Soc.Culture.Jewish Newsgroups Frequently Asked Questions and Answers URL: www.scjfaq.org/faq/11-01-10.html

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Question 11.1.10:
Dress: What is the large high ceremonial hat that the Rabbi wears in the synagogue called?

There isn't one. Many traditional Rabbis tend to wear fedoras, but then, so do most of the congregation as part of formal Sabbath wear. Some with more Chassidic leanings would wear a Hamburg, a felt hat with a flatter brim, no pinches in the hat itself like you would find on a fedora. Chassidim themselves tend to wear fur hats. Those communities from Russia and eastern Poland wear a "spodik", a brown (nearly black) fur hat that is taller than it is high. Those from Hungary, Galicia and therabouts wear a "shtreiml", an almost disklike hat whose center is felt surrounded by a brown mink ruff. But these are worn by the entire community for the Sabbath, and aren't specific to Rabbis.

At one point in time, during the 19th and early 20th century, cantors -- the ones trained in the melodies and meanings of prayer -- tended to wear high Cantorial Caps. They were actually elaborate versions of the style of Yarmulka worn amongst Latvian Jews. (The plainer version looked something like an old seargent's hat or cooks cap, but in black.)

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