Bekishe

, which is made of wool or polyester, looking like a regular double-breasted suit, only longer. Many Hassidic rabbis wear a "bekishe" during the week. In such a case, they will wear a fancier "bekishe" for Shabbos, often lined with velvet or some color other than or in addition to black.

There are two main types of Bekishe. The "Zaiden" (silk) "Glatt" (plain, lit. smooth) Bekishe is solid colored, and is usually worn for Friday night and Saturday morning prayers. For Shabbos meals, the patterned (less expensive) polyester Bekishe, with an attached belt, also known as an "Ess Chalat" (Hebrew) or a "Tish Bekishe" (Yiddish), is worn. The "Tish Bekishe" is also worn during the Shabbos afternoon prayer service and the night after Shabbos. Some non-Hassidic Orthodox Jews wear a "Tish Bekishe" at home during the Shabbos meals. Many Hassidic Rebbes, mainly of Hungarian lineage, wear "Tish Bekishes" with various colors, usually either, blue, silver, often with black.

Most married Chabad hasidim wear a long black "Kapoteh" (frock coat) instead of a bekishe. The woolen "Kapoteh", besides its unique waist seam construction, has four buttons in the front (as opposed to six on the front of a bekishe), as well as slit in the back, which is lacking on the bekishe.

Many Hassidic Rebbes wear "Samet" (velvet) or "Strohkes" (velvet piping), symbolizing tefillin, on the "bekeshe". (As is pictured above.)

External links

* [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=3186 Why the Long Black Coat?] from chabad.org