Misdirected Intentions

Was tipped off to this article by Treppenwitz. I am SO annoyed by the article.

Okay, so the Jerusalem Post is probably, maybe, and hopefully a bit biased in their reporting, but, honestly, I don't get it, for so many reasons.

First of all, if the issue is with how women are dressed, then why on earth was the gathering to discuss this dress held for men? Why are the men responsible for how their wives and daughters dress? Don't the women themselves have any sort of responsibility for the clothing they put on, and don't they deserve the respect of being entrusted to pick out their own clothing and following the laws? Women are supposedly so much more naturally spiritual, so don't they also have such natural desire to follow the laws in spirit as well as letter?

"Each and every father and husband has an obligation to vigilantly ensure that his wife's and daughters' dress is in accordance with the laws of modesty."

Um, if my father or husband were to "vigilantly" deprecate and nitpick each piece of clothing I picked out, I would go crazy and rebel without regret in a second. It's this type of attention to the minutiae of external trappings that leads to people being driven completely away altogether. What's important here? The fact that a woman ensures that her shirt is "10 centimeters longer than the edge of the skirt along the waist so as to cover [the midriff] during all movements" or the fact that she is happy and comfortable with herself? The attention to these tiny details specifically expresses to women that it is NOT what is inside that matters, only the outside. And if you ask me, that is completely antithetical to Judaism.

In addition to women not being invited to this lecture, singles were also not welcome. I guess it doesn't matter what they do. I suppose single women (at least those who aren't carefully inspected by their fathers before leaving the house each morning) don't matter, don't tempt the men with their short skirts and low necklines.

There are so many problems in Israel, I just don't understand how wigs that are too long are what is being chosen to focus on. Let's start talking about the huge rift that exists between religious and secular, and between the different streams of religious people. Let's talk about the issue of agunahs, of the rising rate of divorce or the huge numbers of people who aren't getting married to begin with. Or poverty and lack of education. Those are all real issues, and they are going to affect the future of Israel in a huge way. I'm sorry if I can't get so worked up because my skirt is an inch too short, it just seems to pale in comparison.

And, if you have a problem with what I am doing, then I think it's just respectful to address it to me. Because I would hate to shoot the messenger :)