2014-08-08 12:06
The broader world of conventional Judaism is going in fits and starts toward a renegotiation of the terms of halakhic observance. At question is the importance of social change in the comprehension and application of the legal logic of the sages of old. In the past several years, voices from within the Orthodox fold have raised a formidable challenge to particular recognized standards of Jewish life and law, especially seeing the possibilities of female religious direction.
Though much less emotionally charged, there are lots of other points of striking dissonance between codified law and modern reality that dot the landscape of Jewish observance. One that's caused something of a stir recently is the ban on legumes and rice for Ashkenazi Jews on Passover, a rule that everyone seems to understand and bemoan as an artifact of early-modern grain storage techniques. Another, which appears to have escaped popular scrutiny so far, is the injunction against wearing leather shoes on the fast days of Tisha B'Av and Yom Kippur---though the reason for the difference in essential interest should not be challenging to understand.
Rabbinic law in the Talmud delineates five prohibitions that apply equally on Tisha B'Av, the day of biggest catastrophe, and Yom Kippur, the day of most serious repentance. These are: eating/drinking, marital connections, applying make-up, bathing, and wearing leather shoes. The purpose is to create an encounter of uncomfortable abstinence, in one case as a sign of mourning, and also in another as a way of self-purification. And yet for the observant Jew living in the age of Nike, the prohibition against leather shoes has just meant that twice per year, every year, on the two most serious days of the year, we were permitted to wear our most comfy shoes to synagogue. True, not everyone came in gel-soled basketball shoes. Many preferred for amazing rubber flip-flops with socks, or the omnipresent white Keds.
It isn't as though the irony of the scenario is completely lost on modern Jews. I remember my elementary school teachers taking time to describe the reasoning behind the prohibition as that leather shoes were once the most comfy type of footwear, back when these rules were first being written. Implied in the inclusion of this clarifying detail was an recognition that we are now living in the absolute reverse situation: that at this point in history, the leather shoe epitomizes podiatric discomfort. Conventional halakha, as it frequently does, stands firmly put in an older order of things, in this instance collapsing upon itself in a way that precludes any of its first meaningfulness.
Zivotofsky mentions a wealth of legal writings starting with the Talmud that address the problem of what kind of shoe must be worn on Tisha B'Av and Yom Kippur. The masters of the Talmud variously sported shoes of bamboo, reeds or palm branches, or wrapped straightforward pieces of cloth around their feet. Maimonides air jordan retro 4.advised that whatever shoes are picked should be flimsy enough to ensure that the wearer feels virtually barefooted as they walk. In a similar vein, the Ba'al HaMaor, a contemporary of Maimonides, contains within the type of prohibition any shoe which is especially protective of air jordan 1 retro.he feet.
Although many Jewish communities continue to "sidestep" the sneaker contradiction, some contemporary authorities have issued opinions meant to rescue the spirit of regulations. Other legalists such as Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch support the "protectiveness" strategy, enlarging the prohibition to any substance construction that functions in addition to leather.
On the opposite side, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach manages to resolve the problem more leniently, declaring that all modern individuals fall under th air jordan 3 retro. Talmudic class of istinis, about meaning "persnickety." In Rabbi Auerbach's view, given our really low tolerance for physical discomfort, banning comfy non-leather shoes on Tisha B'Av and Yom Kippur would be tantamount to unnecessary harshness.
Wishing all a mindful and purposeful fast this Tisha B'Av, and recall: don't judge another guy's shoes until you have walked a mile in them.
