This article originally appeared in New Voices. Dear Mayim, Let’s talk — Orthodox feminist to Orthodox feminist. You represent me. You might not mean to but you do. With the exception of Ivanka Trump (oy), you’re probably the most visible Orthodox woman in America today. So, when you imply in the New York Times that…
When Mayim Bialik wrote about the power of modesty, amid the promiscuous values of Hollywood — as an Orthodox Jew, I was deeply moved. Not only was it empowering to hear a Hollywood actress extol the Jewish ideals of modesty, but it also struck me as an ever-more relevant reminder for my own community. In…
When I was in high school, we had a teacher, a long-bearded rabbi, who spent weeks of class time focusing on the intricacies of yichud, the Jewish laws forbidding an unrelated man and woman to be in seclusion together. Every configuration, every scenario in which a man and a woman might find themselves alone, was…
Five Israeli ultra-Orthodox rabbis released a statement this past summer, blasting wigs made of human hair for their idolatrous origins (which has long been a dispute among rabbis). As is well-known, in the year 5764, the rabbanim and great poskin [ruler] in our generation have ruled that wigs which contain any human hair from India…
An Orthodox Jewish woman who was kicked out of a gym for working out in a skirt has reached a legal settlement with the fitness facility that will allow her to return and work out in the attire of her choosing. Yosefa Jalal Wood-Isenberg sued the all-female gym Lucille Roberts after alleging that she was…
A video clip that depicts teachers at an ultra-Orthodox school checking schoolgirls’ hair to make sure they comply with standards of so-called modesty standards has provoked outrage on social media. Teachers at Lakewood Girls School Bnos Yaakov in New Jersey apparently took the action after administrators wrote a letter to the girls’ parents, declaring that…
Tzniut — the Hebrew word for “modesty” — is somehow an endlessly heated discussion topic. We never get bored of it. Several articles on modesty and fashion vis-à-vis women have appeared in these pages, and it seems to me that no matter what day or month it may be, the topic of tzniut arises constantly…
On Tuesday, I wrote a piece about how Orthodox women should stop wearing shells. It did not go over well with many Orthodox readers. But I stand by what I wrote. It needed to be said. You don’t have to listen to me or care about my opinion. And you have every right to continue…
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