(א) טפח מגולה באשה במקום שדרכה לכסותו אפילו היא אשתו אסור לקרות קריאת שמע כנגדה. הגה: ויש אומרים דוקא באשתו אבל באשה אחרת אפילו פחות מטפח הוי ערוה (הגהות מיימוני פרק ג'). ונראה מדברי הרא"ש דטפח באשה ערוה אפילו לאשה אחרת רק שבעצמה יכולה לקרות אף על פי שהיא ערומה כדלעיל סימן ע"ד:
(1) A handsbreadth that is uncovered on a woman in a place where it is her practice (lit. way) to cover it, even if it his wife, if it forbidden to read the Shema in front of it. And some say that this is specifically with respect to his wife but with another woman even less than a handsbreadth is Erva (lit. nakedness). And it seems from the words of the Rosh that a handsbreadth on a woman is Erva even to another woman, except that by herself she is able to read [the Shema] even though she is naked like was said earlier in Siman 74.
Rabbi Dov Linzer, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
Jewish tradition teaches men and women alike that they should be modest in their dress. But modesty is not defined by, or even primarily about, how much of one’s body is covered. It is about comportment and behavior. It is about recognizing that one need not be the center of attention. It is about embodying the prophet Micah’s call for modesty: learning “to walk humbly with your God.”
Rabbi Andy Shugerman, Jewish Theological Seminary
Moses first becomes "Moshe Rabbeinu" ("Moses our teacher") in our tradition because of his public role as the conduit for God's Torah, conveying the divine commands to the people after communing with God on Mount Sinai. The second section of the midrash interprets the first verse of Numbers as a turning point for Moses, as the Tent of Meeting provides him a place for intimacy and private communication with God. Micah's prophetic pronouncement about modesty supports the notion of Moses leading by example as "a very humble man, more so than any man on earth"