"How goodly are your tents, Yaakov, your tabernacles, Yisrael" (Numbers/Bemidbar 24:5)
At the first "Keneisiyah HaGedola" International Convention of Agudath Israel in Vienna in 1923, a distinct place was set aside for the women in a balcony above the side of the hall. The organizers did not make a full mechitzah that went up to the ceiling to cover the balcony, because they wanted the women to see and hear well the event.
When the Gerrer Chasidim entered, they told the organizers of the events that their Rebbe, the holy Rebbe the Imrei Emes of Gur zt"l, would not enter the event until a mechitzah was erected where the women would not be visible at all. The organizers said that they were already not visible, inasmuch as they were in a balcony and it was toward the back of the Rabbis on the dais, and the balcony was very high. However, in the end, they decided to ask the Chofetz Chaim zt"l, and agreed to follow whatever his decision was on the matter.
After hearing the arguments of both sides, the Chofetz Chaim zt"l answered: "The Scripture says "For the Lord, your God, goes along in the midst of your camp, to rescue you and to deliver your enemies before you. [Therefore,] your camp shall be holy, so that He should not see anything unseemly among you and would turn away from you" (Deuteronomy/Devarim 23:15). Thus, we must go above and beyond the letter of the law to embrace every possible hiddur in this matter, in order that the indwelling of Hashem's Shechinah amongst us should be on the highest level possible, to protect us in the most profound manner from all evil".
It is worthwhile to add to the words of the Chofetz Chaim zt"l, that when a woman does not conduct herself in a manner of tznius, this causes fights between herself and her husband, and this itself also reduces the indwelling of the Shechinah in Jewish homes.
Concerning this issue, every counselor who works in Shalom Bayis issues testifies, that the lack of tznius is the main cause of the destruction of families in our time. When a woman accustoms herself to sit among other men, with a lack of tznius and in a manner that causes them to look at her, this could cause other men to be attracted to her and to compliment her. This draws her heart to the other man, and causes damage to the relationship she has with her husband, and in the end this could wreck the entire home. This is why our Sages teach (Sotah 3b) that "lack of modesty destroys a home like a worm eats up sesame".
This is particularly the case when a woman goes out of her way to attract the attention of other men, such as donning immodest clothing in order to draw their gaze to her. Even if her attire is technically modest, if she adorns herself in an extravagant manner when she attends a gathering of men, or if she speaks in their presence in a manner in which it is obvious that she is seeking their favor and attempting to become close to them, this attracts the attention of impious men who may take advantage of her, as our Sages teach (Sifri – Devarim 242) "a breach calls out an invitation to a thief".
This is such a serious issue, that in certain situations the Gedolim have encouraged husbands to separate from their wives if they conduct themselves in such an immodest fashion, because it is impossible to build a faithful Jewish home in such a manner.
A story is told of the holy Rebbe Naftali of Ropshitz zt"l, whose first marriage was to the daughter of one of the most prominent philanthropists in the town of Brod. A few days after their wedding, the Rebbe noticed how his wife was standing in front of a mirror and adorning herself in an extravagant manner before leaving the house, and he told her, "I find you charming without such extravagance", and she answered him, "I want other men to find me charming as well". When he heard her insistence upon conducting herself in such an immodest fashion, he went and told his Rebbe, the Holy Rebbe Yechiel Michel of Zlotchov zt"l, and his Rebbe told him it would be best to divorce her.
Such immodesty brought about the destruction of the First Beis HaMikdash, as the Navi Yeshayah said "I lament because the daughters of Tzion became haughty, and went out with their necks outstretched" (Isaiah/Yeshayahu 3:16). Chazal (Yoma 9b) explain that they walked with an exaggerated posture in order to attract the attention of men, and they placed strong perfumes in their shoes so that when they saw young men they stomped their feet to release the perfume to attract the men. Such conduct caused the Jewish people to stumble in the sin of immorality, and this caused the level of the indwelling of the Shechinah that was in the Beis HaMikdash to be diminished, and thus the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed.
It is explained in the Seforim, that this is why we see that in the generations which are close to the coming of Moshiach, the Yetzer Hara attempts to cause people to fall in immodest behavior more than in previous generations, because he knows that the building of the Beis HaMikdash requires a rectification of the sin of immodesty that was its original cause. Therefore, the Yetzer Hara centralizes all of its energies to fight against this, in order to attempt to delay the coming of the Moshiach.
Therefore, it is worthwhile for every husband and father to encourage their wives and daughters, particularly during this coming season of the Three Weeks which are specifically set aside to mourn for the destruction of our Beis HaMikdash, to be even more careful in observing the attributes of tznius.
During this summer season (in the Northern Hemisphere), they must receive guidance that they should not swim where men also swim at the same time. They also must avoid wasting time cavorting in a spirit of levity among men. Rather, they should accustom themselves to dress in a modest fashion that does not attract undue attention.
It should be explained to them, that this is for their benefit, so they will be able to build homes with peace and domestic tranquility, without any suspicion that could lead to strife.
It is possible to say, that this concept is hinted to here in this verse: "How goodly" - how good are you Jews, "that in your tents is Yaakov" - that the women who are called "Yaakov" (as Rashi says in Parshas Yisro that "Beis Yaakov" is a reference to the women) are among your tents, and are not always traveling around wasting their time among men in an immodest fashion. Through this, you are worthy to "your tabernacles, Yisrael", that your homes will become a "Mishkan" or "Tabernacle", which is a term of "tranquility", meaning that you will be worthy to live in tranquility without fighting. Then your home also becomes a Tabernacle for the indwelling of the Shechinah as well like in the "Mishkan". In this merit, we will be worthy to the building of the Beis HaMikdash soon and in our days.
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