More New Posts at AMotherInIsrael.com: Goats, girls and prayer, parenting, tzniut and more

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Exclusive: Street Goats in Bnei Brak Don't miss these pictures.

Guest Post: Jewish Girls and Prayer. A discussion about educating girls in the Orthodox community.

Babies Need Company. What is socialization for babies?

Blog Notes. Comments on moving house.

An Uninspiring Letter to the Women of Ramat Beit Shemesh.
Rafi posts a letter he received on the RBS list, thanking women for dressing modestly.

News from Around the Jewish Blogosphere Carnivals, congrats and more.

Exclusive: Official Haredi Guide to Modest Necklines

This document is entitled: "Common Pitfalls Regarding Necklines." At the bottom (cut off) it reads: These pages have been viewed by Rabbi Nissim Karelitz Shlit"a and Rabbi Moshe Shaul Klein Shlit"a from the rabbinic court of Rabbi Vozner Shlit"a.*

Click here to continue reading.

Shoes and fashions

After completing my errands I decided to collect a sample of fashion photos with my new camera. I wanted a shot of the slutty, jewel-studded platform sandals in little girls' sizes, but was stopped by an owner unfamiliar with the concept, "There's no such thing as bad publicity."

All in all I think the religious fashions have improved over last year, although I wouldn't wear most of these necklines:
Click here to continue reading Shoes and Fashions.

Tzniut fashions hit Tel Aviv?

I figure the dress in this picture would fit in well in Bnei Brak:

But the advertisement appeared on the front page of Haaretz's Gallery section.

Without sticking out your behind,
Without pulling in your stomach,
Without dressing short,
Without dressing tight,
Without a pushup, without stiletto [heels], without giggling, without winking, without veiled looks, without appearing hungry, without hiding intelligence.

SEXY (Seksit)
Without operating instructions.

The copy is over the top, but it seems that religious women aren't the only ones having a hard time finding clothes. Anyway that outfit sure beats these.

Links on tzniut, teenage maturity, nursing in public

Coming soon to this blog, bli neder: (Mis)adventures in International Travel.

In the meantime:

Have you ever felt untzniusdik when wearing a stunning Shabbat or Yom Tov outfit on the street? Wolfish Musings and Parsha Blog have the solution.

Follow-up (Hebrew) to the Modiin Azrieli Mall "nursing in public" fiasco. The management changed its policy and claims to be reeducating staff on the subject. I don't know why the article mentions that the mother making the complaint was religious. Hat tip: Nursing in the Negev.

Can you spot a nursing mother in this picture?

Lion of Zion refers to my post on the jailed teenagers, in the context of early marriage among Jews. He writes, "As an aside, I would like to know where all the Israeli/Jewish human rights advocates were while the (minor) settlerettes sat in jail." I believe that Yitzchak Kadman, Israel's best-known child advocate, did speak out on the subject at the time.

Friday links on women in Orthodoxy

First we have Josh Waxman of Parshablog with My Thoughts on Megirot I and II.

Then there's the story of dancers forced to cover up for the Jerusalem bridge dedication ceremony. The girls, aged 6 to 13, were told to wear hats and long skirts; see this report for before and after pictures. Some parents respond here. According to this update in the JP, the organizers chose the black ski caps to make a point.

Finally, the army has been giving some teenage girls trouble about an automatic religious exemption. I wonder if any haredi girls have been hassled.

A different kind of fashion show

Rafi of Life in Israel took these pictures at a grocery store in Beit Shemesh today, and generously allowed me to post them. (You can see his post here).


The woman is not the only one taking on extra layers; Rafi reports that the man accompanying her, presumably her husband, is wearing at least three pairs of tzitzit (ritual fringes). The little boy, though, is wearing typical "western" clothing.

Not all of the women who cover up are Keren's followers. But this woman is not wearing the "shal" typical of many Breslover returnees to Judaism.


Compare her dress with the woman below, who does have on a "shal."

Too bad Rafi and his wife didn't get an interview. . .

Update--suspected abuser confirmed to be Keren

Haaretz confirms that Rabbanit Bruria Keren herself was arrested. I pretty much expected it, as the suspect's age and that of her children matched Keren's (even though the number of children was off). Also, the fact that the lawyer claimed that the whole thing was a conspiracy meant that the suspect was well-known. And the reports made it sound like she was the dominant personality in the home, and the husband was not too involved. Although this is all speculation on my part.

Rafi has more information here and here.

