- Uncovered hair in unmarried women is only considered "nakedness"/immodesty in a society where all women normatively cover their hair. In a society where unmarried women typically do not cover their hair, tzniut does not play a role in the question of head-coverings.
אמר רב חסדא שוק באשה ערוה שנאמר (ישעיהו מז, ב) גלי שוק עברי נהרות וכתיב (ישעיהו מז, ג) תגל ערותך וגם תראה חרפתך אמר שמואל קול באשה ערוה שנא' (שיר השירים ב, יד) כי קולך ערב ומראך נאוה אמר רב ששת שער באשה ערוה שנא' (שיר השירים ד, א) שערך כעדר העזים:
Rab Hisda said : The calf of a woman's leg is to be regarded as nakedness; as it is said, "Uncover the leg, pass through the rivers" (Is. xlvii. 2) and it continues, "Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen" (Is. xlvii. 3). Samuel said : A woman's voice is to be regarded as nakedness ; as it is said, "For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely" (Cant. ii. 14). ab Sheshet said: A woman's hair is to be regarded as nakedness; as it is said, "Thy hair is as a flock of goats" (ibid. iv. 1).
ראבי”ה חלק א – מסכת ברכות סימן עו
וכל הדברים [שהזכרנו למעלה] לערוה דווקא בדבר שאין רגילות להגלות, אבל בתולה הרגילה בגילוי שער לא חיישינן, דליכא הרהור
Ravya, Section 1--Tractate Berakhot, Siman 76
And all of these things mentioned above as "nakedness" are specifically referring to something which people do not usually reveal--but single women who commonly have uncovered hair, we do not worry, as it won't cause improper thoughts.
- Note the contexts in which the practice of head-covering is first mentioned. What do they suggest the status of head-covering is (i.e. obligation vs. piety)? What does the purpose seem to be?
אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי אסור לאדם שיהלך ארבע אמות בקומה זקופה שנא' (ישעיהו ו, ג) מלא כל הארץ כבודו רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע לא מסגי ארבע אמות בגילוי הראש אמר שכינה למעלה מראשי
With regard to the same issue, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: It is prohibited for a person to walk even four cubits with an upright posture, which is considered an arrogant manner, as it is stated: “The entire world is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3). One who walks in an arrogant manner indicates a lack of regard for the glory and honor of God that is surrounding him, and thereby chases God from that place, as it were. The Gemara relates: Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, would not walk four cubits with an uncovered head. He said: The Divine Presence is above my head, and I must act respectfully.
And from that which transpired to Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak as well it can be derived that there is no constellation for the Jewish people, As Chaldean astrologers told Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak’s mother: Your son will be a thief. She did not allow him to uncover his head. She said to her son: Cover your head so that the fear of Heaven will be upon you, and pray for Divine mercy. He did not know why she said this to him. One day he was sitting and studying beneath a palm tree that did not belong to him, and the cloak fell off of his head. He lifted his eyes and saw the palm tree. He was overcome by impulse and he climbed up and detached a bunch of dates with his teeth. Apparently, he had an inborn inclination to steal, but was able to overcome that inclination with proper education and prayer.
- What distinctions are drawn here vis a vis when and in what circumstances it's considered obligatory/highly preferable to cover one's head? How does this relate to our answers given re: the origin of head-covering?
- Would these instances seem to be, from a non-egalitarian perspective, gendered?
סופרים יד:טו
פוחח הנראים כרעיו או בגדיו פרומי' או מי שראשו מגולה פורס את שמע ויש אומרי' בכרעיו ובגדיו פרומים פורס אבל בראשו מגולה אינו רשאי להוציא הזכר' מפיו בין כך ובין כך מתרגם אבל אינו קורא בתורה ואינו עובר לפני התיבה ואינו נושא את כפיו:
Soferim 14:15 (Geonic text)
One who has holes in his garments whose knees are visible or his clothes are ripped or one whose head is uncovered leads shema. 16 And there are those that say, with his knees [visible] and his clothes ripped he leads shema, but with his head uncovered it is impermissible for him to utter God’s name. Either way [with covered or uncovered head], he may translate [during Torah reading], but [with an uncovered head] he does not read from the Torah and he does not pass before the ark [as prayer leader] and he does not raise his hands [in the priestly blessing].
