The Shatnez Newsletter By Rabbi Dovid Ginsburg- Cleveland Fall 2007

Quick Fact: Russian-Style Winter Hats

Very often clothes from Russia contain Shatnez. Shatnez has Shatnez is the combination of sheep’s been found in suits, coats, and other types of clothing. In Russian wool and linen from the flax plant. military clothing combinations of wool and linen are frequently

used for warmth and durability. Other wools, such as mohair (goat) or angora (long- haired rabbit) are not included in the prohibition. Many major Western clothes manufactures now outsource to factories in countries from the former Soviet Union. These Other vegetable fibers, such as cotton are not included garments may not be made in the typical Russian manner with its in the prohibition. frequent use of mixed materials that contain Shatnez, but of

course they should be checked. A story to illustrate:

While giving an educational Shatnez presentation to a group of young girls, I mentioned that Russian-style fur hats often contain Basic Guidelines II Shatnez. The girls’ Rebbi told me that he had bought one three years ago on the street in Moscow. “I was freezing and it was a

bargain,” he told me. “We could check in now to show the girls

how we check for Shatnez,” I said. Hats He agreed and went to the car to get it. As I gently opened the seam of the inner lining to inspect the insulation, he could tell Fedora-style hats, which from the expression on my face that what I found was a problem. are made from angora (rabbit) wool or beaver, The interior of the hat was filled with ground rags, great for insulation, but almost always Shatnez. do not require testing.

“Taxi-style” cloth caps Thankfully we caught it, but it was too late: the Rebbi had worn

need testing as they may the hat three winters in a row, perhaps hundreds of times. contain Shatnez in the With winter on its way be sure to have your garments inspected fabric or lining. before you need them! Caps made of pure wool, such as “Kangol” brand Best wishes, Rabbi Ginsburg caps, have not been found to contain Shatnez. Women’s head coverings, such as hats and snoods should be checked if they contain wool or linen. Rabbi Dovid Ginsburg is a member of the International Costumes, sports equipment with padding, and Association of Professional Shaatnez Laboratories (NCSTAR), a military surplus, including hats, should always be network of over 80 testers in more than 60 cities worldwide.

checked. HOURS ADDRESS Any hat with an insulating layer between the SUNDAY 3726 BENDEMEER RD. outer shell and inner lining should be checked. 10:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m. CLEVELAND HEIGHTS Please see the following article about a MONDAY-THURSDAY Russian-style fur hat. TELEPHONE NUMBER 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. (216) 458-1895

CALL TO MAKE AN NCSTAR ON THE WEB

APPOINTMENT AT OTHER WWW.SHAATNEZ.N3.NET TIMES OR ASK A QUESTION.

Fall 2007 לע"נ אסתר בת צבי הירש The Cleveland Shaatnez Newsletter Lanvin-Italy Recent Find in Shatnez Labs in Mani-Mexico Marcello Torontino-Italy the NCSTAR Network Moschino Navigante-China From all over North America and the World, Shatnez Neiman Marcus testers in the NCSTAR network are sharing information. Nick Name-Italy Here is a list of only some of the garments in which Oddermark Shatnez was found. Oxford Clothiers- U.S.A Pal Zileri-Italy Men’s Suit’s NOT ALL CREATED EQUAL Philippe Laurent-Venezuela One of the questions most frequently Piattelli-Italy Astor & Black Custom Clothiers-H.K. asked of Shatnez testers is: “If I Polo by -Italy Andrew Fezza – FYR Macedonia Prada-Italy bought two of the same garment, do Armani Collezioni-Italy Redaelli-Italy Armani-Italy I have to have the second one Redwood & Ross –U.S.A. Arnold Brant -Canada checked?” Sarar-Turkey Banana Republic-Turkey Saks Fifth Avenue-China Yes. Barberini-France Samuelson-Canada Barneys NewYork-Italy These two stories illustrate why. Sharfman’s-Turkey Brioni- Italy Stones Brooks Brothers- U.S.A. Mr. Yoel Hyton, of Chicago, brought Ted Baker Endurance-Turkey Burberry -U.S.A. in two identical Nautica coats during Ted Baker-Morocco Calvin Klien Collection-Italy the last weeks of January. While one Tombolini-Italy Canali-Italy was found to be without Shatnez, the Trend Corneliani-Italy Cantarelli-Italy Trussini-Italy other had linen in the belt loops. This Cerruli 1881-Italy Ungaro-Spain Cornelliani-Italy was the strange case of the selvage Valentino-Italy Crispino originally found by Rabbi Heinemann Van Gills Daks of Cleveland. Selvage is a thread Venturini-Turkey Di Pal Zileri-Italy woven in to the edges large bolts of Versace Classic-Croatia cloth to prevent the weave from Versace Collection-Croatia Dunhill Versace-Italy unraveling. Ermenegildo Zegna Vestimenta-Italy Express Design Studio-Turkey Mrs. Fern Guttmann, also of Chicago Z Zegna Faconnable-Italy dropped off two identical Louis Dell Zanella-Italy Gian Luca-Italy Zara Man-Turkey Gianfranco ferre-Italy O’lio coats that were for her sons. Two coats bought from the same Gianni Campagna- Italy Men’s Coat’s Gianni Versace –Italy store, from the same rack. One Giorgio Armani- Italy coat’s shoulder pads were made Banana Republic-Thailand Canali-Italy Gucci-Italy from recycled fibers that contained a H&M-Turkey Hickey Freeman –U.S.A. mix of wool and linen, while its twin Hugo Boss -Italy Joseph Abboud-China Hathaway-Italy did not. Kenneth Cole-FYR Macedonia Hickey-Freeman- U.S.A Each garment we wear is unique Lanvin-Italy Hilton Vestimenta-Italy -China Hong Kong Tailored Suits and may contain Shatnez. Hugo Boss- U.S.A Boys Suits Jaguar Jhane Barnes Frequency-China John Varvatos*USA-Mexico Armani Martillo-Canada Joseph A Banks-Mexico Bergamo Uomo Joseph Abboud Gyvanchi-Canada Milano Collection -Turkey Kenneth Cole-Macedonia Nino Bertini-Italy Kiton-Italy Victorio De Milano-Syria

Fall 2007 לע"נ אסתר בת צבי הירש The Cleveland Shaatnez Newsletter