Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Auction house scared out of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky’s pants

The garment had an opening bid of $3,200 before it was pulled, following reporting from the “New York Post.”

Artistic portrait of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, August 2022. Credit: Jgavant via Wikimedia Commons.
Artistic portrait of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, August 2022. Credit: Jgavant via Wikimedia Commons.

Those who want to put their big rabbi pants on are sure to be disappointed.

A March 1 auction was slated to offer a pair of pants worn by Chaim Kanievsky—the renowned Orthodox rabbi whose funeral in March 2022 drew hundreds of thousands—with a $3,200 opening bid.

But following questions from the New York Post, the pants have been pulled from the auction.

Abe Kugielsky, director of the auction house J. Greenstein & Company, told the Post that auctioning a famous rabbi’s hat, tzitzit, tallit or tefillin would be kosher, but not his pants. “Imagine if they auctioned off the pope’s sock,” he told the paper.

The auction listing did not appear to say whether the pants had been laundered since the rabbi wore them.

Kanievsky died on March 18 at the age of 94.

“In this political environment, he may be as reliable a supporter as possible that the Democratic caucus would sign off on for the position,” political science scholar Dan Schnur told JNS.
“Anyone who attempts to pose a threat or attack Israel will face devastating consequences,” said Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the global body.
“I think they’re much more susceptible to being targeted if a public official wants to target them, if a community wants to target them,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer told JNS.
Israel is building a barrier as part of efforts to bolster border defenses.