Q. Can I (his mother) wear my son’s old crocs (that he’s grown out of), or is that beged ish? They could be used either for men or women: (navy blue with red stripes & a red maple leaf on the straps).
A. On question 1355 we wrote; "It is Biblically forbidden for a man to wear women's clothes or for a woman to wear men's garments, as specified in the negative commandment: (Devarim 22: 5) A man’s attire shall not be on a woman, nor may a man wear a woman’s garment, because whoever does these [things] is an abomination to Hashem, your G-d.”. The Torah refers to this kind of conduct as an abomination since it can easily lead to promiscuity and immorality This prohibition, known as “Lo yilbash,” applies even if one cannot be seen by others and even in the privacy of one's home. (See Shulchan Aruch Y.D, 182: 5)
Talmud, (Nedarim 49b), tells that Rabbi Yehuda and his wife shared a cloak. And Poskim deduce from this story, that unisex clothing is permitted for men and women. (Maharsho ibid, Divros Eliahu 42, Divrei B'nayahu Y.D. 26 and others).
Horav Shlomo Miller's Shlit'a opinion is that if the crocs are indeed made equally for the use of men and women, they could be used by either.
If the crocs were already used extensively by a man, the Rov suggests that it is better that a woman should not use them.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo and Horav Aharon Miller Shlit'a
Important Numbers
