Ervah: Definition, Implications and Meaning

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The concept of boundaries is emphasised throughout the Torah; what we can and can’t eat, whom we can and can’t marry, when and how to bring offerings, and the list goes on. At first glance, it’s a rather restrictive lifestyle filled with stringent rules. Upon deeper inspection, however, we find that the halachic framework set up by Hashem is actually an intricate set of parameters designed to maintain dignity and holiness. One such example is that of ervah. By taking a deeper look into when, how, and to whom the concept of ervah applies, we can better understand the objective to boundaries and their benefits.

Ervah, as we will see, has many translations. Each translation refers to an aspect of ervah and, as such, not all translations and connotations are interchangeable in every context. The way we need to understand ervah will strongly depend on the situation.

We see ervah referenced in Tanakh in a few places, namely in parshat Acharei-mot, where it details illicit sexual relationships¹. A person whom the Torah forbids to a man for relations, and for which the punishment of this relationship is karet, is called an ervah². Here, ervah is translated as “nakedness”. Next, we see ervah brought up in parshat Ki Teitzei³, in the context of maintaining the cleanliness and dignity of Israel’s camp. Here, the pasuk says, “For Hashem, your God, walks in the midst of your camp … so your camp shall be holy, and He will not see among you an unseemly thing (ervat davar) and turn away from you”. Here, ervah is not as easily translatable – “unseemly”, “shameful”, “indecent” – all of these would be applicable.

Even without an exact one-size-fits-all translation of ervah, we can easily understand its connotations. Although, looking at the verbs associated with ervah will elucidate the concept a bit more.

In Acharei-mot, the wording is as follows: “The nakedness (ervah) of your [mother/sister/father’s brother etc.] you shall not uncover”. In Ki Teitzei, it says, “He will not see among you an unseemly thing (ervat davar)”. This tells us that ervah is not simply something that is generally inappropriate, ervah is specifically the revealing of that which is not appropriate for a certain person to see. In Acharei-mot, the Torah is not saying that certain people are off-limits to everyone, it is saying that they are off-limits to you specifically. In Ki Teitzei, the Torah is teaching us that we need to maintain a level of dignity in order to not reveal vulgar things to Hashem. We are being taught that not everyone has to see everything; some things are not for our eyes, and it is to the benefit of everyone that these boundaries are put in place.

Where kedusha means to separate for the purpose of holiness and dignity, ervah is about the dissolution of boundaries, it is the revelation of that which is usually, or should be, kept private. Given the gravity of ervah, we can better understand why the illicit sexual relations outlined in parshat Acharei-mot are punishable by karet. Karet is the excision of a person’s soul from the Jewish people, and the Sifra goes so far as to say that karet is actually the destruction of that soul (but teshuva can fix anything, even the transgression of karet).

Parshat Kedoshim opens with the explanation for all of these limitations set on the Jewish people. The pasuk⁴ says, “You shall be holy, for I, Hashem your God, am holy”, and multiple commentators including the Ibn Ezra⁵, Rashi⁶, Ramban⁷, and the Ohr HaChaim⁸ discuss at length that to “be holy” is specifically to not engage in illicit sexual relations, the term for which is “gilui arayot”⁹ – which directly translates to “the uncovering of nakedness”.

We see from the above that ervah is the antithesis to kedusha. Where kedusha means to separate for the purpose of holiness and dignity, ervah is about the dissolution of boundaries, it is the revelation of that which is usually, or should be, kept private. Given the gravity of ervah, we can better understand why the illicit sexual relations outlined in parshat Acharei-mot are punishable by karet. Karet is the excision of a person’s soul from the Jewish people¹⁰, and the Sifra¹¹ goes so far as to say that karet is actually the destruction of that soul (but teshuva can fix anything, even the transgression of karet).

Everything discussed so far is not how we usually think of ervah today. In modern circumstances, ervah has somewhat ‘tamer’ implications. We are used to hearing about ervah as an extension of tzniut, regarding how much of a woman’s body or a married woman’s hair can show before men can no longer recite divrei shebikdusha (words of holiness) in view of it. While these halachot are certainly relevant to tzniut, it is important to remember that ervah is not an extension of anything, it is its own halachic principle.

With that said, even in the interface between ervah and tzniut, all of the same parameters of ervah apply. That is to say, the halachot of ervah mainly lie with the gazer, with appropriate consideration on the part of the one who is gazed upon. As an example: A woman’s upper arm is considered ervah as it is expected to be covered, thus it is the responsibility of a man to not gaze upon her exposed arm, and, simultaneously, it is appropriate that the woman cover that body part in a man’s presence out of consideration for his mitzvah.

In its relationship to tzniut, we need to understand ervah through the lens of “nakedness” and not that of “unseemliness”. Like in the context in Acharei-mot, there is nothing inherently wrong with the nakedness of certain people. The issue lies in the wrong person seeing that nakedness. With regards to tzniut as well, the ervah body parts in question are perfectly fine in and of themselves, but given the intense juxtaposition of ervah and kedusha, a man is not permitted to recite words of Torah or prayer while gazing upon them¹².

In both the Gemara and the Shulchan Aruch, where the halachot of ervah are defined, the rabbis are clear that the issue with ervah is seeing it, and not the exposed body parts themselves. The Shulchan Aruch writes with regard to reciting the Shema, “If there was erva in front of him and he turned his face away from it or closed his eyes…it is permissible to recite Shema, for the matter depends on seeing, and he does not see it.”¹³. The Gemara in Berachot similarly states “It is prohibited to recite Shema in the presence of erva [visible] through a glass. “He should not see in you a matter of nakedness,” said God – and behold, it is visible.”¹⁴

The matter of ervah, while understandably intertwined with that of immorality, is really a stringent mechanism to maintain kedusha. It is because kedusha is so vital to the Jewish experience that its counterpart, ervah, needs to be dealt with so fiercely. Nakedness is a powerful condition, with the potential for the highest levels of kedusha. As such, this potential needs to be protected, safeguarded by the boundaries of ervah that show the ramifications of this potential being exposed inappropriately.