Modesty: An Adornment for Life

Photo: Feldheim

B"H

One of the blog readers mentioned the book "Modesty: An Adornment for Life" written by Rabbi Pesach Eliyahu Falk. The book deals with the modesty of women such as dressing code and morality. Fortunately, I found it available to read on Google Books; although not all pages. 

I have to make a confession: I have always felt uncomfortable among these really frum dressed women and girls. First of all, I am not like them even if I dressed like them. My upbringing was different and thus is my behaviour. Somehow I identify the frum dress with kitchen, not too much education, many children and a lack of freedom. Of course this is a stereotype point of view but it automatically comes into my mind when I see such girls. Especially young women who are newly married.

When I was in the haredi neighbourhood of Ge'ulah (next to Mea Shearim in Jerusalem) yesterday, I entered my favourite cold drink store. Slush in many varieties and you even have the choice between Parve and Chalavi (Milchig). 

The store is small, run by English speaking modern Haredim and located in Malchei Israel Street. Why I like going there ? Because the slush is tasty and not too expensive. A big cup costs 13 Shekels (approx. 4 Dollar). 

Yesterday I ordered the slush and placed myself into a corner next to the door. In fact, there is not much room to stand anyway. 

A few minutes later, an ambulance team from the Israeli "Magen David Adom" entered the store and also ordered slush. Three guys and one younger woman wearing their white ambulance shirts. The woman and me were the only females in the store wearing pants. No one was bothered by that but then a young chassidic couple walked in and even before they ordered their drink, the young woman looked at us like ... well, she may have thought that she is on a higher level. Regarding modesty or religiously. In fact, she looked at me and the Magen David Adom woman and started whispering to her husband. He, by the way, wasn't interested at all. 

I am used to that kind of behaviour by many haredi women but the ambulance woman didn't feel very comfortable. Why would this young haredi woman (I couldn't identify her group but it could have been Chernobyl) judge us according to our clothes ? Malchei Israel Street is not such a closed neighbourhood and plenty of secular and traditional Jews walk around during the day. 

The young chassidic woman has her task in this world and so do we. She neither knows me nor the ambulance woman and in case she needs an ambulance, she will be glad seeing that particular woman in her pants helping her. 

I had to mention this particular situation here because I felt sorry for the young ambulance woman being stared at. Not only being stared but the haredi woman had to whisper to her husband. The couple left after a short while and I don't even know whether they bought something or decided not to.