“IT WAS A MASHAL.”
Source?
“My teacher was very careful to point out that this was not meant to imply it was a must-do.”
I repeat: Is it a chiyuv? Of course not. Is it a good thing to do? Unquestionably.
“Her attitude and hashkafa, but not necessarily her actions, were to teach us something about personal modesty, to the point that even the “walls of a house” have feelings.”
Somebody’s actions are a reflection of their hashkafa, and their hashkafa is conveyed by their actions. If one is a good example, so is the other.
“someone does not have to be a Gemarah learner to hear something told and learn from it or have a personal insight from it. Don’t disparage that.”
You can have all the personal insights you want; but you cannot make up your own pashat in a Gemora you never read, use it to prove your own hashkafa, and expect people to accept that.