In this country, until the early 1960s when President Kennedy became the first notable celebrity to take off his hat, a gentleman wore a hat and therefore there was significance to wearing one.
In our day and age, a well-dressed man in the secular world does not wear a hat and therefore the hat should be irrelevant. However, it has become an identifying symbol of a ben Torah. It conveys a sense of belonging – or not belonging if one doesn’t wear one – to a group that adheres to a certain level of Torah learning and observance.
Much like any external symbol, it can be overstated, and often is, but nevertheless, a hat identifies a person and is a statement to himself and to the world at large that “this is where I see myself.”
In that sense, it’s important.
— Rabbi Ben Zion Shafier, founder of The Shmuz
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The answer depends on one’s hashkafa! If one thinks it is desirable to have “frum” men all dressed in the same uniform, it’s important.
However, if one’s hashkafa favors diversity, personal responsibility, and individualism, then one must be troubled by the insistence that “frum” boys and men wear a black hat and the rest of the “hashkafic” uniform that goes with it. Conformity of dress tends to go together with conformity in thought and a surrender of one’s own thinking to the demands of the group and/or the group’s authorities.
Diversity is a positive value. The Talmud (Berachot 58a) teaches that one recites a special blessing when witnessing a vast throng of Jews, praising the Almighty who is hacham harazim, the one who understands the root and inner thoughts of each individual. Their thoughts are not alike and their appearance is not alike. Respect for individuality and diversity is a sine qua non of healthy human life.
Insistence on the “black hat” uniform leads to artificial stereotyping. People are judged by how they dress, not by who they are. Moreover, boys and men from non-Ashkenazic backgrounds feel pressure to adopt the Ashkenazic “frum” look, leading to needless intra-family and intra-communal tensions.
Why not allow people to dress as they think best within the bounds of modesty? Why ostracize those who refuse to conform to an artificial standard of religious garb?
The black hat fedora first appeared in 1882 as a female hat, worn by a character in a French play named Princess Fedora Romanoff. In 1924, Prince Edward of Britain adopted it as a male head covering. It’s difficult to see why the “frum” community would find a hat with this history to be a mark of proper Torah hashkafa!
— Rabbi Marc D. Angel, director of
the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals
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Identifying with a community through a specific piece of clothing – in this case a black hat – can be both positive and negative.
It expresses pride in being part of the yeshiva world and a willingness to be judged accordingly. At the same time, it can blur individuality and give too much significance to external appearance.
There was a time in America – when most Jews were primarily concerned with being accepted as real Americans – that it was necessary to publicly demonstrate that one identified with the world of Torah. It took courage at that time to wear a black hat.
However, that is no longer the case, and in many Orthodox neighborhoods it’s easy to look the part without actually being true to the image.
My sense is that the need now is to shift focus from symbols to internal behavior and commitment. But that varies on the particular environment and setting.
— Rabbi Yosef Blau, mashgiach ruchani at
YU’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
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There are halachic and hashkafic reasons for wearing a hat, in particular during davening.
The Mishna Berurah and others write that it imparts a sense of modesty and humility. The Tzitz Eliezer and others argue that with a hat one is wearing a “double covering,” which represents the two types of fear a person should have: “upper fear” and “lower fear.” These reasons arguably extend beyond prayer and cover even walking in the street.
Many people used to wear white or grey hats. The practice to wear black hats exclusively emerged over the last several decades with black today considered the only acceptable modest color; everything else is deemed too fashionable.
That said, there is ample halachic and hashkafic basis for those who choose not to wear a hat altogether, let alone for those wearing a blue or brown one.
The important thing is not to judge others based on external appearance or think of them as any less as a result. It’s also important to appreciate that there is more than one approach [in Torah-true Judaism].
Ultimately, more important than what’s on your head is what’s in your head.
— Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet, popular Lubavitch
lecturer, rabbi of London’s Mill Hill Synagogue