Beginning with the Basics

[gnomi]

This is the first in what I'm planning to be a series of posts about my religious beliefs and practices. I'm calling the series "Flying my Frumkeit." So, I'll start with some basics.

Things that are true about me:

-- I have always kept both kosher and Shabbat to some degree.

-- I've covered my hair since 1996 and haven't worn pants (in other words, worn only skirts) since 1995 or so, but I wear short sleeves (well, to my elbow) and sandals in the appropriate season (short as that season may be in the Boston area).

-- I prefer to daven where there's a mechitzah (a physical separation between men and women), and have since I was a teenager, but I can lein (recite with cantillation in front of the congregation) Torah and Haftarah, and I've taught others how to lein Haftarah.

-- I went to Orthodox day schools from Kindergarten through 12th grade, but I made a conscious decision to go to Israel with an unaffiliated Zionist organization instead of going to one of the girls' yeshivot that many of my classmates attended.

-- I often feel like I fall in between categories. I'm not really "frum from birth" ("FFB"), but neither am I a ba'alat teshuvah. I've been observant to some level my whole life; it's the exact level that's changed over time.

-- People frequently make mistaken assumptions about me/my life based on how I dress; sometimes I shock them by proving them wrong.

Comments

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Socks defeat, in my mind, the point of wearing sandals instead of close-toed shoes.

And, no, I don't think I've heard about the B'nei Brak mishegos (unless the students won't *stop* with the "Rabbis, it's time for the morning shacharit" thing. ;-)).

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

They do, indeed. Also, socks and sandals look really *bad*. (I wear closed-toe shoes year round, but that's because of my bad feet. I'd love to wear sandals.)

Here's a synopsis, but in brief, there seems to be a group of Chareidi women in Israel, led by a Rabbanit Bruria Keren, who have decided that normal tzniut is not tznua enough. So they are wearing multiple skirts and capes to obscure their bodies, several scarves to make sure all their hair is covered, and many are wearing face coverings as well - some are even keeping their eyes covered to the point that, should they leave their homes, they must be led by a child.

It's being compared to wearing burkas, but burkas are actually less cumbersome.

They also do not speak to men other than their husbands, or look them in the eye. Rabbanit Bruria is on a "speech-fast" - she speaks four hours a week, when she talks to her followers.

I'm not sure this is real - it could be a prank pulled on or by the newspapers reporting it - but it is out there.

[cbpotts.livejournal.com]

What a fascinating link! It does seem like there's more than a small element of mental illness going on with the Rabbanit, (I hope I am using the term correctly), but one's left to wonder what's up with her followers?

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Oh, yikes.

Why does this seem like something rife with possibilities for the Chumra of the Month Club?

[autotruezone.livejournal.com]

Socks defeat, in my mind, the point of wearing sandals instead of close-toed shoes.

Not entirely, since socks still breathe more than shoes. On humid days, I often find that the breathing space they create between my feet and the insoles of the sandals actually helps a good deal.

Of course, it helps to wear thin, summer-weight socks, rather than the white sweat socks that so many people wear.