By COLlive reporter
A new halachic ruling by a leader of the Israeli Litvish groups banning Crocs on Yom Kippur has caused much talk among religious Jews.
Rabbi Yosef Sholom Elyashiv of Jerusalem has ruled that it is best not to wear Crocs slippers on the fast day even though they are non-leather and therefore, are seemingly permissible.
Ynetnews.com reported that his reasoning behind the ruling is that they are too comfortable, and thus don’t provide the level of suffering one should feel on the holiday.
His ruling will create a challenge this year for his students, many of whom have chosen in recent years to wear Crocs on Yom Kippur.
But halachic authorities in North America who have spoken to COLlive.com after hearing this ruling seem to differ on this opinion.
Rabbi Moshe Bogomilsky, a Crown Heights Rov who tends to be strict at times, said he understood the background of the ruling.
“It’s a general question whether a comfortable shoe is allowed on Yom Kippur,” he said.
“But this has nothing to do with Crocs per say. The same doubt exists concerning Nike sneakers or any other non-leather footwear which is made for comfort,” Bogomilsky concluded.
Rabbi Dovid Rafael Banon, Chief Rabbi of Chomedey and member of the Montreal Bais Din, agreed with Bogomilsky.
“The prohibition of not wearing leather was not only about comfort,” he told COLlive. “In those days it was about luxury and prestige.”
“Today you can wear a non-leather sport shoe which is very comfortable too. So I don’t see how Crocs are any different.”
Rabbi Gavriel Zinner of Boro Park, author of the 26 volume Nitei Gavriel halacha series, said there was an additional issue.
“The Rambam says that the idea (of a non-leather shoe) is to feel the floor,” he explains.
But practically speaking, Rabbi Zinner says: “If someone wishes to be lenient – he could.”
w/ #4
yes
it isn’t leather
“Davka because he said not to, we should wear them”
Very bright and mature. Why don’t you fax the ohel and see if yours is the proper course? Kol ha oiver al divrei chachomim chayav missa!
i think its fine
i know for a fact that we r not the ssame person cuz i posted number 57 and my great uncle reb mordechai shetichye posted the next one and my great granny smith posted the next one
sameperson.com
Davka because he said not to, we should wear them
lernin chsidus un ah breg,
vichulhu
zay gezunt
crocs r the best and i do not care
Dear: The Problem Here is that Halacha has become a cholent,
THE PROBLEM HERE IS THE USE OF INTERNET IN A DAMAGING WAY.
The hosts should not allow ANY COMMENT WITHOUT A NAME! If it’s fake, so it’s fake!
NO GUTS! AMBUSHING A RAV OR JEW IS F O R B I D D E N!
The Internet has become a refuge for the poor and unfortunate fools of the world!
Namelessness also makes the site weak and boring. There’s no give and take because YOUR’RE TALKING TO A SPIRIT OR GHOST. Perhaps it’s a robot? Blackbird, etc?
Nuff Said.
first of all, i agree with whoever said that fake crocs r not comfortable go try real ones b4 u complain!
second, crocs r designed in such a away that after wearing them 4 a few times they mols to the shape of ur feet so get new crocs in honor on yom kippur 🙂
LOL!!!
We are looking at A La Carte Yiddishkeit 1. There is nothing wrong with his psak no matter what it is for those who look to him as their Posek. 2. There is nothing wrong with us wearing ANY type of non-leather footwear on Yom Kippur. There is a problem with trying to follow EVERY deioh and every psak (and without thinking, even those that are a stiroh to each other). Yiddishkeit is not A La Carte. In other words every Kehilla’s traditions, whether Halacha or Minhag, comprise a complete set of rules to live by. This is – Leider… Read more »
he was answering a question to someone who asked,,, “if i wear crocs all year round, can i wear it on yom kippur as well?.. so Rav eliyashiv answered, if its what you wear all year b/c of its comfort, then its better not too…
stop making a joke about what he said,, its his opinion, but hes not your Rov, so move on
“IS HE A “CROCS ON YOM KIPUR” BOCHER?”
Yay! I stated my name. Hurray for me! #39 you are THE GREATEST (Along with others)! Also anyone attributing evil to a rav, without solid proof, is a sadness for The Rebbe, MH”M. We Lubavitchers have our own Chumras. We bind the three ‘Minim’ together w/o separation, the Alte Rebbe suggested no talking from ‘Hodoo’ until the last ‘Kaddish’ after ‘Aleinu,’ we don’t hide the ‘Afikomen,’ etc. Even logically, looking at Rabbi Yosef Sholom Elyashiv’s psak, chumra, would realize that he must know there are other non-leather shoes which are very comfortable, so, I suppose he realizes that Crocks are… Read more »
no one said thats not allowed
No 39 is absolutely on the mark. Thank you for an intelligent explanation of the issue. Is it possible for everyone to read it before making further negative comments.
AND BESIDES… ONE OUT OF FIVE PEOPLE WEARING CROCS ARE ACTUALLY WEARING THE REAL DEAL.. AND NOT A FAKE KNOCK-OFF — WHICH ARE HUGELY UNCOMFTORABLE.. BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS COMFORTABLE OR NOT, CROCS ARE NOT LEATHER AND THEREFORE PERMISSABLE.
