Tzniut

Tzniut or Tznius (also Tzeniut) (Hebrew: צניעות "modesty") is a term used within Judaism and has its greatest influence as a notion within Orthodox Judaism. It is used to describe both a character trait and a group of Jewish religious laws pertaining to conduct in general and especially between the sexes.

Humility is a paramount ideal within Judaism. Moses is referred to as "exceedingly humble, more than any man in the world" (Bamidbar 12:3). The Talmud states that humility is one of the characteristic traits of the Jewish people. (Talmud, Tractate Yevamot 79a.)

Description

Tzniut includes a group of laws concerned with modesty, in both dress and behavior. It is first mentioned in this context by the prophet Micah (6:8): "[...] and to walk humbly (hatzne'a leches) with your God". In the Babylonian Talmud, Rabbi Elazar Bar Tzadok connected this prophetic precept with modesty and discretion in dress and in behavior (Tractate Sukkah 49b).

In the legal dimension of Orthodox Rabbinic literature, the issue of Tzniut is discussed in more technical terms: how much skin may a person expose when out of one's home, and so on. Notwithstanding these details, the concept of humility and modesty as a positive character trait, a practice, and a way of life -- a "way of walking" -- is also taught to be important in Rabbinic literature. This awareness informs the concept and the practice of Tzniut in its rules and details.

Practical applications

Sexual Relations

Orthodox Judaism prohibits sexual relations outside of marriage. Indeed, the laws of Yichud prohibit adult males and females from even being alone together in a room unless they are married or blood-related. Many observant Orthodox couples will not touch one another unless they are alone.

Dress

Orthodox Judaism requires both men and women to substantially cover their bodies. In Haredi communities, men generally wear long pants and often long-sleeve shirts, and women wear blouses with sleeves below the elbow and skirts which cover the knees. Some women try not to follow the fashion, while others wear fashionable but modest clothing.

In Modern Orthodox practice it is generally accepted for sleeves to reach the elbows and shirts to cover the collarbone, skirts to cover the knees with or without tights, and not wear pants in the presence of men. Socks are considered optional, based on the concept of minhag hamakom (custom of the community).

Haredi women avoid skirts with slits, preferring instead kick-pleats. They also avoid overly eye-catching colors, especially bright red. Some insist on closed-toe shoes and always wear stockings, the thickness of which varies by community. In some Haredi communities women wear loose vests over shirts. Men must wear shirts with sleeves. Modern Orthodox men will wear shorts, but Haredi men will not, and many will not wear short sleeves at all. Sandals without socks, while generally not worn in a synagogue, are usually accepted in Modern Orthodox and Religious Zionist Communities in Israel for daily dress. Haredi Ashkenazi practice discourages sandals without socks both in and out of the synagogue. Haredi Sefardic communities tend to accept sandals at least outside of synagogue and sometimes in synagogue as well. Dress in a synagogue and, according to many, in public should be comparable to that worn by the community when meeting royalty/government.

Conservative Judaism formally requires modest dress, although this requirement is often unobserved on a day-to-day basis, but is somewhat more observed with respect to synagogue attendance. While day-to-day dress often simply reflects the general society, many Conservative synagogues expect somewhat more modest dress (although not necessarily as stringent as in Orthodox Judaism) for synagogue attendance, and may have specific dress requirements to receive synagogue honors (such as being called for a Torah reading). Reform Judaism does not regard religious dress requirements as applicable.

Style of dress involves cultural considerations distinct from religious requirements. There are many Conservative and Reform synagogues in which suits and ties are socially expected, while there are many Orthodox synagogues (especially in Israel) where dress, while meeting religious modesty requirements, is quite casual. Many Haredi and Hassidic communities have special customs and styles of dress which serve to identify members of their communities, but regard these special dress features as customs of their communities rather than as general religious requirements expected of all observant Jews.

Hair covering

Three styles of hair covering common among married Orthodox women. From right to left: snood, fall, and hat.

Halacha (Jewish law) requires married women to cover their hair; Maimonides calls this requirement Dat Moshe (the law of Moses). The most common hair coverings in the Haredi community are the snood, the tichel (scarf), and the sheitel (wig); some Haredi women cover their hair with hats or berets. Observance of this law is not universal among Modern Orthodox women, but even in this sector virtually all cover their hair in synagogue. The most common hair covering for Modern Orthodox women is a hat or beret; younger women often wear baseball caps and bandannas when dressed casually, and some wear bright and colorful scarves tied in a number of ways. A style of half wig known as a "fall" has become increasingly common in many segments of Modern and Haredi Orthodox communities. It is usually worn either with a hat or headband.

