Discussing "Ask JTF" - Previous Broadcasts

[RationalThought110]

The topic about beaches. I don't think it's necessary to close down the beaches. When it's hot, people want to wear light clothing and go bathing in the sea. I think it's enough to start with the propaganda of modesty. Not to show sex and nudity obsessed TV shows. Not to sell magazines that make people obsessed with sex and nudity. The whole atmosphere of licentiousness, the worship of the body, etc., should be made to go away. The virtues of modesty and true respect of the opposite sex should be taught at school. I think that if these values are taught, if overly revealing clothes meet with societal disapproval, then people will automatically dress more modestly when they go to the beach. There are situations when it's important that people are lightly dressed - such as when they do sports or go to the beach. We should not follow the path of muslim countries and make these activities gender-separate. I think that if the moral atmosphere in the society is healthy, then these few instances of minimal clothing will not cause problems.

I disagree with Chaim in the way he presents this issue, namely that men get too excited looking at women. The truth is that women get just as excited looking at men. They are equally sexual beings. If you just present this from the male point of view, you objectify women, and I don't like it. This is a mutual issue. Men and women should be dressed with equal degree of modesty. As to what is modest - I guess it could be argued. I personally think that during a hot weather, it is acceptible for men and women to wear sleavless tops, and shorts and skirts could be knee-length. The tops should not be too low-necked to show cleavage. As for swimming suits, the type of one-piece swimming suits (for men and women) they wore at the turn of the 20th century would be appropriate, in my opinion. Men wore these one piece suits also, and I think it would be appropriate to bring them back for beach wear.

I've posted previously on this forum that one-piece bathing suits are more healthy for women than two-piece because the latter exposes more skin to the sun. 


You mention shorts.  Why wouldn't they be allowed?  They're not considered sexually revealing. 


"Just to add one more thing about modesty. I think a good criterion of modesty is to separate the functional from something specifically designed to titillate. I think that a one-piece sleeveless suit is functional for swimming and gymnastics, as something that is not too hot and doesn't constrict the movements of the body. A bikini or something that overly emphasizes the lines of the body is designed to titillate.

Here is another example of something that is functional in my eyes. " 


I agree.  Isn't the reason that some people wear a bikini because they intentionally want people to pay a lot of attention to their bodies? 

[Joe Gutfeld]

Does anyone know if Chaim answered my question for this week's show(8/13)?

[aC23]

Yes Joe, I remember your name being mentioned, it was either right before or after mine.

[Joe Gutfeld]

It was a thrill to hear not only my name and question but to hear Chaim pronounce my last name correctly.  A lot of people mis-prounce my last name and put the "i" in there.

[RationalThought110]

Someone asked about Saudia Arabia a couple weeks ago.  What did Chaim say?

[Daniel]

The topic about beaches. I don't think it's necessary to close down the beaches. When it's hot, people want to wear light clothing and go bathing in the sea. I think it's enough to start with the propaganda of modesty. Not to show sex and nudity obsessed TV shows. Not to sell magazines that make people obsessed with sex and nudity. The whole atmosphere of licentiousness, the worship of the body, etc., should be made to go away. The virtues of modesty and true respect of the opposite sex should be taught at school. I think that if these values are taught, if overly revealing clothes meet with societal disapproval, then people will automatically dress more modestly when they go to the beach. There are situations when it's important that people are lightly dressed - such as when they do sports or go to the beach. We should not follow the path of muslim countries and make these activities gender-separate. I think that if the moral atmosphere in the society is healthy, then these few instances of minimal clothing will not cause problems.

I disagree with Chaim in the way he presents this issue, namely that men get too excited looking at women. The truth is that women get just as excited looking at men. They are equally sexual beings. If you just present this from the male point of view, you objectify women, and I don't like it. This is a mutual issue. Men and women should be dressed with equal degree of modesty. As to what is modest - I guess it could be argued. I personally think that during a hot weather, it is acceptible for men and women to wear sleavless tops, and shorts and skirts could be knee-length. The tops should not be too low-necked to show cleavage. As for swimming suits, the type of one-piece swimming suits (for men and women) they wore at the turn of the 20th century would be appropriate, in my opinion. Men wore these one piece suits also, and I think it would be appropriate to bring them back for beach wear.

I agree with a lot of what you say, Masha. I think that women have the same type and amount of sexual feelings as men do. It's just that they don't show evidence for these feelings as much as men. The inverse is true when it comes to showing emotion. Women have more of a tendency to wear their hearts on their sleeves while men appear to hide their emotions more. But men still experience the same type and amount of emotions as women do.

[Daniel]

I was blown away by one answer this week, because it was something I've been thinking myself for some years but never met anyone who agreed with me. Namely, that the illegal immigration is a conspiracy to make the populace stupid and prevent them from competing with the elites. I've thought about the same thing about the appalling state of public education, the dumbing down of the next generation. In the US, the elite universities are prohibitively expensive, so regular people cannot send their children there. I also know of a case in England when an extremely talanted daughter of a friend of mine got an interview at Oxford University as a prospective student. They asked her questions that she couldn't possibly know, because they were way outside the school program, even at a "good" school she went to with higher level classes in science. But the kids in exclusive private schools in Britain (I guess they are called "public" schools there) study these subjects and can get into these elite university programs. The elites guard places for their offspring. We don't live in a truly democratic system.

In general, I found that Chaim's answers tend to be "spot on," as far as I am concerned. His views are morally principled, and I respect that. There was only one answer that bothered me. It was either from last week or from wek before last. He told someone that the Sanhedrin might make polygamy legal again. To me, this is unthinkable. It's like making slavery legal again. If this happens, I will know that this is not the true Sanhedrin that G-d wants.

Hey, according to the bible, the abolitionists were on the wrong side of the slavery issue.