Cold temperatures have finally arrived in much of the United States, but Israel’s Ashkenazic chief rabbi has just nixed the idea of warming up with a fur coat:

Jews must not wear fur skinned from live animals, Israel’s chief rabbi said in a religious ruling on Tuesday.

‘All Jews are obliged to prevent the horrible phenomenon of cruelty to animals and be a ‘light onto nations’ by refusing to use products that originate from acts which cause such suffering,’ Rabbi Yona Metzger said. (MORE)

Still, the ruling might not be as progressive as it seems: “The ruling stopped short of banning the use of fur from animals skinned after they were slaughtered.”