In the past half-century, the subject of modesty (in Hebrew, tsni’ut), and, in particular, feminine modesty, has become a major preoccupation in some Orthodox circles, and a major flashpoint for intra-Orthodox debate. Reviewing a collection of writings on the subject, Sarah Rindner turns to an unlikely source: the scholar of political theory Allan Bloom:

For Bloom modesty does not erase sexuality but quite the opposite. It relates to the life force, to our potential as human beings to procreate and generate life. By extending the existence of sexual differentiation to every aspect of life, tsni’ut reminds both men and women of their ultimate purpose in relation to one another. A woman wearing a skirt in an environment where everyone else is wearing slacks is not necessarily expressing her interiority, her dignity, or her commitment to Judaism, [as various apologists for tsni’ut contend]. She is also simply reminding herself and others that she is a woman, and there are some things that are more important than productivity in the marketplace.

The fact that modesty in practice is uncomfortable, unfair, and imbalanced is not a quirk of the system but a feature. While a complete absence of modesty might make sexual gratification easier to attain in the short term, it ultimately serves to deflate eros and desire. In a world that seeks to reduce our sexual interactions to the most banal transactions, the strictures of modesty remind us of their potency and power.

Robert Satloff has some harsh words for the U.S. government in this regard, words I take especially seriously because Satloff is someone inclined to political moderation. Why, he asks, have American diplomats failed to achieve anything in their endless rounds of talks in Doha and Cairo? Because

there is simply not enough pressure on Hamas to change course, accept a deal, and release the remaining October 7 hostages, stuck in nightmarish captivity. . . . In this environment, why should Hamas change course?

Publicly, the U.S. should bite the bullet and urge Israel to complete the main battle operations in Gaza—i.e., the Rafah operation—as swiftly and efficiently as possible. We should be assertively assisting with the humanitarian side of this.

Satloff had more to say about the hostages, especially the five American ones, in a speech he gave recently:

I am ashamed—ashamed of how we have allowed the story of the hostages to get lost in the noise of the war that followed their capture; ashamed of how we have permitted their release to be a bargaining chip in some larger political negotiation; ashamed of how we have failed to give them the respect and dignity and our wholehearted demand for Red Cross access and care and medicine that is our normal, usual demand for hostages.

If they were taken by Boko Haram, everyone would know their name. If they were taken by the Taliban, everyone would tie a yellow ribbon around a tree for them. If they were taken by Islamic State, kids would learn about them in school.

It is repugnant to see their freedom as just one item on the bargaining table with Hamas, as though they were chattel. These are Americans—and they deserve to be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.