Privacy in the Torah world

ra_mom

Sun, Apr 30 2017, 11:03 am

thegiver wrote:

What's the torahs stance towards privacy? I know that Hashem values hachnasat orchim. But what does the Torah say about privacy boundaries personal space haha I'm laughing only because I can't imagine the Torah talks about these things

The torah discusses the tents of our forefathers and specifies that the doors to one tent did not face the doors of the other tent beside it. Privacy is very important.

zaq

Sun, Apr 30 2017, 11:18 am

Well, the reason Bil' am said Mah tovu oholecha was that the tents were arranged in such a way that no tent opening faced any other tent opening, so nobody could peer into their neighbors' tents. I think that speaks for privacy as a positive value. The issur of just plain gossip (as opposed to slander) also speaks to privacy as a positive value. There may or may not be a Halacha specifically concerning asking impertinent questions but I have no doubt there is at least a mussar book or two that admonishes against doing so. There is a Halacha against opening mail addressed to someone else.

At the end of the day, though, people have to decide for themselves what and how much they are willing to share about themselves. You don't have to tell your sil and bil or next door neighbor how much rent you pay or how much your car cost. You don't have to tell anyone that your toddler is getting early intervention. You don't have to invite people to your house if they're going to ask you questions you don't care to answer or if they're going to go through your closets, read your prescription labels. and cross examine your children.

zaq

Sun, Apr 30 2017, 1:38 pm

There is definitely a cultural element to personal space in both the physical and metaphorical sense. Yanks tend to be more open than Brits but more closed than those of Latin, Meditlerranean or Middle Eastern descent. You see this in how far apart they stand when conversing, how physical they get when greeting people, and the types of questions they feel entitled to ask. These differences can lead to misunderstanding and hurt feelings. Aliza may feel invaded by Mazal's effusive hugs and kisses and resent her inquisitiveness, while Mazal may feel that Aliza is cold, distant and secretive.

The Constitution is silent on how far apart people should stand when conversing or whether or not asking about a person's income or marital status in casual conversation is acceptable. It does provide for protection against unreasonable search, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated" .

As technology changes , there is always a gap between availability and regulation, resulting in a kind of "Wild West" situation. Sooner or later the need for regulation and protection becomes clear and laws are passed. Obviously a lot of personal information is no longer on paper or even in any physical form, so privacy goes beyond "papers and effects".

The right to privacy is being severely
threatened by the current administration. DT is doing everything in his power to remove existing protections to allow big business unrestricted access to people's data. This is a matter of grave concern to anyone with any understanding of history or common sense. When a political leader starts suspending established rights, it is a first step towards becoming a dictator.