Modesty: An Adornment for Life [Hardcover]

Pesach Eliyahu Falk (Author), Rabbi Pesach Eliyahu Falk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1998

A clear and comprehensive delineation of the laws of modesty as outlined in Jewish law. This new bestseller provides insights and practical advice on all aspects of dress and behavior.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Until I read this book I had no idea what "modesty" really was. We say that we're "modest" but without dressing properly and acting in a certain way, we are deceiving ourselves! -- Review

Product Details

• Hardcover: 706 pages
• Publisher: Philipp Feldheim Inc; 1st edition (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873068742
• ISBN-13: 978-0873068741
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.7 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #179,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Many pages with very little actual law, June 27, 2006

By 

J Zangvil - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modesty: An Adornment for Life (Hardcover)

I am an Orthodox Jewish woman who attends only synagogues with mechitza (the divider between the sexes in traditional synagogues), and who dresses in a manner which fits in most Orthodox communities.

Many reviewers of this book seem to approach it with an assumption that as strict as it is, this book represents the Orthodox view. In fact, there is a spectrum of views about modesty; Rabbi Falk's book is at the far extreme, and in my opinion it gives modesty a bad reputation.

The best book about modesty in Jewish law is The Modest Way (Hatznia Lechet) by Rabbi Getsel Elyakim Ellinson, volume 2 of the Women and the Mitzvot series, which quotes the Jewish law relevant to each area of modesty and shows its evolution over time from the Bible to modern day decisors of Jewish law.

This book is a very thick compendium of the strictest modesty customs of Charedi (Ultra Orthodox) Judaism. It is a terrific resource for those who want to discover the modesty regulations which increasingly many Charedi Jews believe are incumbent upon women. The book includes a myriad of specific details, such as the minimum allowable difference between skirt circumference and body circumference, which are not based in traditional legal codes because legal codes do not deal in such matters; presumably Rabbi Falk has some reason to believe that G-d intends us to use a tape measure in determining how to walk modestly before Him, but Rabbi Falk does not reveal these reasons to his readership.

Some very strict books which describe customs are useful because they describe the prevalent custom of a community, but this book does not do even that, since it is stricter than Charedi women's customary modest dress. The supplementary pamphlet to the book includes a letter from an impoverished Charedi woman who lost nearly her entire wardrobe to the book's strictures; out of her entire modest wardrobe, she was left with just one outfit. The letter was included despite its implicit indictment of R Falk's book because her story has a happy ending: despite her lack of funds, she was able to get more clothes, which she took to imply divine approval of her closet culling.

I find this book to have no redeeming value, other than as an ominous sign of the growing distance between Jews.

20 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Extremist, Untenable, Neurotic, Demanding, July 2, 2008

By 

Criticalmass "Fredman" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modesty: An Adornment for Life (Hardcover)

Naturally many readers will assume I'll get Gehonim for having the audacity to criticize a book written by an Orthodox Rabbi on such a necessary topic. The presumption is that a Rabbi wrote it, and therefore, it has to be applauded as an instant classic on the subject.

Well, sorry to disappoint the literati of the Orthodox world, but life just ain't so simple. My first thought about this book was its exhaustive length...700+ pages- on Tznius? What could take up so much space? Who has the time to read this tripe? The answer is almost no one, except for those who have too much free time on their hands. And those who are wishing for a one way ticket away from normalcy.

This book should be subtitled " 48 Ways to Psychosis and Paranoia- Jewish Style". Every possible stringency regarding "modesty" is portrayed as an absolute requirement for the average Jewish women possessing a heartbeat. Dress length- get out the tape measure. Stockings- they better be bullet proof lest they be considered "sheer". Nail polish- no way. Earrings that hang- are you kidding? They might reflect light into the eyes of a lascivious "man" and attract attention to a women's face, which will ultimately lead to illicit thoughts , which could lead to same behavior, which could lead to eternal damnation, which could lead to ....paying retail, G-d forbid.

R. Falk establishes minimum standards for modesty that are so extreme in and of themselves that they often cannot be supported by normal Halachic sources. He instead references arcane letters and proclamations from little known commentators, and infers proofs of his positions based on them. The end product is so extreme and demanding that it borders on the neurotic.

Why do Rabbi's often feel so driven to establish standards of observance that obliterate the notion that Torah is supposed to be "darchei noam" -" the way of pleasantness" ? I do not know, but the sad fact is that the Orthodox world is moving further and further to the right. Every day a new "chumrah" comes out that quite simply makes Jewish lift a lot more frustrating. At least to some of us.

22 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile, but with some important caveats, May 28, 2001

By 

Amy Newman Smith - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modesty: An Adornment for Life (Hardcover)

As a non-Orthodox Jew looking to explore tzniut, or modesty, Rabbi Falk's book has been important for a full understanding of the traditional viewpoint of the halacha (religious law) of the mitzvah (commandment) of tzniut. Rabbi Falk is clearly a man of deep scholarship who believes firmly in improving the world through helping women understand how modesty can be a central part of their lives and why it is important that it should be. For his exhaustive book, he is is to be commended.

That being said, there is much in this book that is simply unacceptable to Jews who are not Orthodox. Most prominently is the tying of the keeping of the mitzvah to the health and wellbeing of others, i.e., the author ties women of a community not covering their hair or wearing skirts with slits leads to people in the community becoming ill or having accidents. This sort of magical cause-and-effect thinking is not a workable paradigm for many people. Moreover, Rabbi Falk's underlying attitudes about non-Jews and non-Orthodox Jews are disturbing in their inherent ethnocentrism.

For people like me, I would instead recommend reading "Inside/Outside" by Gila Manolson for an understanding of the underpinnings of the laws of tzniut and then further research with your own rabbi or one of your own Movement. Rather than