This is a subject that I am very reluctant to write about. And I have held off writing about it because of the controversy I know it will generate. But it is so troubling to me that I feel I must.
There is a Gemarah in Taanis (13B) which speaks of what kind of activities are permitted or forbidden during the seven day mourning period over a deceased relative, the Shiva period. One of the things that the Gemarah tells us is: “Ein HaBogress Rasha’ah L’Navel Es Atzma.” When it comes to a young marriageable girl, she is not allowed to make herself unattractive.
It is in that spirit that I note the recent flurry of activity in Israel with respect to matters of Tznius in women’s clothing. There were a whole series of articles last weekend that dealt with these issues. (See here, here, here, and here.)
It is of course understandable that our rabbinic leaders are concerned with matters of Tznius in women’s clothing. And of course it should be addressed. Indeed some of the styles that the Frummest of women wear are problematic. Not so much in not covering up Erva, those parts of the body that are considered nakedness by Torah standards, but in that some styles of clothing are very tight, skin tight even! Modesty demands that such styles should not be worn.
So there was a conference in Israel that addressed this issue. But the predictable happened. Instead of coming up with a minimal set of guidelines. A hard set of rules has been mandated. Rules that go well beyond the minimum. These are Takanos that reflect Chumros not Halachos:
“seminary rabbis and administrators decided to have female students sign a new modesty regulations contract…. The contract would bind each student to wear extra thick stockings”.
“Shirts, skirts, sweaters and the like should be loose enough that the form of the body is not seen.”
“Skirts should began at the waist and end at the middle of the leg, and as mentioned, should be loose and not of clinging fabric. Wigs must not be too long or in models that have been prohibited.”
The color red will not be tolerated either.
This is not Halacha. The lower leg (below the knee) is not considered Erva. Bullet proof stockings and mid-calf length skirts are at best Chumros. But These Poskiim are now mandating it is a minimum.
Thick Stockings?! No long wigs?! Skirts mid-calf below the knee?! Loose fitting fabrics?! Why should Takanos like these be applied to everyone? Women should be allowed to look like women. Must they look totally a-sexual?
There has to be a happy medium between the Meah Shearim look and the Hollywood look. It is hard enough to be Frum, dress Frum and retain a decent self image and project a decent image to the world without looking promiscuous. One need not look abnoraml to do so. To limit the way women dress beyond the minimum and then to enforce it through a set of rigid rules that go beyond Halacha is grossly unfair and unnecessary. Yet that is what is happening in Israel.
Stores in Bnei Brak and Jerusalem are now going to have to get Hechsherim. If a store wants the Charedi “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” it will have to abide by these rules.
This generation of Charedim seems to be more obsessed with Takanos than the previous one. I do not remember Rav Moshe Feinstein or any of his contemporaries making such Takanos for their generation. And it’s not like the sixties were the epitome of modest dress. Back in those days it was nearly impossible to buy a dress or skirt that was not a “mini” …well above the knee. And very few of the religious female high school students, Bais Yaakov included, wore a skirt length that was below the knee. To be in style and stay within Halacha, they would wear a skirt length that was a short as they could get away with just barely covering the knee. And when they sat down the skirts rose up above the knee.
Of course the Rabbanim and Mechanchim spoke out against it. But there were never any Takanos except in Chasidic circles. Not about skirt lenths. Not about Shaitels. Not about the color red, or thick stockings. Not about airlines, and not about books. And neither was there the Kanaus that accompanies such Takkanos: Burning down non compliant stores, or throwing bleach on non compliant clothing worn by women in religious neighborhoods.
This is the fruit of those Takanos. And in the process our women are being made to look less and less like women with every passing moment. In effect they are being made to look as unattractive as possible. And it is counter to the spirit of the Gemara in Taanis.
What’s next? A Takana to shave off a woman’s hair after marriage? Are we going to have Tznius squads running around in Bnei Brak with electric clippers?
