At first there was the Oz V' Hadar Levusha book, that thick brown 5 million page book about tznius that had the clothes on manequins and inspiring stories in the back on how stopping to wear flashy earings helped the woman find a parnasah (had nothing to do with a job search). Now from the publishers of that same book comes Seams and Souls : A Dressing, Altering, and Sewing Guide for the Modest Woman. Here are a few choice lines from the review:
"Feldheim has recently released a book that is a comprehensive guide to sewing and shopping for clothing that conforms to the proper standard of tznius. It will help one decide which clothing to buy and which to avoid or discard because they cannot be altered to meet halachic standards, plus it offers many creative solutions for tznius problems."
The book features:
- A hashkofah section on the topic of modesty.
-An explanation of sewing terms along with detailed, step-by-step, alteration instructions.
-A variety of creative tips and techniques for tznius solutions for sewers at all levels.
-250 modest, easy-to-follow diagrams for altering the most problematic parts of garments.
I wonder if this book complies with all the new tznius standards as outlines in response to the the boy's in Japan being sentenced, if you didn't know the reason they are in jail has nothing to do with drug smugling but rather with the lack of tznius our women display. Some examples include but are not limmited to: woman not eating in public, woman not taking brisk walks in public and also not talking on cell phones in public to highlight a few.
I guess the only question I have is will this book be updated to reflect the next wave of tznius standards to react to the next tragedy to come up in the community? How about some education and classes in business and work ethics, that cross anyones mind instead of lowering a hem by another 2 inches?
What happened to these people? Feldheim used to be a pillar of academic publishing and now they put out this dribble? Who is the one who decides these new updated tznius standards? Should clothes that do not meet these standards be burnt, because if they are turned into rags there is always the fear that the woman may give into her yetzer harah and go and put on the yellow (or G-d forbid red) shirt while she is cleaning with it. When are we going to stop letting woman leave the homes? Haven't we already established that they are responsible for all the harm that befalls Klal Yisrael?
Lord help us all.
"Feldheim has recently released a book that is a comprehensive guide to sewing and shopping for clothing that conforms to the proper standard of tznius. It will help one decide which clothing to buy and which to avoid or discard because they cannot be altered to meet halachic standards, plus it offers many creative solutions for tznius problems."
The book features:
- A hashkofah section on the topic of modesty.
-An explanation of sewing terms along with detailed, step-by-step, alteration instructions.
-A variety of creative tips and techniques for tznius solutions for sewers at all levels.
-250 modest, easy-to-follow diagrams for altering the most problematic parts of garments.
I wonder if this book complies with all the new tznius standards as outlines in response to the the boy's in Japan being sentenced, if you didn't know the reason they are in jail has nothing to do with drug smugling but rather with the lack of tznius our women display. Some examples include but are not limmited to: woman not eating in public, woman not taking brisk walks in public and also not talking on cell phones in public to highlight a few.
I guess the only question I have is will this book be updated to reflect the next wave of tznius standards to react to the next tragedy to come up in the community? How about some education and classes in business and work ethics, that cross anyones mind instead of lowering a hem by another 2 inches?
What happened to these people? Feldheim used to be a pillar of academic publishing and now they put out this dribble? Who is the one who decides these new updated tznius standards? Should clothes that do not meet these standards be burnt, because if they are turned into rags there is always the fear that the woman may give into her yetzer harah and go and put on the yellow (or G-d forbid red) shirt while she is cleaning with it. When are we going to stop letting woman leave the homes? Haven't we already established that they are responsible for all the harm that befalls Klal Yisrael?
Lord help us all.
11 comments:
First of all, I would say it's a reaction to the total collapse of tzniut in Western standards.
Second, it's something for the girls to DO, those legions of well-meaning ladies who aren't particularly scholarly and whose primary energies are directed, not to re-roofing the neighbor's house, but to me, me, me. I can continue to obsess about myself and still be a pious and vituous person.
All this reminds me too much of "Gone With the Wind"--Scarlett scandalizing the homestead by announcing that Melanie "has no milk". The dainty Victorian lady could at least obtain the total approval of her society. Actually working involves getting your hands dirty (ick, ick, ick). Actually getting involved in problems of community standards in substantial matters involves opening one's self to criticism and leaving the protected zone in which all is peer-referential approval.
Third, it's another book that Feldheiem thinks it can sell.
the might as well wear arabian burkas like jewish women did from the dawn of time until the 20th century.
No way! Burkhas would be way too cofortable and convenient. No bothering with seams, # denier, no sewing snaps at the collar, no nonsense about slits.
Women could wear whatever they wanted underneath--short sleeves, denim skirts, sweatsuits, pants, whatever.
Feldhei used to be quite scholarly. Then Artscroll came along and suddenly just translating the classics wasn't enough anymore.
How many people use that purple Artscroll Kashrus book and the two volume green Niddah ones? As opposed to, oh say, the Shulchan Aruch?
Feldheim knows where the money is. People interested in the classics nowadays more often than not can read them in the original. The bigger crowd is the people who want to sound authoritative but can't tell the difference between the Magen Avraham and Magen David.
