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God commands the Jews to follow in the ways of the Torah, and not to follow other nations’ customs that might be idolatrous or wanton. Thus we read, “You shall not copy the practices of the land of Egypt where you dwelt, or the land of Canaan to which I am taking you; nor shall you follow their laws. It is My rules that you shall observe, and My laws that you shall faithfully follow; I the Lord am your God” (Leviticus 18:3-4). From this verse, we can derive that ideally, we should not imitate non-Jewish dress or custom even when there is no concern about idolatry or wantonness, lest we come to imitate undesirable activities as well. At the same time, it is proper to learn from the wisdom of non-Jews and their good deeds, as long as the choice to learn from them is a result of critical analysis rather than mindless imitation.
