Yom Kippur Dress Code

Yom kippur is a complicated day for clothing choices for jews because there is a wide variation of practice.

Yom kippur dress code. The jewish high holidays rosh hashanah the jewish new year and yom kippur day of atonement are among the most sacred days of the year. In the time of the holy temple in jerusalem the service of yom kippur the holiest day of the year the day of attonement is a day that was focused on the service of one man in the holy temple. This is mindful of purity since on yom kippur we spend the whole day in fasting and prayer and are considered as pure and holy as the angels. That said there are a few dress traditions on the holiday.

Yom kippur greeting etiquette. Modesty entails the subju. May your fate will be sealed for a good year in the book of life. These are days of celebration self reflection and repentance.

As a man what i have typically worn for years at such services is this. For this reason married men often wear a kittel which is a white robe of sorts. One s outward appearance has some effect on his own frame of mind and for an individual or family to have a special yom kippur dress code besides the matter of no shoes is healthy as it is for different people to have different minhagim in this regard. The proper greeting for yom kippur is to wish your jewish friends an easy fast on yom kippur or in hebrew tzom kal after the fast is over you can wish g mar hatimah tovah in hebrew meaning.

On yom kippur focusing on the spiritual above the physical is one of the core tenets of the day. Not wearing leather especially leather shoes is a long held yom kippur tradition. For modesty is not just a code of dress. Men s shoes styles are culturally limited to brown and black leather with the biggest deciding factor being whether to opt for laces or a slip on oh the difficult decisions.

Leather once symbolized luxury and high status so not. A navy or gray suit a white shirt a tie with a simple design or no design. On yom kippur formal dress along with canvas or non leather shoes is the way to do it. If one woman feels yom kippur dik by wearing more white than usual and another.

If possible you should wear clothing that will fit tightly enough to make a leather belt unnecessary. For a visitor to an unfamiliar synagogue you are unlikely to go far wrong with clean tidy business attire. On yom kippur the custom is to wear at least something that is white. When attending synagogue on these high holy days it is important to dress comfortably and respectfully.

When it comes to yom kippur shoes for men they don t have as much of a choice as the fairer sex. Here s what to wear.