R’ Meir Klein of Boro Park, an “ehrliche yid”, readies himself every Elul for the upcoming ???? ??????. ???? ???”?, R’ Meir found himself preparing his ???? ??? for the weeks ahead. Noting that the lining was worn out, he gave it to a popular cleaners on 14th Avenue in the center of Boro Park. They replaced the lining for a minimal fee. He then wore his ????, davening for a good new year.

A few months later, in the winter of ???”?, R’ Meir Klein’s brother R’ Yosef, also of Boro Park, considered relining his ???? as the lining was worn out as well. However, R’ Yosef was very hesitant to have the relining done at the same cleaners. Since the establishment was owned by a non-Jew, something seemed inherently wrong about trusting their repair work. He asked his friends and family if he should be stringent and not have the repair work done at that cleaners and was told not to be childish as, “everyone uses that cleaners!”

As most authorities are lenient in regard to having one’s ???? cleaned by a non-Jew, and because the cost was significantly cheaper than other cleaners, R’ Yosef capitulated and had his ???? cleaned and relined at the same cleaners that his brother had his done.

Little did he realize, that in regard to repairing or making a garment, the Halacha is much more stringent due to the ??? of ?????.

When R’ Yosef wore his refurbished ???? for the first time on Shabbos, strangely, he felt that the ???? was somehow different. This would be a Shabbos for him to remember! Something wasn’t right and R’ Yosef could not quite pinpoint it.

Luckily for him, his brother-in-law, a Vishnitzer Chosid, was visiting him for Shabbos and told him that if it feels “different” it may be a question of ?????. R’ Yosef was shocked to hear of such a possibility. Growing up in the Boro Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, where men purchase their garments at “heimishe” outlets, he had no real knowledge about any potential ????? problems.

R’ Yosef then recalled that he had seen a ????? alert from Vaad L’Mishmeres Shatnez regarding shatnez that was found in a certain brand of children’s hats sold in a heimishe store. He decided then and there to stop wearing the ???? until he could clarify the matter.

R’ Yosef then went on to make his own investigation.

First he went to the cleaners that added the lining. He asked the non-Jewish owner if he could see the label of the fabric used for the lining of his ????. The owner said that he didn’t have the label anymore. When R’ Yosef prodded the owner as to what it was made of, the owner told R’ Yosef that he always bought the cheapest fabric. (This may explain partly why they had cheap prices. He charged $10 to reline a ???? while other places in Boro Park charge around $50.)

The owner then told him that he believed that the lining material was made of cotton, but was not sure.

For the first time in his life, R’ Yosef went directly to the Shatnez Laboratory of Boro Park only to find it closed! Due to the lack of public concern for shatnez, the laboratory has limited hours. Friday, the day that R’ Yosef visited the laboratory, it was closed.

R’ Yosef’s tension about having possibly worn shatnez was immeasurable.

The following week, the Shatnez Laboratory of Boro Park was called. Rabbi Yaakov Gurwitz, the director of the laboratory, declared that ????? is indeed prevalent, and that the ???? should be brought in for testing.

The ???? was brought to the Boro Park Shatnez Laboratory for testing. R’ Yaakov Gurwitz immediately discovered that the lining material was of a linen blend. In one direction the threads were linen and in the other direction they were rayon. The Talis was declared shatnez, as even one thread of linen would have made the ???? into shatnez.

R’ Yosef was shocked to learn that he had been wearing ????? . Never in his wildest dreams could he imagine that he would wear ????? ! To his great dismay, not only did he wear ?????, but he had also made a ???? ????? on the ???? and had been considered carrying the ???? on Shabbos when he wore the ???? to and from Shul!

R’ Yosef noted that, weeks before Pesach, many give in their tablecloths to be pressed and starched at this popular cleaners. The volume of tablecloths is so high that they are unable to handle the demand. Ironically, at this very cleaning establishment he had become a victim of ?????.

Remarkably, R’ Yosef was able to feel that something was wrong with his ????. Such a feeling was also felt relative recently by a yungerman in ????? ??? ?????? located in Bensonhurst, a Brooklyn neighborhood. This yungerman, who we will call R’ Simcha, was given a used suit, previously worn by a wealthy acquaintance. When he davened while wearing it for the first time, he felt that his davening wasn’t “going”.

R’ Simcha remembered hearing a story of a bachur in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Shanghai. On Yom Kippur this bachur felt that his davening wasn’t “going”. He ran out in the middle of davening to change his suit because he felt that he must have been wearing ?????. As the ????? say, when someone is wearing ????? his ????? are not accepted. This bachur’s suit was verified to be ?????.

R’ Simcha took his suit to the Flatbush Shatnez Laboratory who verified that it was ?????.

R’ Yosef Klein’s brother, R’ Meir, who had been wearing his relined ???? for a couple of months, was told of the developments. R’ Meir feared the worst. The linings of the two ?????? were identical in appearances and R’ Meir was convinced that his ???? too had ?????. He was compelled to write the word ????? in large with a marker on his ????, as seen in the above picture. That would assure him that he would not wear it.

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Unfortunately, R’ Meir’s fears were realized! His ???? was sent to the headquarters of the Organization of Professional Shatnez Laboratories, located in Lakewood, New Jersey, where the Director, Rabbi Yosef Sayagh, confirmed that the ???? was indeed ?????! (See picture above.)

The problem with ????? in Boro Park is not limited to ??????. A Jewish owned store in Boro Park had been selling ????? children’s hats for a few years. Woolen sweaters have also been sold ?????, as well as many other incidents.

There are many lessons to be learned from these unfortunate episodes.

One lesson is, that even today we have among us people who can “feel” when they are wearing ?????. They are obviously on higher spiritual level.

Another lesson is, that even these very spiritual people, can fall victim to wearing ?????.

Another lesson is, that linen can be both a prevalent and cheap fiber.

R Yosef Klein is now on a mission to inform everyone of the real possibility of ????? today. The fact that “everyone” uses a certain store and cleaners, or has a certain practice, does not faze him anymore. He wants to share his new found knowledge, which came to him like a slap in the face, to possibly keep others from falling into the same trap.

With a potential problem of hundreds, if not thousands of Yidden in Boro Park wearing ????? garments, his task seems impossible. But R’ Yosef is not a quitter; he is a man with a mission. His mission is to inform the public, so that no one should make the tragic assumption that the ???? of ????? is not relevant ???? ???!!

ALL NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED IN THIS ARTICLE TO PROTECT THE IDENTIFY OF THOSE INVOLVED

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