I definitely see a value in all the responses that people have written about the tzniut issue, but I still have one major problem. Some of the reasons that people have posted for dressing with tzniut include include saving your body for your husband, and not being seen by the opposite sex as just an object. While these answers do seem to be correct, the standards of what society sees as "modest apparel" has drastically changed from the times of the poskim. It seems to me that all of these SAME goals of tzniut can be achieved through wearing slightly less than what the posekim have decided is modest. For instance, nowadays in our society, wearing a short sleeved shirt during the summer may seem very modest in comparison to the majority of women who wear tank-tops. Or, an even better example, a pair of professional slacks on a woman may be perceived not only as modest, but as a very respectable choice for a professional woman to wear. (Perhaps the same logic for a pair of skinny jeans may be difficult to justify, but still -- what if skinny jeans can somehow fit with this logic? What about a loose tank top?)
I think one of the beautiful things about Modern Orthodoxy is that we try not to take on unnecessary chumrot, or stringencies. I have been brought up to believe that following halacha is of the utmost importance, but taking on extra stringencies is unnecessary, and perhaps even a sign of not being a fully educated Jew who is aware of the REAL halachik guidelines.
In short, why have the laws of tzniut not changed with time, when we can achieve the SAME EXACT goals with more lenient guidelines?
- Rikki Novetsky
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