{"id":10317,"date":"2014-05-09T00:05:48","date_gmt":"2014-05-08T21:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=10317"},"modified":"2020-09-15T13:05:22","modified_gmt":"2020-09-15T10:05:22","slug":"15-09-05","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/15-09-05\/","title":{"rendered":"05. Wearing Shoes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neither shoes nor sandals may be worn on Yom Kippur. In the past, these were generally made of leather, because people did not know how to craft strong, durable, and flexible shoes from other materials. Shoes made of cork, rubber, or wood were often used at home, as slippers, and poor people, who would normally go barefoot, would sometimes wear them outdoors. The question arises: May one wear non-leather footwear on Yom Kippur?<\/p>\n

Some Rishonim forbid walking in wooden shoes, because one walking in them does not feel the roughness of the ground beneath his feet. However, they permit cork and rubber shoes, because one walking in them feels the roughness of the ground and suffers accordingly (Rashi; Rambam; Tosafot<\/em>; Rabbeinu Yeru\u1e25am).<\/p>\n

Other Rishonim permit wearing all non-leather shoes. They maintain that, by definition, non-leather footwear cannot be shoes. Rather, such \u201cshoes\u201d are just items of clothing, and as such they may be worn on Yom Kippur (Ramban; Rosh; Rashba). Indeed, most A\u1e25aronim rule this way in practice (SA 614:2).<\/p>\n

However, it seems clear that this view presumes a reality in which non-leather shoes were uncomfortable for walking, and thus it could be claimed that these were not considered proper shoes. Nowadays, however, when manufacturers commonly produce high-quality non-leather shoes, one may not wear shoes of any material on Yom Kippur if it is a kind of shoe that people would wear year-round to walk on rocky and rough terrain.<\/p>\n

A generation ago, when it was still uncommon to find high-quality shoes made from other materials, some poskim<\/em> permitted walking in comfortable shoes as long as they were not made from leather or synthetic leather. However, with the passage of time, excellent non-leather shoes are becoming more and more readily available, so the numbers of those who permit wearing such shoes on Yom Kippur are decreasing.<\/p>\n

Therefore, one may not wear non-leather shoes on Yom Kippur if they are worn year-round on rocky or rough terrain, regardless of what material they are made from. Thus, footwear such as \u201cCrocs,\u201d \u201cKeds,\u201d and \u201cAll-stars\u201d may not be worn on Yom Kippur. One may wear cloth slippers or basic rubber shoes, however, since they are not normally worn on rough terrain. Nevertheless, since some poskim<\/em> are still permissive and permit non-leather shoes, one should not object if someone else relies on them.[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

