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Wearing a hat in a community where the rov don’t wear hats

Question:

Hi,

I am a former yeshiva bochur living in a community where very few wear hats for davening. If I want to start wearing one for davening, it is muttar to do so in a community like mine? are there any chashashos of lack of cavod tzibbur/ harabanim?

Answer:

It is mutter for you to put the hat on during davening. There are two reasons why we put a hat on for davening. The first is because when we daven shemona esrei we are standing in front of Hashem and we should be dressed in a respectable manner, that we would dress when talking to a dignitary. Although there are those who argue that nowadays people will talk to a dignitary even without a hat, nevertheless this is the minhag of most frum Ashkenazim, and of most Rabbonim and gedolei Yisroel. The second reason is when davening we have an obligation to wear a special garment. This is learned from the posuk “הכון לקראת אלוקיך ישראל”, “Prepare yourself to greet your G-d Yisroel” this is fulfilled when putting on a hat. There is no issue that it isn’t kavod for the tzibbur, as this is the way most frum people dress all over the world, and it isn’t as if you are doing something that is a chumra that most people don’t do.

One thing you do have to be careful about, is not to act in a way that gives an impression that you are better than the other people in the shul.

Have a kasiva v’shasima tova

Sources:

M:B 91-12, Tzitz Eliezer 13-13, Eishei Yisroel 10-9.

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