24 | JANUARY 26 • 2023
W
herever he goes,
Rabbi Mark Lorkis
of Oak Park is often
approached by people asking
him things like, “Can you quick-
ly check my jacket?” Fortunately,
he’s always prepared with a
small knife and is usually happy
to oblige.
“I’m known as ‘The Shatnez
Man’ because that’s one of the
things I do, check for shatnez,
”
said Rabbi Lorkis, who works
as a resource room teacher
at Yeshivas Darchei Torah in
Southfield, among other things.
“Shatnez is a little-known mitz-
vah, the prohibition of wearing
wool and linen together. Just like
there’s kosher food, there’s also
kosher clothing.
”
The busy father and grandfa-
ther first learned how to check
clothing for shatnez in 1996. At
the time, only one other person
knew how to do it in the entire
state of Michigan: Rabbi Dovid
Apt.
Rabbi Lorkis attended basic
training in Lakewood, New
Jersey, where he learned how to
identify fibers, how and where
to search for them and how to
remove them.
Rabbi Dovid Apt’s son,
Avrohom, grew up watching
his father check for shatnez.
In 2011, when he lived in
California with his wife, Rena,
he decided to learn the ropes as
well. In 2014, the now-family of
eight moved to Lathrup Village.
These days, Rabbi Lorkis and
Rabbi Avrohom Apt are the only
two people who actively check
for shatnez in Michigan. Rabbi
Dovid Apt stopped doing it
around 2012.
“Your eyes get tired. It’s not
something you can do forever,
”
explained Rabbi Apt, who also
carries around a knife with him.
Rabbi Lorkis spends a few
hours per week checking
people’s clothing, but as with
anything else, there are busy
seasons. “Before Rosh Hashanah
and again before Pesach … as
well as when Suit Depot has a
big sale! Back in the day, it was
when people went shopping at
the ‘Syms Bash’ — they’
d buy
three or four suits at a time!”
Rabbi Lorkis said.
The most commonly checked
item is men’s suits because shat-
nez is often found in them, but
the mitzvah is for all clothing
for all people, even baby clothes.
“The mitzvah of shatnez is a
chok, which means the Torah
doesn’t give a reason
for it … We just
do it because it’s in
the Torah,
” Rabbi
Lorkis said. “Labels
are not reliable, and
we always check for
shatnez, whatever
the label says.
”
The search for
shatnez is thorough
and includes making
a small incision in
the jacket (both rabbis recom-
mend waiting to tailor a new
suit after it’s been checked) and
pulling the entire jacket inside
out. They open the lining,
explore the shoulder pads, tape
around the arm holes, collars,
each pocket, button, buttonhole
and everything in between.
Though Rabbi Lorkis usually
carries around a small knife
for the times he’s stopped by
passersby, he prefers to use a
seam ripper. Both of the shatnez
checkers also use a microscope
to inspect fibers up close.
“Under the microscope, linen
looks like a bamboo pole and
wool looks like fish scales, or
like a hair. They both have a
specific look. I go through the
whole garment to make sure
there’s no wool and linen togeth-
er,
” Rabbi Lorkis said. “Shatnez
could be anywhere. I never
know what I’m going to find
before I check it. The manufac-
turers use whatever’s in front of
them. Sometimes the label says
it’s made of ‘other fibers’ — they
don’t know what’s in it either!”
“I find shatnez most often
in shoulder pads and collars of
men’s suits,
” added Rabbi Apt.
“It’s also more likely to be found
in nicer brands … But there are
many good suits out there that
don’t have shatnez, too. It’s just a
matter of verifying.
”
Rabbi Apt shared that recent-
ly he checked someone’s jacket
for shatnez, found some in the
collar and removed it. “The
guy was so thrilled, he said he’
d
never had the opportunity to
actively fulfill the mitzvah and
have shatnez removed before.
”
Though it can be tedious,
the process doesn’t usually take
too long. These days, it takes
Rabbi Lorkis about six or seven
minutes to check an item of
clothing, faster when he’s in the
groove. If he does find shatnez,
he removes it.
The only complication is if an
article of clothing is 55% wool
and 45% linen. “When each
thread is spun together, there’s
nothing I can do to fix that,
” he
said.
Both men enjoy what they do,
and neither are sure why this
mitzvah seems to be unfamiliar
with many people.
“I like that I’m able to provide
a service that helps Jews wear
kosher clothing. It’s an import-
ant service. People can wake
up in the morning, put on their
jacket and rest assured it is free
of shatnez,
” Rabbi Lorkis said.
Rabbi Apt feels the same
way. “There are only two of
us actively checking here in
Detroit, so it’s a pretty rare skill.
It’s a great feeling to help people
fulfill this mitzvah that most
people don’t know how to do
on their own.
”
For more information, call Rabbi Lorkis
at (248) 545-2666 or Rabbi Apt at
(650) 388-8003.
OUR COMMUNITY
Michigan’s two shatnez
checkers help local Jews
fulfill a little-known mitzvah.
Kosher
Clothing
ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Rabbi Lorkis
checks a suit for
shatnez with his
microscope
Rabbi Avrohom
Apt and his father,
Rabbi Dovid Apt