Diverging Opinions on Head Covering

The way in which a married woman chooses to cover her hair is not as straightforward as an onlooker may imagine. Whether it is a wig (commonly known as a ‘sheitel’), a scarf (commonly known as a ‘mitpachat’ or a ‘tichel’), or a hat, women are able to cover their heads and hair fully, satisfying even the most stringent opinions on the matter. But this is not the source of the divergency – for many women, the means through which they fulfill this mitzvah comes with notable connotations about her and her community. Let’s explore the motivations and mindsets that underlie this subject.

For many women, identifying and fitting in with their community norms is as important as fulfilling the halachic obligation of hair covering itself. This consideration is actually a very important aspect of tzniut – the concept of modesty and dignity. To be modest is not to make oneself invisible, but it does entail being keenly aware of one’s surroundings and expectations, and acting or dressing accordingly. Thus, to be tzanuah in one context might not cut it in another, and this has nothing to do with the woman herself, and everything to do with the context in which she finds herself. Taking this into consideration, we can more readily understand the variety of hair covering options. 

In regards to hair covering, the best-known debate surrounds wigs. Let’s briefly explore the ramifications and sources at play here.

Community customs and practices rarely come out of nowhere. Given Judaism’s millenia-long history, communities today are steeped in centuries of halachic debate that manifest themselves in the surface-level differences we see today. Each community is proud of their identity, and they often have physical attributes that bolster this identification. The Litvish Yeshivish community is known for black hats and suits, many Chassidish communities don shtreimels and long coats, the Dati Leumi community in Israel is famed for their kippah sruga (a knitted white kippah), the list goes on. So too, the women of various communities also display their group affiliations, and hair coverings are a common way of doing so.

The earliest reference to wigs is from the Mishna¹ (circa 200 CE) which says, “A woman [is permitted to] go out [on Shabbat]… with foreign hair to the courtyard”. From this, poskim such as the Shiltei Gibborim² and the Rema ruled that wigs are an acceptable form of hair covering, and the Rema³ ruled that men may recite the Shema in front of a woman wearing a wig (which is not permitted for a man to do in front of a married woman with uncovered hair⁴). It is noteworthy that the reasoning behind these rulings is that it is clear to see when a woman is wearing a wig. This is an important feature of the debate on lace-top wigs, which will be discussed.

Later halachic authorities such as the Sefardi Kaf HaChaim⁵ and the Lubavitcher Rebbe⁶ have also ruled that wigs are permissible, with Chabad even preferring it as the default hair covering method.  

Other poskim, notably Sefardi ones, tend to oppose the wearing of wigs. This opposition is based on the fact that, as mentioned, wigs’ permissibility was itself based on them looking notably different from natural hair. Poskim such as Rav Ovadia Yosef ruled that in those times, wigs would have been permissible as there was no concern for maarat ayin. In today’s world, however, Rav Ovadia Yosef said that the wigs are so realistic that maarat ayin is now a concern. Based on this, he ruled that they are not permitted for Sefardi women⁷. 

Rav Ovadia Yosef’s (and with it, many Sefardi rabbanim’s) opposition to wigs is very harsh, though it is clear to see that it is halachically sound, as were the rulings of the poskim permitting wigs in earlier times. 

The most recent evolution of the wig debate is regarding the lace top wig, where the cap of the wig is made with lace, giving the appearance that the sheitel hair is coming directly out of the skull. It is the most realistic type of wig, and has received a mix of (very strong) opinions⁸. Some rabbanim permit it entirely, relying on Rav Moshe Feinstein’s psak⁹ that even if a man can’t tell the difference between real hair and a wig, a woman can. Others say that the basis for Rav Feinstein’s psak is no longer relevant given the developments in sheitel manufacturing.

We know that we need to do mitzvot, on that there is little discussion. But there is much room for discussion on how we can do mitzvot. Strictly speaking, if the basic halachic obligation is fulfilled (and other halachic obligations are not transgressed in the doing thereof), then the expression of that mitzvah can vary quite widely.

This debate on wigs is really a microcosm of a much larger feature of Judaism – what do we do when we have ample halachic support on both sides of an argument? How do we decide which is the correct opinion to follow? This is where our community and self comes into play – the combination of which is known as dat Yehudit.

The Rambam explains that dat yehudit is “The modest behavior that the daughters of Israel practiced”¹⁰ and this is, again, first brought up in the Mishna¹¹. It is interesting to note that while dat Yehudit applies to all Jewish women, the Mishna discusses it with regards to a married woman receiving her ketubah money. Thus, we can see that for married women, violating dat Yehudit is an especially strong concern.  

We know that we need to do mitzvot, on that there is little discussion. But there is much room for discussion on how we can do mitzvot. Strictly speaking, if the basic halachic obligation is fulfilled (and other halachic obligations are not transgressed in the doing thereof), then the expression of that mitzvah can vary quite widely. Bringing things back to hair covering, if the basic halachic obligation of covering the head and hair is done, then whether that is with a hat, scarf, or wig shouldn’t really matter. 

One example of this was the kol koreh made in Lakewood in 2018, where the local poskim prohibited lace-top wigs for the women in their community¹². The result, however, was that nothing changed – women continued wearing lace-tops. We can see from this that the reality of tzniut and dat Yehudit is far more complex than simply receiving a psak from a rabbi. The women are as much of a deciding factor for the way tzniut standards are determined as the rabbis are.  

The reality is that many women will try out multiple hair coverings, and their preferences and community standards may change throughout their lives. All of this is fine, so long as we never lose sight of the goal – to follow the will of Hashem in a way that gives kavod to Him, the Torah, our communities, and ourselves.

1. Mishna Shabbat 6:5 ↩︎
2. Shiltei Gibborim to the Rif, Shabbat 29a ↩︎
3. Rema, Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 75:2 ↩︎
4. Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 75:1 ↩︎
5. Kaf Hachaim, Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 75:19 ↩︎
6. Likkutei Sichot 13, pg. 189 ↩︎
7. Responsa Yabi’a Omer Even HaEzer 5:5 ↩︎
8. For a comprehensive list of modern rabbinic opinions and rulings, see https://vinnews.com/2021/08/04/the-explosive-topic-of-lace-front-sheitels/ ↩︎
9. Igros Moshe Even HaEzer Vol. II #12 ↩︎
10. Mishneh Torah Ishut 24:11 ↩︎
11. Ketubot 7:6 ↩︎
12. https://hefkervelt.blogspot.com/2021/05/lace-sheitel-psak.html
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