Parshas Eikev: Wearing a Gartel

HalachaSensei Joke I just made up- A karate sensei is really upset his son left the family karate business to pursue learning in Israel. The sensai calls up his son and says "Daniel Son, I just don't get you. You always take the easy way out." Daniel confused by his father's point inquires "What exactly do you mean, dad?" "Daniel" says his father "in karate it takes years to earn a black belt, however the second you walk into that yeshiva they practically give them out free." What is the purpose of the Gartel and why do some people wear it and others don't? Halachaboy has researched this topic and found three reasons brought down as to why the custom of some is wear a Gartel: 1, Tosfos brings down that there is a requirement to seperate your heart from your lower half when praying (separating, your animalistic lower side, from your spiritual upper half). 2. The pasuk in Amos (a lesser known but definitely important Navi) says "Prepare to meet your G-d, O Israel" (4:12) and thus we learn out one should have specific garments for prayer like a warrior has for battle. 3. The Bach and others right that one should dress when praying like he is standing before a king, or other important dignitary. Now a days the Bach's opinion is not fulfilled through a Gartel because no one wears Gartels as a normal form of dress. Tosfos's opinion isn't fulfilled either because we normally wear a belt (or elastic waistband) which suffices as a separation. However, based on the pasuk in Amos it would seem that one ideally should still wear a Gartel or at least have some other means of preparing himself for davening ( A davening jacket, hat, etc) and one should certainly not look down on those that do or do not wear a Gartel as there is much to rely on either way. However, I want to point out two quick stories of people that missed the point of this whole Halacha: Rav Herschel Schecter, Rosh Yeshiva at YU, is fond of repeating a story he heard from Rav Shimon Schwab. Rav Schwab was going to daven mincha one day and there was a businessman wearing a suit at the minyan. The man had forgotten his gartel, and proceeded to take off his tie and use it as a gartel. R' Schwab commented that what the man did was incorrect. Nowadays, a gartel is a minhag, it is not part of a person's dress. However, a tie is an integral part of a person's dress (for businessman) and for many people if they are not wearing a tie they are not fully dressed. Therefore, the man would have been better off leaving the tie on and not davening with a gartel as the gartel is stam a minhag while the tie could be min hadin. And secondly, also told over by Rav Schecter Rav Soloveichick at one pointed stopped wearing a jacket for shacharis during the week. One of the talmidim asked him why? He explained that he started wearing R' Chaim's (the Rav's grandfather's) old tefillin, and the batim were very large so he couldn't put his arm with the tefillin on them into the sleeve. So what, ask the Talmid, The Rav replied that no one would walk around in the street or to meet an important person with their jacket on one arm and hanging off the other arm and therefore he thought that it was more kavod not to wear the jacket at all. It should be noted that some shuls require those davening to wear a jacket. However, they wear any old outer jacket. This minhag seems very difficult to justify, as the idea of wearing a jacket is based of the requirement of the Bach, that one should dress like he is going to an important meeting when davening, and while people wear suit jackets in meetings, nobody would wear a windbreaker or sweatshirt. We should all try not only to do, but to understand the reason behind our actions- so we don't miss the boat. Wax on, Wax off !