Belz Rebbe Calls for Clear Limits on Women’s Dress and Modesty

At a rare gathering held Tuesday at the home of the Belz Rebbe in Jerusalem, leaders of the second-largest Hasidic court in Israel discussed a broad campaign to tighten modesty standards for women in the community. The meeting came as part of an expanding effort inside Belz to reinforce dress codes and other rules of tzniut.

The Rebbe’s son, Rabbi Aharon Mordechai Rokach, told Hasidim not to yield to the temptations of the secular public sphere. “It is our duty not to give in to the temptations of the street, but to follow the way of Belz from time immemorial,” he said. “Belz serves as a symbol and an example for all the courts, and we must be the standard-bearers.”

The main speech was delivered by the Rebbe himself, who unusually laid out his view of women’s education in the Hasidic world and returned to the founding of the community’s girls’ schools. He recalled the creation of “Beit Malka,” saying that when it was established there were questions about the heavy expense and why it was needed. He said he had answered then that a day would come when graduates might be asked why they dress a certain way, and the reply would be, “That is how it is done at the institution.” He said that could not be allowed, insisting that the school was meant above all to teach how a Jewish girl should dress.

The Rebbe said he was deeply concerned by women’s growing exposure to new fashion and design trends, and urged the rabbis responsible for the issue to act as an active barrier. “New things and new models are constantly appearing,” he warned. “Those appointed to deal with this matter are responsible for preventing any leniency in women’s modesty beyond what is necessary.” He added that a boundary must be set and not crossed, warning that if people keep seeking exemptions and making new compromises, no one can know how far it will go.