Rabbi Yaron Ashkenazi Answers Key Questions on Modesty During Prayer

When Sacred Words May Be Recited in the Presence of Nakedness (Section 75:1)

A rabbi has been invited to officiate at a wedding for people who do not observe Torah and mitzvot, and women dressed immodestly are standing before him. How should he recite the blessings of the chuppah and betrothal? Similarly, if someone has female relatives who dress immodestly and he must sit with them at a Shabbat meal, how should he recite Birkat Hamazon in their presence?

Answer

Ideally, he should turn his face away while reciting the blessing, so that he is not facing nakedness. If he cannot turn his face away, he may recite the blessing while closing his eyes or focusing his eyes on a siddur. (The Gemara in tractate Berachot (24a) says: “A handbreadth of a woman is nakedness.” The Gemara asks: For what purpose was it said that a handbreadth of a woman is nakedness? If it concerns looking at her, after all, anyone who looks even at a woman’s little finger is considered as though he looked at an intimate part of her body. The Gemara concludes that this law concerns the prohibition against reciting Shema and other sacred words in her presence.

The early authorities disagreed as to whether the prohibition against reciting Shema in the presence of nakedness applies only when one sees the nakedness, or whether it also applies when one does not see it—for example, if one closes his eyes—since he is nevertheless standing before it. This would be similar to what was said regarding reciting sacred words in the presence of excrement, where closing one’s eyes does not help.

Rambam (Hilchot Kriat Shema, chapter 3, halacha 16) wrote that it is forbidden to recite Shema in the presence of nakedness until one turns his face away. The Beit Yosef (Section 75) inferred that turning one’s face away is sufficient even if the nakedness is nearby. He explained that the prohibition against reciting sacred words in the presence of nakedness depends on sight: once a person turns his face away and does not see it, it is permitted. Based on this, the Beit Yosef wrote that a blind person may likewise recite Shema in the presence of nakedness, since he does not see it. The same applies to someone who closes his eyes and does not see the nakedness before him: he may recite Shema.

This is unlike the prohibition against reciting sacred words in the presence of excrement. There, it is forbidden to recite while facing excrement within one’s field of vision, because the prohibition depends on whether it is covered. As long as the excrement is uncovered, it is forbidden to recite in its presence. By contrast, the prohibition against reciting sacred words in the presence of nakedness depends on sight, and when one does not see it, it is permitted.

The Beit Yosef wrote that this also appears to be the view of the Rashba (Berachot 25b, s.v. Vehalo) and Rabbeinu Yonah (ibid. 16b in the pages of the Rif, s.v. Aval Tzelulin): whenever one does not see the nakedness, even if it is before him, it is permitted to recite. He concluded that although HaRokeach (Section 324) disagreed and held that it is forbidden to recite in the presence of nakedness even when one closes his eyes, these great authorities are worthy of reliance.

This is also how the Shulchan Aruch (Section 75:6) rules in practice, stating: “If nakedness is before him and he turns his face away from it, or closes his eyes, or it is nighttime, or he is blind—it is permitted to recite, for the Torah made it dependent on sight, and he does not see it.”

However, in Shu”t Yabia Omer (vol. 3, Orach Chaim, Section 7), many authorities are cited who disagreed with the Shulchan Aruch. In their view, it is forbidden to recite in the presence of nakedness even when one closes his eyes. They include the Bach (Section 75, subparagraph 1), Magen Avraham (ibid., subparagraph 9), Taz (ibid., subparagraph 2), Eliyah Rabbah (subparagraph 7), Pri Chadash (ibid., paragraph 6), the Gra (ibid., s.v. O She’otzem), Shulchan Aruch HaRav (ibid., paragraph 9), Birkei Yosef (ibid., subparagraph 6), and Aruch HaShulchan (ibid., paragraph 11). The Mishnah Berurah (ibid., subparagraph 29) and the Ben Ish Chai (first year, Bo, 6) ruled in accordance with their view.

On the other hand, other authorities agreed with the Shulchan Aruch and permitted, as a matter of basic law, reciting Shema in the presence of nakedness while one’s eyes are closed. They include the Levush (Section 75:6), Perishah (ibid., subparagraph 7), Lechem Chamudot (Berachot, chapter 3, subparagraph 153), Nachalat Tzvi (cited in Eliyah Rabbah, ibid., subparagraph 7), Maaseh Rokeach (Kriat Shema, chapter 3, halacha 16), Lechem Yehudah (ibid.), Yad Aharon (Section 75, s.v. Shitah 21), and Maamar Mordechai (ibid., subparagraph 5).

In practice, Shu”t Yabia Omer ruled that if it is possible to turn one’s face away, one should do so and should not recite in the presence of nakedness, even with closed eyes. But if it is impossible to turn away, one may rely on the ruling of Maran and recite the blessing in the presence of nakedness with closed eyes.

And in Shu”t Yechaveh Da’at(vol. 4, Section 6), three ways of permitting this are given: closing one’s eyes, turning one’s face away, and darkness in which a person cannot see the immodesty.

[However, the Ben Ish Chai (first year, Va’eira, 6) wrote that if nakedness is before him, closing his eyes does not help. But Maran Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, of blessed memory, challenged this in his book Halichot Olam (vol. 1, p. 117).])

Bringing Young Girls to Synagogue (Section 75:1)

At what age is it no longer appropriate to bring young girls to synagogue?

Answer

Parents should take care to dress even their young daughters modestly. However, halachic authorities disagree about the age at which an uncovered handbreadth of a young girl who is not dressed modestly is considered nakedness. Some say from age three, while others say from the point at which it is apparent from the young girl’s body that she is female—roughly age seven. The pious and scrupulous should sanctify themselves even in matters that are otherwise permitted. Likewise, where a father is concerned that his daughter’s immodest dress may distract one of the worshippers, he should refrain from bringing her to synagogue. (In Shu”t Yabia Omer (vol. 6, Orach Chaim, Section 14), he was asked about young girls dressed immodestly who come to synagogue with their fathers, and whether the rule of “a handbreadth of a woman is nakedness” applies in this case. He cited the view of the Mishnah Berurah (Biur Halacha, Section 75:1, s.v. Tefach), who held that from age three it is forbidden to recite in the presence of an uncovered handbreadth of a young girl. He then cited the Chazon Ish (Section 16, subparagraph 8, s.v. 20), who disagreed and held that it does not depend on age; rather, the prohibition begins from the time it is evident from the body’s structure that this is a woman’s body. Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky said that he heard from the Chazon Ish that this is age seven.

He also cites in Yalkut Yosef (Section 75, “And let no indecency be seen among you,” note 7) in the name of Shu”t Panim Meirot (vol. 1, Section 74) that “a handbreadth of a woman is nakedness” is only a rabbinic prohibition, enacted because of improper thoughts, and presumably it was not enacted regarding young girls. Panim Meirot concludes that, in any event, it is not the practice of the pious to bring such young girls to synagogue, and the pious and scrupulous should sanctify themselves even in matters that are otherwise permitted).

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