When reading the chapter that discusses the distinctive clothing style of the Hassidim in Crown Heights, I couldn’t help but be reminded of an interview quoted in the previous chapter when a Hassidic woman said, “…if we lived in Great Neck, we’d be the same way!” Although this woman was referring to the ways in which Hassidim relate to others and this chapter veers more in the direction of how others view Hassidim form the outside, the fundamental idea remains the same. Hassidic Jews, Lubavitch in particular, will stand out no matter where they are. There was once a time when the ethnic ratio of Crown Heights displayed far more Jewish whites than Gentile blacks. Even then, the Hassidim stood apart from their white, and even Jewish non-Hassidic neighbors.

The concepts of misunderstandings with regards to identity keep coming up in every feature of the two communities in Crown Heights. In this chapter, Goldshmidt delves into visual identification of Lubavitch Hassidic Jews, and how these images are understood both by other Jews and by their Black neighbors. While the Blacks in Crown Heights view the mobs of Jewish men all in black coats as intimidating and perhaps even arrogant, the idea of being visually distinctive is extremely meaningful to the Hassidic community. He discusses the Lubavitch men who go out into the world asking people “Are you Jewish?” as a means of including all Jews, both affiliated and secular, in keeping the laws of the Torah.

The idea of clothing as an identity tag is typically considered unfair as we live in the age of “let your inner self shine through” and cliché’s of the like. This is bullshit. How one chooses to dress says a great deal about him or her. As Goldschmidt shows with the Lubavitch Hassidim, their clothing is a key identifying feature. I did not find, however, that Goldschmidt evaluated why exactly all Hassidim comply with this strict uniform. He did bring down a few historical reasons, but I want surprised that he didn’t expand more upon the Hassidic idea of segregation as a crucial part of maintaining their way of life. When Hassidic Jews dress in a certain uniform, it is not merely because their Rebbe told them to, or because that is what their Polish ancestors wore. Rather, I think it goes along with the idea that these people want to stand out, like Jewish pride. Goldshmidt mentions that Jews view themselves as “a light unto the nations”. When Hassidic Jews dress differently, they make themselves known to each other, and to the rest of the world. There is a heightened sense of community in this distinctive method of identification, that parallels the Hassidic value of mainting their insular, yet shining form of a community.