Answer by Rabbi Chaim Hillel Raskin, Moreh Hora’ah at Beis Horaa of Rechovot, Israel:
On Tisha B’Av we are required to restrict ourselves from certain pleasures, one of which being not to wear “shoes.”1 Children must be trained not to wear leather on Tisha B’Av and Yom Kippur, since unlike food, this is something that they can manage without.2
Some Rishonim understand this prohibition to include any added foot protection.3 Others limit it to solid shoes which entirely shield the foot from stones, such as leather or wood (clogs).4
However, many Rishonim understand from other contexts that only leather shoes are considered “shoes” according to halacha, and therefore only shoes of leather or covered in leather are prohibited on Tisha B’Av and Yom Kippur.5 Shulchan Aruch rules that only shoes which have leather are prohibited6 (though many poskim advise to be stringent).7
What about crocks or sneakers? In explaining why non-leather shoes are permissible, the poskim offer two reasons: (1) Since they are still uncomfortable, (2) since only leather is considered a shoe.8 The reason behind the halacha is important when determining the permissibility of a shoe of synthetic material which is as comfortable as leather.9 Minhag Chabad is to be lenient.10
What about shoes that look just like leather? While some poskim have expressed concern for maris ayin (mistaken appearance),11 more recent poskim write that today when such shoes are commonplace, people will assume that they are not real leather.12
REFERENCES:
1. שו”ע או”ח סי’ תקנ”ד ס”א.
2. ראה חכ”א אבילות סי’ קנ”ב סע’ י”ז, חינוך הבנים כהלכתם פרק פ”ד הע’ ה’. וראה שם ובפסק”ת סי’ תרט”ז סק”א בנוגע לקטנים ביותר עד גיל שלוש יש מקום להקל בשעת הצורך, שאין בעצם דין חינוך רק יל”ע מצד דין ספייה, אלא שי”ל שזהו האיסור הקשור בזמן ואינו מאכל – וראה שוע”ר סי’ שמ”ג..
3. בעל המאור, וכ”פ הב”ח בהל’ יוהכ”פ סי’ תרי”ד.
4. רש”י ע”פ הר”ן יומא ב’ ע”א.
5. רי”ף יומא ב ע”א, רא”ש יומא פ”ח סי’ ז’.
6. או”ח סי’ תקנ”ד סט”ז.
7. ראה שוע”ר הל’ יוהכ”פ סי’ תרי”ד ס”ב (טוב להחמיר).
8. ראה פע”ח הל’ יוהכ”פ שהאריז”ל אמר שביוהכ”פ אסור דווקא עור.
9. ראה שו”ת פמ”א ח”ב סי’ כ”ח שהחמיר, קובץ מבית לוי פצ”א ס”י.
10. ספר המנהגים ע’ 46, ע”פ שע”ת ואחרונים סי’ תרי”ד, דרכי חו”ש ס”ק תרע”ג.
11. ראה שו”ת מהרש”א אלפנדרי ח”א סי’ י”א, שו”ת מנחת שלמה ח”ב סי’ נ”ח תשו’ כ”ח.
12. קי’ הל’ מועדים עמ’ קי”א, חזון עובדי’ הל’ ימים נוראים עמ’ שי”ז. וראה ערוה”ש סי’ תקנ”ד סט”ו.
Should people wear leather shoes other days since we say she’asa li kall tzarki on leather shoes? Is it true the Chinese get leather from aiver min hachai?
He wrote clearly “Minhag Chabad is to be lenient” so the answer is yes. I think this is common knowledge.
A real Moreh Hora’ah knows that he answers to the point. “Some say and some say but yet others say” is extremely confusing.
So as long as it doesn’t contain leather we can wear it.