• The practice derives from Leviticus 19:27 in the Torah, which states: “You shall not round off the corners on your head, or destroy the corners of your beard.” According to the 12th-century scholar Maimonides, this prohibition was a way to differentiate Jews from idolatrous priests, who shaved their beards.
• The prohibition on shaving has traditionally been understood as barring the complete removal of the hair with a razor. And because for centuries it was generally too difficult to achieve a close shave without a razor, observant Jewish men tended to be bearded.

According to the historian, Rabbi Berel Wein, beard norms began to change among some Orthodox men in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, when chemical depilatories became available, enabling hair removal without a razor.

More recently, the advent of electric shavers makes it possible to achieve a close shave without a razor actually touching the skin. As a result, many men today do shave their beards while continuing to follow Orthodox interpretation of Jewish law. However it remains customary in most ultra-Orthodox circles to retain one’s beard as a sign of piety.

Some Jewish men, particularly Hasidic ones, refrain even from trimming their beards. Although there is no prohibition on trimming one’s beard with scissors, those who avoid it seek to avoid even approaching violating the Torah prohibition on shaving. This practice is influenced by Kabbalistic (Jewish mystical) traditions, which regard the beard as holy. Rabbi Isaac Luria, the kabbalist known by his acronym, the Ari, was said to have been careful not even to touch his beard lest some hairs fall loose.

For Hasidic and some other Orthodox men, the practice of not shaving at all extends to the sidelocks, known in Hebrew as payot (often spelled and pronounced payos, or payes) — literally “corners.” As with beards, practices on payot vary within Orthodoxy. Among Hasidic Jews, payot are often very prominent and sometimes curled, but they are also often tucked discreetly behind the ear. Many observant Jewish men consider it sufficient merely to avoid complete removal of the sideburns.

The rabbis of the Talmud considered beards attractive — referring to them as hadrat panim, the splendor of one’s face. According to a passage in the tractate Bava Metzia, the Talmudic sage Rabbi Yochanan was considered a beautiful man, yet he was not included on a list of rabbis whose beauty reflects that of the biblical patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). The reason, the Talmud offers, is that Rabbi Yochanan did not have a beard.

Some Jewish men who usually do shave nonetheless allow their facial hair to grow during periods of mourning. This is traditionally done for 30 days following the death of a close relative. It is also traditionally observed during two annual periods of communal mourning — the Omer period between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot, when Jews mourn the deaths of the students of the Talmudic sage Rabbi Akiva; and the three weeks between the fast days of the 17th of Tammuz and the Ninth of Av (Tisha B’Av) when Jews mourn the destruction of the ancient temples in Jerusalem.

The post Why Do So Many Orthodox Men Have Beards? appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Unlike the Indian tea chai, which is pronounced with the “ch” sound of “chocolate,” the Hebrew chai is pronounced with the same “kh” sound as in challah. Both words  rhyme with “high,” however.

Chai also refers to the number 18. That’s because each Hebrew letter has a numerical equivalent, and the sum of chet (numerical value of 8) and yud (numerical value of 10) is 18. As a result of its connection to the word for life, the number 18 is considered a special number in Jewish tradition. For this reason, Jews frequently make gifts or charitable contributions in multiples of $18.

In Hebrew, chai is often referred to in the plural form, chaim (חים), hence the boy’s name Chaim and the toast l’chaim (לחים), which, as anyone who has seen Fiddler on the Roof knows, means “to life.”

Chai pendants and other chai jewelry can be purchased at Judaica stores, many jewelry stores and online.

The post What Is the Meaning of Chai? appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

The Bible records many Israelites with piercings, including perhaps most famously the matriarch Rebecca, who was given a nose ring to celebrate her engagement with Isaac. Historically, in Jewish communities, ear and nose piercings have not been uncommon. For example, in the contemporary Western world, many Jewish women have ear piercings. And nostril piercings have historically been popular in the Jewish communities of Kurdistan and India.