A GMAR CHASSIMAH TOVA.
let me see him go out barefoot or shoes with nails. dont understand his logic.
you are all crazy! ged a life
Your comment stems from an emense amount of arrogance and chutzpa. There are those who would say that about our Rebbe you are no better than them.
mate impossible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I see a lot of poshut am horatzus here in this debate. Everyone bashing a chumro and ridiculing it, only because they dont know anything about halacha. I find it ironic to have to come to the defense of a misnaged like rav elyoshiv. However, in the interest of ojectivity I feel that he was misunderstood completely. Here are the true halachic facts. Elyoshiv was not looking for a new chumoro. Someone came to him with a shailo and he responded accordingly. The Shailo is as follows, is one permited to wear a very comfortable shoe that is not made… Read more »
all this mishugas is crazy the halacha is that ur not allowed to wear leather shoes thats all and as far as i know crocs arnt leather….
stop looking for things to stir
I wore my daughter’s crocs on Yom kippur. They were NOT comfortable! I couldn’t wait to get them off and change into my comfortable slippers.
NYTimes wrote this week:
“Preparing to make a prime-time address explaining why the 2008 economic bailout wasn’t socialism, W. pads around the White House in Crocs, an image that’s hard to get out of your head.”
So you can’t say crocs are less luxury
i was just told by a friend that rabbi shezlinger of Switzerland said rabbi elyashiv never said this and it was one of his students and was looking to make some pr for his rov.
shezlinger said there is no source for such a psak and people should not even take it in consideration
it crocs me up LOL
the minhag the Rebbe once told of a story when chassidim didnt know what to do they asked a misnaged and did the opposite… it’s absolutely fine and a hidur to wear Crocs… hidur so your heads are not in your feet on yom kippur
Good point!
You really got the issue at hand!
Funny!
Crocks HAVE NO ARCHES & THEREBY RUINED MY KNEES!
why is crox bad for you?
so..from this psak din i understand that….WE CAN WEAR UNCONFORTABLE LEATHER SHOES IN YOM KIPUR!!!!
i hav a feeling that this is another misnagdishe chumroh to make the world a sadder place to live in. they’re all about learning about the churbon and crying on tisha ba’av. they abnned going to resorts for pesach b/c it might be too happy when we should also think of the mitsriyim! so now this special yom tov has come and we hav 2 do something, anything to make it less of a yom tov b/c it’s yom kippur. it’s meant to be serious not sad. personally crx are very bad for u, all the more reason to wear… Read more »
this would make a really good advertisement “our crocs are soooo comfortable that Jews cant even wear them on yom kippur!!!”
they r not even that comfortable 4 me, my leather shabbos flats r much more comfortable sometiimes… 🙂 they should now make crocs with pincers in the inside so that it should be painful, and therefore allowed.
great humour!
this is retarded everything has to have a prob of course!! but the crocs are nice colours!! lol☻☻
This whole conversation sounds like a “crock”….
He is confusing the expression “you shall afflict your souls” with “you shall afflict your soles”!!
we’ll always be werin croc’s on yomkipur
watch out now that you said that they are gonna ban all stars now
Is Eliashav missing the whole point of Kippur,he claims crocs are too comfortable in that case should we be wearing trainers with nails in the sole?This is just beyond ridiculous.The point is not to wear leather .full stop
Yom Kippur is one of the most holiest and serious days of the year. This is no joke.
When a rabbi says there is a problem we can’t dismiss it as one more chumra. This is Yom Kippur we’re talking about.
Take in consideration his psak – although he’s not lubavitch or chasidish.
Yom Kippur is not a day you want to depend of Kulos. We want hashem to treat us the same and take us seriously too and give us a good and sweet new year.
we will be wearing crocs this year. We have our rabbonim to listen to. So long a chabad rov didn’t forbide it there is nothing wrong with crocs. Its that simple. Each community for its own
Doesnt Rabbi Elyashav have anything better to do than worry about this?
THIS IS DUMB. THEY ARE NOT LEATHER, ITS JUST FINE.
NOONE WILL CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE.
Don’t take the Rebbe’s words out of context! The Rebbe wrote udlo kehamachmirim boze NOT TO WEAR SHOES AT ALL, that that isn’t our minhag! That says absolutely NOTHING about the issue at hand. Besides that is dealing with tisha b’av when some have the minhag davka to wear nothing as additional avelus, and that is what the Rebbe is writing we don’t do. Don’t quote from the Rebbe if you cannot read properly! Remember this for the future, as Lubavitch is suffering enough from every “yukel” playing “chabad spokesman” and “kemuvan” everything is blamed on the Rebbe, like the… Read more »
everyday another rabbi finds another problem with a topic he has zero prior knowledge of
focus on teaching ppl what yom kippur is then mixing in what or not to wear
what is hapenning to orthodox judaism?!
The rebbe already allowes all in sefer haminhagim where he writes “UDLO KEHAMCHMIRIM BOZEH”
i think he’s just embarrased to be seen in public with his luminous pink crocs! (ala reb mendelbaum)
i dont know about col but last time i heard elyashiv is against lubavitch and a talmid of shach who fought the rebbe all the years.so why would col even bother mentioning such a p++tz !?
It crocs me up LOL
crocsis fine..
So the answer is yes!
Rabbi Bogomilsky Rabbi Banon are saying yes L’Chatchila
Rabbi Tzinner is saying yes Bedieved
interesting how you choose not to get mixed in the c.h. politics…its sad but its the truth… people stopped respecting c.h. rabbonim because of all the politics
I never wear sneakers, since I like to look nice, and the one time a year I do wear them is Yom Kippur.
There is no denying that they are much more comfortable than the heels I usually wear.
So is Rabbi Elyashiv going to ban that too?
Maybe he thinks we should go barefoot. That would be painful!
I’m confused. so are we allowed to wear crocs or not?
whats with all these rediculous chumros? it reminds me of the bugs in the water. these people are always looking to stir things up and make us be stricter than neccesary/.
i hate crocs – never did like them and never will
go converse all stars!!