Living Torah Archives

The fashion and glamor of the wider world can look most alluring. Why, the logic goes, should I stand out like a sore thumb among the rest of society? To that end, dressing in a way that is different to that of the society around us can be a real challenge.

The laws of modesty apply to men and women. Still, there is a difference stemming from the distinct virtue which women possess.

The food that a child eats and the air that he breathes have an important impact on a child. Likewise, the actions of parents have an effect on the child. Here, however, we learn that even the parents’ conduct before the child is born play an important role in the child’s development.

Bess Myerson, winner of the 1945 Miss America pageant, visits the Rebbe “Always remember that you are a queen. May G-d Almighty bless you to always have good news and healthy news – and to show a good example for the tznius, the chastity, of all Jewish women and girls.”

When G-d commanded Moses to count the Jews, the “greatest” among them counted as one, and the “simplest” among them counted as one. Every Jew is an equal son or daughter of G-d Himself, and is beloved to Him much more than an only child is loved by a father and mother.

Before the Jewish People entered the Land of Israel, the Torah says that G-d “signed the letters of His holy Name upon them.” Our Sages explain that His main purpose was to vouch for the women: Although they had been in Egypt for 210 years, the Jewish women did not emulate the qualities, behaviors and styles of the Egyptian women, and when it came to their personal conduct, “they did not change their manner of dress.”