NUM27 Two provisions of the modesty laws with regard to women are so troubling that they divide Orthodox Jews even today. The first teaches that a woman's hair is powerfully erotic; therefore, no one but her husband should ever see it. For "Never even letting the beams of my house see my hair" (Yer. Meg. 1:12), the modest Kimhit merited having seven sons, who all served as high priest in the Temple. A sermon derived from the bitter water ritual during Temple times tests a woman [but never a man] suspected of adultery (Numbers 5:11–31). It allowed the priest to violate tzeniyut [modesty] when judging her: "When the priest uncovers the head of a suspected adulterous he says to her: 'You have departed from the ways of the daughters of Israel, whose habit is to have their heads covered, and you have behaved like the idolatrous women who walk about with their heads uncovered. Here then, be as you wanted to be!'" (Num. R. 9:16). This rule about covering a woman's hair has led many orthodox women to wear wigs in public. Recently Ovadia Yossef, the former Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel and that community's halakhic authority, reacted to the fashionable wigs that some women wear by condemning this practice as extreme immodesty; it draws attention to women in public places. He predicted that both the wig and its wearer would burn in hell and that, should a woman dare to come to synagogue so "coifed," both she and her husband should be excommunicated. The other rule applies to men and says that merely listening to a woman's voice is a grave sexual violation. "Samuel taught: A woman's voice is a gross sexual provocation, as it is written, 'For your voice is sweet and your appearance comely' [S. of S. 2:14]" (Ber. 24a). Thus those who observe this ruling may not attend the opera or theater, or even listen to women on radio, television, or recordings. Of course, you don't need us to tell you that modern women find these rabbinic attitudes regarding women's modesty reprehensible. The rabbis' promised reward for following the laws of tzeniyut, that women would bear prominent male offspring, insults the feminine sensibility even further. How different is the preferred notion of privacy, with respect for the dignity of women as its benchmark. A comprehensive reworking of Jewish modesty is clearly overdue. But this time the leadership must come from our feminist thinkers, who have already demonstrated their creative sensitivity in other areas traditionally restricted to male points of view. We look to them for guidance, to help us refigure reasonable standards of Jewish modesty and demeanor, in speech, interests, and in general behavior of both sexes.

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NUM50 (Continued from [[GEN427]] Genesis 3:19 sweat BOROJMV 255). Our French sages picked the three biblical verses that make up the Temple priestly benediction: May Adonai bless and guard you; may Adonai glow with concern for you and be gracious to you; may Adonai pay special attention to you and grant you peace" [this and following two verses]. So we begin not with laws directing what we should do for God, or for others in God's name, but with a sense of what God may do for us! Yes, we all can use as much divine help as we can get! Though we are right to expect much of ourselves, our efforts alone can't provide for everything. A quiet sense of our partnership with God empowers even as it humbles.

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NUM54 See [[NUM55]] Numbers 6:27 bless BOROJMV 237-8

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NUM55 Shalom--what a beautiful word. We use it when we greet one another, as if to say, "Come in peace." It always carries Sabbath overtones, for our doubly meaningful greeting on the day of rest is "Shabbat Shalom." We use it when we leave one another, as if to say, "Go in peace until we meet again." But this is not a simplistic, passive statement. The root sh-l-m conveys the meanings "complete," "whole," or even "perfect." So to say "shalom" is to breathe the air of Jewish hope and human aspiration, wishing that the day will come soon when we are all fulfilled. No wonder, then, that loving peace, as the Psalmist puts it, or living to create peace, as the rabbis glorify it, is a climactic Jewish ideal, the outcome of worthy living, the chief virtue of Jewish character. The talmudic sages share this view and give shalom important mention in Jewish observance. Insisting that the whole purpose of the Torah is to create peace, they have directed that each time we complete our Torah reading, we return this precious scroll to the ark and chant: "Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are shalom" (Proverbs 3:17). We learn from those who compiled our traditional liturgy: "What was their reason for calling the morning petition for peace, sim shalom? Because it is written, 'So the priests shall put My name upon the children of Israel, and then I shall bless them' [this verse]. And the truest blessing of the Holy One is peace'" (Meg. 18a). The rabbis also made the prayer for peace the climax of our daily services, as a request for peace concludes the threefold priestly benediction: "May Adonai lift up His countenance to you and give shalom" [Numbers 6:26). Today many worship services end with a petition from Psalms, affirming this paramount virtue in our tradition: "The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace" (Ps. 29:11).

