה is assur and wearing week day clothes is אבילות בפרהסיה. The minhag nowadays seems to be like the Gra.

Recently, I heard that a number of Charedi rabbanim are going back to the psak of Rama for the following reason. Anyone who knows the (non-Chassidish) Charedi world, knows that there is very little difference between weekday clothes and Shabbos clothes, especially for Rabbanim, Roshei Yeshiva, etc. They wear a dark suit and a hat all the time. When I see the Rabbanim in my neighborhood I can never tell the difference between weekday clothes and shabbos, many of them wear a long black frock 7 days a week, and those who don't wear dark suits. Therefore, for them, it is not אבילות בפרהסיה to wear weekday clothes, very few people if anyone will be able to tell the difference.

The same sevara applies to the more modern world in America where many people wear suits all week to work and a similar type suit on Shabbos. Again, very few people would notice if they wore a weekday suit on Shabbos and therefore it would not be אבילות בפרהסיה.

This sevara is brought down by the Aruch Hashulchan where he uses it to explain how the minhag changed.

4 comments:

Esser Agaroth said...

B"H Really? No difference? I have only noticed this with those who might not be able to afford it. I don't recall seeing too many people in Me'ah Sha'arim, say, who do not wear a much nicer bekeshe (eg. shiny, embossed, etc.) on Shabbath. Obviously I'm talking about those who do not wear a gold, Yerushalmi bekeshe. Likewise, Litvaks have nicer hats and suits for Shabbath/Yom Tov. Hmm.....

BTW, I seem to recall that the Ram"a was in the minority. As usual, hashqafah seems to get in the way these days.... I'm amazed at the times when people ignore the Gr"A, too, when it goes too far against their hashqafah.

bluke said...

The Rama was definitely not in the minority.

I was really talking about the regular yeshivish people who wear a dark suit and a hat all week. It is very difficult to tell the difference

nyfunnyman said...

then how will u know they are wearing weekday clothes?

ידל said...

I heard from HRHG Rubin Shlit'a, that his father would take him to see jews from a certain community coming to Shabbat Chazon in their work Khakis. His father told him "This will never last"