|
Top Document: soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Worship, Conversion, Intermarriage (5/12) Previous Document: Question 11.1.10: Dress: What is the large high ceremonial hat that the Rabbi wears in the synagogue called? Next Document: Question 11.2.2: Sex and Purity: Can a Jewish man only uncover his wife a hands-breadth? See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
Answer:
We don't know what you've heard, but what we've heard is that when it
comes time for three men to "witness" a woman's conversion [involving
nude immersion], what's commonly done is for the water's surface to be
covered with a thick, opaque sheet with a hole in it, just big enough
to let her head through while discreetly shielding the rest of her
body.
Anything else is probably just your warped imagination, and no, we
still have no idea of what you're thinking, but you should be ashamed
of yourself, just in case. And another thing, it's not true, so there!
Actually, there is an urban legend regarding what you think. As with
any urban legend, there is a spark of truth in it. Here are two
explanations:
* The myth derives from seeing Jews in religious neighborhoods
hanging their "talitot katan" out to dry. This poncho-like garment
is about two feet by four feet, has a fringe on each corner, and a
hole in the center for the wearer's head, and it looks somewhat
like a small sheet with a hole, and many people have vivid and
warped imaginations.
* There is such a practice, but it is based on a misreading of the
Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, a poor source for information on mainstream
halakhic opinion on sexual matters. Most consider the legend to be
an incorrect practice. Nevertheless, the practice does seem to
survive in some "fanatical" extremes of Orthodox Judaism, without
Rabbinic agreement.
User Contributions:Top Document: soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Worship, Conversion, Intermarriage (5/12) Previous Document: Question 11.1.10: Dress: What is the large high ceremonial hat that the Rabbi wears in the synagogue called? Next Document: Question 11.2.2: Sex and Purity: Can a Jewish man only uncover his wife a hands-breadth? Single Page [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: SCJ FAQ Maintainer <maintainer@scjfaq.org>
Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
|

Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: