Jewish Scene
Rabbi Yosef comes out against wig-wearing
Ari Galahar
Published: 06.09.10, 07:35
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1. Rabbi; Why?
Jeremy ,   New Zealand   (09.06.10)
Wings make them looking hot. I saw in Melbourne some gorgeous blondes with a body to die for. When I looked closer I realised that they were dark Hassidic women. Still, very sexy, but religeous......
2. Could you imagine the punishment for NO headcovering?
Shalom   (09.06.10)
3. The Sephardi women I knew growing up never wore wigs
Raymond in DC ,   Washington, USA   (09.06.10)
Not one of the more or less traditional Sephardi women I knew growing up in South Florida, or in the more observant Syrian ghetto of Flatbush, or among our relatives in Israel wore a wig.The custom of a married woman shaving her head then wearing a wig is yet more nonsense imported from a few groups in Eastern Europe.
4. Funny, I thought it was arab men who were hostile to women.
Bunnie Meyer ,   Los Angeles, CA USA   (09.06.10)
5. no wigs
Jemma ,   usa   (09.06.10)
then natural hair is ok... just cover the head ...
6. Nothing new here
Israeli grandma   (09.06.10)
The idea of signaling a married woman's status by covering her hair is as old as the Torah.To put on a fashionable wig is equivalent to a hat (and many groups wear a wig with a hat on top of it) but it is in fact ridiculous to imitate what you are supposed to cover in public. The idea that a woman will burn in hell is of course a primitive attitude reminiscent of Christian or Islamic theology and was probably an idea adopted from surrounding goyish culture in earlier times.
7. ignorant man
Golan ,   modiin   (09.06.10)
the head covering of women is not torah law and was only instituted by Babylonian rabbis. It was not practiced by Jews in Israel. In fact it is a twisting of the law which requires the high priest of "Messing Up" פרע of a Sotah's hair. A Sotah is a married woman accused of adultery. According to the Talmus the High Priest may not mess her hair if it is calmly. In other words the High Priest sees her hair. Then some Iraqi Jew took this that a woman must cover her hair "except" for two fingers from the hari line. Yet some Hassid took this to mean a woman needs to shave her head after marriage... What can we learn from this? Rabbis are ignorant of the law because the way they learn does not allow them to READ the torah but only "learn" it from prejudiced commentaries which would not be available to them had they not conformed to the groupthink already in place.
8. What is a "fake wig" ?
michael redbourn ,   Arad - Israel   (09.06.10)
9. So, they aren't Jewish now? they are sinners?
Talula ,   Israel   (09.06.10)
Just because they want to look pretty? Do me a friggen favour - enough with this nonsense!
10. Rabbi Yosef
B.A. ,   Sweden   (09.06.10)
and Baba Sali speaks as Arabs, looks like Arabs, talk out as Arabs... Are we sure they are not in fact Arab islamists?
11. one can "burn in the world to come" because of stupidity?
mike ,   israel (formerly usa   (09.06.10)
let me see: first cut all of your hair off. then put on a wig so it looks like you really have hair. and then castigate those who don't do the same as improper and ungodly. how in the world could anyone have a problem with that?? it's tradition, man!
12. Hair Covering - Not Head Covering
Reuven Brauner ,   Raanana, Israel   (09.06.10)
The idea is that a woman covers her hair, not that she has her head covered. The use of a wig is acceptable as long as it is not made overtly attractive or long. Hitting the shoulders is the limit. Chazal understood that a woman's hair (not head), and surely when made up and decorated, is a source of arousal for men. Married women, particularly, should not do anything to attract the attention of any man other than her husband. Unmarried girls should also be careful in not wearing their hair loose in a provocative way. The same concepts apply to clothing.
13. reply to #7 - ignorant man
observer   (09.06.10)
Boy are you mixed up! You have completely distorted the Talmudic text. It is clear that you are not up to reading the original. I wonder where you got your interpretation from? It sounds like some xtian story to me. As for the historical precedents of covering hair, you may consider looking at the 'Lachish frieze' a beautifully-worked wall frieze made by Nebuchadnezzar's general to commemorate the capture and captivity of the town of Lachish. There is a facsimile in the British Museum, but photos are readily available. Notice that all the women have their hair covered. Not one adult with uncovered hair.. The men, on the other hand actually are bare-headed. this actually accords with the halachah, where a man's head-covering is a custom, whereas a woman's is Law.
14. Wigs
M. Hartley ,   Atlanta, US   (09.06.10)
If the good Rabbi could see what this "crowning glory" and temptation of men on my head looks like on most mornings, especially on days when the humidity around here hits 95%, he might actually offer to send a wig to me and spare family and friends having to wonder whether I'm wearing the mop again or whether I accidentally stuck my head into the food chopper. The natural growth of my hair proves that God has a sense of humor, even if it is, at least to me, a little warped.
15. Oh My ! What a moronic discussion!
Semper Fi! ,   San Diego, USA   (09.06.10)
Let me be clear abou it! ( this is how Al Obonga initiates speeches ) Noone with some brain in this world would listen to any of those fanatics. I'm considering starting up a business. Heading to a hairdresser salon, packing women cut hair in small envelopes, and selling to the religious idiots to get them aroused and even masturbate. Isn't a great idea? What you guys think?
