When I go into a suit store and want to buy a suit, first of all, which suit store should I avoid? Second, what garments do we have issues with? Generally speaking, the higher-end a suit is, the more likely it is to have shatnez (wool-linen mixture). These beautiful suits, right, are constructed according to the Italian tradition of putting in only the best. And that is linen. All those high-end suits, definitely, no question about it, have to be checked for shatnez and are very highly likely to have shatnez. If you don't find it, just look a little more. Somebody brought a six-thousand-dollar suit here. We removed the linen, and afterward they brought it to a mediocre tailor. But they were not able to put it back to the same original status, to the way it looked.
If a person is going to purchase a regular, plain linen shirt, there isn't a common problem that would require checking it. If a person has a plain wool sweater, it's not common at all for there to be an issue; as long as there are no exterior parts to it, it will not require checking. A person buying plain socks, even though they're wool, won't need to have them checked. And a simple, straight-up scarf that has nothing but straight fabric: a person can look at it and see that there's nothing added onto it, and it can be worn without being checked.
There are certain types of cheap suits that are sold that people should check, and it's advisable to check them. Although it's not so common to find shatnez, people ask, “If it's not so common to find, why should I check?” The reason it's advisable to check is to make sure these things don't have shatnez. Considering how often a person keeps wearing it and wears it repeatedly, he can clarify with a small effort whether there is shatnez or not. That's a small effort compared with the many, many, many times he's wearing it, so it's worth getting checked. That's why it's worth getting checked, although halachically (according to Jewish law), those cheap suits are not necessarily required to be checked. But sometimes it's hard to determine the scale from very cheap to middle to high-end. So, in general, checking suits should always be done, because this way you keep yourself clean, especially since you repeatedly wear them time in and time out.
We've been talking mostly about factory-made clothing. What about vintage stores, thrift shops, and things of this sort? Do things change over there? We don't really know how it's made or how long ago it was made. What's the story with that? It's even more common for Purim (Feast of Lots) costumes in general. It's something a person could look out for more when going to a thrift shop and purchasing some random type of clothing with many types of fabrics and interesting colors. That's something a person should be more aware of, because it might be shatnez.
Now, other than clothing, are there any other things where we have to be careful about shatnez? For example, if this tablecloth were shatnez, theoretically, would it be an issue? A couch, chairs, carpets, linen on a bed—all these types of things. Is there an issue with shatnez in these things, or is shatnez only in clothing, and all those things I mentioned are obviously not clothing? Torah says, Lo ya'aleh alecha (shall not come upon you)—it's not just clothing. It's not just that it's being worn as clothing; a person sitting on a couch made of shatnez would also be a question or issue. Sleeping on a bed comprised of shatnez is assur (forbidden), even if it's upon 10 mattresses. Somebody was recently sitting on a couch and noticed that one of the pillows was comprised of interesting fibers. He looked at it again, and it turned out that there was shatnez in the pillows he was leaning against, which is also going to run into a problem. Whether handkerchiefs are a problem is also something to discuss. Other things that are not necessarily worn—even carpets that are used barefoot, and different things like that—should be understood to fall into the general category of shatnez, even if they're not commonly found and even if there's no obligation to check them as with a suit. You should definitely read labels and look at these items. Although it's not so common for them to have shatnez, if you see something suspicious, you should look into it further.
Properly understanding all the different aspects, angles, and details about when, where, and how a person should at least be aware of what to check for, or when something should be checked for shatnez, will definitely be a tremendous zechut (merit) for a person coming into Yamim Noraim, holidays, or whatever it is. The person's prayers will definitely be answered in a much higher fashion, even through his effort to check, and maybe to always wear proper clothing in the proper way. This way, our tefillot (prayers) will always be accepted on high. Thank you, Rabbi Moshe, again, for all your different samples, examples, and questions that opened up this topic so we could explore it and understand it to its full depth.