Q: I recently read somewhere that when you buy clothing you must make sure it's “Shatnez free.” What does that mean? My food is already all gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and everything else free, do I also need to start worrying about my clothing as well?

 

A: There is a prohibition in the Torah against wearing clothing that has wool and linen woven together. This is called “Shatnez.”  You may be wondering; why on earth can’t I? And you would not be the only one. This mitzvah is called a ‘Chok” meaning there is no reason. We do it because Hashem says so. A critical part of Judaism is surrendering to G-d and expressing that through keeping even the Mitzvot that doesn’t make sense. Shatnez is one of them. So when you buy clothing make sure they don’t contain both wool and linen. There are even expert “Shatnez checkers” that can help you out!

Back Back