![\"\u05e9\u05de\u05dc\u05d4](\"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/\u05e9\u05de\u05dc\u05d4-\u05dc\u05d1\u05e0\u05d4-\u05de\u05e9\u05db\u05d9\u05ea-446x600.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the beginning, there was white, black \u2013 and red<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nHuman society has always had a thing for bright colors. The first three colors which humans succeeded in producing were white, black, and red. The first evidence of this can be seen in the Lascaux cave system in France, which is dated to the Upper Paleolithic period. The images of horses, bulls, and celestial bodies were painted by hand, with natural materials. The color white, incidentally, was generally produced from stones, bones, and clams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few thousand years later, in the ancient world, the color white symbolized a high social stature, due among other things, to the raw color of cotton and the wealth required to keep it clean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the Middle Ages, white was tied not only to purity but also death. In Christian works of art, the color white was often used to paint resurrected souls when depicting the second coming of Jesus. But then a turning point occurred which changed the color\u2019s status: The means of producing the color black were slowly made less and less expensive, meaning that this color was no longer restricted to the aristocracy alone. As black became cheaper, the color white gradually lost its morbid symbolism. Black became associated with seriousness, honor, and death, while white was dedicated to purity, holiness, and innocence.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"800px](\"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/800px-The_Young_Queen_Victoria-443x600.jpg\")
A portrait of Queen Victoria at age 23, oil on cloth, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wedding march<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nIn modern times, coloring techniques greatly improved and white became a far brighter color than in the past. It also became more common and popular \u2013 first among the European aristocracy and then, with improved manufacturing techniques, also among the rest of the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most significant turning points in white\u2019s popularity came with the white bridal dress worn by Queen Victoria (1819-1901). Throughout history, brides commonly wore a ceremonial and practical dress on their wedding day, the sort that could also be worn on regular holidays or Sabbath days. But Victoria\u2019s dress turned the wedding dress into a one-time item, an article of clothing meant to amaze – a true show-stopper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, she stunned everyone with a pure white dress, meant particularly and exclusively for her wedding celebration, and which has since become a must-have for any bride. The great success of the dress is of course also tied to white symbolizing purity \u2013 including virginity.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Isidor](\"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Isidor_Kaufmann_Portrait_of_a_rabbi_wearing_a_kittel_and_tallith-472x600.jpg\")
A portrait of a rabbi wearing a kittel, Isidor Kaufmann<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An outfit for the High Holy Days<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAnd what about the Jewish wardrobe? In biblical times, the priests in the Holy Temple wore white. The High Priest wore a number of uniforms while doing his work, some of them gilded and very expensive, but when he performed the special rituals of Yom Kippur, he wore white. White was tied to happiness, and Jewish women customarily wore white on Tu B’Av and on Yom Kippur, as well as on other holidays and Shabbat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Ashkenazic Jewish tradition, a custom developed that men should wear a \u201ckittel\u201d \u2013 a special article of clothing worn by Ashkenazic Jews on the High Holy Days, and which is entirely white. The kittel was a kind of simple, white robe with no frills which was tied together with a white waistband. Before being adopted for the Jewish holidays, it was worn for meaningful events, such as under the wedding canopy and when the dead were being buried \u2013 men were often buried in their kittels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was customary in some Jewish communities to wear the kittel on Yom Kippur and sometimes also on Rosh Hashanah. Others took care to wear it twice a year \u2013 during the High Holy Days and the Passover Seder. Therefore, Nachum Zitter, director of Information Services at the National Library, recommends taking care to clean the kittel between these events to prevent chametz<\/em> [unleavened grain products forbidden on Passover] from accumulating on the clothing. And even then \u2013 not all men are supposed to wear this ceremonial article of clothing. In some communities, all married men wear it while in others \u2013 only those with communal religious roles such as the gabbai <\/em>(treasurer or steward), chazan<\/em> (cantor), and the blower of the shofar (ram’s horn) wear a white kittel.