On Yom Kippur we are forbidden from wearing leather shoes. Jews show up at synagogue in our finest clothing but with Crocs or Converse on our feet.
What is the reason for this prohibition? One theory is that, like abstaining from food, drink, marital relations and other pleasures of the flesh, it is a way to afflict ourselves on the Day of Atonement. This may have made sense in the past, when leather shoes were the most comfortable. However, for most of us today, sneakers made of textile, plastic, foam or rubber feel better on our feet. We are hardly afflicting ourselves by wearing our most comfortable shoes.
Rabbi Pini Cohen provides an explanation by referring to a law in the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) which says that when we purchase a new article of clothing, we should recite the celebratory Shehecheyanu blessing to show our gratitude and enjoyment. There is an exception to this rule: we do not recite the Shehecheyanu blessing on a new pair of leather shoes. Why not? Perhaps because an animal had to die for our shoes to be made. Judaism does not prohibit eating animals or benefitting from them, but it’s not appropriate to express joy when covering our feet with a slaughtered beast.
On Yom Kippur, we stand before our Creator and pray to be judged with fairness and mercy. It says in the Talmud, “One who shows compassion to others, God will show compassion to him.” On the Day of Atonement we refrain from wearing leather to show God that we are merciful not just to our fellow humans, but to animals as well.
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