Head covering for Jewish women

According to Jewish religious law (halacha), a woman must cover her hair after marriage. The requirement applies in the presence of any men other than her husband, son, father, grandson, grandfather, or brother. The obligation to cover hair applies in public areas, though a minority opinion allows uncovering hair within one's home even in the presence of unrelated men. The consensus is that all or most of the hair must be covered. Some sources rule that every single hair must be covered, but many others permit a small amount of hair (each source defines the amount differently) to emerge from the head-covering. • Married women are expected to behave with a higher level of sexual modesty than single women, due to the commitment they have made to their husbands, and covering their potentially alluring hair is one aspect of this. requires, as part of the sotah ritual, that a married woman's head be made (a word which has been understood to mean 'uncovered' or 'with loose hair'), suggesting that, normally, her hair is not . According to the Talmud, this indicates that the Torah prohibits married women in general from appearing in public. The Mishnah, however, implies that hair covering is not an obligation of biblical origin. It discusses behaviors that are grounds for divorce, such as, "appearing in public with a head, weaving in the marketplace, and talking to any man", and calls these violations of ('Jewish law') as opposed to ('Mosaic law'). The Talmud reconciles the sources by saying that if her head is completely uncovered in public, this would be a violation of , whereas a woman who appears in public wearing a (a minimal covering of part of the hair, perhaps a basket resting on the head) has satisfied but is still violating . suggesting that this praise reflects the sensual nature of hair. However, "with a few exceptions, there is halachic consensus that the obligation of women's head-covering derives chiefly from the sota and, secondarily, from dat Yehudit", rather than from , and a number of leading poskim ruled that while head-covering is required, in societies where this law is widely ignored, the uncovered hair ceases to be considered for the purpose of prayer. The Zohar, a commentary on the Hebrew Scriptures and the primary source of the beliefs of Kabbalah, also describes the mystical importance of women making sure to not expose their hair. The parashat Naso 125b–126b suggests that a woman who strictly obeys head covering traditions will reap many blessings for her husband and children. Unmarried women The medieval codes do not mention any exemption for unmarried women. According to the Mishna, if a woman went to her wedding with hair uncovered, this serves as proof that she was a maiden, a virgin (i. e., never before married) at the time. This seems to indicate that never-married women did not cover their hair, but divorced and widowed women did continue to cover their hair. This is also the position taken by the Jerusalem Talmud and is generally the accepted ruling today. However, R' Moshe Feinstein permitted divorced and widowed women to uncover their hair in cases of great need, for example, when a head covering might interfere with dating or obtaining a job. Exact rulings in such cases vary depending on the community and the individual's situation. however, upon Yemeni Jews' emigration to Israel and other places, this custom has been abandoned. Aharon Roth praised this custom. Magen Avraham ruled that while unmarried women need not cover their hair, they must braid it so that it is not disheveled. This ruling is practiced in some Hasidic communities nowadays. In the 21st century, some non-Orthodox Jewish women began covering their heads or hair with scarves, kippot, or headbands. Reasons given for doing so included as an act of spiritual devotion, as expression of ethnic identity, as an act of resistance to a culture that normalizes the exposure of the body, or as a feminist reclamation of modest dress, a practice sometimes seen as non- or anti-feminist. ==Scarves==

Mitpachat Mitpachat (), also called a tichel (), is the headscarf worn covering the hair. Mitpaḥot can range from a plain scarf of any material worn over the hair to elaborate head coverings using multiple fabrics and tying techniques. According to Ibn Ezra, already in Biblical times, Israelite women wore a form of cloth head covering similar to that worn by Muslim women in his own time (12th century). A padded cap called a shaper, volumizer, or bobo, is sometimes worn under a scarf to create a more desirable shape. Etymology The word is a Hebrew word which literally means a covering or mantle, though is also used to mean many other things such as towel, apron, bandage, or wrap. Its current meaning is taken from post-biblical Hebrew, and is most likely derived from the Hebrew word טִפַּח (tipaḥ), meaning spread out or extended. The Yiddish word tichel is the diminutive of tuch ("cloth"). Compare German Tuch ("cloth"), and the corresponding Bavarian diminutive Tiachal, Tücherl ("small piece of cloth"). Shal in Mea Shearim, a Jewish neighbourhood in the Old City of Jerusalem, 2012 The shal ()—also called a , a portmanteau of the Yiddish-language word and the Arabic-language word —is a garment which fully covers the body and face. It has been associated with Israeli fundamentalist groups such as the Neshot haShalim and Lev Tahor, making it highly controversial. Proponents of the shal have been pejoratively referred to as “Taliban mothers” or the “Taliban sect” whose practices are an innovation that has “no basis whatsoever in halachah.” However, face veils have been worn historically by Jewish women. Marc B. Shapiro has written that there are some traditional sources which describe and praise the custom of modest Jewish women covering their faces, including the Babylonian Talmud, Jerusalem Talmud, Mishnah, and Mishneh Torah. Jewish women in the Islamic world maintained this type of traditional clothing “until even the mid-20th century,” since “Jews dressed in the style of the surrounding society” and therefore continued to wear garments typically regarded as “Islamic dress,” such as the chador, niqab, and burqa. ==Wigs==

