Monday, September 12, 2011

Jewish view of Modesty, dress, clothing

Jewish view of Modesty, dress, clothing: "infinite number of ways. Upon meeting you for the first time, people may immediately see "stocky build" or "curly hair." After spending a bit of time with you, they may notice "artistic" or "athletic." After getting to know you, they may be able to see you as "emotionally complex" or "a highly abstract thinker." And just as others can view you on different planes, so, too, there are any number of ways in which you can view yourself.

Tzniut begins with looking past your more superficial layers and seeing who, on the deepest level, you are capable of being. Tzniut then means gradually learning how to convey an important message to others -- and instilling it in yourself.

The message that tzniut asks you to project is "internality": that of all the parts of you, it is your innermost self by which you want to be defined. In order to convey this message, you must know when and how to reveal your body, your abilities, and everything else that makes you up, so that these don't hide but instead express who you really are. The challenge of tzniut is to project every aspect of yourself in such a way that it draws the focus to your true identity."

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