Rabbi Schmuley Boteach discusses religious men and how many seem to seeking outer-beauty in a woman.
“It was then that I understood the full extent of the downfall of our culture. If even these pious and religious men had been conditioned to fixate on a woman’s looks to the exclusion of most everything else, then woe unto the rest of us! The male diminishment of women to mere body parts–high cheekbones, large chest, and long legs–seemed to have been complete, the sum total of those parts, consisting of spirit and heart, all too eclipsed as a result.
“Nearly 20 years ago when I married as a young Chabad student, it was almost unheard of for a bochur to date an endless stream of women before he found one that was a suitable wife. On the contrary, we were so enamored by the thrill of just being out with a woman that the dating did its magic and most of us found life partners without playing the unwinnable game of endless comparison. But those days are gone. Perhaps for the first time, Chabad and other religious groups are developing their first ever “singles scene,” with literally thousands of single men and women remaining unattached for a good portion of their 20’s.
“Then there are the receding hemlines one sees in religious communities and, of course, in the mainstream culture. Religious girls are showing a lot of leg, which might seem innocuous–but it’s not. The one thing religious Jews always understood is that modest is sexy. Magnetism exists specifically in those things which are hidden and obscured.”
TheStateOf . . . Men and Women. For the brothers, how important is a woman’s looks to you?
Filed under: Relationships
