9. Modesty in Dress

3:1 The Biblical Book of Micah tells us that God wants us to “walk modestly” with Him. Because of this,a person should strive to be modest in all his actions. Even when dressing and undressing alone, a truly modest person will not expose himself. He will behave in front of God as modestly as he would in front of people. To act modestly before God causes us to have proper humility and not to be careless with the honor due Him.

3:2 A Jewish person should be aware of styles that are considered acceptable within the Jewish community and not strive to copy the ways of the nations among whom we live. There is a mitzvah in the Torah forbidding us from trying to emulate non-Jewish manners, which is repeated in several places. (See, for example, Leviticus 18:3, Leviticus 20:23 and Deuteronomy 12:30.) We should not pursue overly flashy styles, nor should we copy something so simple as a shoelace if the accepted practice of the Jewish community is otherwise (see Talmud Sanhedrin 74a). Our manner of dress should reveal a sense of personal modesty and humility, not pride and arrogance. (It should go without saying that if there is a suspicion of idolatry in any aspect of the local culture, then the Jews should stay far away from such practices.) God has set the Jews apart in many ways and our manner of dress and comportment is intended to reflect those differences.