A Disregarded Piece of RItualwear

[debka_notion]

In all my writing and thinking- I'm just realizing that the kittel seems to have really slipped the awareness of much of the American Jewish Community. I don't know much about it, nor do I know what sort of place it has, besides as being a matter of custom. All I know is that many men wear them at Seder, Yom Kippur, marriage and into the grave. I think that one wears one only after marriage, except for if one is leading the service, but I know no one who owns one who isn't married, and almost no one who uses one except if it's loaned to them for leading a high holiday service anyways. I'm not sure what sort of egalitarian consciousness one can bring to the garment at all- if grooms wear them to teh wedding, ought a truly egalitarian bride? I mean, that statement of mortality is pretty much exactly counter to a lot of the messages that I see in bridal gowns. What Do female corpses get dressed in for burial? I'm just realizing that I know practically Nothing on this topic. Time to do some research I guess.

Comments

[shirei-shibolim.livejournal.com]

I think that one wears one only after marriage, except for if one is leading the service . . .

My understanding is that this is connected to the custom of only wearing a tallit after one is married. If you don't follow that one, there's no point in doing the same with a kittel.

I'm not sure what sort of egalitarian consciousness one can bring to the garment at all- if grooms wear them to teh wedding, ought a truly egalitarian bride?

Depends on what you mean by "egalitarian." If the term means that women do everything men do, I'd say yes. If it only means that women are (or can be) obligated to the mitzvot from which they have traditionally been exempt, then it's not necessarily the case. (The kittel is not a mitzvah.)

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

Except that few people seem to wear kittels at all, but if it's a matter of custom, then that makes sense.

Ahh- I was getting my halakhic consciousness and my symbolic consciousness mixed together again. I guess I was thinking about how different the messages of the bride's and the groom's costuming, as it were, and what that might imply. Or it could just be seen as the two people together covering a larger range of messages than one person's clothing could convey alone. I don't know.

[pallasrosalind.livejournal.com]

I thought everyone was dressed the same for burial, men and women.