A Great and Terrible Tragedy

BS"D

These signs were recently posted up all over Jerusalem signed by some of the most prominent Sefardi Rabbis. It reads as follows:

A GREAT AND TERRIBLE TRAGEDY

To our sorrow, the matters of tzniut (modesty) in our days needs a lot of strengthening. And behold a great and terrible tragedy has now begun in the matters of tzniut; the wearing of short and tight skirts and tops, that even one who wants to avoid these types of clothing cannot easily find a store that offers any other alternatives. And what a terrible disgrace it is for a man who is charedi to have to walk around with his wife who is wearing short and tight - incredibly immodest clothing.
And to our great sorrow, many are stumbling in this matter today. And on this our Rabbis of blessed memory have said, worse is one who causes a person to sin - than one who kills, and especially worse is one who causes the many to sin (as is the case when a woman goes out in immodest clothing - YG).

As Rabbenu Yonah wrote in his Iggeret HaTeshuva:
A woman has to be modest so that no man should look upon her... And if not, she will receive a great punishment for she caused them to sin, and she was a stumbling block to them because of her lack of modesty. (Think about it women, if you are carrying around highly radioactive toxic waste, you cannot just go spilling it around wherever you like and acting careless with it - you have to be responsible and make sure to keep it safe and protected so that it will not come to harm anyone else. The same is true of your bodies - YG)
And as a result we are now witnessing terrible tragedies in Am Yisrael, both national tragedies and personal tragedies, and all this is a result of the departing of the Shechina (Divine Presence) from our midst, as the Shechina is not found in a place where there is innapropriate exposure or lewdness.

And how can we sit silently and not protest and try to put a stop to this terrible breach. Therefore it is incumbent upon all of us to search for modest clothing and only shop in a place which carries appropriate clothing.

THE LENGTH OF THE SKIRT MUST COME DOWN TO AT LEAST HALFWAY BETWEEN THE KNEE AND THE ANKLE, AND IT IS ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN TO GO WITH A SKIRT THAT IS NOT AT LEAST THIS LENGTH.

Anyone who is in a position should assist in this matter, that there should be an increase of clothing stores which sell appropriate and modest clothing, and try to influence the current shop owners to sell only modest clothing and stop causing a stumbling for the many.

Anyone who is able to assist this cause in any way (printing out and distributing or emailing this message counts too - YG) and specifically in regards to the store owners, will have the great merit of the mitzva of modesty to protect him or her and all that is theirs. One who is cautious and one who cautions others will have abundant peace like a flowing river.

Signed by:
R Shalom Cohen
R Moshe Tzadka
R Shimon Badani
R Meir Mazuz
R Ben Tzion Motzafi
R Reuven Elbaz
R Benayahu Shmueli
R Yaakov Sheknazi
R Yaakov Chaim Sofer
R Yaakov Chai Yossef
R Aaron Zarchi
R Yitzchak Cohen

For more signs and translations that were put up last month on this same topic go to:
http://hazakweematz.blogspot.co.il/2012/06/gedolei-yisrael-call-for-modesty.html