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow did the kittel become such a multi-purpose item, which we can use both in times of great happiness and sadness? The kittel had unique manufacturing conditions which linked it with the shrouds worn by the dead. Thus, it customarily did not contain pockets, because Jews take nothing with them to the grave, and it contained no decorations or knots to maintain its simplicity. \u201cMy grandfather had two kittels,\u201d Nachum Zitter recalled. \u201cAnd you must wonder \u2013 why does one need two kittels? After all, you only die once. Except he was the chazan<\/em> in the synagogue, and he would end the prayer for Rosh Hashanah sweating a great deal, so he took care to have a clean kittel for the second day of Rosh Hashanah. And so it was that he left behind an additional kittel after he passed, which was very rare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd](\"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd-\u05d4\u05db\u05d9\u05e4\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd-\u05de\u05d0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9\u05e6\u05d9-\u05d2\u05d5\u05d8\u05dc\u05d9\u05d1-464x600.jpg\")
Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur<\/em>, oil on cloth, 1878, Maurycy Gottlieb<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nSome claim that the kittel was already worn in the time of the Mishnah, as a white sheet or robe worn special for Shabbat. The Midrash Eichah Rabbah describes an incident in which a Roman mocks the Jewish Shabbat garments which seem to last forever, as they are only worn once a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Jerusalem Talmud describes a custom of wearing white clothes on Yom Kippur. It attributes this custom even then to the duality of the High Holy Days themselves \u2013 the happiness mixed with sadness and fear of God\u2019s judgment, and how wearing white is an expression of feelings of security and happiness despite Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur being seen as the Time of Judgement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cWhat nation is as this nation? The custom of the world is that a man who knows he is being judged wears black and wraps [himself in it] \u2026 but Israel is not so, but rather wear white and wrap in white \u2026 and are happy, knowing that the Holy One, Blessed Be He does them miracles.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
(Jerusalem Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, 1.3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The connection between ceremonial white clothing and happiness slowly took on a more sober meaning in Medieval Europe. Rabbi Mordechai Ben Hillel Ashkenazi brings another reason for the custom in the name of the Maharam:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cAnd another reason is because on a Yom Tov all are happy, and they wear a sargenes [another term for kittel] which is the garb of the dead, and they remember the day of death, and his heart will not become haughty within him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
In other words, despite the happiness which comes with a holiday, a person must wear shrouds to remind themselves of the day of their death and the fleeting nature of life. This led to the development of another reason to wear white: to confuse Satan by adopting an angel-like appearance, since Jews fast on Yom Kippur and are therefore already in the process of behaving somewhat like angels, incapable of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere was no specific garb like the kittel among Mizrachi Jews,\u201d explains Nachum Zitter. \u201cBut there was still a widespread custom to wear white. The Mizrachi Jews were greatly influenced by the Kabbalah, which is very favorable towards wearing white cotton clothing. There is also a symbolic connection to Rachav the prostitute who hid the spies inside cotton [in the Book of Joshua]. So, the kabbalistic context greatly influenced Mizrachi Jews, and the custom gained further influence and spread.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wedding march<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nIn modern times, coloring techniques greatly improved and white became a far brighter color than in the past. It also became more common and popular \u2013 first among the European aristocracy and then, with improved manufacturing techniques, also among the rest of the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most significant turning points in white\u2019s popularity came with the white bridal dress worn by Queen Victoria (1819-1901). Throughout history, brides commonly wore a ceremonial and practical dress on their wedding day, the sort that could also be worn on regular holidays or Sabbath days. But Victoria\u2019s dress turned the wedding dress into a one-time item, an article of clothing meant to amaze – a true show-stopper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, she stunned everyone with a pure white dress, meant particularly and exclusively for her wedding celebration, and which has since become a must-have for any bride. The great success of the dress is of course also tied to white symbolizing purity \u2013 including virginity.