Midrash sobre Jó 31:1

Our sages maintain that she is forbidden to wear them in public even on a weekday, for people would stare at her if she did so, and that is discreditable to a woman. Ornaments were given to woman to wear only inside her home. After all, if one must not tempt a righteous person, how much less should one not tempt a thief. R. Samuel the son of Nahmani said: Observe what is written concerning Job: I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then shall I look upon a maid? (Job 31:1). Here indeed is evidence of Job’s righteousness. If (he would not look at) an unmarried woman, whom a man is permitted to look at, as he might marry her himself or match her with his son or his brothers, (then) all the more so would Job not look at a married woman. Hence a woman must remain in her home and not promenade about in the street lest she sin herself and cause men to sin through tempting them to look at the wife of another man. R. Judah the son of Shalum said: You know this to be so, as well, from the scriptural verse: And God blessed them and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue her (Gen. 1:39). The word subdue her is written (without a vav) as a singular imperative, for it is the male that subdues the female, while the female does not subdue the male. Similarly, the male subdues the earth and the female does not. Hence, a woman must not meander about lest tragedy befall her. That is what happened to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. She wandered about alone and was disgraced. Whence do we know this? We know it from what we read in the portion And Dinah went out.

(Gen. 34:1:) NOW LEAH'S DAUGHTER DINAH < WHOM SHE HAD BORNE TO JACOB > WENT OUT. Let our master instruct us: Is is legitimate for a woman to go out with her jewelry on the Sabbath into a public place?⁴⁷Tanh., Gen. 8:5. Thus have our masters taught (according to Shab. 6:1): A WOMAN SHALL NOT GO OUT into a public place on the Sabbath with her jewelry, NOR WITH A HAIR NET … NOR WITH A GOLDEN TIARA, NOR WITH A CATELLA⁴⁸The Latin word denotes a small ornamental chain worn by women. {i.e., a type of jewelry} < … > NOR WITH A NEEDLE HAVING NO EYE. BUT, IF SHE SHOULD GO OUT, SHE IS NOT LIABLE FOR [A SIN OFFERING], < i.e., > when she goes out < of her rooms > with them < but remains > within the house. Let her not, however, go out into a public place with a single piece of jewelry. Now, our masters say: Even on a weekday she must not go out into a public place. Why? Because people will stare at her. Thus the Holy One gave jewelry to a woman only for her to adorn herself with them inside of the house; for one does not give an opening⁴⁹I.e., an occasion for transgression. to the trustworthy person, let alone to the thief. And so Job has said (in Job 31:1): I HAVE MADE A COVENANT WITH MY EYES. HOW THEN SHALL I GAZE ON A MAIDEN? Come and see Job's righteousness. If in the case of a maiden, at whom any man has a right to look, perhaps to marry her or perhaps to marry her to his son or to one of his kin, Job did not look at her, how much the less in the case of someone's wife, at whom he has no right to look. It is therefore written (in Ps. 45:14 [13]): ALL GLORIOUS IS THE KING'S DAUGHTER WITHIN. So, if she acts to conceal herself and is worthy, (ibid., cont.:) HER CLOTHING IS OF GOLD BROCADE. R. Levi said: She was worthy to raise up priests to put on the high priestly garments. Now there is no BROCADE except priestly garments. Thus it is stated (regarding Aaron's vestments in Exod. 28:13): AND YOU SHALL MAKE GOLD BROCADE. There is already an allusion in the Torah about this thing, that a woman should not go about a lot in a marketplace. Where? Where it is so written (in Gen. 1:28): THEN GOD BLESSED THEM, AND GOD SAID TO THEM: < BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY, FILL THE EARTH > AND SUBDUE HER. [AND SUBDUE HER is written < here >].⁵⁰Tanh., Gen. 2:12; Gen. R. 8:12; cf. Yev. 65b. The man subdues the woman, and the woman does not subdue the man. But, if she walks about a lot and goes out into the marketplace, she finally comes to a state of corruption, to a state of harlotry. And so you find in the case of Jacob's daughter Dinah. All the time that she was sitting at home, she was not corrupted by transgression; but, as soon as she went out into the marketplace, she caused herself to come to the point of corruption.