Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu

Sources on tzniut

16 August, 2011

Question:

Hello.

I am trying to find sources in the Shulchan Aruch for the laws of tsniut. I am living in a community where many women are quite lax concerning dress and “minhag hamakom” is confusing. I would like to be able to say to my children, “We do this because it says in masechta/daf (fill in the blank) that it is Halacha.” I also am looking for modern responsa (Rav Moshe Feinstein, perhaps) on the subject.

Thank you.


Answer:

We can highly recommend the following resources:

The Deracheha website has a number of articles on the topic of tzniut. See here for a conceptual introduction, and here for a more specific discussion of clothing. Choose the “In Depth” tabs for a detailed source-based discussion.

Rav Getsel Ellinson’s book, The Modest Way (in Hebrew, Hatzene’a Lechet) is an accessible compendium of traditional sources, from the gemara to more modern responsa, and includes discussions of dress.

Our site’s founding halachic supervisor, Rav Yehuda H Henkin z”l, wrote an important and comprehensive article on the topic. It can be found online in Tradition, and is the title essay in his book Understanding Tzniut.

Behatzlacha!

This response was updated on 3 May, 2021.


This internet service does not preclude, override or replace the psak of any rabbinical authority. It is the responsibility of the questioner to inform us of any previous consultation or ruling. As even slight variation in circumstances may have Halachic consequences, views expressed concerning one case may not be applied to other, seemingly similar cases. All health and health-related information contained within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is intended to be general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for consulting with your health care professional. The advice is intended to offer a basis for individuals to discuss their medical condition with their health care provider but not individual advice. Although every effort is made to ensure that the material within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is accurate and timely, it is provided for the convenience of the Web site user but should not be considered official. Advice for actual medical practice should be obtained from a licensed health care professional. For further questions or comments:  The Nishmat Women's Health and Halacha Site is a public service of Nishmat, The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. This project and others like it are made possible by contributions from people like you. If you have benefited from the service, and wish to enable us to help others, click here to donate.

Users of Internet filtering services: This site discusses sensitive subjects that some services filter without visual indication. A page that appears 100% complete might actually be missing critical Jewish-law or medical information. To ensure that you view the pages accurately, ask the filtering service to whitelist all pages under yoatzot.org.

Accessibility Toolbar