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\n[7]<\/a>. Yoma<\/em> 78b states that several Amora\u2019im permit walking in cork shoes and the like. Following these statements, a mishna<\/em> is cited which considers a wooden leg to be a shoe. The Gemara explains that a wooden shoe is prohibited, while a cork shoe and the like is permitted. This is the position of Rashi, Tosafot<\/em>, Itur<\/em>, and Rabbeinu Yeru\u1e25am. The rationale is that wooden shoes are strong and protect the feet, whereas cork shoes and the like do not properly protect the feet. Therefore, they are not considered shoes. Rambam writes something similar when speaking about cork and rubber shoes: \u201cFor his feet sense the hardness of the ground, and he feels like he is barefoot\u201d (MT, Laws of Resting on the Tenth 3:7). Several A\u1e25aronim adopt this opinion, including Panim Me\u2019irot<\/em> 2:28, \u1e24ida, and Vilna Gaon, who all state that one may not wear shoes if they keep him from sensing the hardness of the ground. (Ba\u2019al Ha-Ma\u2019or, though, maintains that there is no difference between cork shoes and wooden shoes. The only thing he permits is wrapping cloth around the feet.) In contrast, Ramban writes that only a shoe made of leather is considered a shoe, following the opinion of R. Yo\u1e25anan ben Nuri (Shabbat<\/em> 66a). A shoe made of any other material is not deemed a shoe, and thus may be worn on Yom Kippur. This is the position of Rosh, Rashba, Ritva, and Me\u2019iri, and this is how they understand the Rif. This is also the ruling in SA 614:2. Most A\u1e25aronim (including Zera Emet<\/em> and Responsa Maharshag<\/em>) follow SA. Indeed, this was the common ruling. MB 614:5 states that although most poskim<\/em> agree that a non-leather shoe is considered simply an item of clothing and may be worn, and those who are lenient should therefore not be rebuked, nevertheless, since some poskim<\/em> are stringent about any shoe that protects the foot well, those who can should be stringent and simply wear thick socks or slippers, as was common practice. Most contemporary poskim<\/em> agree that while it is permitted to wear non-leather shoes, it is proper to be stringent and avoid wearing them if they are comfortable and protect the wearer from feeling the roughness of the ground. This is the view of Halikhot Shlomo<\/em> 5:16-17 and R. Eliyahu in Hilkhot \u1e24agim<\/em> 45:38-39. \u1e24azon Ovadia<\/em>, p. 313, is lenient even le-khat\u1e25ila<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It seems clear, however, that those who were lenient in the past assumed that no material could compete with leather in terms of durability, strength, and flexibility. All the substitutes were either cloth used as slippers or extremely low-quality shoes that only the poor would wear sometimes, as the poor usually went barefoot. They would wrap their feet for protection only if they had injured a foot or if they had to traverse particularly rough terrain. It is this type of \u201cshoe\u201d that the Amora\u2019im and Rishonim argued about. Those who were stringent forbade wearing these shoes since they did offer a degree of protection. Those who were lenient permitted them because they were not comfortable to walk in and people did not generally do so. For example, Ritva on Shabbat<\/em> 66a writes explicitly that he permitted wooden shoes because they were not normally worn. Ran, too, (Yoma<\/em> 2b) offers this as the reason for the lenient position. Other Rishonim state that any shoe worn throughout the year may not be worn on Yom Kippur (Yere\u2019im<\/em> \u00a7420; Tosafot<\/em>, Yevamot<\/em> 103a, s.v. \u201cbe-anpilya\u201d). Maharshag writes that we rule leniently when it comes to non-leather shoes, because quality shoes that people regularly wear are usually made of leather. Therefore, even in the rare case of good shoes that are made of another material, they may be worn (Responsa Maharshag<\/em> 2:110). However, now that shoes are made from a variety of materials, Maharshag, too, would be stringent.<\/p>\n

To summarize, it seems to me that there would be no disagreement among the Rishonim about shoes nowadays; all would agree that if the shoes are good quality and worn year-round, they may not be worn on Yom Kippur. Indeed, this is the ruling of R. Ariel (Ohala Shel Torah<\/em> 2:81) and R. Elyashiv (cited in Hilkhot \u1e24ag Be-\u1e25ag<\/em> 22:25). It seems that as time goes on and people get more used to wearing shoes made from a variety of materials, more poskim<\/em> are stringent and consider all of them as shoes. The law as it applies to flip-flops, Crocs, and the like is a bit unclear. On the one hand, many people do wear them in the street. However, it seems that the criterion to determine whether they are prohibited is whether people wear them on rough terrain. If almost no one wears them in such areas, they may be worn on Yom Kippur. (True, according to Ba\u1e25<\/em> one must walk barefoot, but we do not take his opinion into account.)<\/p>\n

Perhaps we can justify the position of those who are lenient and wear good non-leather shoes. They may be following the view of the Rishonim who maintain that the prohibition on wearing shoes is a rabbinic enactment limited to leather. So even if nowadays all would agree that a non-leather shoe is good and sturdy, it does not become prohibited, as we do not make new enactments. Additionally, shoes made of leather are still considered to be of a higher quality than those made of any other material. Finally, Arizal offers a kabbalistic explanation for the prohibition, related to the \u201cgarments of leather\u201d that God gave to Adam and \u1e24ava to appease their animal souls (Pri Etz \u1e24ayim<\/em>, Sha\u2019ar Yom Ha-kippurim<\/em>, ch. 4). This rationale would not apply to non-leather shoes. Nevertheless, it seems to me that there is no room for leniency, and the prohibition applies to all shoes worn outside on rough terrain, whether or not they are leather.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neither shoes nor sandals may be worn on Yom Kippur. In the past, these were generally made of leather, because people did not know how to craft strong, durable, and flexible shoes from other materials. Shoes made of cork, rubber, or wood were often used at home, as slippers, and poor people, who would normally […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[192],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-15-09"],"yoast_head":"\n05. Wearing Shoes - Peninei Halakha<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/15-09-05\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"05. Wearing Shoes - Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Neither shoes nor sandals may be worn on Yom Kippur. In the past, these were generally made of leather, because people did not know how to craft strong, durable, and flexible shoes from other materials. 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