Is Fur a Jewish Issue?
) Nowadays, Gerer Hasidim also wear fake fur spodiks, due to an edict by their leader to stop the extravagant cost of real fur hats, which can be a burden for poorer families. About buying a streimel: I get asked this question a lot. As far as I know, there’s no place on the Net where you can order a streimel. They are made-to-order and, in most groups, a young man gets his first streimel as a wedding gift from the bride’s family. Adults can, of course, buy their own, but they are very expensive, averaging $1800 and up. If you want a real streimel, you will have to travel to a Hasidic neighborhood and find a streimel-maker. If you just want a costume for a stage play, you can duplicate the look by cutting the brim off an old black hat and then circling it with long brown fake fur. (see photo above). The late Lubovitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, wore a plain fedora, although his predecessor, Rabbi Joseph I. Schneerson, wore a fur streimel. According to Lubovitch sources that