Wearing Crocs on Tisha B'Av and Yom Kippur

§ They raised another dilemma before them, the same Sages mentioned: What is the halakha with regard to going out in sandals made of

cork on Yom Kippur? Is it considered a shoe, and therefore it may not be worn on Yom Kippur, or not? Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Naḥmani stood on his feet to testify and said: I saw that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi went out on Yom Kippur in cork sandals, and I said to him: What is the law on a communal fast that is decreed in a time of drought, when shoes are similarly prohibited? Are reed sandals permitted? He said to me: It is no different, and such sandals are permitted even on a communal fast day. Rabba bar bar Ḥana said: I saw Rabbi Elazar from Nineveh go out in cork sandals on a communal fast day, and I said to him: What is the law on Yom Kippur? He said to me: It is no different, and it is permitted. The Gemara reports: Rav Yehuda went out on Yom Kippur in reed sandals. Abaye went out in sandals made of palm fiber. Rava went out in sandals braided with reeds. None of these sandals are considered to be shoes. Rabba bar Rav Huna wrapped a scarf around his feet and went out.

Rami bar Ḥama raised an objection: We learned that an amputee may go out with his wooden prosthetic leg on Shabbat, since it is like a shoe; these are the words of Rabbi Meir. But Rabbi Yosei prohibits it. And a baraita was taught in that regard as an addendum to that mishna: And they agree that it is prohibited to go out wearing it on Yom Kippur. As this indicates that even wooden shoes are prohibited, the materials worn by the aforementioned amora’im should also be prohibited. Abaye said: There, in the case of Yom Kippur, it is prohibited because there are rags in the prosthesis. The prohibition is not due to the shoes but due to the pleasure of the comfort, which is prohibited on Yom Kippur.

Rava said to him: And if the prosthetic leg is not a garment, meaning that it is not a shoe, do the rags make it into a garment? Only shoes are forbidden, not other garments. And furthermore, any other kind of pleasure that is not the pleasure of wearing shoes, is it prohibited on Yom Kippur? Only certain afflictions are mandated on Yom Kippur; activities that are not specifically restricted by those afflictions are permitted. And Rabba bar Rav Huna would wrap a scarf on his feet and go out, demonstrating that the comfort provided by rags is permitted on Yom Kippur. Furthermore, the continuation of the baraita contradicts your explanation that the prohibition is due to the comfort provided by the rags. From the fact that it teaches in the latter clause: If the prosthetic leg has a receptacle designed for rags it is susceptible to ritual impurity like all wooden utensils which have receptacles, it may be inferred that in the first clause we are not dealing with a prosthetic leg that has a hollow space designed for rags. Abaye’s position is thereby rejected.

Rather, Rava said: Actually, according to everyone, a prosthetic leg is considered to be a shoe, and with regard to Shabbat this is what they disagree about: One Sage, Rabbi Yosei holds that we decree a prohibition of wearing a prosthetic leg on Shabbat lest the leg slip off and one come to carry it four cubits in the public domain; and one Sage, Rabbi Meir, holds that we do not decree such a rule.

And the Gemara raises a contradiction from a baraita concerning what footwear is permitted on Yom Kippur, which seems to indicate otherwise: The halakha is the same for a soft leather shoe, and a hard leather sandal, and an anpileya, as one may not walk in them from one house to another, nor from one bed to another on Yom Kippur, due to the prohibition against wearing shoes, indicating that at least as far as Yom Kippur is concerned, an anpileya is considered a shoe.

Abaye said: There, with regard to Yom Kippur, it is referring to an anpileya that has cushioning, and this is forbidden due to the pleasure that one derives from cushioned footwear on a day when people are commanded to afflict themselves. Rava said to him: But is footwear that is not considered to be shoes forbidden on Yom Kippur due to the pleasure one derives from wearing them? But Rabba bar Rav Huna would wrap a scarf on his feet and go out on Yom Kippur so his feet would not be injured, implying that there is no prohibition against wearing something comfortable on one’s foot, as long as it is not defined as a shoe. Rather, Rava said: This is not difficult. Here, when they said that an anpileya has the status of a shoe, it is referring to an anpileya made of leather. There, when they do not consider it a shoe, it is referring to an anpileya made of cloth.

The Gemara adds: And so too, it is reasonable to distinguish in this manner, as, if you do not say so, it is difficult to reconcile the seeming contradiction between one statement about Yom Kippur and another statement about Yom Kippur. As it is taught in a baraita: A person shall not walk while wearing slippers [kordakisin] within his house on Yom Kippur, but he may walk while wearing an anpileya within his house. This would imply that wearing an anpileya is permitted, but the baraita quoted above taught that it is prohibited. Rather, must one not conclude from here that here, where it indicates that an anpileya is forbidden, it is referring to an anpileya made of leather, as they are considered like a shoe, and there, where an anpileya is permitted, it is referring to an anpileya made of cloth? The Gemara concludes: Indeed, learn from here that it is so.

(7) It is forbidden to wear shoes and sandals even on one foot. It is permitted to go out with a sandal of cork, rubber, or other similar materials. One may wrap a cloth around his feet and go out with it for the hardness of the earth reaches his feet and he feels as though he is barefoot. Children although they are allowed to eat, drink, wash, and anoint themselves, we prevent them from [wearing] shoes and sandals.