Following the rise in the prices of hats worn by Chassidishe bochurim, administrators of yeshivos for boys who have reached the age of bar mitzvah are going to be enforcing the wearing of “kasketlach,” or caps, instead of hats.
In a letter distributed Monday to Chassidishe boys in Bnei Brak, it was decided that the boys will only come to yeshiva with kasketlach.
The letter, signed by 16 yeshiva administrators in Bnei Brak, states, “As educators in Chassidic Torah schools, we have learned from experience that while older boys can preserve their hats for several years, younger boys in the years following their bar mitzvah, while studying in yeshiva, find it difficult to properly take care of their hats. Thus, in many cases, just a few months after their bar mitzvah, their hats are unusable, and parents are forced to purchase a new hat, which comes at a high cost.”
The letter continues: “Therefore, in light of the current situation where the prices of hats have soared, and in light of the heavy burden faced by parents, we, the administrators of Chassidic Torah schools in our city…have decided to establish a fixed regulation for all boys studying in our yeshivos, starting from the upcoming month of Elul 5783, to be required to come to yeshiva exclusively with a kasket, and no other headwear will be permitted.”
The letter mentions that boys may wear the kasket on Shabbos, Yomim Tovim, and for simchos.
Hats currently costs about ₪1,200, while a few years ago they cost only ₪600. The price of a kasket is only ₪100.

{Matzav.com Israel}