Link to another TV news story
Last night's links

Fake Burka Video posted

This video is clearly and obviously a fake. There are many clues, sprinkled throughout the video, showing the lack of modesty among these wanton women.

1. Because they are not wearing "shalim," the contour of their shoulders and arms are clearly visible. At one point one of the ladies shockingly lifts her arms up in the air .
   
2. They wear flesh-colored stockings (or perhaps none at all? Chas ve-chalilah).
   
3. They read Yediot Aharonot, a traif secular newspaper.
4. At minute 2:46, it is possible to view a glimpse of neck, and again a few seconds later.
5. One of the women has a cellphone on a string around her neck. Tzanua women do not speak on the street on a cellphone. See Mishbetzot Zahav Levusha where it says that this is clearly against the spirit of tznius.
6. One of the woman works outside the home, in a library (a library!!) no less. Tzanua women earn their living through home businesses.
7. One of the women is seen casually touching a boy in passing.
8. They have English initials on their robes. This is a sign of a secular taint and a serious aberration from the ancient dress of our holy patriarchs and matriarchs.
   

Hat tip: Jameel

More on hyper-tzniut: Shawl-wearer spotted in Borough Park

This post is available at my new location, AMotherInIsrael.com.

Israeli fashions for religious women

My town has seen a proliferation of stores catering to religious women; I am sharing some highlights with my loyal readers.





For the first few years after I made aliyah, the only colors in women's clothes were beige, brown, and gray. Then things improved, and for a season or two you could find kelly green and hot pink. What hasn't changed is the way Israeli designers, especially those targeting the religious community, manage to combine such a bizarre assortment of colors, shapes and fabrics into one outfit.





Note: I am not making any statement about the "tzniut" standards of these items.



New blog posts can be found at A Mother in Israel.

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Keren Interview VII: Ann: Soon men will insist on capes and veils for their wives

In this Hebrew article from Maariv, Neshot Hare'alah (Women of the Veil), Sherry Makover-Balikov interviews Rabbanit Bruria Keren and some of her followers.

Earlier summaries/excerpts: I, II, III, IV, V, VI
To view all posts on the subject at once click the label hyper-tzniut.

The Maariv reporter interviewed Dudi Zilbershlag, editor of the haredi newspaper Bakehila and head of the charitable organization "Meir Panim." He said that after their son Meir z"l died, Zilbershlag's wife considered switching to a scarf from a wig. At the time their rebbe disapproved, saying it would only call more attention to her. She made the switch later, after other haredim did so in light of the Indian wig scandal [when haredi rabbis prohibited them because they might have been used in idol worship].

According to Zilbershlag, ". . . being extremely tzanua cannot prevent men from having evil thoughts about a woman . . . the opposite may be true. But this is a far cry from insulting someone who dresses that way from pure intentions."

The rabbanit's followers don't see themselves as a cult. After all, each one wears a different number of layers, making them different from other types of chasidim. "Each woman and her own [level of] tzniut." [This last statement contradicts everything else in the article. Clearly Keren and her followers believe everyone should wear veils, shawls, capes, and several additional layers of clothes. The style or exact number of layers is beside the point.]

"To say that the Rabbanit is a kind of guru . . . is a sin," says Ann, a convert who became . . . her disciple. "The Rabbanit paved the way, and most of us take on ourselves customs and continue alone. We do meet at her home, not because of leadership, but out of friendship. 'Everyone goes to consult with someone wiser than himself' [but do they consult with anyone besides Rabbanit Keren?]."

Ann continues:

"The rabbanit doesn't talk because of all of the bad things that can come from it such as slander, gossip, joking, and flattery; therefore she took silence upon herself. It also allows her to control anger. She taught us not to speak to men, pass them objects, sit next to them on the bus, nor to ride in a taxi with a male driver. Not to be too colorful. Once I said to the rabbanit that the colors blue and black distance women from tzniut. So the rabbanit said that she wants to come close to Hashem, not to other women."

The reporter asks Anne about the next level.

"The next level is for men to insist on capes and veils from their wives. That it will come from them, not from us. That in a few more years the haredi public will discover the sweetness of the layers of clothes and the modesty behind the veil. There have been stories of licentiousness, of adultery, may God have mercy. Women wore tight clothes and the men's eyes popped out. The rabbanit Bruria believes that very soon a man will come to his wife and ask her not to go out without her body and face covered."

