Hella Winston Popular Books

Hella Winston Biography & Facts

According to halacha (Jewish law), married Jewish women are expected to cover their hair when in the presence of men other than their husband or close family members. Such covering is common practice nowadays among Orthodox Jewish women. Different kinds of head coverings are used, among them the mitpaḥat or tichel (headscarf), shpitzel, snood, hat, beret, fall, bonnet, veil, headscarf, bandana, and sheitel (wig). The most common head coverings in the Haredi community are headscarves in the form of the tichel and snood, though some wear hats, berets or sheitels; the tichel and snood remain the historic and universally accepted rabbinical standard for observant Jewish women. The headscarves can be tied in a number of ways, depending on how casually the wearer is dressed. Covering the hair is part of the modesty-related dress standard called tzniut. Laws According to Jewish 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, though a minority opinion allows uncovering hair within one's home even in the presence of unrelated men. The obligation to cover hair applies in public areas. In a private home, some sources recommend hair covering (even in the absence of unrelated men), but the consensus is that hair may be uncovered if no unrelated men are present. 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. Various reasons have been suggested for this head-covering, among them: Historically, head-covering was considered a form of dignity for a woman, and to have one's head-covering removed was a source of humiliation. 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. Head covering is a sign of a woman's married status, which (among other things) could indicate to men that she is unavailable to them. Head-covering indicates awe when standing before God, similar to the kippah for men. Nowadays, head-covering also serves a sign of identification with the religious Jewish community. Sources Numbers 5:18 requires, as part of the sotah ritual, that a married woman's head be made parua (a word which has been understood to mean 'uncovered' or 'with loose hair'), suggesting that, normally, her hair is not parua. According to the Talmud, this indicates that the Torah prohibits married women in general from appearing parua 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 parua head, weaving in the marketplace, and talking to any man", and calls these violations of Dat Yehudit ('Jewish law') as opposed to Dat Moshe ('Mosaic law'). The Talmud reconciles the sources by saying that if her head is completely uncovered in public, this would indeed be a violation of Dat Moshe, whereas a woman who appears in public wearing a kalta (a minimal covering of part of the hair, perhaps a basket resting on the head) has satisfied Dat Moshe but is still violating Dat Yehudit. Another relevant Talmudic source is Berakhot 24a, where the rabbis define hair as sexually erotic (ervah), and prohibit men from praying in sight of a married woman's hair. The rabbis base this judgement on a biblical verse: "Your hair is like a flock of goats" (Song of Songs 4:1), 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 ervah, 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 ervah 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 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. In Yemen, unmarried girls covered their hair like their Muslim peers; 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. When a woman gets married, opinions differ regarding when exactly she must begin covering her head: after betrothal (rare today), after the chuppah ceremony, after yichud, or only after the couple has spent a night together. Even according to the more stringent opinions, the bridal veil (which partly covers the hair) may be considered sufficient cover for the remainder of the ceremony. Non-Orthodox Judaism Conservative and Reform Judaism do not generally require women to wear head coverings. Some more traditional Conservative synagogues may ask that married women cover their heads during services. However, some more liberal Conservative synagogues suggest that women, married or not, wear head-coverings similar to those worn by men (the kippah/yarmulke); and some require it (or require it only for women receiving honors or leading services from the bimah) – not for modesty, but as a feminist gesture of egalitarianism. In the 21st century, some non-Orthodox Jewish women, mainly in North America, 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 sometime.... Discover the Hella Winston popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Hella Winston books.