Q: Is it permissible to wear jeans or a jean
skirt? I heard that some rabbis ruled
that it is forbidden because jeans are not modest.
A: Quite simply, the material itself is not a
problem. This material is durable, not
easily ruined and, as is well-known, quite affordable. This material also does not stick to the
body. A material which sticks to the
body and outlines its contours is not modest for men and, all the more so, for
women. My understanding is that the
rabbis who say that it is forbidden to wear jeans do not do so because of
immodesty, but because they represent a distorted culture. When you wear jeans, you identify with this
culture. The whole problem of wearing
clothing which represents the surrounding non-Jewish culture is called
"Chukat Ha-Goyim – following the non-Jewish practices." It is forbidden for us to wear the same
clothing as non-Jews. This prohibition
only applies, however, if the non-Jews are the only ones who wear a particular
type of clothing. If observant Jews also
wear them, there is no problem of "Chukat Ha-Goyim." This discussion is similar to one regarding
the black suit worn today by many yeshiva students. Originally in Russia, yeshiva students did
not wear suits, they wore all sorts of long coats. What happened? Rabbi Yisrael Salanter once visited Paris and
he saw that university students were wearing suits. He said, "Those who are learning in
yeshiva need to dress like those students.
They are students of Torah and holiness." In Lithuania, the students therefore wore
suits. When those students arrived in
Jerusalem, the Sages of Jerusalem excommunicated them. They wrote harsh broadsides that wearing this
type of clothing is a violation of "Chukat Ha-Goyim." One needs a long coat. There is a principle, however, that if people
breach this prohibition and dress like non-Jews, they are in violation, but
once this practice has spread, it is no longer forbidden since this dress is no
longer worn solely by non-Jews. This is
stated in the responsa of the Rashba (vol. 5 #121). It is possible that in the past someone who
wore jeans was identifying with the distorted culture, but today all sorts of
people wear clothing made with jean material, both men and women, including
righteous, G-d-fearing individuals. It
is therefore permissible to wear such clothing.
Ha-Rav Moshe Feinstein also has a responsum on this issue in "Igrot
Moshe" (Yoreh De'ah 1:81). He was
asked if there is a requirement to wear the clothing which Jews wore in Poland,
since in America both Jews and non-like dress alike. Ha-Rav Moshe answered that it is permissible
to wear the clothing like the non-Jews since there is no unique type of Jewish
clothing, and even G-d-fearing Jews wear the clothing like the non-Jews. Similarly, there is a story told about a
couple who moved from Hungary to America, and the wife wanted to cover her with
a wig like others in America instead of shaving her hair and wearing a scarf as
had been the custom of her foremothers in Hungary. The husband, however, did not agree and he
went to Ha-Rav Moshe Feinstein to ask about this issue. Ha-Rav Feinstein saw that the husband did not
have a beard. He asked: Did your father
and grandfather have beards? He said: Of
course, everyone had a beard. He asked:
why are you clean-shaven? He said: This
is America! Ha-Rav Feinstein said: If
so, there is no problem for your wife to wear a wig. Everything is dependent on the issue of
modesty. If the jeans and the jean
skirts are modest, they are acceptable.
If they are not modest, including having images and decoration which
draw the attention of others, they are not acceptable. In short: It is not a question of the
material, but the piece of clothing itself - as in the case of all other items
of apparel.
