Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Kosher Fashions: Tzniut: Restrictive or Liberating?
Kosher Fashions: Tzniut: Restrictive or Liberating?: Liberation Through Restriction: Why tzniut empowers women and teens. As I watch the yeshiva girls walk out the school doors at the en...
Tzniut: Restrictive or Liberating?
Liberation Through Restriction: Why tzniut empowers women and teens.
As I watch the yeshiva girls walk out the school doors at
the end of the day, all dressed so similarly in long denim skirts and long
sleeve shirts, I feel proud that we insist that each one grow up to become a truly individual and liberated
woman.
Dressing according to the laws of tzniut ensures that they focus on their own personal achievements, talents, and unique gifts of personality and character.
Anyone can copy the “Look” that society calls perfect and beautiful and lose one’s true self along the way.
I enjoyed this article: A Modest Proposal: How Tzniut Liberates and Enriches, on OU.org by Dr. Chana Sosevsky, a teacher at Michlala and Machon Gold, and resident director of Touro College Israel Option. Show it to others, and especially your daughters. Modesty is not restrictive, conformity is. Liberation is about how we see ourselves.
Sosevsky begins the article thus: A sad and poignant commentary on the state of society today is the popularity and acclaim of two books regarding the sexualization of society and the objectification of women. In Reviving Ophelia, a study about the growing emotional problems of adolescent girls today, psychologist Mary Pipher decries the threat to our youngsters based on the spread of what she terms “lookism,” the evaluation of a person on the basis of appearance. Pipher describes how in many American communities, girls are pressured to wear designer clothes, have straight white teeth, beautiful hair and fit into a size four. Then they read teenage magazines which tell them, “Don’t worry about feeling good or being good, worry about looking good”. Pipher mourns that “adolescence is when girls experience social pressure to put aside their authentic selves and to display only a small portion of their gifts”
In her article, Dr. Sosevsky argues that: Tzniut is meant to de-emphasize the physical in order to allow the intellectual and spiritual aspects of oneself to shine through. Once women understand this, tzniut becomes a tool and an advantage, rather than a restrictive element in their lives.
Dressing according to the laws of tzniut ensures that they focus on their own personal achievements, talents, and unique gifts of personality and character.
Anyone can copy the “Look” that society calls perfect and beautiful and lose one’s true self along the way.
I enjoyed this article: A Modest Proposal: How Tzniut Liberates and Enriches, on OU.org by Dr. Chana Sosevsky, a teacher at Michlala and Machon Gold, and resident director of Touro College Israel Option. Show it to others, and especially your daughters. Modesty is not restrictive, conformity is. Liberation is about how we see ourselves.
Sosevsky begins the article thus: A sad and poignant commentary on the state of society today is the popularity and acclaim of two books regarding the sexualization of society and the objectification of women. In Reviving Ophelia, a study about the growing emotional problems of adolescent girls today, psychologist Mary Pipher decries the threat to our youngsters based on the spread of what she terms “lookism,” the evaluation of a person on the basis of appearance. Pipher describes how in many American communities, girls are pressured to wear designer clothes, have straight white teeth, beautiful hair and fit into a size four. Then they read teenage magazines which tell them, “Don’t worry about feeling good or being good, worry about looking good”. Pipher mourns that “adolescence is when girls experience social pressure to put aside their authentic selves and to display only a small portion of their gifts”
In her article, Dr. Sosevsky argues that: Tzniut is meant to de-emphasize the physical in order to allow the intellectual and spiritual aspects of oneself to shine through. Once women understand this, tzniut becomes a tool and an advantage, rather than a restrictive element in their lives.
She goes on to say: The famous injunction of the Sefer Hachinuch, “Acharei hamaasim nimshachim halevavot” (our hearts are influenced by our actions) is particularly relevant[....] [A woman or man] who dresses appropriately usually acts appropriately. I've often heard my students say that when they used to conform to the dress codes of their religious high schools, they felt restricted; [...] they felt compelled to act less free [...] Indeed, such dress codes give young women a more authentic freedom: the freedom to focus on their spiritual rather than their superficial selves.
In addition, she writes: The halachah is designed to make the world relate to a woman as a person and not as a female. The laws regarding length of skirts and sleeves, etc. are a set of guidelines which limit the exposure of woman’s body, and should serve as a reminder to her as to how to comport herself with dignity.
Perhaps the most important note to take from this article is the following:
In addition, she writes: The halachah is designed to make the world relate to a woman as a person and not as a female. The laws regarding length of skirts and sleeves, etc. are a set of guidelines which limit the exposure of woman’s body, and should serve as a reminder to her as to how to comport herself with dignity.
Perhaps the most important note to take from this article is the following:
"Women who see tzniut as an injunction to cover up and hide themselves miss the point entirely."
You can read the whole article here
Share your response on Kosher Fashions blog or on our Facebook page, we want to know how you feel.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Win $50! Have you voted yet?!
Have you voted yet?
What are you waiting for?
Like us on Facebook, and comment on the photo in the link below - which of the 4 ensembles pictured do you like best?
The raffle will be held on 10/1 and the winner announced the same day.
The winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to Kosher Fashions - can be used online, or in person.
Did you know that Kosher Fashions now offers a personal shopping experience, by appointment only?
Shop at your leisure, when you have the time, with a dedicated person to help you find the clothing that suits you best and is most flattering to your style and figure.
To win extra entries, share the photo on your own timeline, and retweet on Twitter!
And, if you "pin" the contest on Pinterest, you'll get yet another entry in the raffle. What are you waiting for? Who doesn't love free gift certificates?!
What are you waiting for?
Like us on Facebook, and comment on the photo in the link below - which of the 4 ensembles pictured do you like best?
The raffle will be held on 10/1 and the winner announced the same day.
The winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to Kosher Fashions - can be used online, or in person.
Shop at your leisure, when you have the time, with a dedicated person to help you find the clothing that suits you best and is most flattering to your style and figure.
To win extra entries, share the photo on your own timeline, and retweet on Twitter!
And, if you "pin" the contest on Pinterest, you'll get yet another entry in the raffle. What are you waiting for? Who doesn't love free gift certificates?!
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