A bekishe, or beketshe is a long coat

Coat (clothing)

A coat is a long garment worn by both men and women, for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front, closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a belt, or a combination of some of these...

, usually made of black silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

 or polyester

Polyester

Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...

 worn by Hasidic Jews

Hasidic Judaism

Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...

, and by some non-Hasidic Haredi Jews. Most Hasidim only wear them on Shabbos, Jewish holiday

Jewish holiday

Jewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...

s, or at weddings and other such events. During the week, most Hasidim wear a rekel

Rekel

Rekel or Lang Rekel is a type of coat worn mainly by Hasidic Jewish men during the Jewish work-week ....

, 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 Glatt (plain, lit. smooth) Bekishe is solid colored, and is usually worn for Friday night and Saturday morning prayers

Shacharit

Shacharit is the the daily morning Tefillah of the Jewish people, one of the three times there is prayer each day.Shacharit is said to have been established by the patriarch Abraham when he prayed in the morning...

. For Shabbos meals, the patterned Bekishe, also known as a Tish Bekishe (Yiddish), is worn. The Tish Bekishe is also worn by some during the Shabbos afternoon prayer service

Mincha

Mincha, מנחה is the afternoon prayer service in Judaism.-Etymology:The name "Mincha" is derived from the meal offering that accompanied each sacrifice.-Origin:...

 and the night after Shabbos. Both can be made of silk, although nowadays it is usuallly polyester. 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.

Almost universally the Bekishe is black. The gold and blue striped garments Yerushalmi Haredim such as Toldos Aharon, Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok, Dushinsky, Neturei Karta

Neturei Karta

Neturei Karta is a Haredi Jewish group formally created in Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine, in 1938, splitting off from Agudas Yisroel...

, Shomer Emunim, Pinsk-Karlin, Karlin-Stolin, and many but not all in Breslov

Breslov

Breslov may refer to one of the following.*Bratslav, a town in modern Ukraine.*Breslov , founded in Bratslav....

, as well as other non-affiliated Yerushalmi Haredim such as the Perushim

Perushim

The Perushim were disciples of the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, who left Lithuania at the beginning of the 19th century to settle in the Land of Israel, then under Ottoman rule...

 are called Kaftans. Those members of these movements centred in Jerusalem or one of the Jerusalem-affiliated suburbs such as Beitar Illit, Ramat Beit Shemesh or Modi'in Illit

Modi'in Illit

Modi'in Illit is a Haredi Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank, situated midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Modi'in Illit was granted city status by the Israeli government in 2008. It is located six kilometres northeast of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut and is often referred to as Kiryat...

 wear these gold coats. Those who live further away, for example in Bnei Brak, Ashdod or outside of E. Israel, usually wear black bekishes like most other Hasidim, as do some of those who live in Jerusalem. The gold Kaftan is generally worn after marriage; before marriage, either a black bekishe or weekday-style clothing is worn on days when a bekishe is usually worn. Some of those who wear the gold bekishe switch to black on Shabbos afternoon before mincha; this is seen in for example Dushinsky and with many of the Prushim.

Most married Chabad

Chabad-Lubavitch

Chabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...

 hasidim wear a long black Kapoteh (frock coat

Frock coat

A frock coat is a man's coat characterised by knee-length skirts all around the base, popular during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The double-breasted style is sometimes called a Prince Albert . The frock coat is a fitted, long-sleeved coat with a centre vent at the back, and some features...

) instead of a bekishe. The Kapoteh or "Frack", besides its unique waist seam construction, has four buttons in the front (as opposed to six (or eight in Nadvorna - Kretschnef) on the front of a bekishe), as well as slit in the back, which is lacking on the bekishe. The Kapoteh can be made of either wool or silk.

Many Hassidic Rebbes wear Samet (velvet) or Strohkes (velvet piping), symbolizing tefillin

Tefillin

Tefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...

, on the bekeshe. (As is pictured above.)

External links

• Why the Long Black Coat? from chabad.org

www.hasidicclothing.com