# Orthodox Jewish women and wigs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2003, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409 "2003-05-01T16:17:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409/21 "2003-05-04T02:16:18Z")
I worked with an Orthadox jewish woman who always wore a wig. Her wig was quite attactive. Funny thing about it, was that it was blonde!! It only took me a minute to realize that it was a wig - once I knew she was jewish - since she was the first “blonde jew” I had ever met. Other than knowing she was jewish, one could not tell it was a wig. I dont believe that the original biblical “intention” of “covering the hair” was satisfied by wearing a wig which looks better than her own hair. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409/22 "2003-05-04T02:17:33Z")
Samipro: > [@](#): > > In cities with large orthodox Jewish communities, are there (I don’t mean any offense, but I’m not sure what other word to use) “kosher” hairdressers and barbers? I know that Chassidic men let their earlocks grow and the women’s traditions have been discussed in this thread, so it would seem to require either a barber versed in Jewish law or be done at home and I was curious which. Generally, an Orthodox Jewish man will patronize a barber who is used to doing the hair of other Orthodox Jewish men, but if he find himself with a neophyte, it’s not hard to tell a barber what spots not to cut. As for the women, the laws of earlocks don’t apply to them. They would, though, make sure to patronize a female-only establishment so no men see their uncovered hair. > [@](#): > > On a different note, when very orthodox Jews travel to parts of the country without significant orthodox populations, what do they tend to find hardest to adjust to? Is it easy to find food in regular restaurants, for example? As Eva Luna said, we Orthodox Jews would not eat in a restaurant that is not Kosher in its entirety. When my family takes a trip, we pack plenty of kosher stuff in a cooler filled with ice packs, plenty of paper plates, cups and plastic flatware, and wrap things tightly in Saran Wrap and use gas station and convenience store microwaves. And most supermarkets, even in areas with few Orthodox Jews, have a large selection of kosher foods, since most national brands of food are certified Kosher. Probably the most problematic aspect of the travel is not having a synagogue to pray in. Generally, in such circumstances, I’ll just pray on my own in my motel room, but it’s certainly not the preferred way. Chaim Mattis Keller ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409/23 "2003-05-04T02:29:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Captain Amazing \* > \*\*The head-shaving and wig specifically is cultural (even though headcovering is , like Zev said, halacha somewhere). Eastern Europe was pretty consistantly unfriendly to Jews, and having a shaved head meant you were less likely to be raped when a mob attacked. \*\* Can we see a cite, or is this just your hypothesis? People in Eastern Europe used to wear a lot of head coverings, jewish or not. In fact, people in the western world regularly wore hats until not too long ago. Seems to me the wig thing is a modern way to avoid wearing a scarf or covering. Why would you shave your head, if you could just wear a scarf? After all you have to be attractive to your husband. I find the rape theory pretty hard to believe unless I see some proof. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409/24 "2003-05-04T16:57:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cmkeller \* > \*\*Sampiro: > As Eva Luna said, we Orthodox Jews would not eat in a restaurant that is not Kosher in its entirety. When my family takes a trip, we pack plenty of kosher stuff in a cooler filled with ice packs, plenty of paper plates, cups and plastic flatware, and wrap things tightly in Saran Wrap and use gas station and convenience store microwaves. And most supermarkets, even in areas with few Orthodox Jews, have a large selection of kosher foods, since most national brands of food are certified Kosher. > \*\* What about eating vegetarian? Would that allow you to go to a restaurant? (Of course I live in Georgia, where “vegetable” means “less than 40% pork by weight” and people stop just short of eating sidemeat in Cheerios, but most places aren’t quite as bad.) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409/25 "2003-05-04T17:03:37Z")
The book “Praying for Sheetrock” by Melissa Fay Greene (herself kosher and vegetarian and on a different note exceptionally nice and funny) is about political corruption and integration in coastal Georgia during the 1970s. Hiway 17 through Georgia was travelled by hundreds of thousands of northern tourists each year on their way to the beaches and roadside stands and restaurants popped up every 15 feet (many of them specifically dedicated to fleecing "yankee’ tourists of every penny of their vacation money through crooked games and equally crooked law enforcement, but that’s another story). Some of the stands noticed that signs for “kosher dill pickles” or “kosher sliced chicken” got more cars to stop, so they started adding it to everything. People driving down HiWay 17 in the 1970s could have seen signs for “kosher Coca Cola”, “kosher ham”, “Kosher BLTs”, and “kosher pork BBQ”, all of which still got quite a few cars stopping, though mainly by vacationing Jews wanting to make pictures next to the sign. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409/26 "2003-05-04T18:01:15Z")
Samipro: > [@](#): > > What about eating vegetarian? Would that allow you to go to a restaurant? If the restaurant itself is completely vegan, probably. If you mean just eating raw fruits and vegetables in a restaurant that also serves non-vegetable matter, there would be an issue that is referred to in Hebrew as “Maras Ayin”, which means, roughly, that one would be risking having other Jews seeing him in the restaurant and mistakenly thinking the restaurant was therefore Kosher and mistakenly eating forbidden stuff because of that. Susanann: > [@](#): > > I dont believe that the original biblical “intention” of “covering the hair” was satisfied by wearing a wig which looks better than her own hair. Well, you’re not alone…there are some Rabbis who are of the opinion that a wig is actually not allowed as a head-covering by Jewish law. However, the prevailing opinion is not so; that it’s only a married woman’s natural beauty that must be kept hidden from all but her husband. Remember - “looks better” is totally subjective. Chaim Mattis Keller ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409/27 "2003-05-04T20:26:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*Isn’t the wig just another kind of burqa? \*\* This is what springs to mind when I see girls from the local Hassidic community (which is HUGE where I am at this moment in NY) wearing long skirts, head coverings, and taking care of their younger siblings while their brothers play sports and go to religious classes. The origin and necessity of both coverings is debatable within and outside the religious communities. ---
