✦ ❖ ✦ D A A T · L E V E L 3 — S Y N T H E S I S ✦ ❖ ✦
Siman 178 — Not following the customs of the nations
שלא ללבוש כמלבושי עובדי כוכבים
Three seifim, reduced to one question: what does what I do say?
שולחן ערוך יורה דעה סימן קע״ח · ג׳ סעיפים
ש״ך · ט״ז · באר היטב · פתחי תשובה · טור · בית יוסף · רמב״ם
DAAT · הרב יוסף חיים סממה
1. The axiom: the prohibition bears on meaning, not on form
The axiom. A usage coming from the nations is not forbidden because it comes from them but because it says something. Two signs reveal it: licentiousness, and the absence of a reason. What has a useful reason, or is done out of honour, is not a ḥok — and the Rama permits it expressly.
Three consequences. (1) Seif 1 enumerates forms, but the gloss gives their measure: the enumeration is not closed, the criterion is. (2) Seif 2 lifts everything for one close to the government, which would make no sense if the prohibition bore on form alone. (3) Seif 3 leaves imitation for superstition, and yet belongs to the same siman: there too, the meaning of the gesture decides.
2. The three reflex questions
1. Does this usage carry a mark of licentiousness? Yes — forbidden, and that is the Rama’s first sign.
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2. Does it have a reason? None — forbidden, as the ways of the Emorites. A useful reason, or honour — permitted.
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3. Who does it, and why? One close to the government who must appear before it — all is permitted to him.
3. Master table — the three seifim clause by clause
| Seif | The clause of the Shulchan Arukh | What it decides |
|---|
| א | « אין הולכין בחוקות העובדי כוכבים (ולא מדמין להם) (טור בשם הרמב״ם) » (שו״ע יו״ד קע״ח:א) | The general prohibition — and the Tur in the Rambam’s name |
| א | « ולא ילבש מלבוש המיוחד להם ולא יגדל ציצת ראשו כמו ציצת ראשם » (שו״ע יו״ד קע״ח:א) | The peculiar garment, and the tuft of the head |
| א | « ולא יגלח מהצדדין ויניח השער באמצע ולא יגלח השער מכנגד פניו מאוזן לאוזן ויניח הפרע » (שו״ע יו״ד קע״ח:א) | The bellorit, and the hair behind |
| א | « ולא יבנה מקומות כבנין היכלות של עבודת כוכבים כדי שיכנסו בהם רבים כמו שהם עושים » (שו״ע יו״ד קע״ח:א) | The assembly halls |
| א | « אלא יהא מובדל מהם במלבושיו ובשאר מעשיו » (רמ״א יו״ד קע״ח:א) | The positive duty: being distinct from them |
| א | « וכל זה אינו אסור אלא בדבר שנהגו בו העובדי כוכבים לשם פריצות כגון שנהגו ללבוש מלבושים אדומים והוא מלבוש שרים וכדומה לזה ממלבושי הפריצות » (רמ״א יו״ד קע״ח:א) | First sign: a usage of licentiousness |
| א | « או בדבר שנהגו למנהג ולחוק ואין טעם בדבר דאיכא למיחש ביה משום דרכי האמורי ושיש בו שמץ עבודת כוכבים מאבותיהם » (רמ״א יו״ד קע״ח:א) | Second sign: a usage with no reason |
| א | « אבל דבר שנהגו לתועלת כגון שדרכן שכל מי שהוא רופא מומחה יש לו מלבוש מיוחד שניכר בו שהוא רופא אומן מותר ללובשו » (רמ״א יו״ד קע״ח:א) | The way out: what serves — the physician’s garb |
| א | « וכן שעושין משום כבוד או טעם אחר מותר » (רמ״א יו״ד קע״ח:א) | And what is done out of honour |
| א | « לכן אמרו שורפין על המלכים ואין בו משום דרכי האמורי » (רמ״א יו״ד קע״ח:א) | Burning for kings: no ways of the Emorites |
| ב | « מי שהוא קרוב למלכות וצריך ללבוש במלבושיהם ולדמות להם מותר בכל: » (שו״ע יו״ד קע״ח:ב) | One close to the government: everything permitted |
| ג | « מי שאכל ושייר פתיתין על שלחנו לא יביא פת שלימה ויניח על השלחן: » (שו״ע יו״ד קע״ח:ג) | The whole loaf one does not bring |
| ג | « יש מקומות שנהגו לערוך שלחן ולשום עליו מיני מאכל בלילה שלמחר מלין תינוק ויש בזה איסור משום העורכים לגד שלחן » (רמ״א יו״ד קע״ח:ג) | The laid table of the night before the circumcision |
| ג | « אבל לערוך מטה למזל התינוק יש מתירין » (רמ״א יו״ד קע״ח:ג) | The bed for the child’s fortune: some permit |
4. The garment — the two signs and the way out
| The garment | Verdict | Reason |
|---|
| The one peculiar to them | Forbidden | שו״ע יו״ד קע״ח:א |
| A garment of licentiousness | Forbidden | רמ״א יו״ד קע״ח:א |
| A usage of dress with no reason | Forbidden | רמ״א יו״ד קע״ח:א |
| The physician’s distinctive garb | Permitted | רמ״א יו״ד קע״ח:א |
| What is done out of honour | Permitted | רמ״א יו״ד קע״ח:א |
| The garment of one close to the government | Permitted | שו״ע יו״ד קע״ח:ב |
The Rama’s question is not “where does this garment come from?” but “what does it say, and what does it serve?”. That is why his example of a permission is a uniform — the most recognizable of garments, and the most innocent.
