tznius - Building a Jewish Life

Dressing Awesomely and Modestly: The “Fresh off the Boat from Seminary” Look

June 15, 2011

Here is Tuesday’s awesome and modest look! Calhoun decided to photobomb me, looking for lovin’. The skirt is a black, floor-length (because I’m short) polyester/rayon blend and comes from from Nordstrom’s kids’ section. The t-shirt is from my Birthright trip to Israel, so it has the easily-spotted Birthright logo on the pocket area and a […]

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Dressing Awesomely and Modestly

June 10, 2011

Yes, I have copyrighted the phrase “dressing awesomely and modestly,” and I will pursue any violation of my legal rights ferociously. Rawr. Here is today’s outfit, a simple black shell with flowy, hippie empire-waist floor-length dress. Less clear are the amazingly 60s sunglasses. Verdict: Surprisingly well-suited to the heat of the sun and subways. On

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Question of the Day: Women Shaving During the Omer

June 10, 2011

I apologize for today’s post being a bit late, but I always write my Friday posts on Thursdays instead of scheduling them ahead so that I can write something related to my week. Unfortunately, thanks to a dead car battery, I didn’t get back from my camp Shavuot experience until around 2:30am. But the three

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Types of Headcoverings for Women

May 26, 2011

I won’t pretend this is an exhaustive list; it won’t be. However, it will certainly be more than enough to get you started! (In the future, I’ll do a post for men too, but that requires a bit more research on my part!) This post also does not discuss the halachic issue of how much hair

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Halacha in a Nutshell: The Laws of Family Purity

May 10, 2011

Halacha in a Nutshell is a series that does not aim to actually teach you halacha. The goal is to acquaint you with the general ideas of a halachic issue so that you can follow conversations without looking like a total n00b. Now here’s a fun topic full of vague euphemisms. This will not be

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Shabbat Shalom! The Tznius and Prejudice Edition

April 1, 2011

Happy April Fools’ Day! Assuming you can call it a happy day. Personally, I’m not a fan because I’m a gullible person. Remembering that it’s April Fools’ Day is half the battle: I’m going to assume every person is a liar today. Fridays have apparently become my soapbox day, where I write about whatever’s on

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Convert Questions: Can a Convert Keep His or Her Piercings?

March 17, 2011

Tattoos are discussed here. Piercings can be an issue for two primary reasons: 1) keeping your body intact and in its natural form and 2) because piercings used to indicate that a person (particularly a male) was a slave. In general today, piercings don’t appear to be an issue for conversion candidates except for social

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UPDATED: Why You Shouldn’t Date During Conversion

February 28, 2011

NOTE: The Kvetching Editor wrote a response to this post here. I just want to point out that her situation is not what I’m describing. I’m talking about a single who enters the orthodox conversion process and then begins dating people who are already orthodox. However, for the record, I think dating is probably a bad idea

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The Blue Jean Skirt Controversy

January 24, 2011

People often mention that certain orthodox Jewish groups hold that blue jean skirts are un-tznius and unacceptable for women, to the point of ostracizing them or their children for that. I can’t find any articles about it now, but I remember hearing about two children who were expelled from their day school because their mom

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Halacha in a Nutshell: Tznius

January 18, 2011

Halacha in a Nutshell is a new series that does not aim to actually teach you halacha. The goal is to acquaint you with the general ideas of a halachic issue so that you can follow conversations without looking like a total n00b. Tznius is most often translated as “modesty,” and people usually use it

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