Sounds like the beginning of a decent joke..
My daughter saw the following double-sided flyer in a shul in the Old City of Jerusalem the other day...
The flyer was put out by Leah Kook and her organization promoting the women wearing of the שאל - translated as shawls.
The image says this is how our mothers looked.
The text on the back talks about the kohein gadol wore so many beautiful clothes to honor Hashem, and he brought about a kapara for the sins of the people. The women of our generation as well, the women and girls who wear the "shawl" and an "honorable and holy head covering" bring a kapara for the whole generation.
It then writes, "If you would know how much pleasure it brings to Hashem, you would be happy like Miriam and her drums."
Continuing (it is one annoying run-on paragraph), it goes on to describe Sarah Shnierer as the epitome of tzniyus and holiness and was "wrapped" (she wore a shawl?), and they used to throw stones at her but she did not get insulted but said to Hashem that with those stones she would build Bais Yaakov....
She goes on a bit more and signs off saying "my feet are in Tiberias and my heart is in Yerushalayim.."
I cant believe she published a flyer with pictures of women. Or maybe there really is a move away from such haredi extremism!
How do you know those are women in the picture?
ReplyDeleteThere's not much to indicate those are actually women-after all, they are all covered in a frikkin shawl!
ReplyDeleteEven Sofer's book is full of women's pictures--if there are faces they are blurred. He sets the standard, in my opinion. (His is the book that the shawl wearers quote most often).
ReplyDeleteNot that I support this movement or these people, but here is a film clip from 1911, where you can see what they wore better (and you can see they are women...)
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/T0zpbDGjHAE?t=20m15s
The styles look like they are from Eastern Europe. Many of the women and men in the clip are wearing hats that I doubt Sara Imenu had ever seen. Thanks for sharing that.
ReplyDeleteHere is an image of Sarah Schenirer herself. She doesn't look much like the women in their picture and she even has some hair showing....
ReplyDeleteI wonder if covering oneself with a Talit (as a women) would be considered Tznius enough...(disclaimer: i do not wear a talit, nor do i want to, i am just being facetious :) )
ReplyDeleteAccording to the picture and film clip linked in Mother-in-Israel's facebook comments, there doesnt appear to be a mechitzah either. Perhaps we should go back to that as well?
ReplyDeleteRafi S. Does Sara have a beard? She was divorced and educated as well-certainly not the paradigm of today's Beis Yaakov clones.
ReplyDeletebeard? why? (though in the pic it looks like she has a bit of a mustache..)
ReplyDeleteBaila - interesting suggestion. Answer will be, we do what we can. The maximum. The British didnt allow a mechitza. As a matter of fact, it was the attempt at the establishment of the mechitza, if I remember correctly, that sparked the Arabs to perpetrate the massacre in Hebron in 1929.
ReplyDeleteSo the British didnt allow it, so they had no choice. Though I guess women could have been told to stay home. How can you daven without a mechitza, just because you cant put one up. That is what would happen today.
ANybody think that perhaps the picture was taken in winter and the reason for wearing the shawls is simply because it was cold and shawls were the style then?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe the shawl took the place of a Tallis. With a Tallis, the women would not see anyone to her left/right, plus she could concentrate more and increase her devekus. I see nothing wrong with a Tallit for a woman, albeit as long as it looks like a shawl.
ReplyDeleteWhen you think about the increased devekus and privacy in your davening to HKB"H it make perfect sense.
Plus most of the women wore light/white clothing, white or designed shawls, not the black,black,brown,navy outfits we see in Yerushalayim. They are so depressive.