Continuing the Tradition
At the time when R. Mendel of Rimanov established himself in that city, the Yiddishe townsmen had begun dressing in goyishe styles. The tzaddik fought against this with mesirus nefesh, and laid down detailed regulations so that the dress of the Yidden should separate them from the goyim. He recorded his rules in the community register, the pinkas of the kehilla, and promised that those who would abide by them would be bensched with all the Torah’s brachos.
Taking a walk in a village he was visiting, R. Boruch of Gorlitz, the youngest son of the Divrei Chaim of Tzanz, heard wailing and crying, so he instructed his assistant to find out what was going on. He soon reported that a non-Jewish girl was crying because her father was punishing her.
“Go check why she is being punished,” the Rebbe prompted.
Returning to the scene, the assistant learned that the girl was being disciplined for having worn a certain hat. The father was screaming and rebuking: “Such attire, which your mother and grandmother would have never worn, you will not wear!”
When the tzaddik heard the details, he was very moved and took a lesson from this: If a non-Jew, who has not received the Torah, has such feeling for the importance of preserving his tradition, how much more should Yiddishe women and girls, who have received the Torah, feel this way and dress in the same spirit as their parents and grandparents did.
The hanhala of Tomchei Temimim in Lubavitch were very particular about the clothing that the bochurim wore. Those lacking the appropriate garb would be given on arrival: a distinctive hat, a long jacket, a large tallis katan and a pair of shoes. Years later, the Yiddishe image was apparent in their children, who looked different from other boys their age, by their refined clothing and eidelkeit.
Battling Decrees
In the year תר"ד (1844), the Russian government passed a decree which forbade the customary Yiddishe way of dress, and sought to force the Yidden to change to more modern attire and to cut off their long peyos. This was brought about through the intervention of the maskilim, who wanted Yidden to assimilate among the goyim, but the Yidden responded with unwavering resistance and made every effort to annul the fearful decree.
At first, the government offered the option of paying a tax for the Yiddishe levush, knowing that the Yidden would not change so quickly, and indeed many Yidden chose to pay the tax rather than dress like the goyim around them. However, some could not afford to pay.
The shayle was asked of all the gedolei Yisroel of the time: “What is one obligated to do?” Some rabbonim said that every Yid must prepare himself for actual mesirus nefesh, for this was an instance of gzeiras hashmad, a direct effort to take them away from Yiddishkeit. Others, including the Tzemach Tzedek, held that in this case the Yidden were not obligated to give their life, since the intention of the government was merely to have all citizens dress alike. A third group held that although mesirus nefesh was not required, one was obligated to do all he could, even paying any sum of money or fleeing to another country.
The police in each town went straight to work, mercilessly beating all those caught transgressing the decree, and publicly shaming the men and women who were found wearing their Yiddishe levush. When their efforts were unsuccessful, the police in some cities left the Yidden alone, while in other places they continued harassing them for many years.
When the above decree was imposed upon the Yidden in Poland, the Gerer Rebbe, the Chiddushei HaRim, paskened that it was necessary to have mesirus nefesh for this. As time passed, the police realized that most Yidden were not following the decree, so getting tired of using violence, they became lax in their enforcement. Unable to tolerate this, the maskilim reported to the Russian commissioner in charge that some officers were not fulfilling their duties properly, insinuating that this was surely because of bribes that they had received from wealthy chassidim. They added that the best course of action would be to force the Gerer Rebbe to instruct the Yidden to follow the decree, and to stipulate that if he refused, he would be imprisoned.
At midnight, the chief of police arrested the Chiddushei HaRim and brought him to the town hall, where high officials ordered him to issue their instructions to his chassidim. When he refused, and they threatened to shave off his beard, he replied: “Even if you do whatever it is in your power to do, I will not cause others to transgress.” Realizing that words alone would not achieve anything, the officials imprisoned him in a cell together with tough criminals. The Rebbe’s imprisonment spread like wildfire. Reb Menachem Mendel of Kotzk reassured the chassidim that there was nothing to worry about, for not only would the police not touch the tzaddik’s beard and peyos, but in his zechus, the decree would be annulled.
Meanwhile, outside the town hall, tens of thousands of Yidden came to protest, and they were joined by a number of Polish citizens. Soon the commissioner heard about this and was warned that this might trigger a revolt. A delegation of reputable Yidden and some Polish nobles met with him and protested about the treatment being given to a man of such standing. He promised to free the Gerer Rebbe at once, and about a week later, the decree was repealed.
Consider
Is the continuality of traditional yiddishe dress similar to goyim who uphold their tradition?
Why would traditional yiddishe dress require mesirus nefesh?