(ה) תִּקּוּן הַמַּלְבּוּשִׁים כֵּיצַד. מְתַקֵּן מַלְבּוּשָׁיו תְּחִלָּה וּמְצַיֵּן עַצְמוֹ וּמְהַדֵּר שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר הִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לַה׳ בְּהַדְרַת קֹדֶשׁ. וְלֹא יַעֲמֹד בִּתְפִלָּה בַּאֲפוּנְדָתוֹ, וְלֹא בְּרֹאשׁ מְגֻלֶּה, וְלֹא בְּרַגְלַיִם מְגֻלּוֹת אִם דֶּרֶךְ אַנְשֵׁי הַמָּקוֹם שֶׁלֹּא יַעַמְדוּ בִּפְנֵי הַגְּדוֹלִים אֶלָּא בְּבָתֵּי הָרַגְלַיִם.
(5) Adjustment of the dress. Before beginning the Service, the dress should first be adjusted and the personal appearance made trim and neat, as it is said, "O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" (Psalms 96:9). One should not stand in prayer wearing a moneybelt, nor bareheaded, nor barefoot, where the local custom is not to stand in the presence of the great, without shoes.
(ג) הכל עולים למנין ז' אפי' אשה וקטן שיודע למי מברכין אבל אמרו חכמים אשה לא תקרא בציבור מפני כבוד הציבור: הגה ואלו דוקא מצטרפים למנין הקרואים אבל לא שיהיו כולם נשים או קטנים (ר"ן וריב"ש)...ואסור לקרות בראש מגולה
(3) 3. All count towards the seven who are called up, even a woman and a child who knows who we bless, but the Sages said: A woman shall not read [the Torah] in public, out of concern for the honor of the community. RAMA: They may in fact join in to the group of readers, but the readers should not be all women or all children... And it is prohibited to read with one's head uncovered.
For reference, the Maharshal and the Taz (Turei Zahav) lived in the 16th and 17th centuries in Eastern Europe.
(ב) תשובה אין אני יודע איסור לברך בלא כסוי ראש ומהרא"י פשוט לו שאסור בהזכרת שם בלא כיסוי הראש ולא ידענא ממאי והנה מצאתי שכתב במסכת סופרים יש בו מחלוק' שכתב פוחח הנראים כרעיו או בגדיו פרומים או מי שראשו מגולה ואינו רשאי להוציא הזכרה מפיו ע"כ ור' ירוחם כתב בסוף נתיב ט"ז שאסור לברך בגילוי הראש.
(ג) ולולי שאינני רגיל לחלוק על הקדמונים א"ל שיש גדול שיסייעני הייתי נוטה להקל ולברך בגילוי הראש ואפילו לקרות ק"ש שרי שהרי איתא במדרש רבה אמר רבי ברכיה מלך ב"ו משגר פרוטגמא שלו למדינה מה הם עושין כל בני המדינה עומדים על רגליהם ופורעים את ראשיהן ורואין אותה באימה ביראה ברתת ובזיע אבל הקב"ה ית' אומר לישראל קראו ק"ש ברוטגמא דידי הרי לא הטרחתי עליכם לקרות לא עומדים ולא פרועי ראש כו' משמע להדיא דליכא איסור בפריעת ראש אלא שלא החמיר עליהם ומה אעשה שכבר הורו לאיסור.
(ד) אבל בזה תמיהני שנהגו איסור בפריעת ראש אף בלא תפלה ולא ידעתי מאין זה להם כי לא מצינו איסור בפריעת הראש כי אם לאשה כדאיתא בפ' המדיר וממידת חסידות הוא שלא לילך ד' אמות בגילוי הראש ודוקא הליכה ד"א (מו') כדאיתא בפר' כל כתבי א"ר חנינא תיתי לי דלא סגינא ד' אמות בגילוי הראש והוא ממידת חסידות כמ' שחשוב שם אינך תיתי לי כו' ועוד ראייה מפ"ק דקידושין שמסיק שם אמר ריב"ל אסור להלוך ד' אמות בקומה זקופה שנ' מלא כל הארץ כבודו רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע לא מסגי ד' אמות בגילוי הראש אמר שכינה למעלה מראשי משמע דוקא בקומה זקופה הוא אסור אבל בגילוי הראש אין בו איסור אלא דרב הונא החמיר על עצמו מכח מידת חסידות ועכשיו הוא להיפך בקומה זקופה אינם נזהרים ואדרבה הגאים והעשירים הולכים נטויי גרון ובגילוי הראש נזהרים לא מחמת חסידות אלא סוברים דת יהודית הוא.