What's so terrible about this? I am actually really excited for this book, because it might just offer me an alternative to having to pair a shlumpy Gap-body shirt with that great strapless dress that I just had to have. Maybe this book can teach me how to sew well enough to add sleeves to dresses that need it, instead of spending a lot of money on a professional. Maybe this will break the monopoly of tznius-clothing stores who overcharge worse than kosher supermarkets.
If your concerns about the hashkafah section turn out to be well founded, then ignore them; rip the pages out if it's that bad. The practical part of the book sounds pretty useful to me.
In fact, this book may encourage women to stop shopping at those extremest clothing stores with hashgocha, because now they will have the option of going to h&m or bannana republic or wherever and then altering the dress for just the cost of the extra fabric. Futhermore, the tips on which dresses not to buy are NOT because of extremest views but because of certain tailoring concepts that the average Jane may not know; for instance, I recently purchased a lovely satin dress for a wedding, bought some extra fabric to "build it up", and then went to a local tailor. While it seemed to me a simple matter of adding sleeves, a back panel, and heightening the neck, the tailor took one look at the dress and informed me that I had wasted my money on this dress as there was no way she could fix it to my halachic standards without ruining it. She ended up making me a jacket, which I had to wear closed because of the neckline of the dress, which was a shame because the bodice had beautiful embroidery that ended up being totally covered. The matching fall band she was able to make me was but cold comfort. Had I known that not every dress can be fixed, I would not have bought that particular dress; had I know what to look for, I could have bought something that would have worked.
So please don't bash this work before having a chance to look it through; You and I may not agree with the standards put forth in their hashkafah/halacha section, but from what I've read about this new publication, it seems that it may be pretty useful for any woman who keeps the laws of tznius even to the most basic standard.
"Feldheim used to be a pillar of academic publishing"
feldheim has put out some great stuff that artscroll would never touch, but i wouldn't call it academic.
shabbat shalom
Bottom line is that it's a business, and they will publish what sells.
M2b. I agree with what you are saying. One point I wanted to make is the sad decline of jewish publishing. Lion, Feldheim, was once, in fact a pillar in the printing of Jewish academia and mechkar seforim, I have many of their early works in my (vast) library, including books by Rav Feldblum, and a book on the 9 philosophers, works by Rabbi Hertz and other very important contributions.
Now they print stuff like this. I agree that they need to print what sells but it seems that brains and intelect have left Frum publishing, with the exception of a few including Ktav (which is not considered mainstream).
Another one of my points (I guess it was lost) is that everytime something happens int h charedi community the reaction is to lower the hems by another inch. Well the hems are dragging on the ground and things are still going wrong, perhaps it's time for tikiun hamidot.
You're definitely right about that decline, but I'm not sure that this particular book is the best example of it. I found quite a few other books on the Feldheim website (after I preordered Seams and Souls)that would better illustrate your point. Like I said, I feel like Seams and Souls will be practical enough (I hope it doesn't disappoint!) to serve a genuine need, in which case it would not make such a great example of declining Jewish publishing. There is plenty else in wishy-washy-ness to complain about.
"Another one of my points (I guess it was lost) is that everytime something happens int h charedi community the reaction is to lower the hems by another inch. Well the hems are dragging on the ground and things are still going wrong, perhaps it's time for tikiun hamidot."
Point absorbed. This is not the first time the haredi community has exhibited "magical thinking".
It's a lot easier to obsess about community-related modesty codes than it is to focus on tikun middot.
What distresses me is the loss of the concept of modesty as an outlook. Evidently we have become so numb that we cannot flesh out specifics for ourselves, ever.
What drivel. If I were to show this to my wife, the only use she'd have for such a book is to throw it at me!
Honestly, if a MAN or woman already knows what is appropriate for them, and they have an IQ in the high double digits, do they need an entire book to tell them how to shop and do alterations?!! How in the world did our parents and grandparents manage? MInd you, some folks can't sew worth a lick; but that's why one goes to a seamstress or tailor and tells them what they want.
When we were married, my wife found a wedding outfit that she really liked, but a bit low in the neck. She did a quick alteration, and done. She's done this dozens of times, as have all her friends, and all without a guidebook! Here I, stupid guy that I am, always took that for granted. I didn't realize it is a sign of their genius or creativity.
Or is it maybe that the sewing books and such out there aren't kosher? They do contain suggestions and designs that aren't always modest. Please, Heaven help us!
I suggest for the next book and humra/strictness craze we publish a book on food shopping. After all, just as clothing stores have not-modest clothing proffered, the supermarket chains sell non-kosher food. The consumer couldn't possibly learn at home, or from neighbours or by asking questions; they need a tome that will clearly explain the pitfalls and dangers of walking into a supermarket, followed by thorough instructions how to shop. After that I suggest a book for those who want to go to the public library. How about a book for getting a haircut?
Why can't we just teach people Torah, and trust them to use their intelligence to apply it and ask questions? !!!
Sorry, tirade over, I'll go back to my hole...
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