Kosher haredi dress: Nix everything tight or red

[Keit]

It’s actually not so funny, but rather hilariously sad. Take a look at this article. I always wondered about those “religious cloth regulations for woman. Are those men so weak in their faith, that they need a woman to help them to avoid sins or sinful thoughts? Or maybe, like Neo in Matrix, they feel that they should avoid women in red? :D

Kosher haredi dress: Nix everything tight or red

Posters hung throughout Bnei Brak urge women to only buy loose-fitting clothes, avoid red colored garbs. Increasingly popular secular fashions worrying rabbis who respond with battle to cover bulges

Neta Sela Published: 01.02.07, 15:43

Posters of a 'White List' of clothing stores deemed Kosher by ultra-Orthodox standards popped up everywhere on Monday in the Bnei Brak haredi town.

The posters call for women to only purchase clothes from the 30 approved stores as these establishments comply with the strict laws and regulations of haredi religion.

The notices were printed by the self proclaimed 'store monitoring committee', all in an effort to battle the 'promiscuity problem' apparently rampant throughout the city.

Women are requested to cooperate with the initiative (dreamt up by the men of the 'Guard of the House of Jacob', the organization which oversees all the rabbinical courts in Bnei Brak) and only shop at the aforementioned 30 stores so as to empower the pious stores.

Shoshana, a saleswoman at the 'Bat Melech' (King's Daughter) apparel store told Ynet what conditions were required of the store to be listed as on of the 30 approved stores.

"We pledged that young men won't be in a position where they may sell clothing here," explained Shoshana, "we also made sure that our merchandise was deemed appropriate according to the Halacha. For instance – we won't sell a red-colored garment. Nor do we carry form fitting clothes or slit skirts that reveal the legs."

Shoshana said that many new businesses have come to the city after entrepreneurs recognized the potential of the market in Bnei Brak, businesses that don't bother keeping with the rules of modesty.

"All these stores from Tel Aviv showed up, the owners put yarmulkes on their heads and started selling clothes. I keep to the guidelines not because it is profitable, but because I believe, ever since I was born, that I must do what the rabbis say."

However to receive the coveted Kosher label Shoshana was required to take down items that failed to pass the modesty test, like shirts that were declared too tight.

Danger in the streets: Fashion

The war on promiscuity picked up steam some six months ago when stores in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv belonging to the same chain were burned by radical haredim. In the Geula neighborhood in Jerusalem 'immodest' women were attacked with bleach which was sprayed onto their clothes.

Ultra-Orthodox rabbis decided to institutionalize their struggle, holding an emergency conference on the subject six weeks ago.

The event took place in the presence of the Lithuainia haredi public’s leading rabbis, including Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv and Rabbi Aharon Liv Steinman. The conference was intended for yeshiva students only, meaning married men, most of whom are fathers of young daughters.

 

[Ruth]

Are those men so weak in their faith, that they need a woman to help them to avoid sins or sinful thoughts? Or maybe, like Neo in Matrix, they feel that they should avoid women in red?

I think its a case of some of them using their 'faith' to justify the externalising of their own deviant natures onto other things, be this women, animals or certain ethnic minorities. All religions seem to engage in some form of misoginistic victimisation and the externalisation of their deviant nature. They use 'faith' as their justification for this, but deep down it's really nothing more than pathetic.

 

[Laura]

Sounds a lot like the Church of God (Christian denomination) and some Baptists and a few other fundie groups I've encountered. Some of them forbid dresses shorter than 3 inches below the knee, no sleeves that expose the elbows, collars up to the neck, no high heels, no shaved legs, no make-up, no dancing, and of course, no smoking or drinking. It's really sad to see women deprived of something that is simply fun: clothes, make-up, jewelry, etc.

The same is true for Muslim women, of course. What a dreary life. I understand that they spend a lot of time painting the palms of their hands and soles of their feet with henna which is the only thing they can decorate for public view.

Reminds me of my oldest daughter who I sent to a private kindergarten that required simple uniforms: dark blue skirt, light blue or white blouse. She told me in later years that when the little girls went to the toilet, since they didn't have different clothes to compare, they compared undies to see who had the the most fun underwear!

 

[Azur]

Comes down to poor impulse control, institutionalized. "It's not my fault, he/she made me do it!".

