09 Apr ARMY UNIFORMS ON SHABBOS

I. Shabbos Clothes
We greet Shabbos
and spend the entire
day clean and proper,
dressed in fine clothes.
What do you do if you
have to wear an army
uniform? The Gemara
(Shabbos 119a) says that R. Chanina and R.
Yannai would wear special clothes to greet
Shabbos. The Gemara (Shabbos 113b)
quotes Naomi’s instruction to Rus: “And
you shall bathe, and anoint yourself, and
put on your dress” (Ruth 3:3). R. Eliezer
explains that Naomi told Rus to wear her
Shabbos clothes.
Based on the above, Shulchan Aruch
(Orach Chaim 262:2) rules that you should
strive to have special, nice clothes set aside
for Shabbos. If not, you should at least make
your regular clothes look nice. What do you
do if you are in the army? Obviously, if you
are in the midst of combat or a mission
with limited supplies, your military task
takes precedence. But there are many times
in the army, probably the majority of a
tour of duty, in which you have the ability
to think about what clothes to wear on
Shabbos. What do you do if you are limited
to your army uniform? Additionally, what
if wearing your army uniform involves
carrying?
II. Civilian Patrol
Rav Yishmael Ha-Cohen, the late
eighteenth century halachic authority in
Italy, was asked about a city in which all
men were required to spend time on guard
duty (Zera Emes, vol. 3 no. 32). They were
assigned nights on which they had to patrol
through the city carrying a sword or a gun
(which I assume the questioner means when
he refers to a “fire stick”). When a Jew is
assigned a Friday night, obviously he may
not carry the sword or gun where there is no
eruv but is he allowed to wear the sword or
gun in a scabbard or holster?
The questioner points out that the Mishnah
(Shabbos 60a) says that a man may not go
out on Shabbos wearing shiryon (a coat
of mail), kasda (leather hat worn under a
metal helmet) or magafayim (leg armor). R.
Nissim of Gerona (Ran, 14th cen., Spain)
explains that this is forbidden even though
you are wearing them because it looks like
you are going out to war (commentary to
Rif, Shabbos 27a s.v. shiryon). So too,
these guards are not trained for combat
and are not expected to fight anyone, just
to carry weapons as a deterrent. But even
if the guards wear the weapons, they seem
to fall under this same prohibited category

as body armor. Rav Yishmael Ha-Cohen
replies that there is no room to permit this
and the Jewish community should push for
a religious exemption for Shabbos.
III. Saber Warfare
About a century later, Rav Simcha
Bamberger (19th cen., Germany, son of the
Wurzburger Rav) was asked about a soldier
who has to present himself in dress uniform
on Shabbos (Zeicher Simcha, no. 35). The
dress uniform includes a ceremonial saber
in a scabbard, neither of which he is allowed
to remove. Is he permitted to walk outside
without an eruv in his uniform including
the saber? On the one hand, Shulchan
Aruch (Orach Chaim 301:7) clearly says
that you may not go outside with a sword,
bow or shield. Rav Bamberger argues that
since this soldier is forbidden by regulation
from removing the sword, it is considered
either clothing or jewelry.
Additionally, he compares the ceremonial
saber to the green Jewish circle (the
precursor to the yellow Jewish star) that
some Medieval authorities required Jews
to wear. Rema (ad loc., par. 23) permits
wearing a green circle even if it is not sewn
to clothing because people will not remove
and carry it out of fear of the authorities.
Similarly, Rav Bamberger argues, a Jewish
soldier may wear his saber because he
is likewise scared of punishment if he
removes and carries it. Rema (ibid.,
304:1) forbids a servant to wear a metal
identification plate, even though he is
scared of being punished for losing it.
Eliyahu Rabbah (ad loc., no. 8) says that
this only applies in an area where carrying
is biblically forbidden. Rav Bamberger
says that since nowadays all (or nearly all)
places are only rabbinically forbidden, it
would be allowed. Similarly, a soldier
who is scared to lose his ceremonial
saber should be allowed to wear it. For all
these reasons combined, Rav Bamberger
permits a soldier to wear his ceremonial
saber inside its scabbard. Rav Bamberger
does not necessarily disagree with Rav
Yishmael Ha-Cohen since the former
discusses a sword that is not supposed
to be removed while the latter discusses
a sword that is meant to be removed and
carried
Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv (21st cen.,
Israel) is quoted as forbidding soldiers
from wearing weapons even when they
are clearly intended as forms of jewelry
(quoted in Dirshu edition of Mishnah
Berurah, 301 n. 19). Since the Sages
forbade wearing a weapon, this prohibition
remains in force even if the reason no
longer applies. When it comes to wearing
medals on formal army uniforms, Rav
Yehoshua Neuwirth (Shemiras Shabbos
Ke-Hilchasah 18:25) and Rav Simcha

Rabinowitz (Piskei Teshuvos 301:17)
permit a soldier to wear them on Shabbos.
IV. Shabbos Clothes
Returning to Shabbos clothing, what
should a soldier wear on Shabbos? Most
IDF soldiers have two types of uniforms: 1)
nice type A uniforms, which vary by force,
2) type B uniforms for work and combat,
which are all the same. Some soldiers
also have dress uniforms for important
ceremonies. Outside of an active combat
situation or where otherwise impossible,
should a soldier always wear his nicest
uniform on Shabbos?
Rav Zechariah Shlomo (cont., Israel)
writes that on Shabbos a soldier should
wear a clean type A uniform, if he has it
available (Hilchos Tzava 35:16). In Rav
Mordechai Tziyon’s Hilchos Madei Tzahal
(no. 17), he quotes Rav Shlomo Aviner
(cont., Israel) as saying that it is best to
wear type A uniform on Shabbos when
you are not working. However, it is not
required because experience has shown
that it can become overly burdensome to
switch clothing repeatedly. Rav Aviner
(ibid., no. 18) adds that some commanders
allow soldiers to wear white shirts on
Shabbos. When that option is available, it
is preferred.
The Israel Police Rabbinate recently
published the first volume of a Torah
journal, titled Hifkadti Shomrim (vol. 1).
An unsigned article in this journal discusses
what a police officer who is on duty on
Shabbat should do regarding the obligation
to wear Shabbos clothes (po. 197-198). The
author quotes Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein
(cont., Israel) who was asked about a doctor
on duty in the hospital (Chashukei Chemed,
Yoma 23b). Rav Zilberstein quotes Rav
Yosef Chaim of Baghdad (19th cen.)
who says that even if someone’s Shabbos
clothes are exactly the same as his weekday
clothes, he still should change into them
for Shabbos (Ben Yehoyada, Shabbos
114). Therefore, Rav Zilberstein says that a
doctor should put on a clean white coat for
Shabbos. Similarly, a police officer should
wear a clean uniform. Presumably, a soldier
should also wear a clean uniform if he has
no option to wear a nicer shirt or uniform.