Dear Jew in the City,
This may seem like a very odd question, however is it deemed immodest for a modern Orthodox Jew to go to the cinema to watch films like "Sex and the City"?
Kind Regards,
Matt
Hi Matt-
It's not such an odd question, but it's actually a little bit complicated because I'm not sure how you're asking it exactly.
Here's what I mean. When you ask "is it deemed immodest for a modern Orthodox Jew to __________?" - and then fill in the blank with anything immodest - according to Jewish law, if something is considered immodest for a modern Orthodox Jew, it's also considered immodest for a secular Jew, and ultra Orthodox Jew, a Reform Jew, etc. Basically, if we're speaking in terms of halacha (Jewish law), the personal affiliation of a particular Jew doesn't change the definition of immodesty.
But if the question is: does Jewish law consider a movie like "SATC" to be immodest, while I'm not a posek (halachic authority), the answer is quite certainly "yes". I haven't seen it myself, but I like to use the site www.kids-in-mind.com to find out about a movie before I'll watch it and from what it says there, it looks pretty darn problematic.
Now, if you want to know how much and what kinds of on-screen forms of affection make a movie treyf (i.e. less explicit than SATC), I'd say talk to your LOR (local Orthodox rabbi) about that one, as there are probably a range of opinions, although, my general rule is, if ya wouldn't want to watch with your mom in the room, you probably shouldn't be watching it without her either!
Also, I want to make a point about sexuality within Judaism since there are a lot of misunderstandings. People assume that Orthodox Jews are sexually repressed simply because they publicly conduct themselves in a modest way, but behaving modestly in public does not preclude a husband and wife from enjoying each other in private - it just means that certain things are not meant for public consumption.
Judaism believes that a person should very much be in the world and encourages people to enjoy things like food, wine, and sex. They were all created for a reason. However, according to Jewish thought, these bodily experiences exist to not only be appreciated on a physical level, but on a spiritual level as well. (And I think pretty much everyone would agree that there's not much in the way of spirituality to be gleaned from movies like "SATC"!)
All the best,
Allison
