Bais HaVaad on the Parsha, Parshas Ki Seitzei

Half and Half Dressing

September 4, 2025

Excerpted and adapted from a shiur by HaRav Yechiel Biberfeld

A man’s garb shall not be on a woman, nor shall a man wear a woman’s garment, for anyone who does so is an abomination of Hashem, your G-d.

Dvarim 22:5

According to the Shulchan Aruch (Y.D. 182), this mitzvah prohibits a woman from wearing a turban or a suit of armor. The Rama adds that the prohibition applies even if only one article of the opposite gender’s clothing is worn, and the wearer’s gender is recognizable from the other garments.

The Shach (ibid. 7), citing the Bach, says that two criteria are necessary for the issur to apply: The garment must be made and worn for beauty, and one must be wearing it in order to appear to be of the opposite gender. Therefore, a man may wear a woman’s raincoat to shield himself from the rain, and he may don women’s sunglasses to protect his eyes from the sun. The Shach accepts this ruling in the case where the person is wearing only one garment designed for the opposite gender.

The Chochmas Adam challenges the Bach’s leniency from the Gemara in Nazir (59a) that says women may not wear weapons or armor, as these are kli gever. These items are clearly worn for protection, so this Gemara appears to contradict the Bach’s assertion.

We can answer based on R’ Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe 4:75:3), who explains that weapons and armor are intrinsically kli gever regardless of the wearer’s intent, but the status of other clothing depends upon the purpose for which one is wearing it: if for beauty, it is forbidden, but if for protection, it is permitted.