Shtreimel (pronounced stremm-ill)
A fur
hat worn by many married Haredi Jewish men on the Sabbath, during Jewish
holidays, weddings and other festive occasions.
Late 1500s: From the Yiddish שטרײַמל (shtrayml) of unknown origin. The plural form is either שטרײַמלעך (shtraymlekh) or שטרײַמלען (shtraymlen) and when rendered in English it should probably be shtreimlech but shtreimels is regularly seen and is now probably more prevalent in commerce. Shtreimel is a noun; the noun plural is shtreimels.
In the sixteenth century, Eastern Europeans fought the Mongol hordes invading from the east, eventually driving them out. The Mongols had worn a fur headgear akin to shtreimlach and, after the victory, the Europeans, never fond of the Jews whom they regarded as outsiders as foreign as the invaders, compelled them to wear similar hats to degrade and set them apart. From this improbable origin came first the acceptance and later the actual code of dress adopted by European Jewry and Chassidim (also known as Hasidism or Hasidic Judaism, a strictly orthodox Jewish sect which opposed Hellenizing influences on their faith). By the nineteenth century it had spread around the world.
A shtreimel is worn usually on Shabbat, Jewish holidays and other festive occasions and although typically restricted to married men, in some communities, it’s worn from the age of bar mitzvah. Although it’s long been a custom for Jewish males to cover their heads, under Jewish law there is no special significance to the shtreimel compared to other head coverings but adopting two is thought to add spiritual merit, a shtreimel worn always over a kippah (or yarmulke, the Jewish skullcap). Sometimes more controversial is the materialist aspect, the intricate craftsmanship of the more expensive shtreimlech does, for some, add to their appeal and they can be displayed as a status-symbol, a conspicuous consumption not approved by all . The best shtreimlech are bespoke creations for the wearer, made from the tips of the tails of Canadian or Russian sable, stone marten, pine marten or American gray fox and, by tradition, a bride's father purchases a shtreimel for the groom upon his wedding. These range in price from US$1,000-$6,000 although reproductions in synthetic fur can be bought for a fraction of this, the choice dependent on family circumstances rather than religious tradition. Never part of everyday apparel, a shtreimel is worn only in conjunction with the clothes worn on the Shabbos (the Jewish Sabbath). While there are no official rules as to when a shtreimel is worn, it’s usually restricted to religious holidays, weddings and at a brit milah (the Jewish religious male circumcision ceremony).
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK; North Korea): female soldiers. Although the resemblance is striking, it's not believed the hats worn as part of the uniforms by female members of the Democratic People's Republic or Korea (DPRK; North Korea were modelled after the shtreimel and it's mere sartorial coincidence.
The real fur shtreimels attracted the interest of the
animal rights pressure group, People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) which in 2013 supported Rabbi
Shlomo Pappenheim (b 1926), leader of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect, when he delivered a
speech at an animal rights conference in Israel, calling on Hasidic Jews to
stop wearing real fur shtreimel hats. According
to the rabbi, each shtreimel, which demands the slaughter of up to thirty sables, minks,
martens, or foxes, violates the Jewish law of tza’ar ba’alei chayim, which prohibits causing animals unnecessary
pain adding that as a matter of Jewish law, flaunting real fur hats amounts to Chilul Hashem (desecration of God’s name)
because the cruelty of the fur industry is so notorious. He concluded his address by saying Jewish
culture must evolve to the point where it becomes a matter of shame to wear “anything but a synthetic shtreimel.”
Whether it was Rabbi Pappenheim’s thoughts or Ms Anderson’s persuasion which was most influential isn’t known but the campaign seemed to have some effect, Israel in 2021 becoming the first country to ban fur. However, as cynics noted, it was a typical piece of cleverness by the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) in that the ban doesn’t apply to those most likely to wear the furry hats, the legislation still permitting the import of sable shtreimels, worn by many Haredi men, the amendment to the Wildlife Protection Law (1976) allowing permits for importation to be issued if the pelts are to be used for “religion, religious tradition, scientific research, education or teaching.” As in many aspects of secular laws passed by the Knesset, this loophole effectively exempts ultra-Orthodox Jews from its operation although importers will now need to apply for special permits, something thought “not an obstacle.” The law may thus have little practical effect; given its climate, garments using fur are rarely seen in Israel except as shtreimels.
Harold Macmillan (1894–1986; UK prime-minister 1957-1963) and comrade Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971; Soviet leader 1953-1964), on the tarmac at Moscow airport, February 1959 (left) and Lindsay Lohan in Netflix's Falling for Christmas (2023). In many religions, it's not uncommon for what were once purely functional or pragmatic garments or practices to become symbols of religious observance and it seems likely the origin of the shtreimel was in headgear designed to provide warmth.
Macmillan’s visit, the first to Russia by a British PM since Winston Churchill's (1875-1965; UK prime-minister 1940-1945 & 1951-1955) wartime trips, started with him making what he hoped would be a friendly gesture, wearing a Russian white fur hat (ushanka) but this was soon swapped for a black one because a foreign office advisor suggested the white, dating from his last visit to Russia during the Russo-Finnish War (the so-called "Winter War", 1939-1940) might cause offence, the conflict not a happy memory in the Kremlin. The foreign office was correct but (and this does happen with the FO) for the wrong reason, the white fur purely a fashion faux pas. When Macmillan's predecessor (Anthony Eden, 1897–1977; UK prime-minister 1955-1957), visited Moscow in 1941 while foreign secretary, comrade Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986; USSR foreign minister 1939-1949 & 1953-1956), showing an untypical concern for the details of protocol, told Eden "Á Moscou, Excellence, on ne porte pas la casquette de fourrure blanche" (In Moscow, Your Excellency, you don't wear a white fur hat).
Twenty-odd years on however, the Russians seemed either not to notice or be unconcerned, the white fur attracting no comment on arrival and the prime-minister’s sartorial flourishes continued, choosing practical plus fours for his tour of collective farm, and, in a nice touch, a Guards Regiment tie when visiting a nuclear facility. Lavish banquets followed around tables laden with champagne, vodka, caviar, salmon and Cuban cigars and all went well although, regarding the vodka, perhaps a little too well, as Macmillan would later note.
While the prime-minister was touring a Moscow research institute, comrade Khrushchev was in Berlin where he delivered a truculent speech intending use Macmillan’s visit to destabilize NATO. The next day’s Anglo-Soviet discussions were “angry and fraught”, an atmosphere not helped by both delegations being “rather drunk”. To express his displeasure with a snub, Khrushchev the next day issued a statement saying he was taking no part in that day’s activities because he had “toothache” and the Western press promptly, and gleefully, coined the phrase “diplomatic toothache”. Just to add emphasis, despite being indisposed by his “toothache”, the Kremlin made it known comrade Khrushchev had spent the day in meetings with a visiting delegation from Iraq. Macmillan rescued the situation with some typically cynical British diplomacy and comrade Khrushchev quickly resumed his role of genial host, telling everyone his toothache had been cured “…by a British drill”. Although achievements had been modest, both sides considered the visit a success, something in this field measured less by anything attained than unpleasantness avoided.
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