Let's get the facts straight on what the GRA did and didn't say about tznius
See the post and comment at http://divreichaim.blogspot.com/2010/08/kol-isha-for-krias-hatorah-and-davening.html?spref=tw
Here is what it does say, as the blogger found:
On p. 36, Falk begins a section C. entitled "What Torah Does for men, tznius does for women."
1.Tznius is an antidote to theyetzer horah. On p. 37, he says, "a woman, whose function is to establish and manage a home and family, does not have Torah learning to counteract her yetzer horah." He goes on to claim the power of tznius is such that "when kept properly is all encompassing. It gives so much kedusha and strength to the woman that she is capable of outwitting the yetzer horah and withstanding its relentless pressure."
On p. 37 he refers to the GRA and quotes the same close to the letter to his mother that Chaim quoted above, "My dear mother, I know that you do not rquire my mussar, for I am aware that you ara a tzanua." It is Falk's own huge leap of logic that brings him to conclude from that phrase alone, " He was convinced, that just as being steeped in Torah enables a man to combat his 'lower self', so too, being steeped in tznius enables a woman to be victorious in the same way."
It is proven, thus, that the GRA never said what people say he did, and that people confuse what Falk argues for with what the GRA actually said.
He does have a bit more to hang his hat on when quoting the Chazon Ish, but that relies on a secondary source:
Falk p.42: "It is appropriate in this context to quote from the life story of Rebbetzin Karelitz a.h. the mother of Hagaon Harav Nissim Karelitz shlita ('Silence is Thy Praise' p. 106)
"'How much the Chazon Ish valued the modesty of a Jewish woman as perhaps best evident in the response he once gave when asked, 'What can a young lady do to match the merit of young man's learning?'
"'Let her work on her tznius!' he answered."
Even that, though, does not exactly equate the effectiveness of tznius with that of Torah but merely suggests it as something women could occupy themselves with. I wonder a bit at this, though, because Chazal clearly said that women earn Olam Haba through the Torah learning of their husbands and sons -- not through their tznius. Perhaps this was a suggestion for a woman who was unmarried and childless.
Visit my site www.kallahmagazine.com -- not just for kallahs. You can also see posts at http://www.examiner.com/x-18522-NY-Jewish-Bridal-Examiner
Here is what it does say, as the blogger found:
The people who do make this equation (again, google) seem to derive it from the last paragraph of the Iggeres, where the GR"A writes to his mother:An example of how the quote has become distorted is in one of the blogger's comments:
אהובתי אמי, ידעתי שאינך צריכה למוסר שלי כי ידעתי כי צנועה את
They infer from here that if you have tzniyus you don't need the rest of the Iggeres, meaning the exhortations to talmud torah, yiras shamayim, learning mussar, etc. If you have tzniyus you have it all already.
B'mechilas kvodam of those who read the Iggeres this way, I don't think it makes any sense. What the Iggeres means is that tzniyus, here referring to modesty as a character trait (I don't even see how you can have a hava amina that the GR"A was talking about his mother's skirt length), is indicative of already possessing other fine character traits, hence additional musar is superfluous. You don't need to remind a modest person not to speak lashon hara, not to aimlessly wander the marketplace, etc.
Also, don't forget the context. This is not a line of gemara or a pasuk - it's a letter and the GR"A is addressing his mother.
Just to follow up, the entire quote has become distorted and pulled out of context. For example, this (http://curiousjew.blogspot.com/2010/02/book-review-6-diaries.html) review of "Six Diaries -- Six Teens Take a Look at Tznius" quotes the following dialogue from the book --I looked it up in Falk's book Oz Vehadar Levusha: Modesty -An Adornment for Life
"The Vilna Gaon says that what Torah is to a man, tznius is to a woman. The girls were unimpressed. I wasn't worried, and continued developing this thought. This means, I told them, that if Torah is the fuel that feeds the man's neshamah, then tznius is the fuel that feeds the woman's neshamah."
On p. 36, Falk begins a section C. entitled "What Torah Does for men, tznius does for women."
1.Tznius is an antidote to theyetzer horah. On p. 37, he says, "a woman, whose function is to establish and manage a home and family, does not have Torah learning to counteract her yetzer horah." He goes on to claim the power of tznius is such that "when kept properly is all encompassing. It gives so much kedusha and strength to the woman that she is capable of outwitting the yetzer horah and withstanding its relentless pressure."
On p. 37 he refers to the GRA and quotes the same close to the letter to his mother that Chaim quoted above, "My dear mother, I know that you do not rquire my mussar, for I am aware that you ara a tzanua." It is Falk's own huge leap of logic that brings him to conclude from that phrase alone, " He was convinced, that just as being steeped in Torah enables a man to combat his 'lower self', so too, being steeped in tznius enables a woman to be victorious in the same way."
It is proven, thus, that the GRA never said what people say he did, and that people confuse what Falk argues for with what the GRA actually said.
He does have a bit more to hang his hat on when quoting the Chazon Ish, but that relies on a secondary source:
Falk p.42: "It is appropriate in this context to quote from the life story of Rebbetzin Karelitz a.h. the mother of Hagaon Harav Nissim Karelitz shlita ('Silence is Thy Praise' p. 106)
"'How much the Chazon Ish valued the modesty of a Jewish woman as perhaps best evident in the response he once gave when asked, 'What can a young lady do to match the merit of young man's learning?'
"'Let her work on her tznius!' he answered."
Even that, though, does not exactly equate the effectiveness of tznius with that of Torah but merely suggests it as something women could occupy themselves with. I wonder a bit at this, though, because Chazal clearly said that women earn Olam Haba through the Torah learning of their husbands and sons -- not through their tznius. Perhaps this was a suggestion for a woman who was unmarried and childless.
Visit my site www.kallahmagazine.com -- not just for kallahs. You can also see posts at http://www.examiner.com/x-18522-NY-Jewish-Bridal-Examiner
Comments
Your carpooling example is universal, apparently.
Tznius in our day and age allows us to conveniently categorize people at a glance (wears X denier stocking, wears skirts 4 inches below the knee, etc). It's a way to be judgmental AND a way to determine social standing and social grouping in an instant.
And don't get me started about skirts vs. pants - modest women's pants are verboten and literally make the wearer a pariah, while in many frum neighborhoods, a skirt that reveals the knees is OK, as long as the wearer is wearing a sheitel with it.