Is there any halachic backing to not covering hair?

amother

Nasturtium

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 8:32 am

Every day I dream of uncovering my hair. Sheitels and even toppers give me terrible headaches after an hour, and tichels give me so much anxiety because I feel like I stick out. With the Jews im out of place because most wear sheitels, and with non Jews im out of place. Bane of my existence. I’d uncover in a heartbeat if my husband, community and family would be accepting.

amother

Teal

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 8:39 am

amother OP wrote:

Was going to say this. I don’t care how much I look as much as how I feel. Covering hair is difficult. For me more difficult than wearing a frizzy messy bun.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I thought there is some sort of halachic excuse not to cover. Or at least there’s a debate wether covering is really important or not. This is just so hard for me.

Sounds like you have not checked out the Deracheha link posted above. I recommend reading the whole thing, as well as clicking on the bullet titled "Could we read these sources in a way that would allow a woman not to cover her hair at all?" When you expand that bullet, it discusses the attempts that have been made to provide some support for uncovering. If you have access to Tradition magazine online, you should be able to find Rabbi Broyde's article.

amother

Catmint

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 9:13 am

naturalmom5 wrote:

I heard a whole shiur on this
If its for tznius , then why dont single girls cover. The shok of all girls is erva, yet hair is also erva but not single girls
Are there 2 ervas. Why doesnt the Rambam mention hair when he talks about kol and shok
Why is tefach mutar by hair but not all other parts of body

The tefach thing is only that a man can make a bracha in front a woman revealing less than a tefach of ervah, this applies to any part of the body. It doesn't mean that a woman is allowed to uncover a tefach.
Somehow it became acceptable in some circles that one can uncover a tefach of hair but that's not really ideal and at the same time it's something that applies to all ervah body parts.

amother

Maple

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 9:20 am

You can look at Questioning The Answers’s highlights on her Instagram page. She has sources explaining hair covering. There are views that you just need to put your hair up a bit if I’m remembering correctly. It’s ultimately up to your communal standard.

Here’s a direct link - https://www.instagram.com/s/aG.....lZA==

amother

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 9:31 am

amother Teal wrote:

I haven’t checked it out yet but I will! Thanks!

amother

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 9:33 am

amother Maple wrote:

I read her book and wanted to check out her IG.
Thanks for the link!

amother

Navy

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 9:41 am

amf wrote:

How does covering hair with hair make any more sense than waving a citron and a palm branch for 7 days?
Halacha isn't about what makes sense to us, it's about doing what we're told to do. and in this case, we're told that covering hair with hair is fine. If you want to delve into why it's fine, there are plenty of sources. But just at face value, we do what we do because that's the halacha, not because it make sense to our limited human brains.

The difference is that lulav and esrog are literally commanded to us by Hashem in the Torah. Covering hair with a wig, and even covering hair in the first place, is not commanded by Hashem at all. Rather, it is inferred through human reasoning. So your stance that we follow halacha even if it doesn't make sense to our limited human brains doesn't work for the concept of hair covering, since the entire thing is inferred through human brains, and in fact, it doesn't work for most of practical halacha, which is inferred through human brains.

amother

Phlox

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 9:43 am

amother Navy wrote:

What on earth does this mean??

anonymous mom

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 9:44 am

naturalmom5 wrote:

I heard a whole shiur on this
1: If its for tznius , then why dont single girls cover. The shok of all girls is erva, yet hair is also erva but not single girls? Because hair is not erva until a woman has been se-ually active. Once a woman is no longer virgin, her hair gets a se-ual energy that makes it erva. This is a spiritual energy, not something you can see. This is why your wig is allowed to be nicer than your hair. It's not about your beauty. A Jewish woman should look beautiful! It is specific to covering that se-ual spiritual energy.

2: Are there 2 ervas. Why doesnt the Rambam mention hair when he talks about kol and shok? Good question.