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nA portrait of a rabbi wearing a kittel, Isidor Kaufmann<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An outfit for the High Holy Days<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAnd what about the Jewish wardrobe? In biblical times, the priests in the Holy Temple wore white. The High Priest wore a number of uniforms while doing his work, some of them gilded and very expensive, but when he performed the special rituals of Yom Kippur, he wore white. White was tied to happiness, and Jewish women customarily wore white on Tu B’Av and on Yom Kippur, as well as on other holidays and Shabbat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Ashkenazic Jewish tradition, a custom developed that men should wear a \u201ckittel\u201d \u2013 a special article of clothing worn by Ashkenazic Jews on the High Holy Days, and which is entirely white. The kittel was a kind of simple, white robe with no frills which was tied together with a white waistband. Before being adopted for the Jewish holidays, it was worn for meaningful events, such as under the wedding canopy and when the dead were being buried \u2013 men were often buried in their kittels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was customary in some Jewish communities to wear the kittel on Yom Kippur and sometimes also on Rosh Hashanah. Others took care to wear it twice a year \u2013 during the High Holy Days and the Passover Seder. Therefore, Nachum Zitter, director of Information Services at the National Library, recommends taking care to clean the kittel between these events to prevent chametz<\/em> [unleavened grain products forbidden on Passover] from accumulating on the clothing. And even then \u2013 not all men are supposed to wear this ceremonial article of clothing. In some communities, all married men wear it while in others \u2013 only those with communal religious roles such as the gabbai <\/em>(treasurer or steward), chazan<\/em> (cantor), and the blower of the shofar (ram’s horn) wear a white kittel.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow did the kittel become such a multi-purpose item, which we can use both in times of great happiness and sadness? The kittel had unique manufacturing conditions which linked it with the shrouds worn by the dead. Thus, it customarily did not contain pockets, because Jews take nothing with them to the grave, and it contained no decorations or knots to maintain its simplicity. \u201cMy grandfather had two kittels,\u201d Nachum Zitter recalled. \u201cAnd you must wonder \u2013 why does one need two kittels? After all, you only die once. Except he was the chazan<\/em> in the synagogue, and he would end the prayer for Rosh Hashanah sweating a great deal, so he took care to have a clean kittel for the second day of Rosh Hashanah. And so it was that he left behind an additional kittel after he passed, which was very rare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nJews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur<\/em>, oil on cloth, 1878, Maurycy Gottlieb<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nSome claim that the kittel was already worn in the time of the Mishnah, as a white sheet or robe worn special for Shabbat. The Midrash Eichah Rabbah describes an incident in which a Roman mocks the Jewish Shabbat garments which seem to last forever, as they are only worn once a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Jerusalem Talmud describes a custom of wearing white clothes on Yom Kippur. It attributes this custom even then to the duality of the High Holy Days themselves \u2013 the happiness mixed with sadness and fear of God\u2019s judgment, and how wearing white is an expression of feelings of security and happiness despite Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur being seen as the Time of Judgement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cWhat nation is as this nation? The custom of the world is that a man who knows he is being judged wears black and wraps [himself in it] \u2026 but Israel is not so, but rather wear white and wrap in white \u2026 and are happy, knowing that the Holy One, Blessed Be He does them miracles.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
(Jerusalem Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, 1.3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The connection between ceremonial white clothing and happiness slowly took on a more sober meaning in Medieval Europe. Rabbi Mordechai Ben Hillel Ashkenazi brings another reason for the custom in the name of the Maharam:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cAnd another reason is because on a Yom Tov all are happy, and they wear a sargenes [another term for kittel] which is the garb of the dead, and they remember the day of death, and his heart will not become haughty within him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
