Apart From the Rest

The holy Haggadah that we read on Leil Seder, on Passover night, tells us that the Jewish People were “outstanding”. This has a double meaning, for they were both excellent and they stood out from the Egyptians.

According to the Midrash in Parshat Beshalach, one might understand that the Children of Israel were neither outstanding nor excellent, for like the Egyptians, they too were tainted with idolatry. Yet, our sages tell us that our forefathers preserved their language, their names and their mode of dress. In that way, they were both excellent and distinctive of the Egyptian locals.

Let’s focus on their mode of dress. The daughters of Israel never budged from the traditional manner of dress that they inherited from our holy matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah. They excelled in modesty and dressed in long, loosely-fitting garments. They completely covered their hair, and married women covered their faces as well (as we learn from the Torah’s account of Rebecca’s first encounter with Isaac, her betrothed).

The Egyptian women were the extreme opposite. Their clothes were anything but modest, reflecting their wanton values. Rashi himself comments on their unprecedented debauchery.

Imagine, in today’s terms, how the social pressure of the local Egyptian women could have been a bulldozer in crushing Jewish women’s values. “Oh, you Israelites are such prudes! How can you wear those burlap sacks down here in the Egyptian sunshine? Get a tan! Get with it! You’re so out of style – no man will ever look at you…”

That’s the whole point – Jewish women back then didn’t want any men other than their husband to look at them. They were holy. So, even if they did carry around some little idol that they got from their Egyptian mistress, Jewish women were still excellent and outstanding. The Torah tells us that in 210 years of the Egyptian exile, there was only one case of breached modesty among the millions of Jewish women; that of Shlomit bat Divri. Only one! No wonder our sages attribute the Exodus from Egypt to the virtue and modesty of Jewish women!

How many women – even in observant circles – give in today to social pressure and ridicule? Is this not a betrayal to Hashem, to Judaism and to our holy Torah?

In Hebrew, the word for garment, beged, and the word for betrayal, begida, come from the same root word, explains Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov in his classic work, Igra Dekalla. As soon as a person replaces his or her Jewish appearance with a foreign appearance, they easily fall prey to the evil inclination. The Midrash spares no words in its praises of the Children of Israel, for in their 210 years of slavery in Egypt, they nonetheless dressed in the same way that their forefathers did. Consequently, by casting away ones garment – beged – one betrays his Judaism – begida.

We must therefore pay no attention to new styles and whims of fashion, remaining loyal to the dress of our ancestors, the dress that distinguishes us as Jews. We should wear these clothes in a dignified manner, neat and clean. Two people can wear the same garment, yet one wears it in a dignified manner while the other wears it with obvious disdain, for each person’s inner content is reflected in his or her outer appearance. The evil inclination has little power over a person whose dress is dignified, clean and modest. Such a person truly reflects the Divine image.

Daughters of Israel, your modesty is your dignity, as King David expressed (Psalm 45:14), “All the dignity of a king’s daughter is within; her garment is of squares of gold.” In other words, the greater the modesty of Jewish women and girls, the brighter their inner illumination shines forth. Inner beauty is true beauty; the more valuable something is, the more it is protected. Our sages say that a modest woman is worthy of being the High Priest’s wife.

On the other hand, an immodest woman causes treachery and betrayal with her scant appearance, for she triggers lust and infidelity in those who look at her. If a woman wants to look highly attractive and tantalizing, she should do so in the privacy of her own home with her husband.

By virtue of your modesty, you are bringing Mashiach, the Holy Temple and the full redemption of our people ever so closer. May you have a joyous and kosher Passover!