**Author:** ![ReuvenB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@ReuvenB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReuvenB)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409/28 "2003-05-04T22:14:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cmkeller \* > \*\*As Eva Luna said, we Orthodox Jews would not eat in a restaurant that is not Kosher in its entirety. When my family takes a trip, we pack plenty of kosher stuff in a cooler filled with ice packs, plenty of paper plates, cups and plastic flatware, and wrap things tightly in Saran Wrap and use gas station and convenience store microwaves. \*\* Isn’t there a problem with using microwaves that unkosher things have been in? I go to a Jewish high school that is transdenominational, and we have a seperate kosher microwave. (Note: We’re actually not supposed to put unkosher stuff in the other microwaves, but the stuff that goes into this microwave is checked.) ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409/29 "2003-05-04T23:46:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cmkeller \* > \*\*Samipro: > Well, you’re not alone…there are some Rabbis who are of the opinion that a wig is actually not allowed as a head-covering by Jewish law. However, the prevailing opinion is not so; that it’s only a married woman’s natural beauty that must be kept hidden from all but her husband. Remember - “looks better” is totally subjective. > > Chaim Mattis Keller \*\* Does that mean that orthodox men think “looks better” means bald? Can you explain the shaving your head thing? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409/30 "2003-05-05T02:28:24Z")
Xwalrus2: > [@](#): > > Isn’t there a problem with using microwaves that unkosher things have been in? I go to a Jewish high school that is transdenominational, and we have a seperate kosher microwave. There is an issue, but that is avoided by double-wrapping in Saran Wrap, which I mentioned doing earlier. The issue would be the absorption by the walls of the microwave of some non-kosher vaporized substance, and the subsequent transference of same to the kosher stuff you’d be trying to nuke. A double-seal of Saran Wrap makes certain that nothing of the sort will happen. Rusalka: > [@](#): > > Does that mean that orthodox men think “looks better” means bald? Not necessarily. It just means that “looks better” can’t be the standard for what artificial items a woman is or isn’t allowed to cover herself with, since that’s too subjective. What isn’t subjective is the amount of her natural self that can or can’t be allowed to show. > [@](#): > > Can you explain the shaving your head thing? Thanks. My understanding had been that it’s mainly for convenience. My own wife (and we are strictly Orthodox) has nice, long hair and we both like it that way…but it can sometimes be a pain in the neck for her to properly tuck under a wig, and I understand that some women also find their monthly immersion easier with no hair. There are some Hasidic groups which insist in their women shaving completely, but I imagine this is merely to more easily ensure that the violation is not transgressed…I don’t think they’d argue against a woman whose hair is guaranteed covered in public 100% of the time, merely that said guarantee is too difficult to carry out, better just to shave it. Chaim Mattis Keller ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409/31 "2003-05-12T03:52:04Z")
So how marginalized are Hassids and ultra-orthodox Jews culturally? Would they be likely to own a DVD or Nintendo for example, or to go to see a popular movie like X-Men 2 or buy a Cher CD? Are there any regulations on what type of cars they can drive? ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409/32 "2003-05-12T17:59:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sampiro \* > \*\*So how marginalized are Hassids and ultra-orthodox Jews culturally? Would they be likely to own a DVD or Nintendo for example, or to go to see a popular movie like X-Men 2 or buy a Cher CD? \*\* They run the spectrum from those that do to those that don’t. Hasadim (like any other group) are not monolithic group-thinkers. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Are there any regulations on what type of cars they can drive? \*\* No. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409/33 "2003-05-12T19:31:40Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by C K Dexter Haven_ > my discussions with “modern Orthodox” indicate that they do NOT follow this tradition… which is not _halacha_ (required) but simply custom. Not so. Talmudic source [here](http://www.e-daf.com/Kesuvos/72a.gif) (bottom of the page). > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Sampiro_ > Would they be likely to own a DVD or Nintendo for example, or to go to see a popular movie like X-Men 2 or buy a Cher CD? No. There are undoubtedly some that do all these things, but they would be in violation of the accepted norms of their community. Zev’s post above is misleading. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409/34 "2003-05-12T19:47:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by IzzyR \* > \*\*There are undoubtedly some that do all these things, \*\* … and are rather out in the open about it. Walk into the Blockbuster on 18th Avenue in Brooklyn on any given Saturday night (provided, of course, it’s not _Yom Tov_)… > [@](#): > > \*\* > but they would be in violation of the accepted norms of their community. Zev’s post above is misleading. \*\* Officially, that is true; it would violate the “accepted norms.” But, as I mentioned above, it’s hardly unheard of too. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409/35 "2003-05-13T13:46:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zev\_steinhardt \* > Officially, that is true; it would violate the “accepted norms.” But, as I mentioned above, it’s hardly unheard of too. The word “officially” does not go together with “accepted norms”. I deliberately chose to focus on accepted norms rather than official positions for that reason. The people you refer to are small section of the population and are engaging in activities that are frowned on by the vast majority. Yes it is true that such people exist, and of the 100,000 or so ultra-orthodox Jews in Boro Park you might find a few at the store you name on Saturday nights. But that is not the same think as implying that ultra-orthodox Jews are spread all over the spectrum on this issue. They are heavily concentrated on one end, with a relatively few outliers. And the correct answer to a question beginning with the words “would they be likely…” is no, they would not be likely. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-women-and-wigs/172409.md?page=1)