For Rabbi Arielle Stein, dressing up every day isn’t only a form of self-expression; it’s a cornerstone of her rabbinic work. “Hiddur mitzvah is an important concept in Judaism,” she tells Vogue, referring to the commandment to beautify. “It is important to me to dress in a way that feels thoughtful and considered.”
But it’s not so often that you see a rabbi on the bema in pierced Tory Burch wedge mules. In October, Rabbi Stein took to TikTok to share her collection of freaky shoes, which she wears while attending to liturgical duties. “I had been really into Mandy Lee’s Shoes for Freaks videos,” she says. “I was like, wait, this would actually be so funny if somebody did a rabbi version of this.”
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Among them are her so-called bris shoes (which she also wore to her wedding earlier this month), a pair of white mules from Gray Matters with a notable twist. “They have an egg-shaped heel, which is symbolic in Jewish community of the circle of life, creation of nature,” Rabbi Stein explained on TikTok.
“It’s funky, but it’s not too attention-y,” she tells Vogue. “People that like artistic stuff are going to get this and other people just won’t notice.” Also in heavy rotation: the Tory Burch shoes she wears to officiate fashion-forward weddings, Nike Air Rift split-toe shoes for bar and bat mitzvah lessons, and a slashed, low-heeled pump—also Gray Matters—for baby-naming ceremonies.
While Rabbi Stein favors small brands for all parts of her wardrobe, she’s especially fond of Gray Matters shoes, which she calls her “go-to clergy shoe brand.” “They have shoes that are sculptural and artistic but also appropriate. It just feels right to me,” she says. “They give a nod to the formality of a clergy role, [but] we’re in New York City: people love funky fashion stuff, so they’re a perfect combination.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rabbi Stein, who joined the Upper West Side congregation Rodeph Sholom in April 2024, has a background in the visual arts. “I tried out kind of all the jobs that I thought I would like in art and nonprofits, a bunch of different fields, and just kept finding myself kind of bored,” she says.
Rabbinic work came naturally; she has several Jewish academics in her family. But becoming a member of the clergy didn’t stymie Rabbi Stein’s eclectic fashion sense. In fact, she finds that being an outré dresser actually helps her connect with her community. “Whether or not people loved their [childhood] rabbi, generally it tended to be an older man in a suit,” she says. “I think that people feel comfortable engaging [with me] in a different way because it feels a little bit more like a peer relationship, and the door is open because we both like shoes or fashion.” (To wit, earlier this week Rabbi Stein starred in Susan Alexandra’s Hanukkah campaign.)
For the rabbi, fashion is not only a form of self-expression, but also a statement of who she is as a member of the clergy. “I think that, for a lot of people, it’s still very new that there are clergy of all genders, let alone young-appearing female clergy,” she says. “For me, fashion feels like an important way of claiming this is who I am in the world, and that is part of who I am as a rabbi.”
