anon1m0us:
“I think EVERY movement in the frum world puts Torah above all. Modern Orthodox, Benai Akiva etc. They all believe Torah comes first.”
True, everybody puts Torah first to some extent; but the question is to what extent.
The yeshiva world scrupulously tries to avoid anything and everything that could damage their ruchniyus. They do not have TVs, they do not read secular magazines, and they will make do with far less so as to be able to learn more. This allows them to lead lives devoted entirely to serving Hashem, and do nothing (or as little as possible) else.
The modern world, on the other hand, tries have a good time both in this world and the next. They tend to be much more open to
(and influenced by) the culture around them, and this shows in how they conduct themselves. (The more influenced one is by the secular culture around him, the less of a Torah-oriented life he/she lives.) They keep and follow the Torah, but it is not all they live for.
In my mind, the MO philosophy is summed up by YU’s motto, “Torah u’Madda”. Torah, but everything else also. As opposed to Lakewood, which says “Torah, and nothing else”.
yid.period:
“mw13: You’re right, but the point of this whole conversation is that there is too much emphasis placed on what one is wearing instead of really judging someone based on who they are.”
No, the point of this topic, and the gist of most of my comments so far, is to answer this question from the OP: “Im just really curious to know what the deal is with Black Hats. What does it mean? What goes along with wearing one?”
Also, I do not think “there is too much emphasis placed on what one is wearing”. What one wears is an expression of who one is, and what they think is the appropriate hashkafa. You can shout “chitzoniyus” from today till tomorrow, but at the end of the day what a person wears more often then not gives everybody else a pretty good idea of what their hashkofos are.
apushatayid:
“Forget the person. Is the hat a yiray shamayim? If someone would tell me that wearing a black hat (or a purple cardigan) improves their yiras shamayim, I would tell them to make sure to own one for each day of the week and a super nice one for shabbos.”
No, neither a black hat nor a purple cardigan inherently improves one’s yiras shumayim. However, dressing a certain way may identify one as a yiray shumayim.
“Just wearing it because it is an identifier, is not necessarily a bad thing, but other choose other identifiers to also connote “ben torah”.
You can choose to identify yourself as a ben Torah however you want, but you gotta make sure everybody else realizes what you’re trying to say. In today’s world, a ben Torah is usually identified by a white shirt and black pants. If somebody chooses to wear a T-shirt and jeans, he can’t blame everybody else for not realizing he is trying to identify himself as a ben Torah.
“Lastly, what does it mean to a person when they make the statement that they belong to a certain group?”
It means that they (roughly) believe in the general hashkafos and derech ha’chayim of that group. Also, they will often want a spouse who shares the hashkofos and derech ha’chayim of the group.