I wholeheartedly disagree with you! I think that these women of the fifties and sixties were very frum, despite the fact that they did not have all of the chumros that we have today! Their Yiddishkeit was really sincere, and they did not have a concept of putting on an image. In fact, because so many things were less convenient they worked much harder at being frum. (There was much less kosher food, virtually no plethora of Jewish novels, music, magazines, tapes, shiurim, etc…) Halachically according to their poskim, they were the frum ones! There were no chumros like we know of today! And kids were not rejected from schools because of their family not following a CHUMRA-not a halacha. Because Yiddishkeit was sincere and honest and women had the immense desire to learn and to grow, their daughters wanted too, also! Today the mother and teacher is so concerned about her daughter’s appearance and outer clothing that there is a failure for some girls to feel that there is anything of substance in Yiddishkeit. Example: When I buy my daughters boots or a winter jacket we have to know- this year can there be a trim on the coat collar? A buckle on the boot? (last year boots had to have no decorations) What is the latest chumra? None of this is halacha. And the only reason we have to search so hard is because some rebetzin decided that this year this is in and this is out. And if my daughter comes to school with the wrong whatever she will be tossed out like yesterdays newspaper-despite the fact that she is a wonderful growing neshama! (BTW this year she can’t have a water bottle that she can drink straight out of-there must be a cup cap.) I feel badly that so much of my daughters’ lives are spent on their outer look instead of building and growing their inner souls.
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