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May 15, 2023

The Italian Artisans Whose Hats Have Become a Marker of Jewish Piety

From Humphrey Bogart to the yeshiva.

The main way ḥaredi men identify themselves to outsiders and to one another is by wearing a brimmed black hat. For many Ḥasidim, such hats are replaced by fur ones on Sabbaths and other special occasion. For non-Ḥasidim, the gold-standard of haberdashery is the broad-brimmed fedora manufactured by the Italian firm Borsalino. Bill Motchan delves into its history, and how it became a symbol of Jewish religious devotion:

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