Understanding Tzniut: Modern Controversies in the Jewish Community

Tzniut, incorporating Jewish standards of modesty in behavior and in dress, is a much debated topic. The major focus of this book is a discussion of Jewish legal sources dealing with women’s dress codes and the mingling of the sexes, and an examination of how these have been implemented by contemporary halakhic authorities. Rabbi Henkin, a leading halakhic scholar and posek, considers that many in the religious community are obsessively preoccupied with details of permitted lengths and materials of clothes. In his view, this leads to the danger of “losing sight of the real basics of modesty-not to mention being so concerned about not thinking about women that one can think of nothing else”. With a firm conviction in the importance of women’s Torah learning, he dismisses the view that just as a man has the study of Torah, a woman has the practice of tzniut. One of his central arguments for possible leniencies in the area of tzniut is what he terms ‘habituation’. In cultures and communities where men and women mingle freely, for example, certain behavior no longer need be seen as provocative. He makes clear that this is not an argument for permitting activities with explicit or implicit sexual content. One need not agree with everything Rabbi Henkin says to appreciate his deep Torah scholarship, intellectual honesty and concern for Klal Yisrael.