Amid rise in anti-Semitism, Jews find value in being conspicuously Jewish
Community members, including Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg, left, celebrate the arrival of a new Torah near the rabbi's residence in Monsey, New York, Sunday, December 29, 2019. A day earlier, a knife-wielding man stormed into the home and stabbed multiple people as they celebrated Hanukkah in the Orthodox Jewish community. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
Pedestrians who encounter Rabbi Levi Greenberg, of El Paso, Texas, know that the Chabad rabbi, who wears a black hat and a long beard, is a Hasidic Jew. Sometimes they ask him why he dresses as he does.
Greenberg tailors his responses to the questions. He tells inquirers about his skull cap, a yarmulke, that it reminds adherents to be aware constantly of God above, and those asking about his ritual fringes, tzitzis, that the garment symbolizes the Torah’s 613 commandments.
“When they see that you know what you’re talking about and that you’re proud of what you’re saying, and that you’re not ashamed about the fact that you’re wearing something that is different from everyone else, they respect that,” he says.
