Clothing and Appearance – Rosh Yeshiva Responds

30 09, 2020

Trying on a Suit That Has yet to be Checked for Sha’atneiz

September 30th, 2020|Clothing and Appearance, Yoreh De'ah|

QUESTION

Brooklyn, NY

Can I put on a pre-sha’atneiz checked suit to have it tailored? (Will bring for check after it’s tailored; works better for timing before chag.)

ANSWER

Yes. There is no specific leidat hasafeik yet (unless you know that this brand often has sha’atneiz). If you know that the brand has sha’atneiz, then according to the Beit Yosef, it is a debate of the Tur/Rambam, although the Taz‘s discussion on this leaves room to think that for the Rambam it would also be permitted. The issue […]

Why Cross-Dressing on Purim is Kosher (Joy of Text 4.06)

20 03, 2019

Why Cross-Dressing on Purim is Kosher (Joy of Text 4.06)

March 20th, 2019|Cross Dressing, Purim|

These sources accompany the Cross-Dressing on Purim episode of the Joy of Text podcast.

1. Rema, Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayim 696:8

רמ”א, שו”ע אורח חיים תרצ”ו:ח’
ומה שנהגו ללבוש פרצופים בפורים, וגבר לובש שמלת אשה ואשה כלי גבר, אין איסור בדבר מאחר שאין מכוונין אלא לשמחה בעלמא; וכן בלבישת כלאים דרבנן. וי”א דאסור, אבל המנהג כסברא הראשונה.

As to the custom to wear masks on Purim, and a man wears a woman’s clothing and a woman a man’s clothing – there is no prohibition that is […]

Hair Covering (Joy of Text 4.03)

11 03, 2019

Hair Covering (Joy of Text 4.03)

March 11th, 2019|Clothing and Appearance, Lifecycles, Marriage and Family, Niddah, Sex, Women|

These sources accompany the hair covering episode of the Joy of Text podcast.

A. Nature of Obligation

The verse in Numbers {source ‎1} implies that women (perhaps specifically married women) would normally have their head covered. This point is made explicit from Sifrei {source ‎2}, which emphasizes the fact that this was a norm, and does not frame it as an obligation.

Rashi {source ‎3} emphasizes the issue was the loosening or disheveling the hair, not (or not just) its uncovering. He also states that from the context of the verse, we can infer that it was considered shameful for a woman to […]

3 05, 2018

Is My Electric Shaver Kosher? (short version)

May 3rd, 2018|Shaving, Yoreh De'ah|

[Note: This is an abreviated version of a longer teshuvah on the same topic]

QUESTION:

Can I shave with an electric shaver and are all models permissible?

ANSWER:

In two separate verses, the Torah prohibits men to shave their beards. In parashat Kedoshim, the Torah states: “You shall not destroy (tashchit) the corners of your beards,” (Vayikra 19:27). Two chapters later, in parashat Emor, addressing the male Kohanim, the Torah states: “The corners of their beards they shall not shave (yigaleichu),” (Vayikra 21:5). The Talmud (Makkot 21a) states that these two verses are not two separate prohibitions, one for Kohanim and one for all male Jews, […]

Electric Shavers – Which Ones are Kosher?

8 02, 2017

Electric Shavers – Which Ones are Kosher?

February 8th, 2017|Shaving|

Question:

I noticed a new electric shaver, the Norelco OneBlade, which has the appearance of a safety razor, and can shave a length of the face in one stroke, but actually is electric with a foil screen (see pictures). Any chance you could weigh in as to whether you think it would be acceptable for a man to use on his whole face? Thanks!

Answer:

[…]

Tzniut, Halakha, and the Male Gaze

15 08, 2016

Tzniut, Halakha, and the Male Gaze

August 15th, 2016|Tzeniut, Women|

This essay was written in the context of this op ed in the New York Times. This accompanying source sheet provides a closer look at the sources.

Tova Hartman, in her chapter “Modesty and the Religious Male Gaze,” in Feminism Encounters Traditional Judaism, discusses the topic of the male gaze, and how the culture around tzniut reinforces this – accepts it as a given – and the status of women as sex objects. The only difference between this approach and that of Western culture is whether the response […]

Tzniut, Halakha and the Male Gaze: Lecture and Sources

10 08, 2016

Tzniut, Halakha and the Male Gaze: Lecture and Sources

August 10th, 2016|Tzeniut, Women|

This lecture was composed in the context of this op-ed in the New York Times. These sources also accompany the Season 2 Episode 7 episode of the Joy of Text podcast.

Introduction

There is a general sense in the frum community that tzniut is a concept that applies almost exclusively to women and to how they dress. In some more Haredi communities, young girls are taught that tzniut is there special mitzvah – that they must dress modestly at all times so that men will not look at them and […]

Public Displays of Affection

26 07, 2016

Public Displays of Affection

July 26th, 2016|Niddah, Sex, Tzeniut|

Question:

לגרסה העברית לחצו כאן /Read this teshuva in Hebrew

I am a kallah teacher and was asked if I have any halakhic or rabbinic sources about public displays of affection—from simply holding hands to hugging and kissing in public. The woman also considered that the guidelines might be different in front of intimate family rather than in a large public space, such as at a wedding, etc. The husband is leaning towards a more stringent approach, but she wants “to do the right thing, not just the stricter thing.” She wants real answers rooted in sources that […]

Tzniut: Whose Obligation?

6 11, 2009

Tzniut: Whose Obligation?

November 6th, 2009|Berakhot, Tzeniut, Women|

The topics of hirhurim and tzniut, of illicit sexual thoughts and modesty, have deep implication. The Gemara (e.g., Avoda Zara 20b, Berakhot 24a) focuses on the man’s sexual thoughts as potentially resulting from seeing or looking lustfully at women, but does not address the issue of women’s sexual thoughts. To some degree this is consistent with the Gemara’s general androcentric approach, but in this case in particular it has the effect of objectifying women – of casting the man as a sexual being and the woman as a sex object to which he is responding. Interestingly, Rav Moshe Feinstein in […]

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Brooklyn, NY

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