Why did hundreds of Orthodox Jerusalem girls suddenly go barefoot?

Hundreds of students at the Old Seminary, an ultra-Orthodox school in Jerusalem, removed their shoes and walked barefoot after discovering their TOMS footwear contained Shaatnez, a forbidden mixture of wool and linen, BeHadrei Haredim and Mynet reported.

In a display of religious observance, the incident began when a student reported finding Shaatnez in her shoes, prompting the school’s principal, Rabbi Yisrael Levin, to announce the discovery over the PA system. Within moments, hundreds of pairs of shoes were removed as students chose to observe the halachic ruling by walking barefoot, BeHadrei Haredim reported.

Levin expressed pride in his students’ quick and determined response. “It was touching to see the girls proudly remove their shoes without a second thought once they heard about the prohibition,” Levin said, describing how students discarded their shoes and organized alternative solutions on the spot, including makeshift footwear made from cardboard, according to Mynet.

Halacha is paramount

“The principal announced on the intercom that Shaatnez was found in shoes from the TOMS brand,” a student told BeHadrei Haredim, adding that some girls even walked home barefoot. Others borrowed shoes from friends or bought thick socks for comfort, Mynet noted.

“We were fortunate that in the Torah portion we read this Shabbat, we read about ‘Do not wear Shaatnez.’ When a person encounters a prohibition and refrains from it, it’s considered fulfilling a mitzvah,” Levin explained. “It was moving to see the girls, who are devoted to the word of God, remove their shoes with pride,” he told BeHadrei Haredim.

Despite the challenges, Levin told Mynet that there was no formal budget for replacing the students’ shoes, leaving the girls to find creative solutions to comply with the religious ruling.