"We are already seeing the beginning. I myself prayed for many years until my husband agreed to my wearing three capes. Afterward he wasn't ready for me to cover my face with a veil. We had a big fight and came close to getting a get (religious divorce). But I went to R. Bruria, and got strength from her. I prayed more, until my husband accepted the cape and veil, even the shawl. One day I weakened; my evil inclination told me to stop making myself a laughingstock and that I could be modest in a scarf, blouse and skirt. So I decided to go out like that. I put on a vest, a nice skirt, and some makeup. And small, delicate earrings. I went to the bedroom and stood in front of my husband. I asked him, "How do I look?" And he said "Immodesty! Immodesty!" and didn't move until I put on the cape and covered my face.

That is the end of the article. Feel free to link on your own blog using the label hyper-tzniut.

Stay tuned for more of my own thoughts.

Keren Interview VI: Maya--I don't go into a store if men are inside

In this Hebrew article from Maariv, Neshot Hare'alah (Women of the Veil), Sherry Makover-Balikov interviews Rabbanit Bruria Keren and some of her followers.
Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VII

To see all posts on the subject click on the label hyper-tzniut.

Continued:
Makover-Balikov writes that Keren's followers might have expected sympathy from the haredi community [well, maybe, if they wouldn't refer to wigs as licentious]. Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, the chief rabbi of Safed, says. "I have seen a few in Safed, and I think they are crazy. Their extremism causes different type of distortion. Extremism is not healthy. There is no commandment to cover the face with a veil and to wear dozens of layers of clothes. This I say as a rabbi."

She quotes a haredi woman, N., who says that she and others from her haredi community reject the hyper-tzniut trend because they are afraid. Ten years ago no one put tights on girls under twelve. Then a few began to dress that way, even at the height of the summer. Now all haredi girls over two must do so or face rejection from the community.

The next interview is with Maya. Maya became observant eight years ago after finishing a degree in criminology and Jewish philosophy. She is married to a Breslov Hasid and has four children. Her home is covered with pictures and writings of R. Nachman. From the article:

She met R. Keren five years ago. She was also influenced by the book "Olamot Shel Tohar," Worlds of Purity, by R. Uri Sofer, where she learned about women who covered their faces and bodies because of tzniut.

"At first I wore only three skirts and a cape. Then I read that Rabbanit Kanievsky, a well-known figure in the haredi community, covered the upper part of her hand (shoresh kaf hayad) with cloth. I looked at the place my fingers began, and saw that it was indeed very feminine. So I cut off the ends of some socks and wore them on my hand, to cover the part up to my fingers. At first I wore them only outside, because they bothered me at home. Gradually I also began to wear them at home, and now I sleep in them as well as in a high neckline. When one receives light, one receives holiness."

"The more a woman covers her exterior, the more room there is for her interior. I come from the secular world, and I know how much women are involved in attracting men with their beauty and exterior. If a woman would know what goes on in a man's head when he sees her in the street, hears her voice, or accidentally brushes against her, she would go underground in shame. When I go out completely covered, I feel like a princess. Even though I don't cover my face--I feel that that is too great a light. But I wear several layers of shawls and sell them too. I sew them from delicate fabrics. Light colors, pretty and non-threatening, because it's important to my husband that I go modestly, but still look nice.

"About two years ago I began to wear scarves tied in front. This was hard, I felt like a 'Yemenite grandmother.' The Rabbanit taught us that the only knot that covers all of the hair is in front. If you tie it in back, there will always be hairs that stick out; even if the head is shaved, the roots of the hair will show. The scarf tied in front also covers the back of the neck, because that is a very feminine part of a woman."

"I see many haredi women who walk around at home in a robe and even wear them outside, may God have mercy. With [these women] everything is reversed. The husband sees them in a robe, but when they go to the dentist, they look their best. Also at home, a robe is tight and revealing, even transparent sometimes. A woman needs to wake up in the morning to the service of God, to run a house of joy, to wrap herself in wide clothes, not transparent ones, and not to sin in a robe. In the book "Worlds of Purity," there are pictures of righteous women wearing a shawl and tents [use of plural is not my typo]. And not one [of the pictured women] causes the community to sin with a wig.

Maya wears so many layers so that the contour of her body won't be visible on a windy day. She wears them at home should a man come to the door, and to accustom the family to modesty. The shawl blurs the contour of her shoulders, and it feels like a tallit (prayer shawl). She has a less opaque, airier one for the house.

Her husband is happy with the "great heavenly merit."

