Inner & Outer Beauty

More important than what we are covering is what we are exposing...

The Emmys is an event that is organized to credit, acknowledge and reward those who are the most talented in their fields. It is an evening that is intended to celebrate skill, capability, and creativity, and yet, in the end, it is just one big fashion show...

Really, how often do we make decisions based on what is right for us versus what is "normal," what is expected? How often do our needs get mixed in with what we feel we're supposed to do, with what society says we should be doing?

Only when something has established its spiritual truth in relation to G-d does its beauty become meaningful. Something is beautiful because it is true and not true because it is beautiful.

Individuals though we may claim to be, in all places on earth where people have enough resources to actually choose what they want to wear, few people make that decision truly independently...

This guy is acting as if I am a separate creation. As if I have nothing to take personally. He is effacing my gender. The lack of embarrassment is startling...

Beauty brought to mind an image of a nameless female figure, a simple rust colored silhouette of a woman with a basket, garnered from a sukkah decoration my mother made...

The modern day concept is “if you got it, flaunt it.” Show the world what you have to offer, be out there, be public, the more the better. It just isn’t so exciting to be the heroine behind the scenes...

There are the garments of the body and then there are the garments of the soul. And through harnessing the powers of our thought, speech and action, our spiritual clothing, we create mystery through modesty that is attractive without needing to be attracting.

Judaism loves categories and celebrates them every way – night and day, milk and meat, Sabbath versus holidays and ordinary days – and gender is no exception...

I recently received a call from a journalist who asked me what I thought of the TV show "The Hottest Mom in America." The show is currently auditioning housewives desperately trying to convince producers that they are wonderful, hands-on mothers and also... well... hot. The reporter specifically wanted my opinion as a modern Jewish mom...

One of my wife’s recurring complaints concerns the dearth of closet space in our home. A reminder that all my clothing occupies a measly corner of one closet invariably elicits a detailed explanation of a woman’s extensive wardrobe needs...

When I was sixteen, I went to Israel for two months and gained about twenty pounds. I had been thin, even skinny, my whole life and never gave my weight a second thought...

There are the garments that we wear on our body and then there are the garments that clothe our soul. Join Sara Esther Crispe as we delve into the inner dimensions of our foundational characteristics.

"I want to know why the women aren't allowed to dance with the men." My anger sounded to my own ears flat, bold, the way I wanted it...

“They all dress the same, they’re so boring.” As I got to know them more and more I began to discover the uniqueness of each individual. The seemingly similarity in their outward appearance forced me to look inside and see each as person for who they really were...

She calls this her "ultimate artwork" - having her body cremated after she dies and then compressed to form a diamond...

Why does Judaism tell women to keep their bodies covered? Is there something shameful or evil about a woman's body?

By covering her hair, the married woman makes a statement: "I am not available. You can see me but I am not open to the public. Even my hair, the most obvious and visible part of me, is not for your eyes."

Who we really are, our inner essence, that which makes us truly unique and not just another pretty face, should be the image that we want to convey...