Tziute: Jewish modesty concept
Just to do a video on the issue of tziute modesty in Judaism. Tell you a story first that my mother likes to tell, when she is on her honeymoon in Israel, my father a blessed memory in 1950. It was a very hot summer day and she is wearing a sleeveless dress and they went in the Mea Sharim and the orthodox neighborhood and she a corn cab by the little Chasidic boys and actually learned about what is new. Big signs they said that the daughter’s of Israel be aware those, there is a holy community. Do not wear in appropriate clothing.
So, what is this idea come from? Well, started from the half Torah actually my (foreign language) partial the Bullock, the great prophet Micah. Who says rhetorically, what is God want from you but to do justice to love mercy and to walk? Humbly or modesty with the God and the word there is the road of the word Sinuit, which is the Jewish work for modesty.
Now this is related to the word, the idea and the Torah where Moses is consider to be the most humble guy, use a different word Ahnaf. But humility and modesty are characteristic of their religious person because posted today wearing the tightness, cleanest short, skirt you can and flaunting your behavior in public
The religious personality is your personality of modesty and the humility. My modesty in the whole day of the laws a personal behavior. Now usually he strives for the media in human virtue, but they are interesting enough, he says there are two qualities to be avoided by all extremes to the extreme and has the anger and the opposite if you really Hebrews, and arrogance. And I ask my father a blessed memory or what he mean and they said my minorities is saying now that, not to be have to be self for facing because Hillo says that who if now for my self for will be but in relationship to God and our behavior with other people we should dress and talk and act in a modest way.
So, the most way and which this manifest the self today is relation of the dress. So, you know this for the Muslim community my wife teaches world religion and her best to the last semester was a young Muslim girl who links her eyes because the rest was completely covered. Some extended to all orthodox in the Judaism is like that too, and they do not cover the face, but the hair is cover specially fro women for married. And the role is I will teach you a song. I learn an orthodox at Base School Growing Up which caused you to roles here for the rest. It is knees, battle Christ is knees do or die knees do not show your knees or your elbows or shoulders or thighs.
So knees, shoulders, thighs, elbows, so in orthodox women are dress and they only wear pants. I mean dress it is not pants, as when the Health Club, the women who workout, there orthodox all to orthodox they do it out there and they wear pants under there skirts, because the Torah prohibits wearing clothing the opposite sex. They say pants are for both for women, but there are not slits no wrap around below the knee cover the elbows, cover the shoulders and at the neckline has to be above where the fist goes.
The orthodoxy, my relatives in Israel, also orthodox sometime even shave there heads the women under the hair so that hair could never be exposed. Now, we live in a community where there is a lot of mother orthodox women and a lot of the parent in orthodox, they do not cover there head except them sole some do. Now let the few hair and the front hair show and the conservative movement in sole women who are married cover there heads and we also any guilty and services have women wear keep out of they want, because the man do and that is our reverence for God and not out of that the hair is a alluring subject. I want refer you to a book written by by the Windy Shelley called and we turn the modesty discovering the lost virtue at 1999. Where she talks about experience of young girls and women in the modesty issue and some feminist is throughout that this a two fugues on women and there implications for man too.
And I want to stress to this modest about dress but we do need to talk about dress. And the question that they had has and to say that this is not an issue for conservative that certainly is. For example you have a hundreds and hundreds of young people there. You have swimming we do not have separate swimming. You have the dinning halls, a lot of energy and so people have to use common sense about not bikinis and no spaghetti straps and none of those tops wear, there is nothing holding it up. People have to use common sense, the question I ask you self for issue of modesty is, I am wearing these so I can attract in appropriate of tension of the opposite sex and my attract is a clingy and lowering and low cut and then high skirt or just a simply that I am trying to look nice and presentable and modes and deist, and that is the question for a religious dress.
A sandals especially in Israel are question about whether in the orthodox, you have a dispute about stockings and bear leg and socks and no socks so that is why you see the mother that it is really community orthodox. They sandals have no socks. They are all to orthodox it will be we do with socks. And I will explain about the hair covering I hope it is better clear. That is really not an issue in the conservative movements, but it is in the orthodox.
Now, female singing words are too, the Holacka is the female singing voices are burden. There is dispute among the authorities as to whether they supplies only to singing or even talking in mix groups where there are men present. I have relatives where the women will not sing in public when it is about singing because in for example a, that was called Isha. The voices are women and that is not an issue in the conservative movements at all and I certainly, so especially because we have women canters and women rabbis and women Canters and women Rabbis and mix choirs. Another aspect of this is touching and the printable issue there is called Shomer Negia where people observe the probation against touching some of the opposites sex unless it is the immediate relative your mother, your daughter, or your wife.
There are couples of concerns, they wanted the woman might be menstruating and the orthodox believe that, that menstruation communicates a Tabo called tomiute, which need to be rectified by merging and the Mikva.. I know also you have the sexual concern there. I tell you story that was in Israel and I though relative coming to visit and did no speak any Hebrew or Yiddish that you can give my orthodox relatives a female that what ever you do not touch the man when you meet them.
So, I was in Israel. We are sitting there and you open to answer the door wonder why I long berated brats of the relatives welcome to energy. Grab them and hug them big hug alone. That is what I have done and that is why sometimes when you see and orthodox rabbi or orthodox man, woman will put up her hand they will shake. Not with an offense but they observed the lose Negia. This is also a concept called Jehu where it is against Jewish law to secure your self along in a room with somebody the opposite sex.
Basically if there is a place where a private or people are going to come in, it does not impact with doctor visits and counseling sessions and stuff like that, but it is definitely good issue. That is what we called Jehu we usually use the term for something very beautiful at the end of a wedding the couple ask to be alone for a few minutes call Jehu to sort of to say we are now marry, into now where religious services. I do have a video on to Jewish man and woman has to pray separately. I do not think you have too. I think there is tremendous archeological evidence that we borrow that costume from the non-Jews. The orthodox of course consider requirement.
A public dancing, we do not have any issue in the conservative moment about men and women dancing together. Certainly a good Jewish dancing the orthodox, especially ultra orthodox will not do at all. They also have issues about certain with the ceremonies where they have to separately you do not pay attention a bit at all. When I start Rabbinical School, we did not have a separation beery wrap and we did separate man and women. It is that very in common today, maybe there is a couple in Canada could service in God which still to do that.
So, basically they summarize it for none orthodox Jews I think the general principles of modesty and behavior and person and the rest are certainly part of the command instructor of Judaism. They do not dwell on the service or immoral thoughts to avoid steering at members the opposite sex especially parts that are not for public. Keeping the body clued and respectable clothing, refrain from touching people with the opposite sex in generals a good idea especially a married person and those are I think the basic principles have sniut of modesty.
I think if you just take a second a look around of this society, it is going way, way, way in the other direction and that is not becoming just personality. Shalom.
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