"By us a woman gets her husband used to the idea gradually; first a short shawl and then a long cape. The Rabbanit Bruria says that if a woman dresses modestly and her husband gets angry, it's her own fault. She must pray to Hashem to remove the objection. Husbands aren't always right. Sometimes they are worried about society, about what the people in the synagogue will say. Hashem help them if they care more about what people will say, and prefer a woman who is attractive but immodest."

"The children were born into it and my son brings me a shawl when we are on our way out. When a man passes I lower my head. If there are men in the makolet, I won't go in. If a man comes to buy from me I "guard my eyes" and don't look at him. I look at the floor. Yesterday I went by a haredi man who saw me and lowered his head. I said to my son, 'The daughters of Israel are the daughters of the king, it's not seemly for people to look at them. They aren't like a rotten tomato that every passerby can see what's inside and what isn't.' "

In general she gets a positive reaction, but some people make fun of her or criticize her, or tell her she looks like a goy (non-Jew).

The most important part of her day is when she secludes herself and "speaks to Hashem." She goes to R. Keren weekly to get a "dose of fear of Heaven."

Rabbanit Keren is from the Lithuanian, Ashkenazi stream of Judaism. The Rabbanit loves children. She is oblivious to her physical surroundings and the cares of this world. She hardly goes out, but people help her because she "looks like a tent." She sees by looking down. "We all admire her and are all good friends. Some of use are connected to R. Nahman of Breslov and are searching for the truth. When she speaks at a convention for return [to Jewish practice] she calls us to come. Because when one sees many women in capes and veils, it's empowering."

Maya's house is bare and the reporter asks her if that's intentional. Maya responds "My possessions are above, in the world to come."

The last installment is an interview with a follower who is also a convert. To be continued.

Keren Interview V: Miriam compromises by leaving one eye uncovered

Miriam, 32, mother of six, is a Breslover baalat teshuva (returnee to observant Judaism) and a follower of Rabbanit Bruria Keren. She wears 5 skirts, two capes, seven scarves, and a veil angled to cover one eye. She uses the other eye to see in front of her, because she is disgusted by the idea of using her children as guide dogs.

This is the fifth part of the translation/summary of the Hebrew Maariv article by Sherry Makover-Balikov where the journalist interviews Rabbanit Bruria Keren and her followers.

Summaries/excerpts: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII
To view all posts on the subject, and see pictures, click the label hyper-tzniut.

Highlights:

• The Rabbanit thinks that blue is a modest color.
• When Miriam said that her husband would like it if she dressed like the R. Keren, the R. Keren encouraged her with a motion of her hands.
• Gradually a large group of Miriam's friends began to come to the talks, and layering on more and more clothes. At first Miriam felt like a mountain.
  
• As she felt herself come closer to God, she began to cover her face.
• At one stage she had doubts, so the Rabbanit sent another student to fetch her. Miriam told the rabbanit that she felt like a "Fatima." The Rabbanit said, "Why does it matter? There is your will, and there is God's will. And God's will is what counts, not yours."
• The rabbanit told Miriam how in the beginning she was humiliated by policemen who "scattered her bags and stopped traffic" [presumably they suspected her of being a terrorist]. Ready to give up, she got home she opened a holy book to a page that read, "One rises in holiness and does not descend."
• Miriam feels that her beauty could cause men to stumble, so it is more important for her to cover her face than for a woman with average looks.
  
• She suffers in the summer, but the Rabbanit has asthma so how can Miriam complain?
  
• The Rabbanit emphasizes that each of them is an example to others, and if they regress in their level of modesty, they will cause 300 other women to sin [i.e. those women will continue to dress as they do].
• Miriam's husband objected at first, but with the rabbanit's encouragement she got him to accept it. Or at least not oppose her.
  
• In Ramat Beit Shemesh, many women dress this way so Miriam does not get too many comments. When she feels guilty about leaving one eye uncovered, she comforts herself with the fact that one eye forces her to hurry to get where she is going, so she doesn't stop. [I think she means that she attracts less notice.]
  
• She doesn't talk to men, but she chastised a pair who made fun of her on a bus, asking them whether their wives' wigs were better, and whether "pritzut" (licentiousness) was preferable. That shut the men up. [Or so Miriam claims.]

Next up: A rabbi's point of view.

Part IV: The reason for the layers of clothing

The next section of the article is entitled, "Why is it necessary to wrap oneself in so many layers?"

This is the fourth part of the translation/summary of the Hebrew Maariv article by Sherry Makover-Balikov where the journalist interviews Rabbanit Bruria Keren and her followers.

Summaries/excerpts: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII
To view all posts on the subject at once click the label hyper-tzniut.

