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    The Tzniyus Book
    The Tzniyus Book
    The Tzniyus Book
    Ebook128 pages1 hour

    The Tzniyus Book

    By Rabbi Jack Abramowitz

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    About this ebook

    The Tzniyus Book presents not only explanations for, but also the Biblical and Talmudic sources of traditional practices of dress and comportment among observant Jews. If a person has an idea whats what, but may not be sure why, The Tzniyus Book lays it out in a down-to-earth, contemporary fashion.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherXlibris US
    Release dateOct 16, 2009
    ISBN9781462809530
    The Tzniyus Book
    Author

    Rabbi Jack Abramowitz

    Rabbi Jack Abramowitz, MS Ed, is a writer and educator with decades of experience in outreach and informal education. As editor of the Orthodox Union’s OU Torah web site, Rabbi Abramowitz has helped to make the study of Tanach, Mishnah and Halacha more accessible to newcomers and seasoned learners alike. Rabbi Abramowitz is the author of The Nach Yomi Companion volumes 1 and 2, The Shnayim Mikra Companion, The Taryag Companion, The Tzniyus Book and The God Book.

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      Book preview

      The Tzniyus Book - Rabbi Jack Abramowitz

      Copyright © 2009 by Rabbi Jack Abramowitz.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

      To order additional copies of this book, contact:

      Xlibris Corporation

      1-888-795-4274

      www.Xlibris.com

      [email protected]

      54260

      Contents

      Foreword

      Author’s Preface

      About the Language in this Book

      The Torah Does Too Say So!

      What is This Tzniyus, Anyway?

      The Difference

      Community Standards

      Who Wears the Pants in Your Family?

      Sing, Sing a Song

      In the Shul: SheLo Asani Isha and Mechitza

      The Myth of Shomer Negiah

      A Chapter for the Boys

      Appendix A

      Appendix B

      Appendix C

      Foreword

      by Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb

      Executive Director Emeritus, Orthodox Union

      Leave it to Rabbi Jack Abramowitz to accomplish the nearly impossible. The task involves a set of standards. Consider a topic which many these days think is old-fashioned, even archaic. Add to it the intimate nature of the issue, its long history, and its technical complexity. Then add the challenge of making its discussion readable, comprehensible, and enjoyable, even to a teenage audience. Surely a very difficult task. Yet our author, Rabbi Jack, as he is known to his colleagues at the Orthodox Union, has pulled it off.

      One of the central components of traditional Jewish behavior is personal modesty. Indeed, the prophets considered walking modestly with God a sine qua non of religiously desirable behavior. One aspect of modesty concerns conduct in the area of interaction with members of the opposite gender. The halachic tradition has applied the concept of modesty to dress, language, posture, and even gait. The observant Jew must be careful in his or her self-presentation to society in every aspect of his or her lifestyle.

      Resistance to these standards, and the perception of them as unduly harsh and restrictive, is understandable and has long historical roots. Particularly in our postmodern age, when old standards are seen as relativistic and unnecessarily inhibiting, we are witness to a reluctance to abiding by the standards of personal modesty laid out by the halacha.

      There is thus currently a twofold need.

      Firstly, an explication in clear and candid terms of what is acceptable and what is forbidden in the social relationships between men and women. This explication must be based upon impeccably authoritative sources. It would not be wise to interpret these sources in an overly strict manner, nor would it be honest to render an excessively lenient reading.

      Secondly, a treatment of this issue must be persuasive. The reader must be convinced that conforming to the standards, in spite of the fact that they all are so different from familiar norms, is the right thing to do. Adolescents especially, sensitive as they are to fitting in with their peers, must not only be convinced, but inspired to adopt a lifestyle which will potentially result in the disdain and mockery of friends.

      Rabbi Abramowitz, who has a remarkable track record of producing excellent introductory materials on a wide range of Jewish topics, has managed to write a book which fulfills both needs. It is based upon a wide variety of sources, going back to the Bible and Talmud and continuing to include contemporary religious authorities. Amazingly, his book is eminently readable and spiritually uplifting.