Men, married or not, usually cover their heads. The most common head covering is the kippah, also known as the Yarmulka. Most men wear something on their heads at almost all times, while some cover their heads only when performing some religious act, or when eating. Few cover the entire head. The exact nature of this practise, and how binding it is, is a matter of dispute among halachic authorities. Some rabbis, based upon certain comments in the Mishnah Berurah, state that women should also cover their heads when they pray or study Torah. This includes unmarried women whose heads would not usually be covered, unlike married women who would always cover their hair due to Tzniut.

Conservative and Reform Judaism do not generally require women to wear headcoverings. However, some liberal Conservative synagogues suggest that women, married or not, wear head-coverings similar to those worn by men, and some require it, not for modesty, but as a feminist gesture of egalitarianism.

Female singing voice

In Orthodox Judaism men are generally not allowed to hear women sing, a prohibition called kol isha (Babylonian Talmud Tractate Berachot 24a). This is derived from Song of Solomon 2:14Template:Bibleverse with invalid book: "Let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet ("arev") and your face is beautiful." The Talmud classifies this as ervah (literally "nakedness"). The majority view of later interpreters is that this prohibition applies at all times, and forbids a man who happens to be around in the presence of a woman singing to pray or study Torah, similarly to other prohibitions classified as ervah (Rosh Berachot 3:37, Shulkhan Arukh Even ha-Ezer 21:2). A minority view holds that the prohibition of praying or studying in the presence of kol isha applies only while reciting a single prayer, Shema Yisrael (based on the opinion of Rav Hai Gaon, cited in Mordechai Berachot 80). There is debate between the poskim (authorities of Jewish law) whether the prohibition applies to a recorded voice, where the singer cannot be seen, where the woman is not known to the man who is listening and where he has never seen her or a picture of her. There are also opinions, following Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg, that exclude singing in mixed groups from this prohibition, such as synagogue prayer or dinner-table Zemirot (religious songs), based on the idea that the female voice is not distinctly heard as separate from the group in these cases.

Conservative and Reform Judaism do not choose to keep these requirements. Conservative Judaism interprets the relevant passage of the Talmud as expressing a Rabbi's opinion rather than imposing a requirement. Reform Judaism does not regard this traditional law as applicable to modern times.

Touch

Main article: Negiah

In Orthodox Judaism, men and women who are not married and are not closely related are not allowed to touch each other in an affectionate manner. Examples of relatives that one may touch include parents, grandparents, grandchildren, and one's spouse if not niddah. This prohibition is colloquially called shmirath negiah (observance of the laws of touching) or shomer negiah. Whether or not children adopted at a young age are included in this prohibition is a matter of dispute and case-by-case decision.

A person who refrains from touching the opposite sex is said to be shomer negiah. Shmirath negiah applies to touching which is derech chiba (related to affection). According to some authorities, quick handshake, particularly in the context of earning a living in a business setting, may not fall under this category, as opposed to a hug or kiss. However, people who are stringently shomer negiah will avoid shaking hands with a member of the opposite sex, even in a business context. It is almost universally observed within the Haredi community and somewhat observed within the Modern Orthodox community where the term originated in recent decades.

Conservative and Reform Judaism do not regard these rules as applicable.

Yichud

Main article: Yichud

In Orthodox Judaism, men and women who are not married to each other and are not immediate blood relatives are not allowed to enter into a secluded situation ("yichud") in a room or in an area that is private. According to some authorities this applies even between adoptive parents and adoptive children over the age of maturity, while others are more lenient with children adopted from a young age. Simply being in a room together alone does not necessarily constitute seclusion. The situation must be private, where no one else is expected to enter. Originally, this prohibition applied only to married women secluded with men other than their husbands, but it was extended to include single women. According to the Talmud, this extension occurred in the time of King David, when his son Amnon raped Absalom's sister, Tamar.

Conservative and Reform Judaism do not regard these rules as applicable.

Synagogue services

Main article: Mechitza

In Orthodox Judaism, men and women are not allowed to mingle during prayer services, and Orthodox synagogues generally include a divider, called a Mechitza, creating separate men's and women's sections. In many synagogues this requirement is fulfilled by having a balcony for the women's section.

Liberal, Reform, Reconstructionist, and most Conservative congregations do not separate the sexes during services. Masorti, Traditional, and other Traditional/Observant congregations differ individually as to their mechitza practices. Some separate fully, some do not separate, and some have both separate seating and a third, mixed area.

