Q&A: Laws of Modesty
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Laws of Modesty
Question
Hello Rabbi.
My 7-year-old son and I go to the pool. In the changing rooms there are adults walking around naked. It makes him uncomfortable. Is that problematic? And if so, what does the Rabbi suggest doing?
Answer
Hello,
This is a question for a psychologist. It seems completely natural to me, and if it makes him uncomfortable, then spare him that.
Discussion on Answer
I wouldn’t recommend taking a 7-year-old boy to the mikveh even on the eve of Yom Kippur, both because of the natural discomfort typical of that age (when there is no sexual maturity), and also because of the large number of pedophiles swarming there.
Obviously it makes him uncomfortable. When I was a child too, it made me uncomfortable to see 70-year-old men drying themselves off naked in various places. It seems to me that it’s actually a very good sign that he’s not comfortable seeing that…
But when he goes to the mikveh on the eve of Yom Kippur, maybe he’ll get over it as he gets older…