As I’m sure most of you know, babies are my thing. I really love them and anything that has to do with them. So, logically, I have been noticing all the babies here especially. It’s funny to see how much a baby’s attire can vary depending on the religion of his or her parent. Even within a faction of babies, they are still dressed differently. For example, I have seen a lot of variation on the part of the Ultra-Orthodox regarding the dress of their children. Some of them dress their girls with complete modesty, like their older sisters. Other let their little girls show a little more skin, with elbows and knees uncovered. So far, I haven’t seen (or haven’t remembered) an Orthodox baby with her shoulders uncovered. In terms of the boys, there are also variations. I’ve seen boys with pe’ot, boys without pe’ot, boys with their heads completely shaved and pe’ot, etc. What I really like to look at is brothers and sisters. Sometimes, a girl might have her elbows uncovered but her brother has his head shaved and long pe’ot. Of course, I realize that a lot of these differences in garb have to do with the different kinds of Ultra-Orthodox communities, but I thought that it was interesting to notice and point out.
Hannah