In other words, despite the happiness which comes with a holiday, a person must wear shrouds to remind themselves of the day of their death and the fleeting nature of life. This led to the development of another reason to wear white: to confuse Satan by adopting an angel-like appearance, since Jews fast on Yom Kippur and are therefore already in the process of behaving somewhat like angels, incapable of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere was no specific garb like the kittel among Mizrachi Jews,\u201d explains Nachum Zitter. \u201cBut there was still a widespread custom to wear white. The Mizrachi Jews were greatly influenced by the Kabbalah, which is very favorable towards wearing white cotton clothing. There is also a symbolic connection to Rachav the prostitute who hid the spies inside cotton [in the Book of Joshua]. So, the kabbalistic context greatly influenced Mizrachi Jews, and the custom gained further influence and spread.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An outfit for the High Holy Days<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAnd what about the Jewish wardrobe? In biblical times, the priests in the Holy Temple wore white. The High Priest wore a number of uniforms while doing his work, some of them gilded and very expensive, but when he performed the special rituals of Yom Kippur, he wore white. White was tied to happiness, and Jewish women customarily wore white on Tu B’Av and on Yom Kippur, as well as on other holidays and Shabbat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Ashkenazic Jewish tradition, a custom developed that men should wear a \u201ckittel\u201d \u2013 a special article of clothing worn by Ashkenazic Jews on the High Holy Days, and which is entirely white. The kittel was a kind of simple, white robe with no frills which was tied together with a white waistband. Before being adopted for the Jewish holidays, it was worn for meaningful events, such as under the wedding canopy and when the dead were being buried \u2013 men were often buried in their kittels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was customary in some Jewish communities to wear the kittel on Yom Kippur and sometimes also on Rosh Hashanah. Others took care to wear it twice a year \u2013 during the High Holy Days and the Passover Seder. Therefore, Nachum Zitter, director of Information Services at the National Library, recommends taking care to clean the kittel between these events to prevent chametz<\/em> [unleavened grain products forbidden on Passover] from accumulating on the clothing. And even then \u2013 not all men are supposed to wear this ceremonial article of clothing. In some communities, all married men wear it while in others \u2013 only those with communal religious roles such as the gabbai <\/em>(treasurer or steward), chazan<\/em> (cantor), and the blower of the shofar (ram’s horn) wear a white kittel.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow did the kittel become such a multi-purpose item, which we can use both in times of great happiness and sadness? The kittel had unique manufacturing conditions which linked it with the shrouds worn by the dead. Thus, it customarily did not contain pockets, because Jews take nothing with them to the grave, and it contained no decorations or knots to maintain its simplicity. \u201cMy grandfather had two kittels,\u201d Nachum Zitter recalled. \u201cAnd you must wonder \u2013 why does one need two kittels? After all, you only die once. Except he was the chazan<\/em> in the synagogue, and he would end the prayer for Rosh Hashanah sweating a great deal, so he took care to have a clean kittel for the second day of Rosh Hashanah. And so it was that he left behind an additional kittel after he passed, which was very rare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nJews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur<\/em>, oil on cloth, 1878, Maurycy Gottlieb<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nSome claim that the kittel was already worn in the time of the Mishnah, as a white sheet or robe worn special for Shabbat. The Midrash Eichah Rabbah describes an incident in which a Roman mocks the Jewish Shabbat garments which seem to last forever, as they are only worn once a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Jerusalem Talmud describes a custom of wearing white clothes on Yom Kippur. It attributes this custom even then to the duality of the High Holy Days themselves \u2013 the happiness mixed with sadness and fear of God\u2019s judgment, and how wearing white is an expression of feelings of security and happiness despite Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur being seen as the Time of Judgement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cWhat nation is as this nation? The custom of the world is that a man who knows he is being judged wears black and wraps [himself in it] \u2026 but Israel is not so, but rather wear white and wrap in white \u2026 and are happy, knowing that the Holy One, Blessed Be He does them miracles.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
(Jerusalem Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, 1.3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The connection between ceremonial white clothing and happiness slowly took on a more sober meaning in Medieval Europe. Rabbi Mordechai Ben Hillel Ashkenazi brings another reason for the custom in the name of the Maharam:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cAnd another reason is because on a Yom Tov all are happy, and they wear a sargenes [another term for kittel] which is the garb of the dead, and they remember the day of death, and his heart will not become haughty within him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
