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I bought my kittel when I was in rabbinical school; I think it may have cost me $20. I still have it to this day, and I wear it on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, when I lead services for Tal and Geshem on Sukkot and Pesaḥ, and when I lead the Seder. And when the time comes, I will be buried in it.
A kittel is something like a white lab coat, but with some decoration (lace, pleats), a simple belt, and no pockets; the buttons are on the left side. It symbolizes purity and simplicity, and is what Jewish bridegrooms traditionally wear to their weddings (in Traditional Jewish practice, both the bride and the groom wear white).
I mention it this week because now that Tisha b’Av is behind us, we are counting down the Seven Weeks of Consolation until Rosh Hashanah, and I am in the midst of revising my materials for the upcoming holiday services.
There is a moment on Erev Yom Kippur, just after we have lit candles and blessed our children, that one is invited to pause—before putting on one’s tallit—to say a mediation before putting on a kittel:
Just as I clothe myself in this white garment, so may You purify my soul and my body, as the prophet Isaiah said, “Even if your sins are like crimson, they will turn snow-white.” (Isaiah 1:18)
The note at the side of the Maḥzor adds,
Why do the rabbi and cantor and some members of the congregation wear white robes tonight? One explanation is that the priestly garments were shite, and the High Priest wore white rather than gold when entering the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur.
It’s not too early to start thinking about your sartorial choices for Yom Kippur. In the community where I grew up, the High Holidays were a fashion show, much to the chagrin of the rabbi. I suspect that here in Savannah, I will see more neckties on men than I usually do on Shabbatot. But might I suggest wearing white? You don’t need to go out and buy a kittel ($54.28 on Amazon), although if you do, you can be assured that it will last for a lifetime (and possibly beyond). But I would cherish being able to say that meditation with you when we gather on the evening of September 20th, “Just as I clothe myself in this white garment, so may You purify my soul and my body.”
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