Pants

Hi!! This is Daniella Grodko. so i once heard this and I wanted to know its true: If youre somewhere, for example a practice for the skirt league, where its known that only girls can be there, and a man comes in and your wearing sweatpants. Do you have to change and duck for cover or is it ok because he's the one whos 'intruding".


I (Mrs. Knoll) used to experience exactly this question all the time. Until a few months ago, we lived in Riverdale and I would go to women’s basketball night at the RJC (Riverdale Jewish Center, one of the major shuls in Riverdale) whenever I could. (I’m not any good, but it was still fun to play!) It was known that Monday was women’s basketball night, but even so, the shul custodian used to come in every so often, and worse, some of the men would sometimes cut through the gym on their way to Ma’ariv! I did play in sweatpants, and did not “duck for cover” when they came through. This was primarily because it is not clearly assur to wear sweatpants in the first place. There are two halachic issues involved with wearing pants: 1) begged ish and 2) tzniut. According to many authorities, pants are no longer begged ish now that it is clearly accepted for women in general society to wear them, and if the pants are baggy, which sweatpants are, then according to many authorities, they are not a tzniut issue either. I still do not wear pants in general, not even baggy sweatpants because a) I think once one starts wearing only baggy pants, it becomes very difficult to determine exactly what’s considered baggy or not, and one is likely to start wearing non-baggy pants, which are definitely a tzniut problem, and b) I think wearing skirts has become kind of like a woman’s way of showing that she is frum and seriously committed to halacha. However, since it’s not clearly assur to wear baggy pants in general, when a man would happen to come into the gym during women’s basketball, I would just continue playing. That being said, if someone wants to be machmir on herself and be particularly sensitive to these tzniut issues, I think that’s admirable; but she should be aware that it is a chumra and a sensitivity, not a halachic necessity.

Also, I do think the fact that the man is the one “intruding” makes a difference. In the paragraph above, I focused on the fact that wearing sweatpants is not clearly assur, and that’s why I don’t think you need to run for cover at your basketball practices. But let’s change the scenario: Let’s say you’re wearing a bathing suit at an all-women’s beach in Israel, and then a man walks onto the beach. Wearing a bathing suit in front of men is clearly assur. But I think that in this case, HE is the one doing what he’s not supposed to be doing and is where he is not supposed to be; that is his problem, his sin, not yours. Thus, even in this case, I do not think you have to run for cover. However, as above, one’s sensitivity comes into play, and one might want to cover up even if it is not her sin.

Bottom line: In your basketball example, I think there are 2 reasons why you do not have to run for cover: a) Wearing sweatpants in front of men is not clearly assur to begin with, and b) he is the one who should not be there (this assumes it is clearly known that it’s a “girl’s only” time).