CLOTHING WITH A HASHGACHA

New: Kashrut certificate for clothing

Haredi sector establishes new modesty court to grant kashrut certificate to women’s clothing stores

Chaim Levinson Published: 04.29.07, 20:28 / Israel Jewish Scene

The strictly Orthodox sector has established a new modesty court to grant kashrut certificate to women’s clothing stores.

Lycra has become very popular among haredi women in recent years. The fabric stretches over the body and, according to rabbis, enhances those parts that should be hidden and exposes parts that should be concealed.

The ultra-Orthodox newspaper Bakehila (‘in the community’) reported over the weekend that an assembly of rabbis gathered at the home of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the “great posek” (arbiter of Jewish law) and decided to establish the modesty court.

Court representatives will examine the garments sold in clothes stores and will grant kashrut certificates to worthy vendors.

In an announcement published by the rabbis, they clearly define what is forbidden to wear:
Tricot shirts
Lycra shirts and skirts
Open-collared shirts
Short and tight skirts
Skirts with a slit
Skirts with a straight cut
Long or bulky earrings
Clothes and bags in loud, flashy colors
Wigs that are too exclusive
Transparent or colorful stockings
Clunky shoes

The war against immodesty has recently descended into violence. Extremists attacked women with various sprays who were wearing clothes that didn’t fit their criteria. Clothing stores in Jerusalem have also been hurt. One of the stores near the center of the city sustained an attack of bleach bottles. Tens of thousands of shekels of damage was caused to the merchandise.

Fear of the modesty guards is great in haredi neighborhoods. Yehudit, a haredi woman who works as a saleswoman in a clothing store in Geula said: “It is very scary, stressful, and unpleasant. A woman is wearing a skirt that cost NIS 200 (USD 50), and someone comes along and destroys it.”

Yehudit defines herself as a “modern haredi,” and claims that she and other women must not let “all of these protests affect us. It doesn’t bother me at all.” She also claims, “I haven’t changed the clothes I wear. I haven’t met one modern haredi woman who has purchased a new wardrobe or shorter wig because of the demonstrations.”
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Going to high school in the mid 60’s and living in an area without high school grade yeshivot, we went to public school. Even so, there was a strict dress code in those days. No culottes for women, no pants for women. No jeans for men, shirts had to have five buttons, etc. Every morning, a VP stood at the front door with a ruler in his hand. He got to measure the girls’ skirts to make sure that they were not too short.

How come it was always men who got to decide what women should wear and how they should wear it?

When will the rabbanim learn to mind their own business? Or as the old “Italian” joke goes concerning the Pope: “Hey, you no playa da game, you no make-a da rules.”