According to halacha (Jewish religious law), married Orthodox 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 among Orthodox Jewish women. This is called kisui rosh (). Most Jews are not Orthodox and do not cover their hair. The practice is often compared to the Islamic concept of hijab, also generally interpreted as requiring the covering of the hair.

Different kinds of hair coverings are used, among them the headscarf (; ), snood, hat, and wig (), each with many variations. The headscarf 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 . The hair is considered a body part that should only be seen by one's husband.

Laws According to Jewish religious law (halacha), a woman must cover her hair after marriage.Shulchan Aruch, Even Ha'ezer 115, 4; Orach Chayim 75,2; Even Ha'ezer 21, 2Schiller, Mayer. "The Obligation of Married Women to Cover Their Hair" . JHCS 30, 1995, 81–108. The requirement applies in the presence of any men other than her husband, son, father, grandson, grandfather, or brother.Hair covering at home The obligation to cover hair applies in public areas, though a minority opinion allows uncovering hair within one's home even in the presence of unrelated men.Deracheha: Women and Head-Covering V: Where

The consensus is that all or most of the hair must be covered.Deracheha: Women and Head-Covering IV: How Some sources rule that every single hair must be covered,Magen Avraham 75:4; Chatam Sofer I:36 but many others permit a small amount of hair (each source defines the amount differently) to emerge from the head-covering.Rema, Orach Chaim 75:2; Igrot Moshe, Even Haezer 1:58; R' Ovadiah Yosef (quoted in Et Tzenu'im Chochma 79a)

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.Deracheha: Women and Head-Covering II: Rationale and Meaning 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 (a word which has been understood to mean 'uncovered' or 'with loose hair'),'וראשה פרוע' suggesting that, normally, her hair is not . According to the Talmud, this indicates that the Torah prohibits married women in general from appearing in public.Ketubot 72a-72b

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 head, weaving in the marketplace, and talking to any man", and calls these violations of ('Jewish law') as opposed to ('Mosaic law').Mishnah, Ketuboth 7:6 The Talmud reconciles the sources by saying that if her head is completely uncovered in public, this would be a violation of , whereas a woman who appears in public wearing a (a minimal covering of part of the hair, perhaps a basket resting on the head)Jastrow dictionary, קַלָּת has satisfied but is still violating .

Another relevant Talmudic source is Berakhot 24a, where the rabbis define hair as sexually erotic (), 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.Brachot 24a 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 ,Women and Head-Covering I: Halachic Basis 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 for the purpose of prayer.R' Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe, Orach Chaim 1:42; Aruch HaShulchan, Orach Chaim 75:7, etc.

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.e.g. Mishneh Torah, Issurei Biah 21:16, SeMaG, lo Taaseh 126, Orchot Chaim, Ketubot 34, Tur, Even haEzer 21, Shulchan Arukh, Even haEzer 21:2. According to the Mishna, if a woman went to her wedding with hair uncovered, this serves as proof that she was a maiden, a virgin (i. e., never before married) at the time.Mishnah Ketubot 2:1 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 TalmudJerusalem Talmud, Ketubot 2:1 and is generally the accepted ruling today.Deracheha: Women and Head-Covering III: Who 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.Igrot Moshe, Even Haezer 1:57 and 4:32:4 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;"Dress Codes: Revealing the Jewish Wardrobe" , An exhibition focusing on this collection was presented at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem 11 March 2014 – 18 October 2014 however, upon Yemeni Jews' emigration to Israel and other places, this custom has been abandoned. Aharon Roth praised this custom.Sefer Shomer Emunim, Rav Aharon Roth zt"l Magen Avraham ruled that while unmarried women need not cover their hair, they must braid it so that it is not disheveled.Magen Avraham, 75:3 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 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 sometimes seen as non- or anti-feminist.

Scarves Mitpachat

Mitpachat (), also called a tichel (), is the headscarf worn covering the hair.Encyclopedia of Judaism: Tichel Mitpaḥot can range from a plain scarf of any material worn over the hair to elaborate head coverings using multiple fabrics and tying techniques.

According to Ibn Ezra, already in Biblical times, Israelite women wore a form of cloth head covering similar to that worn by Muslim women in his own time (12th century).Ibn Ezra to Exodus 38:8

A padded cap called a shaper, volumizer, or bobo, is sometimes worn under a scarf to create a more desirable shape.

Etymology The word is a Hebrew word which literally means a covering or mantle, though is also used to mean many other things such as towel, apron, bandage, or wrap. Its current meaning is taken from post-biblical Hebrew, and is most likely derived from the Hebrew word טִפַּח (tipaḥ), meaning spread out or extended.

The Yiddish word tichel is the diminutive of tuch ("cloth"). Compare German Tuch ("cloth"), and the corresponding Bavarian diminutive Tiachal, Tücherl ("small piece of cloth").

Shal

The shal ()—also called a , a portmanteau of the Yiddish-language word and the Arabic-language word —is a garment which fully covers the body and face. It has been associated with Israeli fundamentalist groups such as the Neshot haShalim and Lev Tahor, making it highly controversial. Proponents of the shal have been pejoratively referred to as “Taliban mothers” or the “Taliban sect” whose practices are an innovation that has “no basis whatsoever in halachah.”

However, face veils have been worn historically by Jewish women. Marc B. Shapiro has written that there are some traditional sources which describe and praise the custom of modest Jewish women covering their faces, including the Babylonian Talmud, Jerusalem Talmud, Mishnah, and Mishneh Torah. Jewish women in the Islamic world maintained this type of traditional clothing “until even the mid-20th century,” since “Jews dressed in the style of the surrounding society” and therefore continued to wear garments typically regarded as “Islamic dress,” such as the chador, niqab, and burqa.

Wigs Sheitel

Sheitel ( ; or ) is a wig or half-wig. The related term in Hebrew is () or pei'ah nochrit (). The Sheitel started to be used by some Jewish women as a headcovering in the 18th century, though its use has been opposed by traditional rabbis.

Traditional sheitels are secured by elastic caps, and are often designed with heavy bangs to obscure the hairline of their wearers. More modern lace-front wigs with realistic hairlines or real hair are growing in popularity.

Some modern Orthodox women cover their hair with wigs. A style of half wig known as a fall has become increasingly common in some segments of Modern and Haredi Orthodox communities. It is worn with either a hat or a headband.

Shpitzel

A shpitzel () is a head covering worn by some married Hasidic women. It is a partial wig that only has hair in the front, the rest typically covered by a small pillbox hat or a headscarf. The hairpiece may actually be silk or lace, or else made of synthetic fibers, to avoid too closely resembling real hair. The shpitzel was popular among Hungarian Hasidim in the 19th century, and it is worn by some contemporary women who follow the customs of that community.

Etymology The Yiddish word "Shpitzel" is related to the grammatical diminutive of the high-German word "Spitze" which can either mean "point" or "lace"; the latter translation is most likely the right one in the context of this article.

Acceptability