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NUM70 Andy Warhol shrewdly commented that all of us are entitled to fifteen minutes of fame. Yet a brief, questionable notoriety is surely not what our tradition had in mind. Judaism emphasizes the lasting durability of a shem tov, opposing the fickle judgment of a bread-and-circus-loving public. "R. Simeon b. Yohai said: More beloved is a good name then the Ark of the Covenant, because the ark went before the Israelites for only a distance of three days [this verse], while a good name goes from one end of the world to the other" (Eccles. R. 7.1, 3). Jews think in terms of lifetimes. Thus a midrash explains Ecclesiastes's puzzling statement: "The date of death is better than the day of birth" (Eccles. 7:1). "R. Pinhas said: When a person is born, all rejoice; when he dies, all weep. It should not be so. But when a person is born there should be no rejoicing over him, because it is not known whether by his actions he will be righteous or wicked, good or bad. However, when he dies, there is cause for rejoicing if he departs with a good name and leaves the world in peace. It is as if there were two ocean-going ships, one leaving the harbor and the other entering it. As the one sailed out of the harbor, all rejoiced, but none displayed any joy over the one that was entering. A shrewd man was there and he said to the people, 'There is no cause to rejoice over a ship that is leaving the harbor, because nobody knows what will be its plight.… but when it returns to the harbor all have reason to rejoice, since it has come in safely'" (Eccles. R. 7.1,4).

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NUM97 See [[EXOD42]] Exodus 2:12 struck BOROJMV 139-40

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NUM117 See [[EXOD42]] Exodus 2:12 struck BOROJMV 139-40

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NUM204 R. Nathan said: There is not a single precept in the Torah whose reward is not enjoyed in this world. You may learn this from the mitzvah of tzitzit, which requires us to put tassels on the corners of any poncho-like garment. ... With regard to [the commandment of tzizit], the expression 'I am Adonai your God' is written twice [in this verse]. It means, I am He who will exact punishment in the future, and I am He who will give reward in the future. The tzizit appeared to me as four witnesses testifying against me. (From a story about a disciple of the sages who visits a harlot, recounted in Men. 44a).

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NUM338 See [[NUM341]] Numbers 27:23 hands BOROJMV 96-7

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NUM341 According to rabbinic tradition, Moses exemplifies the tov ayin, the person whose acts are prompted by a "good eye." A story from the midrashic collection, Numbers Rabbah, points out that Moses generously accepts Joshua as his successor in leadership, never an easy task: "Adonai said to Moses, 'Single out Joshua, the son of Nun, a man who has spirit in him, and place your hand [sic] on him' [Numbers 27:18). But Moses responds with such nedivut that 'he placed both his hands on Joshua' [this verse] (Num. R. 21:15). So too, R. Yose b. R. Hanina teaches: "The Torah was originally given only to Moses and his descendants. But Moses generously shared it with all Israel. Thus the Bible refers to Moses when it says: 'He that has a generous eye shall be blessed' [Proverbs 22:9]" (Ned. 38a). Few of us will have the chance to emulate such extraordinary netivut; however, Yehiel b. Yekutiel provides us with an example of a tov ayin in more routine circumstances: "If a mitzvah presents itself, [such a person] summons his resources so that he may do it with a good eye, specifically including the humility not to do it for the sake of receiving a reward (and therefore being proud in his heart), or making a show of his merit before others" (Sefer Maalot Hamiddot). In other words, a person with a "good eye" recognizes the opportunity to do a good deed as soon as it appears, and then matter-of-factly acts on it.

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