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Tzniut
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Tzniut or Tznius (also Tzeniut) (Hebrew: ?????? "modesty") is a term used within Judaism and has its greatest influence as a notion within Orthodox Judaism. It is used to describe both the character trait of modesty and humility, as well as a group of Jewish religious laws pertaining to conduct in general and especially between the sexes. The term is frequently used with regard to the rules of dress for women.
Humility is a paramount ideal within Judaism.
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Encyclopedia
Tzniut or Tznius (also Tzeniut) (Hebrew: ?????? "modesty") is a term used within Judaism and has its greatest influence as a notion within Orthodox Judaism. It is used to describe both the character trait of modesty and humility, as well as a group of Jewish religious laws pertaining to conduct in general and especially between the sexes. The term is frequently used with regard to the rules of dress for women.
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, 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
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.
In Yemen, unmarried girls covered their heads also, like the Muslims there; however, upon their emigration to Israel and other places, this custom has been abandoned. While Rebbe Aharon Roth, founder of Shomer Emunim, praised this custom, no Ashkenazi community, including the most radical Haredi circles, practice or have ever practiced such a custom.
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 practice, and how binding it is, is a matter of dispute among halachic authorities. Wearing a hat is not required by Jewish law, and those who wear a hat always wear a kippah underneath; however, there are some rabbis, especially in Hasidic Judaism, who require a double head covering - of kippah and hat - during prayer.
Conservative and Reform Judaism do not generally require women to wear head coverings. Some more observant Conservative synagogues will ask that married women cover their heads. 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. Almost all Conservative synagogues require men to wear a head covering (usually a kippah), but in Reform synagogues there is often no requirement.
Female singing voice
Orthodox Judaism
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 : "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 (Or Zarua 1, hilkottaharat keriat shema utefilah, no. 133; Rashba; Hiddushei ha-Rashba, Berachot ibid.; Rosh Berachot 3:37, Tur-Shulkhan Arukh Even ha-Ezer 21:2 following Rambam/Maimonides, Hilhot Issurei Biah 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, Rabbenu Hananel, and Halachot Gedolot), cited in Mordechai Berachot chapter Mi sheMeito 247:80). This opinion is also followed by the Ra'avya and the Ritva (in his Hiddushim to Berachot).
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 Samson Raphael Hirsch and Azriel Hildesheimer, 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 (“Trei Kali Lo Mishtamai,” two voices cannot be heard simultaneously - Megila 21b). However Yehiel Yaakov Weinberg found this explanation unsatisfactory, and instead proposed, following the Sdei Chemed (Klalim, Maarechet Hakuf, 42) quoting the Divrei Cheifetz, that the kol isha prohibition does not apply to women singing zemirot, songs to children, and lamentations for the dead, because in these contexts, men do not derive pleasure from the woman’s voice.
Rabbi David Bigman has ruled, based on the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch, that kol isha only applies when there is sexual pleasure involved. According to the majority of authorities, i.e. those who did not link kol isha to Kriat Shema, kol isha is in fact similar to gazing at a woman's little finger, which is another case in Berachot ibid. But the Rishonim rule that gazing at a woman's finger only applies when done expressly for sexual pleasure, or when there is any sexual pleasure involved. Thus, it stands to reason (no previous authority has explicitly stated as such) that kol isha is similar, and has parallel by-laws applicable to it. Therefore, Rabbi Bigman states, "There is no prohibition whatsoever of innocent singing; rather, only singing intended for sexual stimulation, or flirtatious singing, is forbidden. Although this distinction is not explicit in the early rabbinic sources, it closely fits the character of the prohibition as described in different contexts in the Talmud and the Rishonim, and it is supported by the language of the Rambam, the Tur, and the Shulchan Aruch."
Reform and Conservative Judaism
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
In Orthodox Judaism, men and women who are not married and are not closely related are generally not allowed to touch each other. While some in the Modern Orthodox Jewish world allow touching in an affectionate manner, the vast majority of the Orthodox Jewish world holds this prohibition to be absolute.
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, mainly of Modern Orthodox background, a 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
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. On the issue of elevators, opinions vary; some allow yichud in an elevator for a time of no more than 30 seconds, while others forbid it under all circumstances, among others due to the possibility of an elevator getting stuck.
Conservative and Reform Judaism do not regard these rules as applicable.
Synagogue services
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. This idea comes from the old Jewish practice during the times of the temple in Jerusalem when there was a separate section for women called the Ezrat Nashim. There is also a story in Zechariah (Zechariah 12:12) which talks about men and women mourning separately. The Talmud took this story and inferred that if men and women should be separate in times of mourning, then of course they should be separate in times of happiness.
Mechitzot are usually seen in Orthodox synagogues to separate the men and women. In Conservative synagogues, a Mechitza is rarely seen because the conservative movement put a strong emphasis on egalitarianism meaning men and women should have equal roles in the prayer service because men and women are considered equal and a strong familial feeling in the synagogue. In Reform synagogues, they are never seen.
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 at all times.
- 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 hugging or kissing one's spouse in public; among Haredim, this includes any physical contact whatsoever.
- 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. According to most authorities, forms of sex such as oral sex are also forbidden; according to a few minority opinions, these are permitted.
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
Footnotes
External links
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