what the Cool Jew(ess) wears

what the Cool Jew(ess) wears

As I have recently purchased my first pieces of Jewlicious Apparel, and finished reading Cool Jew– the Heebster Handbook, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what I wear – what we wear, maybe even about modesty. For the last several weeks, I had collected my personal pieces of Jewish kitsch – judaikitsch, if you will – for a program which featured just that. My lame Boker Tov mug and shofar shaped cookie cutters aside, all I had to offer were t-shirts. Everyone Loves a Jewish Girl (everyone loves urban outfitters);  a collection of USY regalia and more. My newest include I ♥ Hashem, This Is What a Zionist Looks Like, and from the Jerusalem Women’s Rape & Crisis Center – This Is What A Jerusalem Feminist Looks Like.  Now that you know all about my wardrobe…my point was – well I’m not quite sure.

I went to an Orthodox shul for the first time this past Shabbat (excluding that one time I sat in the nosebleed section at the Jerusalem Great Syn. with the other girls on my Israel trip). I was really stressed out about what to wear to this shul. I fretted over what to wear longer than I do for most dates. But this was a date with G-d, and a large section of my community. I wore the longest appropriate skirt I own, but even still, I spent the entire time tugging at the hem so it would cover my knees when I sat. I worried about my choice of shoe…no one told me strappy sandals can be construed as immodest. Do I cover my head…Can I sing? I felt like I walked into a foreign land. I’d never been into a synagogue with a mechitzah. Although sitting next to a supportive friend made the experience slightly less intimidating – it was still just that.

So here’s where connect back to the Super Jew tees. I’ve been loud and proud about my Jewish-ness, even in a place where there aren’t so many of us and we kind of stick to ourselves. I wear a large Hamsa most days, a variety of Jewish stars and my collection of Jew-spired tees just as often. I work in the Jewish communal world, grew up in a place where either you were Jewish or were referred to as an honorary Jew by your Jewish friends (it’s true), and have no real qualms about my self-Jewish-expression. You wouldn’t have though I was the same person at that shul. While I followed along in the siddur, I was afraid to pray out loud. I was afraid to pray in a synagogue. Please note – this has nothing to do with the synagogue, the Rabbi or the members of the community. It’s my own shtick. I guess my point is that I didn’t even recognize myself. It had been a long while since I actually wore any of my Jewish tees but when I started to wear them again out and about – it was more like armor than a billboard of my Jewish-ness. And the whole situation made me really think about my Jewish cultural expression. Just some food for thought. And you should totally read Cool Jew.

Latest posts by arielle (see all)

About the author

arielle

3 Comments

  • I love your description of all your Jew kitsch. It sounds great, especially the tshirts. It’s interesting to note the separation that exists in your depiction of non-religious Jewish and religious Jewish identity. Do you have a separation between the two in your own mind, or are they usually seamless?

  • hmm. until just now I’ve never really given it much thought. I guess it’ like a bagel with lox cream cheese. There are two pieces of the bagel, but both shmeared with the same stuff.

  • I love this t-shirt. Any chance of it being available in South Africa?