16. for a minute I thought this report came from Iran
moshiko ,   eilat   (09.06.10)
17. #12 Offensive to women
Talula ,   Israel   (09.06.10)
So, a woman cannot go with shoulder length hair because men can't control themselves? Have you ANY IDEA, any at all, how disgusting and offensive that is to women? It’s a man’s issue, not a woman. Women have every right to look and feel their best, religious or not. If you or other men get aroused by anything with a skirt then it’s YOU that needs some intense therapy and self control. God you’re beyond pathetic.
18. 11 No, but because of idolatry worshipping your Yeshu--yes!
Israeli Jew ,   Israel   (09.06.10)
19. Couldnt we just burn these sinners in this world
Avi ,   Israel   (09.06.10)
Or at least a few lashes in the town square ...
20. #12 Reuven are you for real ?
Leah ,   Ramat Ha Sharon   (09.06.10)
Seems like you need to control your sexual urges or at the very least change your medication. Maybe i missed something has Raanana become part of Iran or something ?
21. and these people are superior to xtians how?
bob ,   NZ   (09.06.10)
its a revelation to hear so many smug comments on ynet mocking Christians. From an agnostic's point of view there is nothing about Judaism which marks it out as superior to Christianity. In fact as someone who was raised as an Anglican Christian ( xtians who dont take the bible as being literally true ) most of what is said by these Israeli Jewish religious leaders is way more retarded than anything Ive ever heard in a Christian church. Earthquakes and disasters are sent by God etc etc ...how retarded is that. Only the most crazy fundamentalist fringe xtians believe rubbish like that. The idea that Christians worship idols is also ridiculous. If I was a US evangelical Xtian supporter of Israel I would hard-pressed to feel well-disposed towards Jews like the xtian-bashing TBer ones on Ynet.
22. This is what is called thumb sucking.
Bartley Kulp ,   Haifa, Israel   (09.06.10)
Ynet had to find material to fill in the space. There is nothing new in Rav Ovadia Yoseph's position regarding wigs. This argument on head coverings go way back. There is no important news here, just a lot of thumb sucking.
23. TALULA
debbie   (09.06.10)
that's truth what you said. Men have to check their hearts. Are they so weak?
24. Look at the advertisements!
Michelle   (09.06.10)
The greatest irony of this article is that it has connected every wig advertisement that Ynet has to this story saying that wigs are not kosher!
25. 17 Talula:Ask a doctor to inject you with100mg testosterone
Rivkah   (09.06.10)
so you feel what a male feels all the time but has to suppress. It is aggression and desire that you have never known. After you stop bouncing off the walls and screaming at people and the testosterone wears off, then you will have some idea of the effect. I took ONE Provera tablet many years ago on prescription which is an androgenic hormone (male hormone similar to testosterone) and it made me feel murderous in rage, so I never took it again. It also causes cancer, so fewer women take it with estrogen, now. Testosterone is many times the effect of Provera and men have to somehow cope with that in their systems. Women who are holy do not want to flaunt their sexual assets hoping to be raped or molested. Women who are holy avoid situations that could compromise their moral values. They cannot go anywhere with anyone at anytime of the day or night and expect to maintain chastity. But to you, that means little. What are you going to say to the Lord when he asks you why you provoked males to sin with their hearts or bodies? It's real hot in hell and it is probably a nudist colony. You can flaunt everything there but you won't be happy.
26.  Rabbi Yosef ,you are not al one,
Salma ,   Palestine   (09.06.10)
Hamas with you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
27. 18 i don't worship yeshu
mike ,   israel (formerly usa   (09.06.10)
it's kind of hard for me to worship "yeshu" when i don't even know what it is.
28. Rabbi Yeshua said women should cover their heads because of
Rivkah   (09.06.10)
the angels unless they have long hair which is a covering. What is the danger of the angels he referred to that women must beware of? There are fallen angels who can take the form of human beings who are irresistable to women, who prey on them, seducing and abandoning or raping them, destroying their lives and their chastity which is emotionally very destructive to a holy woman, an especial prize for destruction to the fallen angels. Also, there are the Lord's angels on the earth and many are invisible but they can see what people do and are tempted to fall sexually. But if they fall, they become fallen angels and are eternally separated from the Holy Jerusalem and the Lord. A wig is a covering, but I think Rabbi Yeshua was referring to a scarf or talit type covering or a hat.
29. why are we paying attention to these mysogynistic ravings
Philippe ,   Tel Aviv, Iran   (09.06.10)
by crazy, archaic fanatics? Are there no more important problems in the world than whether a woman is stupid enough to shave her head and then cover it with a better version of her own hair "because G-d said so"? This is an insane collective missing of the point. These people need to get a job.
30. Oh the depths of spiraling fanaticism. Did he just inspire
R ,   Jerusalem   (09.06.10)
crazed men to go around spraying bleach or acid on women with wigs? The madness goes so deep. Its no wonder the majority of Jews turn away from Torah and spirituality. The rabbonim just throw so much baggage on a person, they run the other direction.
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