[Avodah] Why Jewish Women should NOT wear a Burka

[Micha Berger]

On Sun, Feb 10, 2008 at 09:27:01AM -0600, Ken Bloom wrote:
:> tzeni'us has two meanings. Originally, it referred to not calling
:> undue attention to oneself, trying to avoid the spotlight. Because sex
:> is such an attention getter, that grew to include covering ervah....

:> Here is a case where people go to such extent to cover ervah that they
:> do draw undue attention to themselves. Ironically, by being tzanu'os,
:> they are violating tzeni'us (switching meanings of the word
:> midsentence).

: I doubt that the word tzeni'ut has two meanings...

In theory, that should be true. That's what I meant by speaking of the
meaning growing and derived meanings.

However, the word tzeni'us WRT covering ervah is used in teshuvos. Even
when speaking of how one comports oneself as alone. One isn't drawing
the attention of the beams of one's home. So, while this is a derived
rather than the original and mishnaic usage of the term, I didn't simply
dismiss it.

I would still agree with your point:
:                                                  More likely, covering
: erva is only tzeni'ut to the extent that it eliminates an
: attention-getter. Once the covering would becomes an attention getter in
: and of itself, it would no longer be tzeni'ut in *any* sense of the
: word. Does this seem more correct?

Covering ervah in a way that draws attention is not tzeni'us in mishnaic
Hebrew. In any way shape or form. But it's still covering ervah, which
acharonim and perhaps even rishonim also called "tzeni'us". It's not
tzevei dinim, it's two descrete and very different concepts that happen
to now share a word.

So, rather than worrying about senses of the word, let's just agree that
the primary value which in mishnaic Hebrew is the only meaning of the
word "tzanu'ah" is not being fulfilled in any way by such clothes. And
in that sense, we agree.

-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "'When Adar enters, we increase our joy'
micha at aishdas.org         'Joy is nothing but Torah.'
http://www.aishdas.org    'And whoever does more, he is praiseworthy.'"
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