Head Covering: The Pathway to Righteousness

Inspired by Rebbetzin Feige Twerski and Rebbetzin Tamar Taback

The Gemara in Yoma 47a tells us about a special woman called Kimchit who was blessed with seven righteous sons. Each of her sons served as Kohen Gadol (High Priest), a true honour and privilege.

‘Tell us!’ she was asked, ‘How did you merit such righteous children?’

‘All my life,’ she responded, ‘the walls of my house never saw the hairs of my head…’

In the merit of her covering her hair, even in her own home, she was blessed with righteous children.

In order to fully appreciate the meaning of this Gemara, let us consider what it means to ‘cover up’ something in general. Women cover their eyes as they usher in the Shabbat by the glow of their candles. We cover our eyes when we utter the timeless words ‘Shema Yisrael…’ three times a day. We may have thought that covering up means hiding something shameful, concealing what is bad or ugly. But this is far from the truth.

Rav Pincus explains that if Hashem’s presence was totally revealed, we would be consumed by a fire, unable to cope with the spiritual intensity of the revelation. Indeed, this is what happened at Mount Sinai when we received the Torah directly from Hashem Himself. The Gemara in Shabbat 88a tells us that when we heard the voice of Hashem, our souls flew out of our bodies. The death was so real, that Hashem had to revive us with dew.

We see this idea reappear with the Ten Plagues Hashem brought upon Egypt. The Netivot Shalom explains that the Plague of Darkness was not physical darkness as we know it. Hashem shone a great spiritual light in Egypt and the light was so intense that the Egyptians were blinded, as if in thick darkness. They were not spiritually attuned enough to experience the revelation, to appreciate the light. Sometimes light is more blinding than darkness.

This is the nature of ‘covering up’ that we are discussing. We cover our eyes by the holy flames of the Shabbat candles because we are disconnecting from the physical world we see and entering the spiritual realm whose holiness we cannot perceive visually. We cover our eyes during the special prayer of Shema Yisrael so that we are not distracted by foreign thoughts and are fully focused on the Oneness of Hashem. Women cover their hair because of the intense holiness found there. We are not covering from shame, we are covering because the presence of Hashem would otherwise be blinding and we protect and honour this G-dly space.

It is the proud role of the Jewish woman to protect and safeguard the sanctity of her home. Under the chuppa (wedding canopy) on her special day, the kalla (bride) encircles her chatan (groom) seven times, creating a sacred space around him with seven holy circles. The kalla is telling her chatan: You are safe with me, I will protect our home and keep our space sacred. While the man’s primary role is to build and create, to do and perform, the woman’s main role is to protect and safeguard, to channel and contain all the holiness of her home. What begins with seven circles around her husband becomes a lifetime commitment to holiness and G-dliness for the home. As the sanctifier of space and protector of the holiness of the marriage, the woman covers her hair. She sanctifies this space which is reserved for her husband alone and she contains it, and channels it for the holiest purpose. Not only does she safeguard her home, she uplifts herself and protects her own sacred space: her hair. Rebbetzin Taback tells us that the word for hair in Hebrew, ‘sei’ar’/שער is the same as the word for gate, ‘sha’ar’/שער because the hair can become a gateway for the greatest spiritual heights, if only it is channelled correctly. If the focus is on creating a holy home and a sacred space within oneself and one’s house.

While the man’s primary role is to build and create, to do and perform, the woman’s main role is to protect and safeguard, to channel and contain all the holiness of her home.

If we examine the idea of hair through a Torah lens, we see that it is associated with wild, unkempt behaviour. Eisav, Yaakov’s brother, is described in the verses as אִ֛ישׁ יֹדֵ֥עַ צַ֖יִד אִ֣ישׁ שָׂדֶ֑ה, ‘a man who knew how to hunt, a man of the field.’ (Bereishit 25:27) The initial description we get of Eisav, immediately after his birth is recorded is that he was אַדְמוֹנִ֔י כֻּלּ֖וֹ כְּאַדֶּ֣רֶת שֵׂעָ֑ר, ‘red, like a cloak of hair.’ (25:25) He was hairy from birth, as his name indicates. Eisav comes from the Hebrew root asah/עשה, to make, because he came out of the womb fully formed and hairy like a man. Eisav was a wild hunter who exhibited lack of control both when he sold the birthright for a bowl of ‘red stuff,’ (25:30) the lentil soup and marrying multiple idolatrous wives. Eisav’s hair is a representation of his untamed behaviour. The Torah demands of us that we discipline ourselves. We have a commandment which is codified in the Sefer HaChinuch under Mitzva 149 which forbids Kohanim (Priests) to enter the Beit Hamikdash (Temple) with grown hair. As the verse in Vayikra (10:6) says, ראשיכם אל תפרעו, ‘you shall not let your head be wild.’ In fact, the King of the Jewish people is obligated to cut his hair every day! We see that allowing hair to grow symbolises wild behaviour while cutting the hair symbolises dignity and refinement.

Let us return to the Gemara we began with. Kimchit is rewarded with each of her seven sons becoming Kohen Gadol because she was so careful with covering her hair. There is a law that a Kohen Gadol must cut his hair once a week, to clean and refine himself before he comes before Hashem. Kimchit was careful to cover her hair at all times, to preserve her innermost beauty for her husband and refine herself before Hashem. Both are channeling their hair in the way Hashem desires. To protect and create a sacred space for Hashem. The verse in Tehillim (45:14) says כָּל־כְּבוּדָּ֣ה בַת־מֶ֣לֶךְ פְּנִ֑ימָה מִמִּשְׁבְּצ֖וֹת זָהָ֣ב לְבוּשָֽׁהּ, ‘All the glory of the King’s daughter is within, her garment is superior to settings of gold.’ King David is telling us that the beauty of the Jewish woman lies inside. 

When the Jewish woman covers herself up modestly, this is more precious than the settings of gold worn by the Kohen Gadol. Perhaps we can suggest that Kimchit’s reward, of her seven sons becoming Kohen Gadol, was far from random. Kimchit behaved with the honour of the Kohen Gadol, so careful to stand before Hashem with true dignity and harness her hair for holy purposes. She truly demonstrated that when a Jewish woman’s beauty is protected from within, she is more precious than the gold worn by the Kohen Gadol.