Wikipedia's first sentence called it “type of coat worn mainly by hasidic jewish men during the jewish work-week”. Today it says “type of frock coat worn mainly by hasidic jewish men during the jewish workweek”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2020
Rekel ( ) or lang rekel (plural rekelech ) is a type of frock coat worn mainly by Hasidic Jewish men during the Jewish work-week (Sunday-Friday). The word rekel stems from the German-dialect word Röckel , a cognate of the High German Röckchen , the grammatical diminutive of Rock (in this sense meaning a man's long coat, rather than a woman's skirt). Note that the Yiddish dialects are abundant with the use of such grammatical diminutives, in contrast to High German in which diminutives are used only rarely and in specific situations. The phonetic transition from Röckel to Rekel is due to the difficulty for Eastern European speakers to pronounce the German Umlaut-vowel ⟨ö⟩. Rekelech are generally made of a black or navy wool blend or of worsted wool . Today some are made of 100% polyester . Many Hasidim in the past did not wear wool clothing, and the new polyester rekelech actually make it easier to keep this old custom. They tend to be light, and thinner than the average suit coat, since they are generally worn throughout the year. Rekelech are usually sold as part of a suit with matching pants and a waistcoat (זשילעט), though they are also sometimes available as suit separates. The most common type of rekel is the double-breasted variety, but many other styles exist. These include a single-breasted version (typical of the Breslover Hasidim ), and concealed button version, which many Gerer , Bobover and Sanz-Klausenburger Hasidim wear. There is also a single breasted version with a shawl collar and attached gartel . Several styles of unlined rekelech exist, which are typically worn in hot weather, and often conform to the styles noted above. All rekelech share a right over left button style, the opposite of what one would find on most men's clothing . Unlike most long coats rekelech tend not to have walking vents, but some of the concealed button and single-breasted rekelech do. As with most Haredi Jewish clothing today, rekelech may be darkly colored; black and navy blue are favorite color choices. Prior to World War II the most popular color for the rekel was a light grey, but this has fallen into disuse. Pinstripes have always been a common feature on rekelach. In recent times, rekelech with other patterns such as embossed checkers have caught on, particularly with the more colorful Breslov, Bobov, and Sanz-Klausenbug Hasidim. The rekelekh of these groups also tend to use lighter colors than those of other Hasidim, ranging anywhere from black to lighter shades of midnight blue . Prior to the use of the rekel as standard Hasidic garb, Hasidic coats were generally buttonless, white robes with black or multi-color stripes, held together by a gartel . The change in Hasidic dress occurred towards the end of the 19th century, when the Jewish Emancipation became successful. The old style is still maintained by many communities in Jerusalem, even non-Hasidic ones.1Though the rekel was intended for weekday use, some Hasidim wear one on Shabbat .2A proper Shabbat coat is called a bekishe in Hungarian .3 A bekishe is usually made of polyester or silk .
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 946352573.
The opening as it stood in 2010
A wool rekel Rekel ( ) or Lang Rekel (plural rekelech ) is a type of coat worn mainly by Hasidic Jewish men during the Jewish work-week (Sunday-Friday). Rekelech are generally made of a black or navy wool blend or of worsted wool . Today some are made of 100% polyester . Interestingly, many Hasidim in the past did not wear wool clothing, and the new polyester rekelech actually make it easier to keep this old custom. They tend to be light, and thinner than the average suit coat, since they are generally worn throughout the year. Rekelech are usually sold as part of a suit with matching pants and a vest (waistcoat, זשילעט), though they are also sometimes available as suit separates. The most common type of rekel is the double-breasted variety, but many other styles exist. These include a single-breasted version (typical of the Breslover Hasidim), and concealed button version, which many Gerer , Bobover and Sanz-Klausenburger Hasidim wear. There is also a single breasted version with a shawl collar and attached gartel . Several styles of unlined rekelech exist, which are typically worn in hot weather, and often conform to the styles noted above. All rekelech share a right over left button style, the opposite of what one would find on most men's clothing . Unlike most long coats rekelech tend not have walking vents, but some of the concealed button and single-breasted rekelech do. As with most Haredi Jewish clothing today, rekelech may be darkly colored; black and navy blue are favorite color choices. Prior to World War II the most popular colour for the rekel was a light grey, this has fallen into disuse, pinstripes have always been a common feature on rekelach. It is interesting to note that in recent times rekelech with other patterns such as embossed checkers have caught on, particularly with the more colorful Breslov, Bobov, and Sanz-Klausenbug Hasidim. The rekelekh of these groups also tend to use lighter colors than those of other Hasidim, ranging anywhere from black to lighter shades of midnight blue . Prior to the use of the rekel as standard Hasidic garb, hasidic coats were generally buttonless, white robes with black or multi-color stripes, held together by a gartel . The change in Hasidic dress occurred towards the end of the 19th century, when the Jewish Emancipation became successful. The old style is still maintained by many communities in Jerusalem, even non-Hasidic ones. Though the rekel was intended for weekday use, some Hasidim wear one on Shabbat . A proper Shabbat coat is called a bekishe in Hungarian . A bekishe is usually made of polyester or silk .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 346659710.