(ה) עוד מצאתי כתוב הא דגלוי הראש כו' היינו באויר השמים דוקא וכן נראה לפרש הא דקומה זקופה אף שמלא כל הארץ כבודו מ"מ אינו נראה כאילו אינו משגיח בעושיהן כי אם מי שהולך באויר השמים ושם יש לו לזכות ולהתעורר אף שמהררא"י כתב שאין לחלק בין בית לחצר כי מלא הארץ כבודו היינו בהזכרת השם וכן מסתבר שמדת חסידות הוא בהזכרת השם שלא יהא בגילוי הראש כמו הולך ד' אמות באויר השמים וכן מצאתי כתוב בשם הר"ם שכל זה מידת חסידות אלא שהרי"ף כתב שיש למחות שלא לכנס בב"ה בגילוי וכן הטור לא כתב ויכסה ראשו אלא גבי תפלה ולא גבי ק"ש ומה אעשה שהעם נהגו בו איסור ואיני רשאי להקל בפניהם.
(ז) ועכשיו אני אגלה את קלון האשכנזים בודאי מי ששותה יין נסך במלון של גוים ואוכל דגים מבושלים בכלי שלהם והמחטי' הוא שמאמין לפונדיקי' שלא בשלו בה אין חוששין עליו ואין בודקין אחוריו ונוהגין בו כבוד אם הוא עשיר ותקיף ומי שהיה אוכל ושותה בהכשר רק שהיה בגילוי הראש היו תופסין אותו כאלו יצא מן הכלל ע"כ החכם עיניו בראשו ידע להשמר שלא יתפסו עליו ואם כבד עליו להניח על ראשו דבר כבד יכסה ראשו בבגד פשתן דק או במשי.
(2) Response: I know of no prohibition against reciting a blessing without [wearing] a head covering. Yet it was obvious to Maharai (=R. Yisrael Isserlein) that it is forbidden to invoke God’s name without the head covered, and I do not know whence [he infers that]. Now I have found that it is written in tractate Soferim (14:15) that there is a dispute: “A shabby person whose knees are visible or whose clothing is torn, or one whose head is uncovered, may lead the prayers (“pores et ha-Shema”), but some say that one may lead with knees [showing] or torn clothes, but not with an uncovered head. And he may not let mention [of God’s name] leave his mouth.” R. Yeruham wrote at the end of §16 that it is forbidden to recite a blessing with an uncovered head.
(3) If not for the fact that I do not usually dispute earlier authorities unless there is a great authority to support me, I would incline toward leniency and in favor of reciting blessings with an uncovered head. Even the recitation of Shema is permitted, for it states in Midrash Rabba (Vayikra §27): R. Berekhya said: A flesh-and-blood king sends his charter to the province, what do they do? All residents of the province stand up, uncover their heads, and read it with fear, awe, trembling, and perspiration. But the Holy One, blessed be They, says to Israel: Recite the Shema, My charter. I do not trouble you to read it standing or with your heads uncovered. This clearly implies that it is not forbidden to uncover one’s head; rather, They did not impose [an uncovered head] as a stringency. But what can I do? They have already ruled this to be forbidden.
(4) Yet I am astonished that they treat uncovering the head as forbidden even when not praying. I do not know whence they derived this, for we find no prohibition against an uncovered head...and that it reflects piety (midat hasidut, i.e., not actually required by law) not to walk four cubits with an uncovered head. Yet this is specifically walking four cubits, as stated in the chapter “Kol Kitvei” (Shabbat 118b): “R. Hanina said: I deserve it, for I did not walk four cubits with an uncovered head.” This reflects piety, like all of the other examples of “I deserve” listed there. Further evidence is from the first chapter of Kiddushin (31a), which rules: R. Yehoshua b. Levi said: It is forbidden to walk four cubits with an upright posture, as it is stated: ‘The whole world is filled with His glory’ (Yeshayahu 6:3). R. Huna b. R. Yehoshua would not walk four cubits with his head uncovered. He would say: ‘The divine presence is above my head.’ This implies that specifically walking with an erect posture is forbidden, but it is not forbidden to do so with one’s head uncovered. Rather, R. Huna was stringent with himself, motivated by piety. Nowadays, the opposite is the case: they are not careful about avoiding an erect posture. On the contrary, the proud and the rich walk around with their heads held high, but they are careful about uncovering their heads—not because of piety, but because they think this is the Jewish religion.
