A Suggestion For The "Conservatives"9 of the Eighth Month 5769
Recently, I saw a woman, probably in her 20's walking down the street in Jerusalem, wearing a
kippah.
She was dressed quite modestly, too.
The combination of
kippah and woman has never looked right to me, even when there has been an attempt to feminize the
kippah.
Am I against women covering their heads? No, quite the contrary. I believe that women should cover their heads, yet for different reasons than those identifying with groups of Jews, embracing such concepts as "egalitarianism."
My suggestion is this, cover your heads with something more authentically Jewish. Sure, as long as I do not don a
massar or
turban or the like, and continue to wear a
kippah myself, I suppose I can't talk per se. But just humor me for a moment.
After all, I'm only making a suggestion. You can take it or leave it.
Not married? So what? "Feel" like you need a "vote from the past?" (Oh, right, that's "reconstructionism.") Then check out the view of the
Ramba"m:
הלכות אישות כד,יא [יב] ואיזו היא דת יהודית, הוא מנהג הצניעות שנהגו בנות ישראל; ואלו הן הדברים שאם עשת אחד מהן, עברה על דת יהודית: יוצאה לשוק או למבוי מפולש, וראשה פרוע ואין עליה רדיד כשאר הנשים, אף על פי ששיערה מכוסה במטפחת;
Laws of "Ishuth" 24:11 [12] And that which is Jewish Law is the custom of modesty which
B'noth Yisra'el have been practicing; and these are the things that if she had done one of them, she has transgressed Jewish Law: going out to the shuq or to an [occupied] alley, and her head is uncovered, and does not have a shawl upon it like all of the other women, even though her hair is covered in a kerchief....
And, before you ask,...Yes, he is referring to all women and girls, not just the married ones.
The added benefit of covering your hair is that you can show how much
"frumer," and "authentic-looking" you are than the many
"datti" women who unfortunately do not cover their hair, perhaps even giving added legitimacy to your group or "movement."
Think about it....
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Post Script: A few years ago, when I first spent Shabbath in the town of Eli, I noticed my host's daughters coming home from kindergarten with their respective heads covered. Since my host holds by the
Ramba"m, I commented on his daughters coverings, saying that really IS a
"Ramba"mist." He laughed, and said that no, his young daughters do not cover their hair due to the
Ramba"m, but rather it is an effective way to prevent them from catching lice.
Apparently, this custom was instigated by the large French immigrant population, which brought this practice from France.
I suggested that gradually we are being led back to authentic Jewish practices, albeit sometimes in roundabout ways.
Topic: A Suggestion For The "Conservatives" (Read 2525 times)