Sheitel , a married Hasidic woman, wearing a sheitel Sheitel ( ; or ) is a wig or half-wig. The related term in Hebrew is () or ''pei'ah nochrit'' (). Some modern Orthodox women cover their hair with wigs. A style of half wig known as a "fall" has become increasingly common in some segments of Modern and Haredi Orthodox communities. It is worn with either a hat or a headband. Shpitzel A shpitzel () is a head covering worn by some married Hasidic women. It is a partial wig that only has hair in the front, the rest typically covered by a small pillbox hat or a headscarf. The hairpiece may actually be silk or lace, or else made of synthetic fibers, to avoid too closely resembling real hair. The shpitzel was popular among Hungarian Hasidim in the 19th century, and it is worn by some contemporary women who follow the customs of that community. Etymology The Yiddish word "Shpitzel" is related to the grammatical diminutive of the high-German word "Spitze" which can either mean "point" or "lace"; the latter translation is most likely the right one in the context of this article. Acceptability The practice of covering hair with wigs is debated among halakhic authorities. Many authorities, including Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, permitted it, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe actively encouraged it, while many other authorities, especially Sephardi rabbis, forbid it. Some Hasidic groups encourage sheitels, while others avoid them. In 2004, controversy arose over natural hair sheitels procured from India when Rabbi Elyashiv announced a prohibition on the use of Indian hair in Jewish wigs. It was discovered that the hair used for the production of these wigs was taken from a Hindu temple where pilgrims travelled to undergo the ritual of tonsure (head shaving). According to Jewish law, one cannot derive benefit from anything used in practices considered to be idolatry. Subsequently, women in Satmar Brooklyn burned their wigs following the prohibition. Another effort to prohibit the use of tonsured Indian hair made news in 2017. Among the alternatives wigmakers pursued was sourcing hair from Cambodia. Today, many wigs used by Jewish women come with a (kosher certification), indicating that they are not made with hair originating from rituals deemed to be idolatrous. Kosher certification also implies that the sheitels are recognizable as wigs, no longer than the top vertebra of the spinal cord, and appear neat and modest. ==Gargush==

Women in the Jewish community in Yemen traditionally wore a specific type of headdress called a gargush (). == Gallery ==

File:Shuli Mualem.jpg|Shuli Mualem, an Israeli politician, wearing a cap File:תמונה בתיה.jpg|Politician Batya Kahana Dror wearing a headscarf that does not cover all of her hair File:Партрэт Эстэр Хаймаўны Поляк, жонкі Іллі Іосіфавіча Поляка.jpg|A 19th century Belarusian Jewish woman wearing a wig underneath a silk cap or bonnet File:Tunis. Jeune filles Juives LCCN2001705540.jpg|19th century Tunisian Jewish girls wearing headscarves File:Wedding of Joesph Mendelevich to Kati Seroussi, Jerusalem, 1981 (retouched).jpg|A just-married Jewish woman in a white headscarf at her wedding in the late 20th century File:Maurice Minkowski - Eil Molei Rachamiem (Commemorative prayer).Jpeg|A painting of late 19th or early 20th century Polish Jewish women in synagogue, wearing decorated caps with shawls over them File:Jewish Community Synagogue Ahmedabad India women children.jpg|Indian Jewish women. One, seated, is wearing a kippah File:חיוך אריק חתוך.jpg|A woman wearing a headwrap that exposes a "tefach" (maximum acceptable amount) of hair File:Haredi woman (cropped).JPG|A Haredi woman wearing a black headscarf with padding at the hairline File:Yonina Eldar - Technion 2012.jpg|Yonina Eldar, a professor, wearing a sheitel == See also ==