In 1983, Reuven Prager pioneered an organization called Beged Ivri, which means Hebrew Garments.
“When our Holy Temple was destroyed two thousand years ago, there was a shake-up of our customs to suit the new reality of Judaism outside of the Land and without the Temple,” Prager explains. “Now that we have returned to our Land, we need an updating of our customs to reflect our new reality, the return to our Land, and in preparation for our Temple to be rebuilt.”
Prager founded Beged Ivri for the purpose of education, research and restoration of ancient Israelite customs, such as mode of dress, the giving of the Half-Shekel, and ancient bridal customs.
The mode of dress of Orthodox Jews today is not at all similar to the style of dress that the ancient Israelites wore. Clearly our ancestors did not wear suits, button-down shirts, black hats or shtreimels!
Even religious garments were not as they are today! For instance, today’s Jews wear tzitzit, the four-cornered garment with fringes on each corner, hidden under their clothing. When we pray we wear a large Tallit (prayer shawl) with the same fringes.
“The tzitzit were meant to be a beautiful outer garment. But throughout the long diaspora, Jews were afraid to look different from their gentile neighbors, so the tzitzit were hidden under regular clothing. We wore a Tallit when we prayed in private, away from the eyes of our neighbors. Because we wrapped ourselves in this large shawl, it was similar to a garment,” Prager explains. “Now that we have returned to our own land, we can return to wearing a beautiful outer garment with the four-cornered tzitziot, without hiding it under the dress of the gentiles.”
Prager has also done extensive research on the giving of the Half-Shekel, and on the ancient wedding customs of the Jewish People. “The bride was carried to her groom upon a beautiful Apiryon, a bridal litter, with drapings of gold. The Chupat Chatanim (Groom’s Canopy) was a dome decorated in crimson and gold.” Prager describes with reverence.
The Beged Ivri organization works in cooperation with, though independently from, the Temple Institute. “The Temple Institute prepares things for educational purposes only and keeps them in glass. My things are for use today. Every Jew can wear Beged Ivri!”
Reuven Prager is a modest visionary who does not seek accolades, rather seeks to educate today’s Jews on the ways of our ancestors, and perhaps restore old customs to today’s modern world.
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