Vizhnitzer Rebbe of London Warns Antwerp Community of Growing Lapses in Modesty

The Vizhnitzer Rebbe of London has issued a sharply worded letter to the Jewish community of Antwerp, warning that standards of modesty have weakened in recent times and urging renewed commitment, particularly among women, to strengthen this foundational value.

The letter was written following the Rebbe’s visit to Antwerp during Chanukah, at the request of the city’s rabbinic leadership and in response to an earlier call by the Pshevorsker Rebbe to address what has been described as a recent breach in communal norms of tznius.

In his message, the Rebbe said he was joining the appeal of Antwerp’s rabbanim and the Pshevorsker Rebbe to confront what he called serious lapses that have emerged in matters of modesty. He emphasized that earlier generations of Torah leaders devoted enormous effort to instilling sanctity and restraint within Jewish homes, a commitment that enabled them to raise generations of families shielded from negative influences of the surrounding culture.

He warned that in recent years those protective foundations have begun to erode in many Jewish homes, attributing the trend to what he described as a spreading culture of permissiveness. According to the Rebbe, these influences creep in gradually, step by step, until even communities known for their piety begin to relax standards that were once carefully guarded.

Describing the situation as an urgent responsibility, the Rebbe called on every family to reinforce these values actively. He stressed that parents bear a duty to guide their households with sensitivity and warmth, while remaining firm in preserving the path upon which previous generations were educated, and to treat the boundaries of modesty with respect and seriousness.

In a personal note, the Rebbe expressed gratitude to women who undertook additional commitments during a period of illness he experienced, specifically those who chose not to wear long shaitels. He offered brachos that their sacrifices be fully rewarded.

Citing teachings from earlier chassidic rebbes, the Rebbe linked a range of communal difficulties—including financial hardship—to breaches in modesty, stating that such problems have increased in recent generations largely as a result of weakened moral boundaries.

He concluded on an optimistic note, writing that strengthening resistance to the challenges of the modern era would bring blessing, including livelihood, worthy matches, and both material and spiritual success. By maintaining distinctiveness from surrounding cultures, he wrote, families would merit a heightened sense of divine presence in their homes and ultimately the revelation of hidden spiritual light.

{Matzav.com}