Quoting Rabbanit Keren:

The holy matriarchs and the women of Jerusalem covered their bodies and hid their faces. Even in the Torah it says that Tamar didn't see Judah's face because she was covered. [This is based on a Midrash, brought down by Rashi, that Tamar covered her face during the period she lived in Judah's house. Is this entire movement is based on one midrash?] The Torah doesn't change. The body must be covered so that no one will see her shape. Because the face and figure of a woman can cause men to sin. The more layers of clothes, the more a woman's modesty is esteemed.

When the phone rings, and when the Rabbanit's husband comes in (no mention of whether he is a rabbi), the women are quiet so that no man will hear their voices.

Makover-Balikov is impressed by Keren's speaking skills, and the women are rapt. At the end the Rabbanit reminds her listeners that it's not modest to not to walk on the streets late at night.

The rabbanit tells her son, who wanders in, not to walk around near women [she doesn't signal to him]. She raps the hands of a woman who is crossing her fingers because that movement "wakens the demons."

In conclusion the Rabbanit distributes holy water from a container: liquid that she saved from the mitzvah of taking challah. [I don't know about you, but I am left with dough, not liquid, when I take challah. I suspect the reporter missed something here.] The women swooop down over the water, fighting over every drop, but the Rabbanit tells them to give it to the men. "It's a segulah (charm) for learning Torah." She pours a few drops into the bottle of a baby who came with its mother.

As a breastfeeding advocate I will try not to read too much into one bottle. But I wonder, despite the emphasis on healthy food, whether nursing is considered modest by this group. Nursing must be challenging with all of those clothes, and surely nursing mothers can't easily go out while following these guidelines.

The rabbanit continues, "Women don't have to learn Torah; their obligation is tzniyut."

I don't like the approach toward tzniut, also common in the haredi world, as an end in and of itself. The last I checked, it isn't one of the 613 commandments.

Before the interviews with the followers Makover-Balikov shares her views:

It's possible to see them as crazy. Some will explain the phenomenon as pushing the dangerous borders of extremism. Even the haredi community, which dedicates itself to faith and tzniut and a unique style of dress, pushes away the rabbanit's veiled women, ostracizes them and laughs at them.
But I met educated and pleasant women. One has a degree in criminology and Jewish philosophy . Another started to learn philosophy before becoming observant. Their houses are clean, their children are cared for, their minds are wakeful and their hearts are open. The distancing from the haredi world is painful for them. They are humiliated by the insults and derision they suffer in the home and out.

In the next sections, Makover Balikov interviews several followers. Please let me know if you see it translated elsewhere; I won't be doing any more tonight but hope to continue tomorrow.

Keren Interview III: She burned her wig in front of everyone: Maariv Keren Article Part 3

The following is a continuation of the translation/summary of Hebrew Maariv article by Sherry Makover-Balikov where the journalist interviews Rabbanit Bruria Keren and her followers.

Summaries/excerpts: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII
To view all posts on the subject at once click the label hyper-tzniut.

The reporter quotes the Rabbanit telling her followers:

A righteous teacher came to school with a shawl on her head in addition to a scarf and hat. They asked her why she is so "tzanua" (modest), and she said that a great rabbi told her, "My daughter, when you see women on the street covered from head to toe, you will know that the Messiah is at the door."

The Rabbanit has 50 followers in Beit Shemesh, about 70 in Geulah in Jerusalem [my friend in Beit Yisrael says that she knows of three face-coverers in her neighborhood, and one in Geulah. But clearly not all of the followers cover their faces--yet.], and dozens more in Tzefat, Beitar and the Haredi section of Elad [too close to home for me]. They "speak to Hashem" each night and recite Psalms, are careful to eat healthy food and rarely go out.

They dress their daughters in "redidim" [this could mean veils, capes, or shawls, but usually means veils in this context] but only married women cover their faces. They are quiet in the presence of men and communicate with the outside world through the husband. They meet at the Rabbanit's house once a week, a different group each time, but they all get together on Erev Rosh Hodesh (the eve of the new moon) and other holidays. They have prayer evenings.

The reporter describes how Keren's followers congratulate a woman who put on a veil a week ago. The woman tells how her husband doesn't approve, the neighbors point and a Haredi man, who turned out to be her small son's rebbe, shouted and threw fruit at her. Her son, who was with her, started to cry.

The rabbanit is upset that someone would waste food, but proclaims that "insults are a gift."

One woman's husband's tires were cut. Another's neighbor wrote on her mailbox, "Expel the Taliban." A young woman says people mistake her for an Arab.

