On Top in Jerusalem

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«On Top» is the theme for the Weekly Photo Challenge this week. I’m currently in Israel and here you can see the hat fashion in Jerusalem. I don’t have lot of time to catch up with blogs these days, but I’ll be back in action soon. In the meantime, you can check out more top notch photos here: http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/on-top/

Shabbat Shalom! שבת שלום

Edit: Make sure to check out this post too: http://observations-of-a-canary.com/2014/04/17/williamsburg-stroll/ It was totally accidental. Thanks to themofman.wordpress.com for pointing it out!

 

72 thoughts on “On Top in Jerusalem”

  9. The one on the left looks more like a hairstyle than a hat. Not a very good hairstyle, but a hairstyle nonetheless. 🙂

    Reply

    • Interesting question. Yes I can 🙂

      The fur hat is called a shtreimel, which is a Yiddish word: שטרײַמל.
      It’s not all of the haredi / hassidic jewish men that wear the fur hat. It’s normal for jewish men to cover their heads, but most people just wear a kippah. The men that wear hats, wear them on top of their kippas – it’s therefore considered to be/ believed to be extra spiritual, but there’s no demand for this in religious texts.

      They wear the shtreimel on shabbat and holidays, but in Jerusalem you’ll find that members of the original Ashkenazi community also wears the hat (Ashkenazi = European).

      Since the shtreimel שטרײַמל is worn on special occasions, it’s always worn together with special clothes that aren’t worn on weekdays.

      In Hebrew there’s also a word צניעות (tzniut), that’s referring to a way of clothing (it’s actually more than that, it’s like a concept on modesty regarding how women should behave and dress) for women.
      Anyway, since the hat, the shtreimel, is worn by married men on shabbat and holidays, and their women is dressing according to צניעות, tzniut, on Shabbat you’ll see families on a walk, where the men wear their elaborate hats and the women wear their most beautiful dresses (they never wear pants).
      In about a week or so, I’ll post a photo of a family that I met. That way you can see for yourself.

      It’s a beautiful sight and if you ever visit Israel (and especially Jerusalem), make sure to stay for Shabbat or one of the Jewish holidays.

      Reply

      • Thank you so much for the explanation. I work in many communities that are predominantly Orthodox and one day I almost pulled over and asked a man walking swiftly in one of these hats but I didn’t as I did not want to offend. Tell me do the women still shave their heads? Thanks CG. : )

        Reply

        • There’s 3 different types: those that shave their heads after marriage, because they’re not suppose to show any hair (they wear a wig instead). Then you have those that wear some cloth to cover their hair (usually a hat or some kind of scarf) and then you have the large majority of Jewish women that wear their own natural hair without covering it.

          Reply

          • I was thinking of the bald women. Quite the submissive devotion. Admirable actually.

  13. I have a fascination with hats, myself. I liked your interpretation of the challenge!
    By the way, no “like” button? How does one show appreciation for the post?

    Reply

    • Thank you very much for stopping by and leaving a comment Belle. You show appreciation by leaving a comment. There’s no need for likes: discussions, debates, positive and/or negative critique, exchange of information, a friendly little hello – it’s all much more rewarding than likes 🙂

      Reply

  14. Heh … terrific! 😀 Good for you, CG … being in Israel now, for Passover or Pesach and all! Looking forward to seeing your pictures.
    Hag Sameach

    Reply

    • !תודה רבה רבקה Pesach and Easter at the same time, I’m telling you that the traffic and the amounts of people, it’s completely insane! 🙂 A bus ride that normally takes about 45 minutes took me 2 1/2 hours here the other day – it was much more traffic than normal and on top of that a bus had caught fire so that the road was blocked. The police were in the news the other day and said: “don’t go to the Galil, It’s full.”
      Ballagan! 😀

      Reply

    • Thanks Esther. Jerusalem is one of the most fascinating cities that I’ve ever been to. Perhaps the most fascinating city. I hope that you’ll get to return there.

      Reply

    • Thanks Richard. I have much better stuff on my memory cards, but I won’t publish them before I can do the post-processing on my normal computer. The lap-top is shit.

      Reply

  23. Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: On Top | The Panama Adventure

    • On that day Patti, remember to get up really early – I recommend around 5 o’clock – get a quick bite to eat (the best thing is to prepare a sandwich or something the night before, because everything is closed at these hours) and head down to the old city and take photos as Jerusalem wakes up. It’s the most beautiful time in this very special city.

      Reply

  33. Pingback: On Top 3: WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge | Kanlaon

  34. Such a creative interpretation on this week’s theme. Though I must say, the hat on the right looks a bit over-sized for the guy wearing it. It’s almost as if the hat is slowly slipping off his head. Great shot 🙂

    Reply

    • Thnaks Paula. As you know, there’ll be more photos coming from Jerusalem. I could probably have started my own Jerusalem blog and never run out of material if I wanted too 😀

      Reply

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