[Avodah] Tzeni'us and gender roles

[Meir Shinnar]

Re:the quote from RHS of zniut
This essay reflects a methodological approach of RHS that I have seen in
other contexts tghat, BMKVT i find problematic - the use of a legitimate
source, that argues a position that supports his desired conclusion - but
that the original position cited is in general ignored (or minimized) in
practice. (eg, in talking about women's tefillot, the Magen Avraham's
position about women reading kriat hatorah)

Here too, the positon about zniut for ba'ale tefilla and aliyot is in
general ignored (even someone like Micha admitted it..) I remember, as a
member of the shul's committee planning tefillot for yamim noraim,
suggesting that anyone who asked to (and for sure pushed for the right to)
daven showed himself unfit - and while everyone admitted the existence of
this halacha, they were puzzled (this included 2 rabbanim with YU smicha
(and of the recent RW variety) that anyone would actually apply it, as it
was clearly not the norm.
If something is in practice ignored, it is difficult to make it the basis
for a wide ranging principe and for a new situation - (we don't care about
it for us, but you....),especially, as the new situation (public position
for women), the issue is in general not the kavod and public position for an
individual (where a lack of zniut can be argued) but the possibility of
inclusion of a group - a very different issue.

BTW, in some communities. the exclusion of an entire group is actually a
very public statement - the opposite of tnziut - and their inclusion is
therefore an act of zniut...

Meir Shinnar
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20090710/f1c300c5/attachment-0001.htm>