Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Put the Lady in a Pair of Pants for Crying Out Loud

As if we need more fraudsters parading around in Orthodox clothing!

In yet another fraud expose, Money Magazine delves into the sorid story of alleged criminal misrepresentation and fraud of a "frum" Orthodox woman. But let's not let fraud get in the way of appearances:

Wein Reis enlisted her rabbi in her bid to convince a judge that she should not be required to wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet. Orthodox practice, the rabbi said, forbids women from wearing slacks or pantsuits. Summer was coming, Wein Reis's lawyer noted, and
any skirt or dress shorter than ankle length would reveal the bracelet, which would complicate her efforts to get a new job. The judge agreed.


I'm no posek, but I think a pair of pants would be just fine and dandy. It would serve the needs of the public and serve the needs of a kehillah that, quit frankly, doesn't need more visibility.

I hope the Rabbi who helped convince the judge that she should not have to wear a ankle braclet for the sake of tzniut, reads this article and sees some of the email exchanges between Wein Reis and clients. The tzniut argument is just a perversion!

Blah! We look so foolish. Read it and weep.

16 comments:

jewinjerusalem said...

Remember: Innocent until proven guilty!!! Soon enough you can write a vile article against her.

Anonymous said...

The concern about the ankle bracelet and wearing pants shows such a complete lack of perspective and mixed up priorities that I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

zivya said...

and yet another scandal:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-chicago-taxfrauds,0,738373.story

Anonymous said...

The Fortune story said her husband stayed home to raise the children. I wonder about her husband and what he knew and whether he wondered where his extravagant lifestyle was coming from. The Fortune story also mentions that she always gave 10% of her income to charity, invariably anonymously. Naturally anonymously. This is not from innate modesty, but to maintain her anonymity and to prevent her name from getting around as a tzedakah source and being beseiged with requests. After all, to give more than 10% would be unnecessary.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it more tznious to wear ankle length skirts?

Anonymous said...

I don't think that is fair.

Most poskim don't permit pants, and the fact that she did one thing wrong(or many things) doesn't mean she should do something else wrong. However I don't think that means she should be exempt from wearing the bracelet.

I think that a compromise solution would be ideal. Can she wear it on her arm as a bracelet and then wear sleeves down to her wrists?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 11:28 - I think the bracelets are made to fit around the ankle. That size would not stay on the wrist. If tznuis is so important to her, should could wear ankle length skirts.

I agree that someone doesn't lose their religious rights just because they get arrested, but I think the problem is that she got special treatment because of her religious beliefs. It also points to a certain hypocracy. This woman certainly wasn't living a modest lifestyle. In fact, it was quite over the top. If modesty is only about skirts v. pants or sleeve length, a lot is lost.

HVM said...

i don't get why this article is coming out now. As the artcile points out - the FBI busted her in October.

Seems like an opportune time for the media to gang up on the jews, so they are digging up whatever they can.

Anonymous said...

The article said it would be an impediment for her finding another job. Excuse me? Who in their right mind would hire her? What would her references look like?
It seems that each one of these frum scams is more complex than the next. Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

Charlie Hall said...

I'm disgusted. I'm so disgusted that I put a link to this on my facebook page.

It is mutar to steal but not to wear a long skirt to cover an ankle bracelet???

Anonymous said...

Another major chillul Hashem of titanic proportions may be brewing according to an article in the charedi press - http://muqata.blogspot.com/2009/08/apocalypse-feds-arrive-in-israel.html

Orthonomics said...

Anon, see my newest post. I fear the worst too.

Mike S said...

This is off the main point, but I am surprised the judge didn't stare at the rabbi in total disbelief. I suspect if you polled Americans, excluding religious Jews, every last one would say that pants are more modest, less sexy or less revealing than a skirt.

Orthonomics said...

Mike S-You do bring up an interesting point and one that was explained to me by a non-Jewish friend who warned me that a (long) skirt in a certain area I was traveling on assignment would bring attention I wasn't looking for.

Charlie Hall said...

"I am surprised the judge didn't stare at the rabbi in total disbelief"

I'd tell the rabbi that there are legitimate opinions that pants are mutar and that therefore there was no religious coercion. And if the rabbi said, "I don't pasken that way" I'd ask him if Weis ever asked a shilah about her business practices.

Charlie Hall said...

"I am surprised the judge didn't stare at the rabbi in total disbelief"

I'd tell the rabbi that there are legitimate opinions that pants are mutar and that therefore there was no religious coercion. And if the rabbi said, "I don't pasken that way" I'd ask him if Weis ever asked a shilah about her business practices.