[Avodah] Marit Ayin in pictures (from Areivim)

[Minden]

RDIC wrote:
> Today, our local daily newspaper ran a front page story on Shabbat together with a picture of a local L Rabbi and Rebbetzin in their kitchen preparing for Shabbat. While those in the know realize that the Rebbetzin was wearing a sheital, there was no way to tell from looking at the picture, and it appears as if she has no head covering.
> Is this a marit ayin problem, or does that not apply to pictures?

I'm not sure the recent discussion on Areivim is on topic:

If I'm not mistaken, first of all the main point of marres ho-ayen is not the danger of destroying the person's reputation, but rather that the very reputation might lead to it that onlookers think the falsely assumed action in question is fine and in concurrence with the Tôre. (Default example: When well-known O rabbi Plouni is seen entering a certain Scottish restaurant that lacks hashgoche - he actually wants to buy a closed bottle of water - the fear is not mainly that people start whispering rabbi Plouni's eating tarfes, but that they think the establishment must be kosher and ch"v start eating there.)

More importantly, the erroneously assumed action must be an eveire, and while menogem differ, I'm not sure a woman in a roofed house, in her own home, and with only her husband and an unknown photographer present, who might even be a close relative or a regular visitor of the family as per some poskem, is committing an eveire.


Lipman Phillip Minden