the following post has already been translated, so I am first posting the translation, and then the post..
Posted by an Israeli rabbi today:
One of my female students called me this morning and said "We have a family occasion soon and I wanted to ask you about the dress I would wear."
I already had my usual answer ready - I try not to answer women about questions connected to their dress, and it would be better for her to ask a female teacher. But only when she continued, I understood the spiritual power in her question.
"I decided that I wouldn't spend more than a certain sum on this dress, because I don't want an expensive showy dress. I find that immodest. The thing is, I found a seamstress who wants 800 shekels, which is much more than the sum I decided on. But she is having a financial crisis and her husband is sick, and I know the Rambam says the highest form of tzedakah is to give work to a poor person so they can support themselves."
What's more important - the modesty of an inexpensive dress, or the kindness in supporting the seamstress? Suddenly I understood what Chazal meant when they coined the phrase "modest and kind", literally speaking.
Then I thought of the modesty guidelines that were recently published, which only deal with sleeve and skirt length. And I was happy with our students who know that the Torah has much more to say about "dress halacha" than just the question of what is covered or uncovered.
הבוקר התקשרה אלי תלמידה ואמרה: "יש לנו שמחה משפחתית בקרוב ורציתי להתייעץ איתך בקשר לשמלה".כבר הכנתי את התשובה הקבועה של...
Posted by אילעאי עופרן on Wednesday, February 17, 2016
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In the original he was far less dismissive of lengths and centimeters than the translation implies
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