3: Why is tefach mutar by hair but not all other parts of body

. A tefach of hair IS NOT mutar. Just as any other erva on the body needs to be covered, but there is a leniency to still make a bracha if less than a tefach is uncovered, the same applies to the hair. Just to clarify, a tefach of hair means ALL the hair that is showing I.e. under the ears, neck area, loose strands. All together, no more than a tefach.

ETA, my answers are bolded, not sure why the reply came back looking the way it did.

Last edited by anonymous mom on Fri, Aug 11 2023, 9:46 am; edited 1 time in total

amother

Jetblack

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 9:45 am

anonymous mom wrote:

Read the book “reclaiming dignity.” It’s very helpful in clarifying.

amother

Melon

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 9:49 am

amother OP wrote:

Because they don’t really know. They don’t cover because my family mostly didn’t cover for generations.

I’m asking here because this is a frum site and hopefully some frum MO women can tell me why it’s ok.

On the flip side, yes I very much want to understand why it’s so important to cover our hair. If it’s simply because hair must be covered and not for tznius reasons, then why is it ok to uncover around your own husband and family and women?
If it is for tznius reasons, why the heck is someone else’s more attractive hair more tznius than my own natural simple boring frizzy hair?

MO here.
I cover with tichels or sheital.
Just because I am MO doesn't make halachically less of an obligation for me.

LadybugFan

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 9:59 am

When I got married I decided I wanted to learn about hair covering. I wanted to understand the Mitzvah. And this is what info I’ve gathered.
1. Sota- we all know kohen unbraided or uncovered hair so we deduce hair was covered.
2. I forgot specifically where but in gemara it mentions when a woman went out to the court yard she covered her hair. How do we define a “courtyard” 3 or more men who aren’t allowed to see her hair. So let’s say tonight at my Shabbas table is husband, my father and my brother then I wouldn’t need to cover. If my brother brings home 2 friends I don’t need to cover. If he brings home a 3rd then I do.
3. Wigs- you have special bina and your hair is straw shaped when looked at under a microscope and your bina pours out so we cover to put like a lid on it. Once hair is cut obv it’s not attatched so bina can’t pour out therefor wigs are allowed even with your own hair.
4. Some say hairline needs to be covered, some say crown of head, some say head, Some say hair, some say a tefach on purpose vs some say up to a tefach by accident… and ultimately it’s a decision made by wife and husband based on their mesorah and their learning and their striving to grow.

I hope this helps a little. It wasn’t what I was looking for when learning but it did give understanding to parts of it.

amother

Gladiolus

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 10:00 am

amother Melon wrote:

MO here.
I cover with tichels or sheital.
Just because I am MO doesn't make halachically less of an obligation for me.

For some reason this has become a common misconception. Why do people think that MO are less inclined to follow halacha?

amother

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 10:10 am

amother Gladiolus wrote:

For some reason this has become a common misconception. Why do people think that MO are less inclined to follow halacha?

I should have specified LWMO. My family and friends who don’t cover are all MO. While MO does cover in general, there is the space for orthodox women who don’t cover in the MO world.
So while my fam doesn’t care about covering I do care but I’m wondering if there’s any legitimate halachic opinion on keeping hair uncovered.

Looks like there isn’t.

amother

Alyssum

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 10:23 am

amother OP wrote:

Did you read the sources from Deracheha yet? It may help you. "legitimate" is loaded word.

amother

Navy

Fri, Aug 11 2023, 10:24 am

amother Phlox wrote:

What on earth does this mean??

It means that the requirement for a married woman to cover her hair is not stated outright in the Torah, but rather is inferred through human reasoning (I.e. commentaries on the chumash) who used the story of Sotah as the basis for the requirement. This is elemental, and is true for many halachos we have today. They are inferred and deduced through human understanding by reading the Torah.

The difference is that by lulav and esrog, there is a straight out mitzvah in the Torah to fulfill it (although the particular details of how to do so, and what species are required, are also deduced and inferred through human understanding).