But the rabbi of the Jerusalem neighborhood of Nahlaot has raised eyebrows among much of the haredi public after issuing a ban on girls aged 5 and up riding bicycles - because it's "immodest."
The rabbi stated, according to Ynet, that young girls riding bikes "cause serious damage to their modesty."
In his ruling, which was distributed in synagogues throughout the neighborhood, he claimed that bicycle seats caused young girls to sit in a way which could be "provocative" to men.
We inform parents that they are obligated to forbid their daughters from age five and up from acting in this illegitimate way," it read. [...]
This has been the rule in williamsburg and boro park for years. Nothing new. Maybe new for nachlaot
ReplyDeleteSomeone who fabricates a stringency is as bad as one who fabricates a leniency.
ReplyDeleteIs he saying that a man, an adult, would feel sexual arousal by a 5 year old? Perhaps a child riding a bike should not be his first concern.
ReplyDeleteHe'll claim the current crop of molesters say they started with bicycle girls. (Probably not true, since the majority are SSA molesters.)
ReplyDeleteThey are nothing other than pedophiles in sheeps clothing. It has nothing to do with bikes and they should be registered.
ReplyDeleteI think some people are confused in regard to the laws of tsnius - modesty. It is not limited to causing sexual arousal. There are laws concerning how one should conduct oneself when performing excretory functions in the privacy of a wash closet.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore the concept of "hirhur" - understood by laity to refer to lascivious thoughts is not comprehended in its proper context. For example, it is clearly forbidden to observe animals engaged in mating because it might bring one to "hirhur". Does that mean that such visual stimuli might arouse latent attraction to bestiality? That is patently absurd. The prohibition is there in order to preserve in proper context, the regard that Orthodox Jews have toward human sexual activity - as an expression of the sanctity of the Jewish camp.
The secular world has of late accepted as normal the sexualization of prepubescent children, as manifested by organized beauty pageants for children as young as five years of age. These pageants often include children arrayed in inappropriate attire and engaging in provocative performances euphemistically labeled "talent shows".
Therefore it should not be disconcerting to hear of Rabbis reacting forcefully against any semblance of immodesty in children and even perhaps erring on the side of caution. Surely one can appreciate how adult women riding bicycles in public might be offensive to some. Why should it be surprising that some Rabbis consider the same activity inappropriate when performed by younger children?
My own personal opinion would be to view bicycle riding as less than refined. It should be discouraged rather than prohibited, but I feel that applying such standards on an age appropriate level could be in the purview of individual Rabbis, based on the mores and standards of their respective communities.
At the rate they are going, tomorrow they will assur the female monkeys riding bikes in the circus.
ReplyDeletethe Talmud states in Psachim that a woman riding on a chamor is not tzniusdig, and should rather ride sideways. Rashi explains that pisuk raglayim is the issue. Taking this concept to a bike is big leap of the imagination. A bike is a far cry to compare to the body of a chamor, whether in BP, Willy or anywhere else in the world.
No. I completely fail to see how anyone would consider riding a bicycle in public any more offensive, any less refined, or any more provocative than walking in public. Or why seeing someone on a bicycle should inspire any thoughts other than "gee, I guess this person needs to get where they are going faster than they could walk."
ReplyDeleteObviously you are right and the next step is to restrict the movement of girls in public places
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