Wednesday, 25 April 2012

The Hasidic Jew.

When G-d created Eve, He said, 'From which part of Adam shall I create Eve? If I form her from Adam's head she may become pompous. If I make her from his eye, she may become a flirt! But if I create her from the rib, she will be modest! Since that the rib is always covered, even when he stands naked, that part is still covered!" (Genesis Rabba 18:13)


On a trip to Israel I noticed this very noticeable sign in a Ultra-Orthodox Hasidic area by the name of, Mae Shearim.
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In her article: Hasidic Women's Fashion Aesthetic and Practice, Barbara Goldman Carrel writes  for the London College of Fashion, on 15 June 2011 that:
“Hasidic girls are taught at a very young age the importance of dressing in a manner which reflects the inner soul rather than emphasising any external manifestations of feminine physicality, sexual or otherwise, or drawing attention to themselves.”

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Barbara Goldman Carrel writes in the book, The Veil: Women Writers on Its History, Lore and Politics edited by Jennifer Heath that the Hasidic women dress a certain way in order to fulfill their obligation to sanctify their "worldly existence" page 56


Rather than their dress just being a form of self-expression, it is a reflection of modesty and how one simultaneously covers and reveals by concealing their private body parts as specified by Jewish law but at the same time unveiling or promoting that which is hidden, their holiness and soul. 

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