The opening as it stood in 2015
A wool rekel Rekel ( ) or Lang Rekel (plural rekelech ) is a type of coat worn mainly by Hasidic Jewish men during the Jewish work-week (Sunday-Friday). Rekelech are generally made of a black or navy wool blend or of worsted wool . Today some are made of 100% polyester . Many Hasidim in the past did not wear wool clothing, and the new polyester rekelech actually make it easier to keep this old custom. They tend to be light, and thinner than the average suit coat, since they are generally worn throughout the year. Rekelech are usually sold as part of a suit with matching pants and a vest (waistcoat, זשילעט), though they are also sometimes available as suit separates. The most common type of rekel is the double-breasted variety, but many other styles exist. These include a single-breasted version (typical of the Breslover Hasidim), and concealed button version, which many Gerer , Bobover and Sanz-Klausenburger Hasidim wear. There is also a single breasted version with a shawl collar and attached gartel . Several styles of unlined rekelech exist, which are typically worn in hot weather, and often conform to the styles noted above. All rekelech share a right over left button style, the opposite of what one would find on most men's clothing . Unlike most long coats rekelech tend not have walking vents, but some of the concealed button and single-breasted rekelech do. As with most Haredi Jewish clothing today, rekelech may be darkly colored; black and navy blue are favorite color choices. Prior to World War II the most popular color for the rekel was a light grey, but this has fallen into disuse. Pinstripes have always been a common feature on rekelach. In recent times, rekelech with other patterns such as embossed checkers have caught on, particularly with the more colorful Breslov, Bobov, and Sanz-Klausenbug Hasidim. The rekelekh of these groups also tend to use lighter colors than those of other Hasidim, ranging anywhere from black to lighter shades of midnight blue . Prior to the use of the rekel as standard Hasidic garb, Hasidic coats were generally buttonless, white robes with black or multi-color stripes, held together by a gartel . The change in Hasidic dress occurred towards the end of the 19th century, when the Jewish Emancipation became successful. The old style is still maintained by many communities in Jerusalem, even non-Hasidic ones. Though the rekel was intended for weekday use, some Hasidim wear one on Shabbat . A proper Shabbat coat is called a bekishe in Hungarian . A bekishe is usually made of polyester or silk .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 635726331.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 22 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Clothing A woollen rekel Rekel ( ) or lang rekel (plural rekelech ) is a type of frock coat worn mainly by Hasidic Jewish men during the Jewish work-week (Sunday-Friday). Though the rekel was intended for weekday use, some Hasidim wear one on Shabbat . A more formal coat, considered by many as a more proper Shabbat garment, is called a bekishe in Hungarian . A bekishe is usually made of polyester or silk . By way of comparison, The New York Times described the Bekeshe as a "fancier Sabbath version" of the Rekel.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1173998739.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Clothing A woollen rekel Rekel ( Yiddish : רעקל ) or lang rekel (plural rekelech ) is a type of frock coat worn mainly by Hasidic Jewish men during the Jewish workweek (Sunday-Friday).Though the rekel was intended for weekday use, some Hasidim wear it on Shabbat .However, a more formal coat, called a bekishe in Hungarian , is considered by many as a more proper Shabbat garment.The bekishe is usually made of polyester or silk , whereas the rekel is usually made of polyester or wool . By way of comparison, The New York Times described the bekeshe as a "fancier Sabbath version" of the rekel.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1284592981. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “type of coat worn mainly by hasidic jewish men during the jewish work-week”. Today it says “type of frock coat worn mainly by hasidic jewish men during the jewish workweek”. Read the current article and compare.
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Then
type of coat worn mainly by hasidic jewish men during the jewish work-week
Now
type of frock coat worn mainly by hasidic jewish men during the jewish workweek
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.