TRADITION Questions: The Torah of Swag
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What is it?
New Jewish brands encourage consumers to identify their religious values through apparel and accessories. “Thank You Hashem” (TYH) and “In God We Love” splash themes like gratitude and faith on T-shirts and phone cases (along with stylish designs).The brands intend their products to invite comment. “In God We Love” describes itself as “a premium apparel brand for all God loving individuals seeking something fashionable with designs rooted in Torah. The focus of each design is to ignite discussions on Torah principles and foster unity on a global scale.” “Thank You Hashem” sees its merchandise spreading its message of joyous affirmation: “Your purchase spreads the word. Merchandise helps our message reach out.” They emphasize a mission-driven altruism in their merchandising: “Proceeds are used exclusively to support our mission.”
From Abraham (Genesis 13:4) to Rambam (Teshuva 10:3), Judaism has embraced the ideal that God’s message should be shared far and wide. The availability of cheaply manufactured consumer goods to carry that message is a relatively new method for doing so. What are the risks and opportunities within this new form of religious messaging?
Why does it matter?
These brands self-consciously utilize material culture as a vehicle for avodat Hashem – divine service. Interestingly, the Talmud encourages the use of a specific form of apparel for such a purpose: “Chaldean astrologers told Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak’s mother: Your son will be a thief. She did not allow him to uncover his head. She said to her son: Cover your head so that the fear of Heaven will be upon you, and pray for Divine mercy” (Shabbat 156b).
This story becomes the basis for the custom that Jewish men cover their heads with kippot or yarmulkas (Shulhan Arukh OH 2:6). The expansion of religiously identifying symbols began in the early modern period in Prague with the spread of the six pointed star as a simple emblem of Judaism parallel but distinct from the cross.
Likewise, today’s Jewish branding finds parallels in other cultures, religious and secular. Companies like Patagonia attach environmental values to their products, as well as a corporate mission that borders on the religious: “We’re in business to save our home planet.” Christian brands like “Elevated Faith” and “Art of Homage” share “purpose, hope, and love to a lost world.”
An origin story accompanies many of these religious brands. Josh Gander writes about Elevated Faith:
Here is my story. Back in early 2015, just weeks after dropping out of college, I found myself in a difficult and lonely place. I realized that I was chasing the wrong things over the past couple of years in my personal life and in business, and I finally gave in to God’s constant nudges. It was during that valley in 2015 that God put it on my heart to start another business. When He asked me to point others to Him through it, it finally all clicked. I had somewhat struggled in sharing my faith, and I had the idea of creating jewelry and apparel that would open doors to easily share my faith with others. I knew that it wasn’t just me that struggled with this, so I had no doubt that this could help many people.
Jewish brands are no different. “Thank You Hashem” began in August 2019, with a song performed by Joey Newcomb and composed by the Blumstein Brothers. It took off and has received over 2.5 million YouTube hits. In describing the creation of a brand around the song, Newcomb and his collaborators said, “We realized the message of Thank You Hashem belongs to everyone. So we tested some swag.”
How do Jewish brands utilize the material in a distinctly Jewish way? Is such distinctiveness even necessary?
What questions remain?
Researchers have developed a term, the brand engagement in the self-concept (BESC). This construct—drawing on self-concept theory – assesses how consumers incorporate brands in their lives to reinforce their self-schema. Appreciating the possible role of brands in a person’s self-concept, how might brands affect modern religious identity? How might people who purchase branded Jewish material think differently about themselves, their Judaism, and God? Might Jewish organizations like schools, camps, charities, and synagogues develop deeper connections with their audiences by leveraging material culture and the techniques that these companies have developed?
Researchers have documented how individuals can experience sacredness in shopping and consuming. These writers show various ways, in which individuals may “sacralize” the experience of consuming. Brands often stoke emotion with a combination of scarcity and urgency to build a brand religion. How can truly religious brands avoid the dangers of such materialism?
Rabbi Chaim Strauchler is an Associate Editor of TRADITION.