In other words, despite the happiness which comes with a holiday, a person must wear shrouds to remind themselves of the day of their death and the fleeting nature of life. This led to the development of another reason to wear white: to confuse Satan by adopting an angel-like appearance, since Jews fast on Yom Kippur and are therefore already in the process of behaving somewhat like angels, incapable of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere was no specific garb like the kittel among Mizrachi Jews,\u201d explains Nachum Zitter. \u201cBut there was still a widespread custom to wear white. The Mizrachi Jews were greatly influenced by the Kabbalah, which is very favorable towards wearing white cotton clothing. There is also a symbolic connection to Rachav the prostitute who hid the spies inside cotton [in the Book of Joshua]. So, the kabbalistic context greatly influenced Mizrachi Jews, and the custom gained further influence and spread.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
How did the kittel become such a multi-purpose item, which we can use both in times of great happiness and sadness? The kittel had unique manufacturing conditions which linked it with the shrouds worn by the dead. Thus, it customarily did not contain pockets, because Jews take nothing with them to the grave, and it contained no decorations or knots to maintain its simplicity. \u201cMy grandfather had two kittels,\u201d Nachum Zitter recalled. \u201cAnd you must wonder \u2013 why does one need two kittels? After all, you only die once. Except he was the chazan<\/em> in the synagogue, and he would end the prayer for Rosh Hashanah sweating a great deal, so he took care to have a clean kittel for the second day of Rosh Hashanah. And so it was that he left behind an additional kittel after he passed, which was very rare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some claim that the kittel was already worn in the time of the Mishnah, as a white sheet or robe worn special for Shabbat. The Midrash Eichah Rabbah describes an incident in which a Roman mocks the Jewish Shabbat garments which seem to last forever, as they are only worn once a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Jerusalem Talmud describes a custom of wearing white clothes on Yom Kippur. It attributes this custom even then to the duality of the High Holy Days themselves \u2013 the happiness mixed with sadness and fear of God\u2019s judgment, and how wearing white is an expression of feelings of security and happiness despite Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur being seen as the Time of Judgement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat nation is as this nation? The custom of the world is that a man who knows he is being judged wears black and wraps [himself in it] \u2026 but Israel is not so, but rather wear white and wrap in white \u2026 and are happy, knowing that the Holy One, Blessed Be He does them miracles.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n (Jerusalem Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, 1.3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The connection between ceremonial white clothing and happiness slowly took on a more sober meaning in Medieval Europe. Rabbi Mordechai Ben Hillel Ashkenazi brings another reason for the custom in the name of the Maharam:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd another reason is because on a Yom Tov all are happy, and they wear a sargenes [another term for kittel] which is the garb of the dead, and they remember the day of death, and his heart will not become haughty within him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n In other words, despite the happiness which comes with a holiday, a person must wear shrouds to remind themselves of the day of their death and the fleeting nature of life. This led to the development of another reason to wear white: to confuse Satan by adopting an angel-like appearance, since Jews fast on Yom Kippur and are therefore already in the process of behaving somewhat like angels, incapable of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere was no specific garb like the kittel among Mizrachi Jews,\u201d explains Nachum Zitter. \u201cBut there was still a widespread custom to wear white. The Mizrachi Jews were greatly influenced by the Kabbalah, which is very favorable towards wearing white cotton clothing. There is also a symbolic connection to Rachav the prostitute who hid the spies inside cotton [in the Book of Joshua]. So, the kabbalistic context greatly influenced Mizrachi Jews, and the custom gained further influence and spread.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\nDid it hurt when you fell from heaven?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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![\"Yael\"](\"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/yael-600x600.jpg\")