For Rabbi Arielle Stein, dressing up day by day isn’t solely a type of self-expression; it’s a cornerstone of her rabbinic work. “Hiddur mitzvah is a crucial idea in Judaism,” she tells Vogue, referring to the commandment to beautify. “You will need to me to decorate in a means that feels considerate and regarded.”
Nevertheless it’s not so usually that you just see a rabbi on the bema in pierced Tory Burch wedge mules. In October, Rabbi Stein took to TikTok to share her assortment of freaky footwear, which she wears whereas attending to liturgical duties. “I had been actually into Mandy Lee’s Sneakers for Freaks movies,” she says. “I used to be like, wait, this is able to really be so humorous if any person did a rabbi model of this.”
Amongst them are her so-called bris footwear (which she additionally wore to her wedding ceremony earlier this month), a pair of white mules from Grey Issues with a notable twist. “They’ve an egg-shaped heel, which is symbolic in Jewish group of the circle of life, creation of nature,” Rabbi Stein defined on TikTok.
“It’s funky, nevertheless it’s not too attention-y,” she tells Vogue. “People who like inventive stuff are going to get this and different folks simply gained’t discover.” Additionally in heavy rotation: the Tory Burch footwear she wears to officiate fashion-forward weddings, Nike Air Rift split-toe footwear for bar and bat mitzvah classes, and a slashed, low-heeled pump—additionally Grey Issues—for baby-naming ceremonies.
Whereas Rabbi Stein favors small manufacturers for all components of her wardrobe, she’s particularly keen on Grey Issues footwear, which she calls her “go-to clergy shoe model.” “They’ve footwear which might be sculptural and inventive but in addition acceptable. It simply feels proper to me,” she says. “They provide a nod to the formality of a clergy function, [but] we’re in New York Metropolis: folks love funky vogue stuff, so that they’re an ideal mixture.”