(5) I have also found written that this statement about an uncovered head only applies out under the open sky. This is a reasonable explanation of the case of the erect posture—even though the entire world is filled with Their glory, nevertheless, one does not look as though he is ignoring his Maker except when he walks out under the open sky. It is there that one must remember and maintain vigilance. And even though R. Isserlein wrote that there is no distinction between home and courtyard, for the whole world is filled with Their glory, this only applies to the case of invoking God’s name. Indeed, it stands to reason that refraining from invoking God’s name with an uncovered head reflects piety, much like the case of walking four cubits in the open air. I have also found this written in the name of R. Meir [of Rothenburg], namely, that this is all a matter of pious practice, although R. Peretz wrote that one should object to someone entering the synagogue with an uncovered head. Moreover, Tur does not state “and he shall cover his head” except with regard to prayer, not with regard to the recitation of the Shema. But what can I do? The people practice this as a prohibition, and I have no authority to be lenient in their presence.
(7) Now I will disclose the shame of Ashkenazim. Certainly one who drinks libation wine (yeyn nesekh) in a gentile’s inn, and eats fish cooked in their vessels, and who is considered strict if he trusts the innkeeper’s wife when she says that she did not cook anything else in them, is not under any suspicion. We do not investigate him, and we treat him with respect if he is rich and powerful. But one who eats and drinks only kosher food, but he does so with his head uncovered, is perceived to be a deviant. Therefore, “the wise man has his eyes in his head” (Kohelet 2:14) and will know to protect himself so that they do not attack him. If placing something heavy on his head will weigh upon him, he should cover his head with a garment of fine linen or silk.
ונראה לי שיש איסור גמור מטעם אחר דהיינו כיון שחוק הוא עכשיו בין העכו"ם שעושין כן תמיד תיכף שיושבין פורקין מעליהם הכובע ואם כן זה נכלל בכלל ובחוקותיהם לא תלכו כ"ש בחוק זה שיש טעם דכיסוי הראש מורה על יראת שמים כההיא דסוף שבת....
And it appears to me there is a strict prohibition [concerning uncovering one’s head] for another reason, and that is because it is now a law among the gentiles that as soon as they sit down, they always remove their hats. And if so, this is included in the rule, “And do not follow in their ways” (Leviticus 18:3). All the more so in this rule which has a reason because covering one’s head teaches about the fear of heaven, as in the passage at the end of tractate Shabbat....
"The contemporary practice of North American Jewish men wearing a kippah at all times—outside of the synagogue and the home—is a relatively recent phenomenon. Among Orthodox males, the practice seems to have been established by the early 1960’s, part of a larger public statement of Orthodox identity and pride. See Lawrence Grossman, “The Kippah Comes to America,” in Continuity and Change: A Festchrift in Honor of Irving Greenberg’s 75th Birthday, ed. Steven T. Katz and Steven Bayme (Lanham: University Press of America, 2010), 138-143. For Conservative males, the practice was tied in with the Jewish revival that began in the 1970s across the Jewish spectrum."
- How do the rulings available to us speak in the language of obligation vs. suggestion? How would an egalitarian approach of assuming people of all genders to be obligated in all mitzvot affect these rulings/understandings, if at all?
- How do we take into account people's normative practice when deciding whether to rule something obligatory or recommended?
שו”ת יחווה דעת ה: ו
… וכנראה שסוברים לחלק בזה בין אנשים ששורת דרך ארץ היא לכסות ראשם בפני גדולים… ולכן אם יברכו בגילוי הראש נחשב הדבר כזלזול במורא שמים, מה שאין כן בנות רווקות שדרכן ללכת תמיד בגילוי הראש עד לנישואיהן, אינן צריכות לכסות ראשן גם בשעה שמזכירות שם שמים. וזאת בצירוף דעת רבותינו שבצרפת והרמב”ם שסוברים שמותר לברך בגילוי הראש (אפילו לאנשים)… מכל מקום נראה יותר שלכתחלה ראוי להורות גם לנערות פנויות לכסות ראשן בעת שמברכות, וכל שכן בעת שמתפללות תפלת שמונה עשרה …
Teshuvat Yachaveh Da'at 5:6 (Rav Ovadiah Yosef)
...and it seems reasonable to distinguish in this between men, for whom the proper way of behaving is to cover their heads before important people...and therefore if they bless with an uncovered head it's thought of as not taking seriously the fear of heaven, which is not the case with single women, whose way is to walk around with uncovered heads until they are married--they do not need to cover their heads when they mention the holy name. This is in combination with the opinion of the Rambam, who reasons that it's also permitted for men to bless with uncovered heads. Nonetheless, it makes more sense to advise that also single women should be covering their heads when making blessings, and all the more so when saying the amidah...
