But no matter where you are or whatever the occasion, in the Orthodox Jewish world, what to wear is governed by the concept of modesty, called tzniut in Hebrew and tznius in Yiddish. From Tel Aviv to Massachusetts, it is with tznius in mind that clothing is chosen.
Tamara Fulton, a fashion stylist and lifestyle editor, who is married to an Orthodox rabbi and lives in London, explained: "There are lots of different Jewish communities all over the world with much diversity yet the underlying principles they share are the same.
Tznius is the word in Judaism that is slightly mistranslated to mean simply 'modesty,' but it's not just about modest dressing. Tznius applies to both men and women, and is based upon the concept of humility. It's really about how you are in the world, and how you carry yourself in a reserved but dignified manner," said Fulton. This usually means the following for Orthodox women: trousers are not worn, and skirts and dresses must fall below the knee, including when sitting; arms are covered to the elbow, and necklines are high-cut.
Often clothing is altered -- with slits in skirts sewn up and false necklines added. Layering is also often used to create final looks. The scene from "Unorthodox" when Esty's hair is shaved.
Once married, covering your hair is another one of the key principles of tznius. Not all women will shave their real hair, as Esty does during one of the most memorable scenes of "Unorthodox" her hair is in fact shaved for her.
But many observant women will either wear a scarf or a sheitel, the Yiddish word for wig. A Jewish teacher who taught in Israel in a girls' seminary and also lived in the Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, community in Manchester in the north of England agreed to be interviewed for this article, but asked not to be named for reasons of modesty. What is the basis for this Jewish practice, and what are some of the legal and social reasons for its variations? Where This Practice Comes From The origin of the tradition lies in the Sotah ritual , a ceremony described in the Bible that tests the fidelity of a woman accused of adultery.
From this, the Talmud Ketuboth 72 concludes that under normal circumstances hair covering is a biblical requirement for women. The Mishnah in Ketuboth , however, implies that hair covering is not an obligation of biblical origin. This categorization suggests that hair covering is not an absolute obligation originating from Moses at Sinai, but rather is a standard of modesty that was defined by the Jewish community. Though not all would agree, the late medieval German commentator Mordecai Ben Hillel Hakohen, known as the Mordecai, explains that these rabbinic definitions of modesty — even though they are derived from a biblical verse — are based on subjective communal norms that may change with time.
Historically speaking, women in the talmudic period likely did cover their hair, as is attested in several anecdotes in rabbinic literature. For example, Bava Kama 90a relates an anecdote of a woman who brings a civil suit against a man who caused her to uncover her hair in public.
The judge appears to side with the woman because the man violated a social norm. Another vignette in the Talmud describes a woman whose seven sons all served as High Priest.
When asked how she merited such sons, she explained that even the walls of her home never saw her hair Yoma 47a. They are making it to be impossible that their hair can ever be seen, because they don't have any. Another possible reason is because of the following: women routinely use a ritual bath. There could be a concern that if their hair is long it will not be fully submerged during the dunk.
Not all Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women shave their heads. Most of them do not. For the women who do not do it, they don't consider it necessary to go to such an extent to fulfill the modesty requirement. Rather, they are satisfied with just carefully keeping their hair covered. Next we will explain more about the modesty rules. When a Hasidic woman is married, her hair must be covered in public.
It must be completely obscured so that it is totally invisible. This is commonly done with a wig , scarf or hat. The reason for these rules about Hasidic womens' hair is: modesty.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews are very strict about this matter, which is called "Tznius. Some of them even shave their heads, as we explained previously. These hair modesty rules only take effect when a woman gets married. Up until marriage their natural hair does not need to be covered at all. Image modified by size. The most common ways that women will cover their hair is with a wig or scarf, and sometimes a hat. The wig they use is called a "sheitel" in Yiddish. It can be made of synthetic material, or made from real human hair.
Wigs are often purchased from a merchant called a "Sheitel macher," which basically means "wig maker" in Yiddish. Some of these wig salons are in a retail storefront while others are inside of the proprietor's home.
The wig proprietor will usually be a woman, because this is considered an intimate matter and therefore would be inappropriate to conduct with a man. It is common that Hasidic women will own 2 or more wigs: one for everyday use, and another for Sabbath, holidays and formal occasions such as a wedding. The scarf that some Ultra-Orthodox women will wear is called a "tichel. A hat may also be worn, although it typically will not fully cover all the woman's hair alone, so it will be in conjunction with a wig or scarf.
Hair restrictions are part of an extensive set of modesty rules which is called "Tznius" in Yiddish and Hebrew. Although the hair rules apply only upon marriage, the rest of the modesty rules apply to all ages, including children. These rules dictate that Hasidic Jewish women must keep their whole bodies covered in public at all times, basically except for their hands and face. Their arms will be covered with sleeves which always extend down past their elbows, usually until their wrists.
They will never wear pants - only dresses or skirts which are long and will extend down below their knees or until their ankles. Also, their feet and ankles will always be covered with socks. These modesty rules extend beyond clothing and appearance. For example, a woman does not touch or make physical contact with any man except her husband. Also, a woman does not sing in front of any men. Shenberger's sheitel is now an on-trend rainbow look, with blue and purple dyes swirling into yellow tips.
Shenberger doesn't always wear her wig. She dons caps and scarves and even a hoodie in colder weather and feels just fine. Some mornings, she feels like wearing a wig, which she bought at Zelda to match her naturally thick, brown hair. Other days, not so much. My relationship with my wigs is very fluid.
When Sash got married at 18, she shocked her family by initially being firmly anti-wig. And they were like, 'What did we do wrong? As the years have passed, Sash has come to wear wigs more frequently, most recently to connect better with voters who are from Orthodox communities.
But while women like Shenberger and Sash are exercising their choices around covering their hair when they see fit, other young women are trying to stay committed to covering at all times.
Olivia Garcia, 24, fixes the leopard-print scarf she uses to cover her hair when she's not wearing a wig. Take Olivia Garcia , a year-old newlywed from Baltimore who entered the shop looking to get the cap in her wig sized down. I struggled with, Am I just conforming to these norms? Or am I really doing this for me?
Although sheitels are associated with married women, there are unmarried women who wear them as well. Rochel Cohen, a year-old mother of two who's the head of sales at Zelda Hair, takes wearing wigs seriously despite being divorced for eight years now.
Her reasons for doing so stem from the fact that she dislikes her natural hair texture, and because of community expectations. I very much value that. We have very religious schools here. I don't want my kids to feel any different.
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