Public gatherings and dancing

In Orthodox Judaism, men and women are separated at certain other public religious gatherings, especially where dancing is expected to take place. While Orthodox Jews agree that mixed dancing is prohibited and dancing requires separation, the extent to which separation is required under other circumstances varies within Orthodox Judaism. Some Haredi authorities require separation at celebratory meals and events such as weddings, although some claim noted Haredi Rabbi Moshe Feinstein held that such separation is not required except for the dancing component. Modern Orthodox authorities generally do not require separation except for dancing. Where separation occurs, it is often includes setting up a temporary Mechitza (partition).

Conservative and Reform Judaism do not require separation between men and women at religious gatherings.

Interpretations

Tzniut is the subject of differing interpretations among various segments of Judaism.

Issues that have received wide interpretation are:

The degree to which a woman's legs must be covered (thickness of tights/stockings/socks as well as different length socks vs. knee-highs vs. thigh-highs)

The principal guiding point is that a Jew should not dress in a way that attracts attention. This does not mean dressing poorly, but neither men nor women should dress in a way that overly emphasizes the physical or attracts undue attention.

Observances

There are several levels to the observance of physical and personal modesty (tzniut) according to Orthodox Judaism as derived from various sources in halakha. Observance of these rules varies from aspirational to mandatory to routine across the spectrum of Orthodox stricture and observance.

• Not dwelling on lascivious or immoral thoughts.
• Avoiding staring at members of the opposite sex, particularly at any part of the opposite sex's "private" anatomy.
• Keeping the majority of one's body clothed in respectable clothing.
• Avoiding the company of uncouth individuals or situations where an atmosphere of levity and depravity prevails.
• Avoiding looking at pictures or scenes that will be sexually arousing.
• Refraining from touching a person of the opposite sex, especially in a lingering arousing manner (shaking hands very quickly in greeting between sexes is a point of dispute, and depends on one's rabbi's halachic decision). See negiah.
• Not wearing clothing usually worn by the opposite sex.
• Not looking at animals or birds copulating.
• Not erotically hugging or kissing one's spouse in public, or when the wife is a niddah ("menstruant" who has not immersed in a mikva).
• Masturbation by men (hotza'at zera levatala – "discharging semen in vain") is not allowed.
• Sexual relations with anyone of the same gender, with an animal, or with a corpse is forbidden.

Criticism

Many feminists argue that these laws focus excessively on women, and claim that Jewish law is pessimistic about (male) human nature. They further argue that in the last several decades, excessive focus on, and objectification of, the female form may perversely engender or reflect a greater preoccupation with female sexuality than was previously found in Rabbinic Jewish literature.

From the 1960s to 1980s, this issue became a topic of conversation within the non-Orthodox Jewish community and many people began to express an interest in practicing some of these observances. Conversely, by the 1980s some within the Orthodox Jewish community debated these issues publicly.

See also

• Bais Yaakov (schools for Haredi girls)
• Jewish view of marriage
• Negiah (guidelines for physical contact)
• Niddah (menstruation laws)
• Rebbetzin (rabbi's wife)
• Role of women in Judaism
• Shalom bayit (peace and harmony in the family)
• Shidduch (finding a marriage partner)
• Yichud (prohibitions of secluding oneself with a stranger)

References

• Elyakim Ellinson Women and the Mitzvot: The modest way. An extensive review of the laws of modesty including synagogue separation, mingling of the sexes, and women's dress. ISBN 1-58330-148-8.
• Shmuley Boteach Kosher Sex: A Recipe for Passion and Intimacy Main Street Books, 2000, ISBN 0-385-49466-1. Written from a Modern Orthodox perspective.
• Elliot N. Dorff This Is My Beloved: This Is My Friend: A Rabbinic Letter on Intimate Relations, The Rabbinical Assembly, 1996. Written from a Conservative Jewish perspective.
• Rabbi Pesach Eliyahu Falk: "Modesty: an adornment for life". Phillip Feldheim, 1998. ISBN 0-87306-874-2. Encyclopedic work on Tzeniut, although considered quite stringent by some. Written from a Haredi Orthodox perspective.
• Michael Gold Does God Belong in the Bedroom? JPS, 1992. Written from a Conservative Jewish perspective.
• Gila Manolson: "Outside/Inside". Targum Press. ISBN 1-56871-123-9.
• Gila Manolson: "The Magic Touch". Targum Press. ISBN 1-58330-102-X.
• Wendy Shalit A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue Free Press, 2004, ISBN 0-684-86317-0
• Berman, Saul J. "A History of the Law of Kol 'isha" (pdf) In: Rabbi Joseph H. Lookstein Memorial Volume. Leo Landman, Ed. Ktav, 1980.

External links

• You Are What You Wear
• Tzniut and Women