I live in Vienna, Austria.
The house I live in was bought by an orthodox rabbi. When I first met him, I´ve greeted him. This happens automatically. I was educated this way: To greet everyone in the house and everyone I know. It´s a sign of mutual respect. This man didn´t greet back – he only looked at me with a severe expression on his face.
I´ve learned that orthodox jewish men are not ALLOWED to greet a woman.
Please explain me why.
Answer:
Your honest and candid question is appreciated.
It is permitted for a Jewish man to greet a woman, Jewish or non-Jewish.
However, some Orthodox Jews, in particular those coming from a Hassidic background, try to avoid even looking at women, as a type of “extra safeguard” against “improper thoughts.”
The attitude of avoiding looking at women does make it difficult for these Orthodox Jews to greet women in a polite manner – though in my opinion they must try to do so anyway, and certainly must do everything to avoid transferring ill feelings.
Sorry about your negative experience, and best wishes for the future.
Thank you so much for your very wise und enlightened answer (full of compassion)! I was deeply impressed. It´s the answer of a profound, holy, thousand- year-old-wisdom! I hope I´m allowed to ask you some further questions ( and I´ve got a lot of them)! THANK YOU!!!
Of course you are “allowed” to ask further questions. This is why we are here!
Thank you for your kind comment, and best wishes once more.
While the question did not mention it, it is possible that the questioner offered her hand to the rabbi as part of her greeting. That may explain the rabbi’s response, as he may have been caught off-guard (religious Jews are forbidden to shake hands with the opposite gender).
No, I didn’t offer my hand as a part of my greeting. I would think that would be improper. I wouldn’t do this.
But – in the meantime – I’ve met two other orthodoxe jewish men (one of them a rabbi) in the house I live in and they were both greeting me very politely.
“Schönen guten Tag!“
Was this improper? I don’t think so.
Is it ok to still say “Hello Rabbi….” or “Good morning Rabbi….” even if they don’t reply back or have eye contact? Still a little confused on this….
Yes it is still OK and you should still greet them, and most of the time they will reply back to you. In the event that you see that the Rabbi is not comfortable with the greeting, then you will know that this particular Rabbi isn’t comfortable with this and act accordingly. BTW you will find that most Rabbis will not have a problem being greeted, and will answer you very nicely and politely, and you will not feel funny dealing with them.
I hope this is clear to you, but if it isn’t, don’t hesitate to ask.
Best Wishes
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