(no longer) The Northernmost Jew

.......April brought in a bunch of reflector stickers to the school, and kids have been cutting them up and making reflectors for their clothing. It makes a lot of sense – there is very little sunlight during the winter, and the electricity goes out now and then, which included the streetlights. Warm winter jackets tend to be dark navy or black, and so are those warm leggings that go over pants. These reflectors should be easy to see by the headlights of a car/ATV/snowmobile.
.......Actually, some Chassidim should do the same thing. Brooklyn has sidewalks. Many Chabad families, however, live where there are not sidewalks. Since the men dress completely in black, they can be hard to see at night. Picture a Lubavich man walking home from shul on a Friday night on a road with no sidewalk and few streetlights. (This first occurred to me when I lived in Portland, Oregon and some guy came up to me at work and told me “I almost ran over one of your friends last weekend.”) I do realize that reflectors are not part of traditional garb, but it is a matter of safety. The Amish did not like the idea of orange reflectors on their buggies, but they put them on for safety reasons.