      We at the Orthodox Union are proud of the literary and educational contributions that the author has made to the library of materials for those who seek an authentic presentation of the basics of Judaism. We are confident that this book on the very sensitive topic of tzniyus will accomplish its sublime mission: to enable young men and women to withstand the pressures of the general society in which they live and courageously choose to conform to the eternal values of our sacred tradition.

      Author’s Preface

      This book is a long time in coming.

      I wrote the first draft nearly a decade ago, while I was working as Director of Programs for NCSY, the youth movement of the Orthodox Union. One of my projects was a question-and-answer forum called AskNCSY. Questions about tzniyus and other gender issues were among those most commonly asked. Not only is the topic new to beginners, even those raised in observant homes often know the whats, but not the whys.

      The manuscript went through many hands and I gathered much valuable feedback but, for a variety of reasons, I placed publishing it on the metaphorical back burner. I did deliver portions of it as lectures and classes at Shabbatonim, in camps and in schools. I also made portions of it available to educators and NCSY advisors for their own use, and my research was used as the basis for at least one term paper. But I always intended to return to it, eventually.

      When the first volume of my book The Nach Yomi Companion came out, I got a lot of, "Whatever happened to your tzniyus book?" Really—I got a lot of that. So here we are.

      The motivation to write this book was simple: the book I wanted to use didn’t exist. There are a number of books on this subject available, some better than others, but none of them took the approach of explaining the sources that define the practices. Current works generally focus upon the philosophies underlying tzniyus, or detail the laws of tzniyus—both important and useful—but I wanted to give people a compendium of Torah sources that showed the roots of tzniyus. I couldn’t find one, so I had to compile it.

      The intended audience for this book is the young woman who is familiar with the concepts of tzniyus (the whats), but who may not know the Torah origin of the practice to dress or act in certain ways (the whys). This is not intended to subtract from the philosophical reasons that may be the focal point of some other works. My book describes where God told us to do certain things, while those works speculate on the reason He may have done so. The two approaches complement one another. (I do a fair amount of philosophical speculation myself, incidental to my source-gathering.)

      As I mentioned above, the original audience for this work was high school girls and it was written with that slant. I have revised the text to remove the assumption that the reader is a teen, but I think that (for good or for ill) the finished product still skews to a younger audience.

      Finally, it is inevitable that people will infer matters of practical application from this book. Such is not my intent! This is not a collection of laws, it is a collection of sources. If I discuss that Orthodox girls wear skirts to the exclusion of pants or that married women cover their hair, I am addressing the reality of the situation, not mandating a list of Thou shalts and Thou shalt nots. For all matters of Jewish law, please consult with a competent halachic authority.

      Rabbi Jack Abramowitz

      14 Elul, 5769

      About the Language in this Book

      The Gemara (Pesachim 3a) engages in a discussion about the euphemistic language employed by the Torah. This discussion is sparked by the statement of Rav Yehoshua ben Levi that the Torah used eight Hebrew letters more than necessary in order to avoid using a crass term, by saying from the animals that are not clean rather than that are unclean.

      The Gemara goes on to ask the logical question: Why should the Torah avoid the use of the word unclean when it uses that very word many times in other places? It answers that when a clean and a crass term are both equally appropriate, the Torah will use the nicer expression, but when the meaning may be obscured, the Torah puts the cards on the table and uses the blunter term.¹

      Most tzniyus books utilize the euphemistic manner of speech. When referring to women’s clothes and body parts, they speak in generalities such as inner garments and chest. I do not do so in this book.

      First of all, I am seeking to include a population that may be younger, hipper or more straightforward than the intended audiences of most other such works. The principle of chanoch lenaar al pi darko, to educate a person in the manner best suited to him (or her) (Mishlei 22:6), compels me to speak their language.

      More importantly, I do not wish for my meaning to be obscured. Since many of the intended readers of this book

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