[Avodah] Avodah Digest, Vol 25, Issue 163

[Meir Shinnar]

>  >>>... it was quite the norm for people - including prominent rashe yeshiva
>  - to walk on the boardwalk, either in Long Island or in Miami Beach... one
>  of our former chaverim confessed that he knew the rashe yeshiva who walked
>  on the boardwalk, ..
>  >>
>
>  There is nothing wrong with walking along a boardwalk when there is no one
>  on the beach or the weather is too cold for sunbathing.

yes, but they walked when the beach was full of beach goers.....that
was what so shocking to this former chaver..

>  >>>This position was given to my father by a prominent (MO) rav, as they
>  were together in the swimming pool in a hotel at Miami Beach - the rav would
>  understand the basis for being machmir, but not the basis of those who
>  walked the boardwalk, where the level of zniut was far worse than in a hotel
>  swimming pool of elderly Jews...
>
>  The taaneh of this MO rav is 100% correct. But meanwhile, he personally is
>  being oyver a serious aveireh.
>  Maybe your father should've heeded Chazal and told the rabbi of this.
>  "Bemokom sheyesh Chilul Hashem ein cholkin kavod larav".


>  >>>WRT to RMB's point about changes in swimming attire, while this may be
>  true of the garb of the 1890s, it was not true of the swimming attire of the
>  1920 and for sure 1930s - and people kept coming both to marienbad, as well
>  as the beaches at Trieste - the swimming attire of the 1930s was not very
>  different than that at a family friendly pool or beach today.
>
>  Very possible. And you can be sure that not a single recognized rav/RY/rebbe
>  in Marienbad EVER went to the mixed waters.
>
Actually, that is not correct.  That is the problem with much of the
discussion - many have so internalized the current perspective on
mixed swimming that they are so sure  that no one could possibly have
a different halachic perspective - so any one who does is "being oyver
a serious aveireh" - and thus one is being motzi la'az on rabbanim who
are fully aware of the shulchan aruch, and are quite medakdek on it.

The MO rav involved, while a major talmid chacham, may not be suitably
recognized by the olam, as he is MO - but my father was taken mixed
swimming  by a major litvish rosh yeshiva, who would be recognized by
everyone here....

Meir Shinnar