Bnei Brak, Israel - IT IS not your everyday mall. The shopping centre in the Tel Aviv suburb has no coffee shops, no cinema, and bans men from its upper floor.
There is a long list of things that Shopping Bnei Brak does not have. But what it does possess is appeal for ultraOrthodox Jews who view shopping as a chore that distracts from their sacred duties of raising children and religious study.
The mall is the first in Israel tailored exclusively for the ultra-Orthodox, who cluster in the Bnei Brak neighbourhood. Not before time, say some of the shoppers, who are appalled by the brash commercialism and sexually explicit advertising of other shopping centres.
“I went to another Tel Aviv mall with my husband for the first time last week and there was so much sex,” whispered a 30-year-old woman who gave only the name Efrat. “It was horrible. My husband was shocked. It was the first and last time. We’re delighted they finally opened a proper mall here.”
The streets of Bnei Brak, one of the largest concentrations of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, are awash with men uniformly dressed in white shirts, black homburgs and suits and women in dark, ankle-length skirts and wigs.
Bnei Brak’s 20 stores are carefully calibrated to appear alluring without overstepping the mark to give offence to extreme conservatives.
The rabbis agree. Clothes in the women-only department store have been given “kosher” certificates, declaring them sufficiently demure for ultra-Orthodox women. The rabbis also ensured the absence of a café and cinema to guard against unnecessary fraternising between men and women.
All the mannequins are headless and there is a dearth of in-store posters because of the Torah’s edict against any likeness of the human image. On the packaging for women’s tights the human form has been discreetly hidden behind strategically placed stickers.
The bedding department has only single beds because even married ultra-Orthodox couples must sleep separately and refrain from sex at certain times of the month.
The lingerie section is also discreetly tucked away at the rear of the store and stocks colours no more racy than black, white or skin tones. There were complaints when one shop stocked pink-ish bras.
The shop staff have had special training. “For a couple of days we went on a course,” said Ina Waldman, 35, a Russian émigrée who works as a saleswoman. “We were taught how to approach ultra-Orthodox women — what to say and not to say. You can’t tell them the lingerie looks sexy on them. But you can say they look good in it.”
For most women the mall’s upper-floor female preserve is an oasis of privacy. But for Tovi Banner, 26, the drawback is that her husband cannot join her and must remain downstairs. “Having the feeling of privacy to try things on is something new,” she said. “But it’s a bit of a problem for my husband, who has to wait for me downstairs.”
While her husband kicks his heels he will have time to peruse the candelabras in the shop filled with Judaica, and another store whose outfits cater solely to boys about to have their bar mitzvah.
“The ultra-Orthodox have no notion of shopping as entertainment,” said Rafael Kasztan, owner of the jewellery shop. “That’s why the stores were carefully selected with no distractions, like a café, which the rabbis ruled out because they said the sexes would mix. Still, we wanted to give the ultra-Orthodox a shopping experience closer to other Israelis. The unspoken aim is to make it fun.”