Written by Shayna Abramson. Shayna is a frequent Jewrotica contributor. To read Shayna’s essay on the the practice of shomer negiah within the Orthodox Jewish community, check out her article in the Jewrotica Reflections section. For those unfamiliar with Jewish terms, please consult the Jewrotica Glossary.
As a pants-wearing Orthodox Jew, my heretical jeans-wearing ways often become the topic of conversation. I admit, this might be because somewhere between the kiddush wine and the challah, I start fishing for controversy. So here I am, in the minutes between my coffee and my bagel, casting my net:
The rabbinic consensus is that pants do not violate the Biblical prohibition against cross-dressing, but that there is a modesty issue in terms of exposing the shape of the leg. A traditional rabbinic source* explains that women’s pants look different from men’s, and that a woman who wears them has no intention of resembling a man. He also adds that “even pious, modest women have long practiced” pant-wearing. What a shande!
Now that the licentious ways of my foremothers have been revealed, I have to ask: Does this rabbi’s statement apply to my skinny jeans? I often ponder that question, especially when I pass the Castro store on my way to the Kotel – after all, how will I pray to God if I’m not full of guilt about having just spent 250 shekels on denim?
At the end of the day, I feel that a large part of skirt-wearing is societal. A skirt-clad Jewish educator once admitted to me, “If I were hiking in China, maybe I’d wear pants. But I’m in Israel, in a society where Orthodox women wear skirts, and I want to identify with that group.”
Rabbi Getsel Ellinson, whose compendium “Women and the Mitzvot: The Modest Way,” is a seminary classic, says, “By wearing a skirt, a Jewish girl identifies with this group and separates herself from more permissive circles. To a certain extent, in the last few decades the skirt has become a sort of yarmulka for the scrupulously observant girl…By her refusal to wear trousers, she demonstrably declares that she is unwilling to resign herself to the dictates of modern style and that she takes exception to the immorality so rampant these days in society at large.”
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
Jewrotica is a great way to ask interesting questions about the interplay between sensuality and Jewish wisdom. Check it out.
I’m Heshy Fried from Frum Satire and I am very, very frum. And I completely support Jewrotica – it’s doing a service to the frum community. We need some sort of kosher sexual education. Jewrotica even has a system that allows frum filters to filter out certain things to make it PG for us. It’s mamish Torah. It’s like The Little Midrash Says for sex.
Learning about sex and what’s right and wrong when it comes to sex from a Biblical standpoint was an eye opening experience. I completely enjoyed it and think something like this could be a very cool thing to bring to even high school aged Jewish youth groups.
Jewrotica is awesome. It expands the mind and for people who were raised with narrow views on sexuality. Whether you are Jewish or not, or in different sects of Judaism like Orthodox, Conservative or Reform, no matter what your background or where you’re from, Jewrotica gets you to see Judaism and how it relates to sexuality in new ways. I really appreciate Ayo being here and helping us learn different ways to connect with our sexuality.
At Jewrotica’s Evening of Bedside Readings, students declaimed monologues on sexual encounters that had a Jewish twist. At Columbia/Barnard Hillel, the speakers pushed their own boundaries by performing a range of explicit narratives that challenged how the audience thought of the relationship to Judaism and sex. During the speakers’ preparation, the arguments about which narratives would be appropriate forced students to take a stand and voice their opinion on their own beliefs about Judaism an… Read more
I stepped out of my comfort zone to be a part of this. I was glad to open up the topic of sexuality in my community. We are trying to build a safe space to talk about sex. The result I am most happy about coming from this event is that hopefully now my friends know they can come and talk to me, that I can be their ‘safe space’.
You may not tell your mom that you’re going to a live Jewrotica reading (or whatever clever name you will dub these events) but you will tell your friends. However, both would be jealous if they find out that they missed it. I think it will only be a matter of time before Jewrotica helps us reclaim the term “Dirty Jew” the way rap music has done for “The ‘N’ Word.” I know I am now proud to be a Dirty Jew!
I attended and participated in last month’s Jewrotica event. The engaging performers and Ayo, our inviting host, inspired the audience to feel like one big community. What a great way to inspire our community to embrace sex as a beautiful thing that can be fun, exciting, sacred, sensual, ridiculous, scary and everything in between!
I’m so glad that Jewrotica is represented here at Jewlicious! It’s bringing voices that need to be heard in the Jewish discussion and Jewish climate environment.
I love the inclusiveness – there is something for everyone, in and out of the Jewish community.
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