Sporty Orthopedic Shoes on Yom Kippur

Sporty Orthopedic Shoes on Yom Kippur, Shabbos and Weekdays

Question

 I am a rosh kollel, and I recently purchased a pair of MBT sporty orthopedic shoes. I have a few questions about these shoes:

1) It appears to me that while most of the shoe is made of cloth and synthetic materials, the front of the shoe, where the toes protrude, is covered by leather. Is it permitted to wear these shoes on Tisha B’Av and Yom Kippur?

2) As I mentioned, these shoes are sporty, almost like sneakers. May I wear them on Shabbos? 

3) Since I am a rosh kollel, perhaps it is not dignified to wear these shoes during the week, especially during tefillah.

Thank you.

Y.K.

Rav Auerbach 

Please do not speak to me about wearing these shoes on Tisha B’Av. Be’ezras Hashem, the last Tisha B’Av is behind us, and during the coming year, Tisha B’Av will be a Yom Tov, when we celebrate with seudos and dress in leather shoes.

I believe that one should not wear these shoes on Yom Kippur. Even if only a minor part of the shoe is made of leather, if one’s foot is being covered by some leather (e.g., in your case, where the front of the shoe is leather), we cannot permit using them on Yom Kippur. At the end of the day, these shoes are still in the category of leather shoes.

However, if the leather is only a decoration, like the crisscross pattern on your shoes, then I am unsure if these are considered to be in the category of leather shoes that are forbidden on Yom Kippur. It really depends on whether this leather is making up the shoe or not.

As far as a rosh kollel wearing these shoes during the week, I believe that since they are being worn for health reasons, there is absolutely no problem wearing them. They can even be worn for tefillah, when one is obligated to dress as he would in front of a sar, a dignitary, and I believe that orthopedic sporty shoes fit this qualification.

However, I do not believe that these shoes should be worn on Shabbos. On Shabbos it is not sufficient to dress as one would before a sar. One needs to be dressed in an even more honorable way, as one would appear before a king. I do not believe orthopedic sporty shoes fit this qualification.Dov..