Hasidic Jewish women and wigs

[mila49]

I have always been a bit curious about the Hasidic community, especially when it comes to the women.
I understand the fact that they have to cover their with scarves and hats because to reveal one's hair is considered to be sensuous and showing one's hair is considered to be showing vanity/pride which is, of course, one of the deadly sins. A lot of faiths require women to cover their hair. My question is this:

Why do women who belong to Hasidic communities cover their hair with wigs? I mean, you're covering your hair with more hair. Wouldn't it be vain to show off any kind of hair?

I watched this one documentary about the Hasidic Jewish community and one lady had her natural hair covered by a wig and a hat. Why didn't she just wear the hat and tuck her natural hair in it?

I hope this makes sense so some one can answer it.

Thanks!

 

[dantech]

I understand the fact that they have to cover their with scarves and hats because to reveal one's hair is considered to be sensuous and showing one's hair is considered to be showing vanity/pride which is, of course, one of the deadly sins.

There is so much on the subject that ended up shaping the halakha as we know it today that I don't even know where to start.

I'll say this... first of all, what you said about being sensuous could be argued as not completely true since unmarried women have no such obligation as they do with say, covering their breasts and pubic zone which are definitely sexual and sensual body parts.

Another thing you should know is that Sephardic Jews, halakhically speaking, are not permitted to cover their hair using wigs. Ashkenazi Jews permit it based on a more lenient view.
The Talmud did not speak about wigs, just about covering hair so when wigs got popular, I believe in the 16th century, Jews soon followed with the trend. This is why the law about using a wig was only established way later, and isn't completely agreed upon by all parties.

The strict halakha is that a woman must cover her hair. The details about how are what's up for debate.

I'm sorry if this answer did not satisfy you, but I dint think there is a straight to the point answer on this subject. It's about a historical development that took place in Jewish communities that just ended up shaping our law and different traditions to the way they are today.

 

[CMike]

I have always been a bit curious about the Hasidic community, especially when it comes to the women.
I understand the fact that they have to cover their with scarves and hats because to reveal one's hair is considered to be sensuous and showing one's hair is considered to be showing vanity/pride which is, of course, one of the deadly sins. A lot of faiths require women to cover their hair. My question is this:

Why do women who belong to Hasidic communities cover their hair with wigs? I mean, you're covering your hair with more hair. Wouldn't it be vain to show off any kind of hair?

I watched this one documentary about the Hasidic Jewish community and one lady had her natural hair covered by a wig and a hat. Why didn't she just wear the hat and tuck her natural hair in it?

I hope this makes sense so some one can answer it.

Thanks!

The answer is that they believe that their hair should only be for their husband.

 

[mila49]

Thank you for your answers. It clears it up a little more and I learned something new .

 

[CMike]

No problema.

 

[Tumah]

I have always been a bit curious about the Hasidic community, especially when it comes to the women.
I understand the fact that they have to cover their with scarves and hats because to reveal one's hair is considered to be sensuous and showing one's hair is considered to be showing vanity/pride which is, of course, one of the deadly sins. A lot of faiths require women to cover their hair. My question is this:

Why do women who belong to Hasidic communities cover their hair with wigs? I mean, you're covering your hair with more hair. Wouldn't it be vain to show off any kind of hair?

I watched this one documentary about the Hasidic Jewish community and one lady had her natural hair covered by a wig and a hat. Why didn't she just wear the hat and tuck her natural hair in it?

I hope this makes sense so some one can answer it.

Thanks!

I think this questions belongs more in the Haredi DIR rather than the Hasidic one. In general Hassidic women are more inclined towards shaving their hair altogether which would mean their husbands never see it either. All Haredi women cover their hair though.

The reason why some Rabbis are of the opinion that wigs are better than scarves or hats is because scarves or hats are more inclined to slip. Wigs stay in place better. Also, if loose hairs are showing, they blend in more easily to the wig than the hat. However, the caveat is that the wig actually look like a wig and not natural hair. It also has to be shoulder-length or higher etc. Mainly, the point is exactly as you understand- that it shouldn't look just as or even more sensuous as the woman's natural hair.

Other Rabbis opine that hats and scarves are better than wigs because its 100% clear that their hair is covered.

However, today many women find this very difficult, especially if they do not come from a community that already does this. It can be very hard for a woman unless she has a strong self-image to consciously make herself look less attractive. So many women will use natural-hair wigs. The most important thing is that her hair be covered because the Talmud says that the hair of a [married] woman is nakedness.