5. The hair — three readings of ס״ק א
| Who | Reading of ולא יגדל ציצת ראשו |
|---|
| Beit Yosef, Ateret Zekenim | The following clause explains it: it is the bellorit, said twice. |
| Bach, Prisha | A rule of its own: growing the hair for beauty, as maidens do. |
| Taz | The never-cut hair of fighting men — that too is among the מגדלי בלורית. |
| Baer Hetev | Reports the last two without deciding. |
A classic pitfall: thinking the seif forbids long hair. It nowhere says so. It names two haircuts — sides shaved with the hair in the middle, and the front shaved from ear to ear — and the Taz notes at ס״ק ב that the printed text has lost a word, מלאחריו, without which the second clause is no longer describable.
6. The building — temple or court
What decides is not the plan but the purpose. A building made like their temples to gather many there is forbidden; a council, business or court building raised on the same model is not — so the Bach, reported by the Shach and the Baer Hetev. The Taz, for his part, holds both of the Raavad’s readings and concludes that one must forbid on either: neither the figures nor the sign of gathering.
7. One close to the government — and the Taz’s difficulty
The Taz’s difficulty and his answer hold for the whole siman. Had the prohibition come from a verse with defined content, the sages could change nothing in it. But the Torah named neither garment nor haircut: it handed the measure to the sages. That is what allows both the exception of seif 2 and the criterion of the gloss.
8. The table — bringing, or finding
| The act | Verdict | Source |
|---|
| Bringing a whole loaf beside the crumbs, after the meal | Forbidden | שו״ע יו״ד קע״ח:ג |
| A whole loaf already set there | Need not be removed | ש״ך יו״ד קע״ח ס״ק ה |
| The crumbs alone | A mitzva to leave them | ט״ז יו״ד קע״ח ס״ק ו |
| Foods set and left on the night before the circumcision | Forbidden | רמ״א יו״ד קע״ח:ג |
| A meal on that night | No prohibition — but no standing of a mitzva | ש״ך ס״ק ו · פת״ש ס״ק ב |
| A bed set for the child’s fortune | Some permit | רמ״א יו״ד קע״ח:ג |
| The whole loaf left on Shabbat night | Permitted — no prohibition at all | ט״ז יו״ד קע״ח ס״ק ז |
The Levush wished to forbid the Shabbat-night loaf by analogy. The Taz rejects the analogy on the sense of the word: “Gad” means fortune, and the Shabbat loaf is set for the honour of the day. The answer teaches beyond the case: a likeness of form between two usages never suffices to give them the same status.
9. The vocabulary of the siman
| Term | Meaning |
|---|
| חוקות העכו״ם | The usages that are theirs as a rule. |
| בלורית | Sides shaved, hair left in the middle. |
| פרע | The hair behind, when the front is shaved. |
| דרכי האמורי | Superstitious usages, with no reason to carry them. |
| שמץ עבודת כוכבים | The trace of a forgotten worship in a usage with no reason. |
| לתועלת | What serves: the Rama’s way out. |
| העורכים לגד שלחן | Laying a place for fortune; the ground of seif 3. |
| קרוב למלכות | One who must appear before the government: all is permitted to him. |
10. Rules of thumb, mnemonic and classic pitfalls
Rules of thumb
- Two signs forbid: licentiousness, and the absence of a reason.
- A useful reason permits; so does honour.
- The positive duty precedes the prohibition: to be distinct from them in dress and deeds.
- The building: what decides is the purpose, not the plan.
- The table: bringing is forbidden, not finding.
Mnemonic. Three words for three seifim — form, function, fortune. Form: what seif 1 enumerates. Function: what the gloss asks, and which permits. Fortune: what seif 3 forbids, under the name of Gad.
Classic pitfalls
- Thinking the siman forbids everything that comes from them: the gloss says exactly the contrary once there is a reason.
- Thinking seif 1 forbids long hair: it names two haircuts, not a length.
- Confusing the loaf brought with the loaf found, which the Shach expressly separates.
- Holding the meal of the night before the circumcision to be forbidden: the Shach excludes it, and the Pitchei Teshuva only notes that it has no standing of a mitzva.
- Ascribing an entry to the Nekudot HaKesef on this siman: they do not comment here.
The sources of this level may be consulted on Sefaria: