Counterculture

The Gemara  [Yoma 9b] says that the first Beis Hamikdash was destroyed b/c of the three cardinal sins. The Gemara proves that there was גילוי עריות from the pasuk in Yeshaya [3/16]:

גִּלּוּי עֲרָיוֹת, דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ יַעַן כִּי גָבְהוּ בְּנוֹת צִיּוֹן וַתֵּלַכְנָה נְטוּיוֹת גָּרוֹן וּמְשַׂקְּרוֹת עֵינָיִם הָלוֹךְ וְטָפוֹף תֵּלַכְנָה וּבְרַגְלֵיהֶן תְּעַכַּסְנָה״. ״יַעַן כִּי גָּבְהוּ בְּנוֹת צִיּוֹן״ — שֶׁהָיוּ מְהַלְּכוֹת אֲרוּכָּה בְּצַד קְצָרָה. ״וַתֵּלַכְנָה נְטוּיוֹת גָּרוֹן״ — שֶׁהָיוּ מְהַלְּכוֹת בְּקוֹמָה זְקוּפָה. ״וּמְשַׂקְּרוֹת עֵינַיִם״ — דַּהֲווֹ מָלְיָין כּוּחְלָא עֵינֵיהֶן. ״הָלוֹךְ וְטָפוֹף תֵּלַכְנָה״ — שֶׁהָיוּ מְהַלְּכוֹת עָקֵב בְּצַד גּוּדָל. ״וּבְרַגְלֵיהֶן תְּעַכַּסְנָה״ — אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק: שֶׁהָיוּ מְבִיאוֹת מוֹר וַאֲפַרְסְמוֹן וּמַנִּיחוֹת בְּמִנְעֲלֵיהֶן, וּכְשֶׁמַּגִּיעוֹת אֵצֶל בַּחוּרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בּוֹעֲטוֹת וּמַתִּיזוֹת עֲלֵיהֶן, וּמַכְנִיסִין בָּהֶן יֵצֶר הָרָע כְּאֶרֶס בְּכָעוּס. 

With regard to forbidden sexual relations, it is written: “Hashem says because the daughters of Tzion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go and making a tinkling with their feet” (Isaiah 3:16). 

Because the daughters of Tzion are haughty, indicates a tall woman walking alongside a short one so that the tall woman would stand out. 

And walk with outstretched necks, indicates that they would walk with upright stature and carry themselves in an immodest way. 

And wanton eyes, indicates that they would fill their eyes with blue eye shadow in order to draw attention to their eyes. 

Walking and mincing as they go, indicates that they would walk in small steps, heel to toe, so onlookers would notice them. 

Making a tinkling [te’akasna] with their feet, Rabbi Yitzchak said: This teaches that they would bring myrrh and balsam and place them in their shoes and would walk in the marketplaces of Jerusalem. And once they approached a place where young Jewish men were congregated, they would stamp their feet on the ground and splash the perfume toward them and instill the evil inclination into them like venom of a viper [ke’eres bikhos].

You look at the pasuk in vain for any indication of גילוי עריות. No monkey business going on. Just girls trying to get the guy's attention. Old story. So what is the big deal and where is the גילוי עריות? 

It would seem that the Gemara is telling us that even if nothing happens - the very act of getting the guys excited was in and of itself גילוי עריות!! [Note: Tu B'av was a holiday where the girls would dance in front of the boys in order to get there attention. What is the difference? Tu B'av was for marriage. The "B'nos Tziyon" in Yeshaya were not]. 

This is FRIGHTENING b/c much of our culture is based on just that. So much of what everyone who is part of the culture is bombarded with screams out this form of גילוי עריות. Even if one watches the news it is hard to find a female newscaster who isn't strikingly attractive. That of course is one reason [among others - maybe for another time] why one shouldn't watch the news. You go to a sporting event - cheerleaders. Men of even minimal intelligence are bright enough to know when to cheer without the help of scantily clad young women - but there are the ladies b/c it helps sell tickets. Advertising, entertainment etc. etc. FILLED with this type of גילוי עריות.

Then people write articles published by "Orthodox" websites saying that the problem is that we frum people are too extreme in our standards of Tzniyus. That is NOT the problem [with exception of course]. The problem for us Jews is what we often can't help but see [if we step outside of our homes] immodest things, that our children live on college campuses, that our girls serve in the army, that we contaminate ourselves with inappropriate content on the Internet, that we have coed summer camps where the standards of Tzniyus are so low and the list goes on. 

So on the heels of Tisha B'av [and "עקב":-)] and as we approach Elul - Let's be mechazeik ourselves in matters of Tzniyus, men and women alike! To put it differently - Let's be "counterculture".