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The Beis Din of Crown Heights issued a public notice outlining their work and progress to address tznius in the Crown Heights Communities schools, over the past months.

The public notice read:

B”H, 6 Elul, 5782

Public Notice: 

“This is a serious matter… I am of the opinion that the subject of modesty must be set as one of the top priorities of the agenda in responsible Jewish circles.” – The Rebbe 

“Modesty of dress is one of the most fundamental principles of tznius . . the aspect of tznius which is most readily discernible is regarding clothing.” – The Rebbe 

Tznius is a fundamental and vital aspect of the future of Jewish woman and girls and of the Jewish nation at large. The critical aspect of proper tznius cannot be overestimated.

Many a time, we have been approached by members of the community about this vital issue. Over the years the Beis Din has put in a lot of time and energy, encouraging various initiatives to ensure that the standards of tznius are properly maintained in our community. 

As servants of the community, and as the sole rabbinic authority of the entire community at large, and as such also of all the schools in the community, we are entrusted in ensuring that standards of Halacha are followed. It is our duty and responsibility to ensure the implementation of halachic standards as expected. 

Recently, we made an effort to get in touch with the local board members of various Jewish Girls High Schools in our community to review their tznius policies and ensure that standards of Torah are appropriately maintained. 

The Beis Din has put in significant effort in making these meetings. We prepared elaborate folders with a lot of details about the significance of this matter, and we distributed suggested policies. We have stated in these meetings that we want to hear feedback from the board members, and we are happy for them to “tweak” matters as needed. All we are asking is that board members inform us “what steps have been taken and will be taken in accordance with was discussed at the meeting”. But it should be a “substantial response”. 

It is self-understood that not every policy is suitable for every student or parent body. Different schools have different attitudes and there is indeed room for different approaches. However, the issue must be addressed seriously, as it is of critical importance to our community.

One idea that came up at these meetings was vetting the parent body and only allowing parents which observe proper Torah standards to send kids to the school. Naturally, vetting a parent body is a delicate and serious matter and needs to be looked at seriously. However, with goodwill and a positive attitude all can be achieved. 

We are pleased to say that most of the schools in our community really take this issue very seriously as should be, they have proper policies in place, and they work very hard to make sure these policies are appropriately enforced. We reviewed thoroughly the policies from the schools which fully cooperated with the Beis Din and generally found them to be satisfactory.

We commend those schools who have taken the matter of tznius very seriously. Regarding those who are not yet on board, we can only say that at this stage, we’ve done everything we can in this matter. We are now referring the matter back to the community. We ask you to encourage your school to make sure there are proper policies in place as per Torah guidelines.

With blessings of a Ksiva Vachasima Tova

Rabbi Osdoba
Member of Badatz 

Rabbi Braun
Member of Badatz

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