Imagine a sign in a zoo that says: "Don't walk into the tiger's cage wearing a dress made of steak." Now: how far away are we from these "rules" above to this simile here? The only thing that would make it a perfect fit, is if the tiger had written the sign itself. Is there a difference between Man and Animal? For these "people", apparently not.

Pathetic indeed.

 

[Ruth]

This reminds me of something that happened in Australia recently and outraged the Moslem community as well as others (although I strongly suspect the media was rabble rousing again - slow news day...).

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20652759-601,00.html

about rape Sheik Hilali said:

"But when it comes to this disaster, who started it? In his literature, scholar al-Rafihi says: 'If I came across a rape crime - kidnap and violation of honour - I would discipline the man and order that the woman be arrested and jailed for life.' Why would you do this, Rafihi? He says because if she had not left the meat uncovered, the cat wouldn't have snatched it."

Countless Muslim women angrily denounced Sheik Hilali as preaching with a "voice from the Dark Ages" and Islamic Council of Victoria spokesman Waleed Aly warned: "I am expecting a deluge of hate mail, I am expecting people to get abused in the street and get abused at work."

Tom Zreika, head of the Lebanese Muslim Association, threatened to ban Sheik Hilali from teaching at the Lakemba Mosque. "I received a lot of complaints today from ladies in our community saying how appalled with this statement they are. Unfortunately (these words) have also made men look like animals," Mr Zreika said.

Some silly old man appears to be out of touch with his community. He dared call women 'meat' and men 'animals'. I think the media was suprised at the lack of interest from non-muslim Australian and the wave of outrage from Muslims. I did wonder at the time what this 'silly old bugger' was up to. (this is not meant to be offensive, but I have come to understand what 'difficulty' some Moslem people have with animals).

 

[Azur]

This reminds me of something that happened in Australia recently and outraged the Moslem community as well as others (although I strongly suspect the media was rabble rousing again - slow news day...).

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20652759-601,00.html

about rape Sheik Hilali said:

"But when it comes to this disaster, who started it? In his literature, scholar al-Rafihi says: 'If I came across a rape crime - kidnap and violation of honour - I would discipline the man and order that the woman be arrested and jailed for life.' Why would you do this, Rafihi? He says because if she had not left the meat uncovered, the cat wouldn't have snatched it."

Countless Muslim women angrily denounced Sheik Hilali as preaching with a "voice from the Dark Ages" and Islamic Council of Victoria spokesman Waleed Aly warned: "I am expecting a deluge of hate mail, I am expecting people to get abused in the street and get abused at work."

Tom Zreika, head of the Lebanese Muslim Association, threatened to ban Sheik Hilali from teaching at the Lakemba Mosque. "I received a lot of complaints today from ladies in our community saying how appalled with this statement they are. Unfortunately (these words) have also made men look like animals," Mr Zreika said.

Some silly old man appears to be out of touch with his community. He dared call women 'meat' and men 'animals'. I think the media was suprised at the lack of interest from non-muslim Australian and the wave of outrage from Muslims. I did wonder at the time what this 'silly old bugger' was up to. (this is not meant to be offensive, but I have come to understand what 'difficulty' some Moslem people have with animals).

According to the quote you've provided here, the person saying the men "look like animals" isn't coming from the sheik's mouth, the one who sparked the response from women. So: what was the "old bugger" up to?

 

[Ruth]

According to the quote you've provided here, the person saying the men "look like animals" isn't coming from the sheik's mouth, the one who sparked the response from women. So: what was the "old bugger" up to?

Well, I think he was terribly naive at how words could be used against him. After all the media made 'flap' was finished, he spent a fair bit of time in an apologetic and somewhat 'humble pie' mode.

Whilst the media was getting over its surprise at how little they could manipulate (a real surprise for some of them), everybody seemed to forget (or maybe not see?) that this man was only quoting another man and that the quote had also labeled men as animals (something that they have a real aversion to).

The whole 'media' thing seemed to be aimed at trying to incite outrage amongst Australian (non Muslim) women through the quoting of a quote refering to women as 'meat' and saying they they deserved to be raped. Somehow it didn't succeed in the reaction the media hoped for, provoking outrage in the Muslim community rather than the non-Muslim community.

Hopefully this religious man has learned his lesson - he has to 'keep up with the times' and listen to what his community is saying.