Distinction in the Decrees of the Sages
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Question
Hello, In the Mishnah, Shabbat, Chapter 6, Mishnah 1, it discusses the prohibition for women to go out with jewelry into the public domain for fear they might remove them to show a friend. I noticed that nowadays this is not customary for several reasons. 1. Women then were vain and would remove their jewelry to show them. 2. Today, there are not many true public domains. However, as I understand it, many of the cases the Mishnah discusses are not relevant today, and they are not changed because that is how the Sages decreed and do not change backward. How does this align?
Answer
Hello
When there is a decree, it is not changed due to a change in reality. However, sometimes, in certain cases the decree was not enacted at all.
Therefore, in this case, the poskim wrote: A. They rely on the opinions that initially the decree was only enacted for a true public domain. B. The decree was only enacted for jewelry worn only on Shabbat and not for jewelry worn also on weekdays.
Source
Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, Siman 303, Seif 18