The Hebrew word “tzniut” can be translated to “modesty”. This is an important concept in Judaism as it connects the physicality on the outside the body to the spirituality on the inside the soul. Modesty “represents a mode of moral conduct that is related to humility” (Ahituv, 2009). Modern Jewish Orthodoxy views a modest person to also be humble. Laws of tzniut include how Modern Orthodox Jews should dress, what they must cover, what females can do in front of the opposite sex, how modesty differs in public and private and how women should represent themselves (Falk, 1998). However, the laws of tzniut do not only represent how a Jewish woman dresses but also their actions, behaviours and speech. There are several laws in place for how women…show more content… The Talmud outlines that a man is not to hear the voice of women because it relates to an erotic stimulus (Tractate Brachot 24a). In Song of Songs 2:14, Shmuel says “for your voice is sweet and your countenance comely”. He outlines that the voice of a women is like nakedness as it is can be sexually exciting (Yafeh, 2007). Hearing a women’s voice is considered sensual. This can lead the man to think impure thoughts (Mishnah Berurah 75:17) which allows the man to view the women not for her spirituality but only on her physicality. Sexuality is supposed to be reserved solely for a woman’s husband. As a result of this, the laws of kol isha, not permitting women to sing in front of a man that is not her husband or close relatives, were put into place. The laws of kol isha are to be introduced around the age of 7 and to be fully observed after the age of 11 (Yafeh, 2007). At this point, a girl becomes a Bat Mitzvah and becomes a woman. It is around this time when the vocal tract undergoes maturation and growth. This is the time when males also begin to go through maturation and growth and may be exposed to impure feelings and thoughts for the first time. As soon as a woman’s voice shifts from the free voice of a child to an adult feminine voice (Yafeh, 2007), there may be a newfound attraction present in males. Singing has the ability to create a sexual environment and has the power to lead men down a path where they cannot control their yetzer hora. To eliminate the chances of this happening, women do not flaunt their voices by singing in front of