יביע עומר, אורח חיים ו:טו
ומ“מ נ“ל שלכל הפחות בתפלת שמנה עשרה ישימו כיסוי על ראשן, לצאת ידי חובת הרמב“ם והטוש“ע
Yabia Omer Orach Chayim 6:15 (Rav Ovadiah Yosef)
ָָָAnd in any case it appears to me that at the very least during the amidah they [girls and unmarried women] should place a covering on their heads, to fulfill the obligation of Rambam and the Tur/Shulhan Arukh. (Yabia Omer Orah Hayyim 6:15)
Indeed, in contrast to tallit and tefillin which are both categorized as time-bound commandments there is no specific commandment to cover one's head. Therefore, a woman who strongly believes in the obligation of both men and women to fulfill the mitzvot of tallit and tefillin might choose to take a different position in regard to headcovering.
Ruling:
Because women and girl’s customary practice is increasingly moving in the direction of headcovering in synagogue and because the textual tradition leans toward requiring women’s headcovering, we advocate the following practices:
1. Women and girls should cover their heads when reading from the Torah and when receiving an aliyah.
2. In deference to kavod ha-tzibbur, women and girls should cover their heads when acting as prayer leader.
3. When praying shaharit, minhah, or ma’ariv as an individual, women and girls should cover their heads at least when reciting the amidah and ideally during the entire prayer service.
4. Headcovering at other times is a matter of personal piety, and a woman or girl may cover her hair with a garment of her choice; that garment need not publicly identify her as a Jew.
- How do individuals relate to their head-covering practice? What meanings do they associate with it/derive from it?
- What are some of the personal and social implications of choosing different forms of head-covering as a non-man?
- How do these choices affect the way one presents (religiously, gender-wise, sexual orientation-wise, etc.)?
רבנית אוריה מבורך, "למה אני אוהבת את כיסוי הראש שלי?"
כיסוי השיער בכל יום מחדש יוצר אצלי הפרדה בריאה בין “בבית” לבין “בחוץ”, בין “פרטי” ל”ציבורי”, בין “שלי” לבין “של כולם”.
Rabbanit Oriya Mevorach, 'Why Do I Love my Head-Covering?'
Covering the head every day anew creates a healthy distinction for me between home and outside, between private and public, between mine and everyone’s.
Helana Darwin’s large-scale study of women who wear kippot yielded 513 responses to the question, “What does your kippah practice mean to you, in your own words?” The author divided the main meanings and motives into five categories: “doing Jewish,” “feeling Jewish,” “looking Jewish,” “status marker,” and “(un)doing gender.” Darwin concludes that, “The findings suggest that women do not necessarily wear kippot in order to make a statement about gender equality; rather they wear kippot for the same reasons that men do - in order to “do Jewish,” “feel Jewish,” “look Jewish,” and to signify status....They do not wear kippot in order to protest Judaism or to radically change it; rather they wear kippot in order to participate more fully in aspects of the religion from which they have been historically ‘exempt.’” Helana Darwin, “Jewish Women’s Kippot: Meanings and Motives,” Contemporary Jewry 37, no. 1 (2017), 85, 95.
When Rabbi Sarah Mulhern was a student at Brandeis University, she decided to embrace Jewish observance, including wearing a kippah. “At that point I decided, if I was a guy, I would wear a kippah,” she said. “I didn’t think my Jewish practice should be different because I’m a woman.” In 2008, after she graduated college, Mulhern spent a year at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, an egalitarian yeshiva in Jerusalem. She wanted to continue the practice of covering her head, but wanted to present more femininely and “encountered a tremendous amount of street harassment” for wearing her kippah. “I didn’t feel safe,” she said, “and at that point it was easier to wear a headband. I was still doing the mitzvah, but I wasn’t getting harassed.” She later switched to wearing hats instead of headbands, but continued to advocate for women covering their heads—with headbands, hats, or kippot.
Headbands fill the same niche in Jewish practice that kippot do, but without the strong assumption of masculinity that comes with wearing traditional kippot. Many of the women who now wear headbands experimented with kippot and found them uncomfortable or unsatisfactory. Instead, headbands provide a creative, genuine way of expressing Jewish womanhood, though that is not always recognized by those around them.