[Avodah] Rav Shimon Schwab on how Jewish women should dress

[Harry Maryles]

--- On Thu, 5/6/10, Prof. Levine <llevine at stevens.edu> wrote:


The new phenomenon that Rav Schwab is talking about is that women "flaunt" "their clothing, jewelry, and beauty enhancements" in public. As I wrote in response to Chana Luntz's post, Rav Schwab is telling us that all of these beauty enhancements are to be used for a woman's husband, and should not be for public display.

This does not mean that a woman should not be presentable in public. However, she should make herself especially beautiful for her husband. And again, we often see just the opposite. Some women are dressed to the hilt in public and wear frumpy clothing when at home.
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It seems like common sense to me.
 
Women are not supposed to make themselves ugly in public. Nor should they make themselves provocatively attractive. There is such a thing as a happy medium.
 
Of course in the privacy of the home women should definiteley make themselves as attactive as they can to their husbands. 
 
But this does not mean they must look frumpy in public. There are clothes that make women look nice and yet quite Tzniusdik - without being provocative. That should be the standard. 
 
One must never allow oneself to look dowdy or frumpy. This is not the face we should be showing in public. As long as Erva is not violated - Tznius is where we begin. How that is defined depends on the community in which one lives. In America, it means that being overly concerned with Tznius to the point of looking frumpy is a disservice to the Am Bechira and in my view - perhaps even a Chilul HaShem. One should do the best they can within the limits of Halacha. 
 
HM

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