[Avodah] Publishing Pictures of Women

[Harry Maryles]

--- On Sun, 1/23/11, Prof. Levine <Larry.Levine at stevens.edu> wrote:


The Flatbush Jewish Journal is a local newspaper that serves the Brooklyn Jewish community. Several weeks ago as part of an obituary it published a picture of the deceased -  a woman who passed away when she was in her eighties.  The next week the paper published a letter to the editor urging the FJJ to follow the practice of the Hamodia, the Yated and Mishpacha Magazine and not publish pictures of women.  The next week there were several letters that were pro publishing pictures of women.   Recently the paper published a picture of Rav and Rebbetzin Pam as part of its obituary about the life of Rebbetzin Pam.

This week's paper contains another letter urging the paper not to publish pictures of women. In part this letter says, "The Gedolim have already expressed their opinion to omit pictures of women from frum papers and if the FJJ considers itself frum it should be no different." There is no mention as to who "the Gedolim" are.

Can anyone supply sources regarding teshuvos about this issue, both pro and con? There are a number of books published by Artscroll and Feldheim that do contain pictures of women, so I have to presume that there rabbonim who permit this.
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I predict that both publishers will eventually phase out any pictures of women in future publications.
 
This is a good example where a perfectly legitimate practice of publshing Tzniusdik pictures of women will become a thing of the past in the Charedi world. There was absolutley no probelm with that picture of Rav Pam and his wife that was published in some of the Frum print media. I am pretty sure that R' Pam himslef would have had no issue with it belig published. I am pretty sure as well that there are many memebrs of the Agudah Moetzes who feel the same way. 
 
The problem is that there are some Charedim (mostly Chasidic I would guess) that believe that this is not Tznius.
 
What has been happeneing in instances like this is that those who see no problem with it nonetheless bow to those who do... and agree that in the interests of unity even Tzniusdik pictures of women should not be published at all.
 
Once that Minhag takes hold - before long it becomes the belief by all Charedim that this is in fact Halacha L'Maseh or at lthe very east that the given Chumra (in this case publishing a picture of a woman) becomes normative Judaism. Those who continue to publish pictures of Tznius women are then looked at as doing somtehing wrong.
 
It would be nice - and very appropriate in my view - if rabbinic leaders would stop catering to the most extreme customs of a particular segment of Judaism - so as to be more inclusive. Until the last few years this was not a devise issue. Chasdim had their customs and the Litvishe wolrd had theirs. And they were both Meshadech with each other... and sat on the same dais at Agudah events. So their is no real unity gained by doing this. By accepting this Chumra into the Litvishe world - they end up including one segment at the expense of another. If unity is the goal bowing to the factions with the most Chumros is not the way to do it.
 
HM
 
 
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