Editing The Kneitch Hat (section)

== By Our Rebbeim ==
The Frierdiker Rebbe in his youth wore a Kneitch hat.

Our Rebbeim, from the time of the Alter Rebbe until the leadership of the Rebbe Maharash, would wear a Shtreimel on their heads throughout the week, and did not wear any other type of hat. However, in 1844 (during the leadership of the Tzemach Tzedek), Czar Nicholas issued the clothing decree, where he ordered Jews to shorten and change their garments. Following this decree, Chabad chassidim replaced their hats with a Kasket and their Kapota with a Sirtuk.

The first time the Kneitch appeared in Chabad was during the leadership of the Rebbe Maharash. Due to his poor health condition, the Rebbe Maharash needed to travel between different towns and did not want to be recognized as a Rebbe. Therefore, he dressed as a merchant, wearing a Sirtuk and replacing the Shtreimel with a hat, some say it was a Kneitch. When traveling between towns, he wished to remain unrecognized as the Rebbe, so he dressed according to the merchants' custom of those days. However, besides the Kneitch, the Rebbe Maharash had other hats that he would wear.

In contrast, the Rebbe Rashab wore a different type of hat called Hamburg. However, from Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka's testimony, we know this wasn't a constant habit for the Rebbe Rashab. Generally, when he was in Lubavitch, he wore a Shtreimel, and only when leaving Lubavitch would he wear a hat, usually a Hamburg.

The Frierdiker Rebbe in his youth also wore a Kneitch hat with its brim turned upward, with the crease in his hat shaped like a triangle, as was the custom of merchants in those days. After some time, he changed the triangular crease to a circle, as was the custom of rabbanim. This continued for several years until he replaced the Kneitch with the Shtreimel he inherited from his father, the Rebbe Rashab.

The Rebbe wore a Kneitch hat from the time of his marriage on 14 Kislev 1928 to Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, and some say even before then. The Rebbe would turn the brim of the Kneitch downward, about which the Frierdiker Rebbe commented that the crease in the front shows the Rebbe's great humility.

On 10 Shevat 1950, the Frierdiker Rebbe passed away, and about a year later, on 10 Shevat 1951, the Rebbe accepted the leadership of Chabad. Initially, the Rebbe wanted to wear the Frierdiker Rebbe's Shtreimel, but in practice did not wear it and continued wearing the Kneitch. Chassidim point to several possibilities why the Rebbe stopped wearing the Shtreimel. One possibility is that when the Frierdiker Rebbe passed away, Rebbetzin Nechama Dina planned to give the Frierdiker Rebbe's Shtreimel to the Rebbe as a gift, but the Rebbe wanted to receive it as an inheritance, not as a gift, and therefore did not accept it.