Rabbanit Keren has ten children and works as an alternative therapist. A large number of women make a living by selling organic food and nutritional supplements. "Modest women are clean inside and out." One woman says the Rabbanit saved her child's through an herbal concoction she prepared him. He began to breathe on his own despite having already been connected to an oxygen tank.

"I speak to God, and He gives me the strength to help others," explains the Rabbanit. "Once I gave a lecture in a small hall. There were a few women wearing wigs instead of scarves. I stopped speaking and privately asked Hashem to give me strength, to help them repent. I began to speak in praise of covering one's head and face. Hashem helped and a commotion began in the hall. Women got up from their chairs, cried and threw off their wigs. One woman had brought hers in a bad and burned it in front of everyone. Women wrapped their bodies in an additional cape and shawl."

I hope you are not expecting any brilliant comments from me. I am speechless. To be continued. . .

Keren Interview II: A little child shall lead them?

Aside from the time it would take, I don't want to translate the entire article because of copyright restrictions.

Hebrew Maariv article by Sherry Makover-Balikov

Summaries/excerpts: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII

To view all posts on the subject at once click the label hyper-tzniut.

Highlights of the next section of the interview with Rabbanit Keren:

• She doesn't speak to men at all, and rarely to women; during the day she abides by a speech fast and prays.
• The rabbanit signals to her guest to offer her a drink.
  
• Her "small" daughter easily follows her unspoken instructions.
  
• She writes on paper, and her followers interpret.
  
• The children of the veiled women have an important role. Some women "vitru" (have given up on) eyeholes in their veils, and their small children guide them in the streets. [My father is blind. Guiding blind people is not easy to do, even for adults. I find this part of the article hard to believe; I would think that the social services would come after them. I certainly would report such a mother. Has anyone seen this?]
• During her talk, she promises the women who have not yet "taken the step" (of wearing veils) many blessings and the merit of taking part in bringing the Messiah, if they will adopt this stringency.
  

More to come.

Maariv interviews Rabbanit Keren and some veiled women

In this Hebrew article from Maariv, Neshot Hare'alah (Women of the Veil), Sherry Makover-Balikov interviews Rabbanit Bruria Keren and some of her followers.

Summaries/excerpts: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII
To view all posts on the subject at once click the label hyper-tzniut.

Makover-Balikov attends the weekly talk of the Rabbanit, who heads a growing movement of women who wear capes and cover their faces with opaque veils.

I knocked on her door to attend her weekly talk. The living room was empty and on the side stood a big pile of clothes:

Ten thick skirts, seven long capes, six scarves tied in front of the head and three more in the back. And over all a shawl-- several thin veils, falling from the top of her head to her ankles, fluttering over a face covered by a crocheted cloth veil. Inside this pile sat the Rabbanit, bent by her load of wrappings, reading chapters of prayers.

Stay tuned for English summaries of sections of this very long article.

Hat tip: My Right Word

Links on Hyper-Tzniut

My post on extreme tzniut received over 50 comments. Bloggers discussing it on their own blogs include Lilith, Jewlicious, Frumhouse, JacobdaJew, Rafi, Miriam, and Tikkun Olam.

A Russian-Israeli blogger named "antidos" also wrote about it, but I couldn't read what he said.

Since writing the post I've discovered subcategories among the face-coverers. Not all subscribe to Rabbanit Keren's philosophy about speech fasts and multiple layers of clothes.

More links on Hyper-Tzniut.

In other blog news, Jack's Shack hosts the ultimate Jewish blog carnival, Haveil Havalim # 151.

Batya posted the recent Kosher Cooking Carnival: Extreme Weather Edition. You can submit posts for the February edition, hosted by Food History, here. I'll be hosting the April, pre-Pesach edition.

Friday links

The Shabak (Israeli general security services) has interrogated a blogger -- Muqata has the story.

Also via Muqata, a humorous blog by the survivor of a terror attack: My Shrapnel

Frumhouse has a video with samples of stylistic tzanua (modest) clothing. I'll skip the skin-tight styles, thanks.

And while we're at it, here's a link to last week's Jewish blog carnival Haveil Havalim at Life in Israel. After producing 150 editions (I know how much work he puts into it even when he is not hosting), Soccer Dad is transferring the headache responsibility over to Jack's Shack. Jack, better you than me we know you'll do a great job.

The Kosher Cooking Carnival is coming up next week. Meander on over to me-ander to post your recipes and food-related items.

Shabbat shalom.