Thread by @HistoricalJW

The evolution of Jewish dress code:

Why Orthodox communities dress in black?
How can you know details about a Jewish person only by looking at his clothes? (THREAD)

As we know, Orthodox Jews are known for wearing long black suits and a large black hat. Religious Jews are known for wearing a white shirt, Kippah and protruding Tzitzit under the shirt. But what's the history behind it?

In different cultures it’s important to wear a scarf or hat on the head as a religious and cultural mark. In Judaism the Kohanim (priests) would enter the Temple when wearing migba’at (type of a hat - can be seen in the pictures).

In fact in Judaism, there was no obligation to wear a hat over one's head except in religious ceremonies and places of worship. This became common during the Second Temple period (516BCE-70CE).

Precisely during the Babylonian Talmudic period, (3rd-6th centuries) the commandment to wear a head covering became stronger as a desire to honor God and a desire to keep his commandments with love but also as fear.

Only around the 15th-16th century Jews began to put kippah on their heads frequently and regularly and some saw it as something that differentiate them from other peoples.

Today this has become a fixture in Judaism. Orthodox Jews wear a black kippah made of velvet, religious and traditional Jews wear several colors of kippah. Secular Jews wear a kippah only during religious ceremonies and prayers such as weddings, funerals, holidays.

The Tzitzit is tassels attached to the shirt. Originates in the Book of Numbers, where God commands the Israelites to wear them as a reminder to its commandments and has also become over the years a sign of difference between Jews and non-Jews.

Although this became a Jewish dress code, in ancient times not only the Israelites wore tassels under their clothes but also the Egyptians, Canaanites and Philistines. For example, in the tomb of Ramesses III, an engraving of a man wearing Tzitzit was discovered.

As part of the Tzitzit there is the Tallit, a long cloth to which the tassels are attached in its 4 corners used for prayer in the synagogue. In addition, there’s a smaller Tallit, which the religious and Orthodox Jews wear every day.

A person's origin and his religious positions can be identified by the color of the Tallit he wears. (Can be seen below)

So where did the long black suit and the black hat come from? in fact it’s not clear but there are 2 probabilities. About 500-200 years ago many around Europe wore this, it was the everyday fashion that was abandoned over time but remained with the Jews who adopted it.

When in Eastern Europe that fashion was abandoned for a more luxurious, modern, and secular look, the Jews found an opportunity to take advantage of the black clothes for a serious, respectful look that would differentiate them from the rest.

The other explanation is that Jews were forced to dress like this as a sign of disgrace and embarrassment set by the authorities. The Europeans forced them to dress ridiculously with big long hats that were even made of dead animal fur.

The Jews decided to stay with the black long suits and the black hats for several reasons:

• Black is usually worn at sad events such as funerals, the black suit represents the mourning for the destruction of Jerusalem and the temples and the exile which caused as a result.

• Tzniut (modesty) the dress is respectful, serious, and attentive to modesty, human organs are hidden under layers of long clothing, important issue in Judaism.

• The segregation of the Jews in appearance and customs from other peoples.

The Jewish dress code became fixed and common only in the 19th and 20th centuries, and not only in Europe but also Jews in Islamic and Arab countries ranged from a traditional local Arab clothing to these Jewish customs.

With the emigration of European and Middle Eastern Jews to the United States and Israel, Mizrahi Jews and Sephardic Jews were influenced by the Ashkenazi orthodox dress.

While this became common among the Ashkenazi and Mizrahi communities, communities such as Beta Yisrael (Ethiopian Jews) and Bnei Menashe (Indian Jews) weren’t affected by the Ashkenazi costume that gained prominence and popularity among Orthodox Jews.

There’s a widespread saying that the clothes of the Orthodox Jews are reminiscent of the clothes of the Israelites, but today they’re worn in a modern version.