The Vizhnitzer Rebbe, R. Yisrael Hager, has just come out with strong words against a new (it has been around a while, but is relatively new, historically speaking) shtreimel style.
It is about time. The trends in recent years of shtreimel inflation have gotten way out of hand. R. Moshe Wolfson (one of the last, or perhaps the last Hasidic leader who is a holdout, leading without any shtreimel on his head), leader of Emunas Yisroel in the USA, was on to something when, as the story goes, he went (after being suggested to that it was about time for him to be fitted with one like a 'real Chasidishe Rebbe') to be fitted for a shtreimel a while back, and, hearing small-minded conversation at the shtreimel place about trivial shtreimel minutiae, walked out in disgust.
Litvaks don't have such problems.
Oy, es iz gut tzu zein a Litvak. :)
Previous shtreimel related posts here and here.