Some contemporary authorities have raised concerns that body piercing can be considered a damaging body modification (prohibited by Jewish law) and others worry that certain kinds of piercings can run afoul of Jewish values of modesty (tzniut) and respect for the body as created in the divine image (b’tzelem elohim). However, most rabbinic authorities give some weight to contemporary mores, in particular the fact that body piercing is understood today not as a sign of bodily denigration, but as an act of adornment.

Is piercing discussed in the Bible?

Yes. In the Book of Exodus, the Torah prescribes that if a Hebrew slave declares that he loves his master and does not want to be set free, the master should pierce the slave’s ear with an awl. The association of ear piercing with slavery is sometimes taken as an indication that the Torah does not look favorably upon the practice. However, other references make clear that body piercing for aesthetic reasons was practiced in biblical times. In the Book of Genesis, Abraham’s servant Eliezer gives a gift of a nose ring to Rebecca, whom he hopes will become Isaac’s wife (Genesis 24:22). When the Israelites beseech Aaron to create the golden calf, Aaron responds by instructing them to take “the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me” — an indication that ear piercing was a practice among Israelite men as well as women (Exodus 32:2). In Ezekiel 16:12, both nostril and ear piercings are mentioned. Ornamental ear piercing is also mentioned as a common practice in the Talmud.

Is body piercing permitted by Jewish law?

The main halachic (Jewish law) issue raised by body piercing is the prohibition on wounding, which is derived from the prohibition in Deuteronomy 25:3 that when meting out a punishment of lashes, the guilty party may not be given more than 40 lashes. (On this verse, Maimonides comments that if the Torah was careful not to allow additional lashes for a sinner, how much more so for a righteous person.) Some rabbinic authorities have raised objections to cosmetic surgery on the grounds that it constitutes a violation of this principle, a position that could theoretically be extended to body piercing. (A secondary problem, which could also theoretically be applied to body piercing, is a philosophical objection to cosmetic surgery because it implies dissatisfaction with the way God created the human body.) Other rabbinic authorities, notably Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, a leading American halachic authority of the 20th century, saw no problem with cosmetic surgery, since the intent is not to wound but to beautify. On the whole, the prohibition on damaging the body is not broadly understood to bar the piercing of ears for aesthetic purposes.

Is there a difference between piercing ears and piercing other parts of the body?

Traditional Jewish law offers no obvious basis for differentiating between various kinds of body piercing. In a 1997 responsum on the question of body piercing, Conservative Rabbi Alan Lucas asserts that it is “hard to argue …that there is a substantive difference between the nonpermanent piercing of the ear for fashion purposes and the non-permanent piercing of the eyebrow, navel or even nipple.” Lucas goes on to note that health risks are associated with piercing certain sensitive body parts and that only “medically qualified” individuals should perform piercings.

Are there types of piercing that Judaism frowns upon?

Though there is no explicit blanket prohibition on body piercing, rabbis from all three of the major Jewish denominations have raised a number of concerns about the practice.

One of them is that excessive piercing is inconsistent with Jewish values. “The way we treat our bodies, including the manner in which we ‘adorn’ them, is a statement of our attitude toward our relationship with God and our duties under the covenant,” a Reform responsum from the late 1990s on the matter reads. “Let us consider, therefore, what sort of statement we make about ourselves and our bodies when we inject pigment into our skin, when we pierce our flesh with needles, wire, studs and spikes. Let us ask ourselves whether this is truly the way that we Jews, commanded to pursue and to practice holiness, should aspire to ‘beautify’ and ‘adorn’ ourselves.”

The Lucas paper raises a similar point: “Body piercing is not prohibited, although legitimate concerns regarding tzniut [modesty] and other traditional Jewish values should be taken into consideration and guide one’s choices.”

Orthodox authorities raise a number of additional issues with body piercing, though none are universally understood to unambiguously prohibit the practice. These include the prohibition loosely defined as “following the ways of the gentiles,” a principle derived from a number of verses in Leviticus understood broadly to forbid imitating the ways of non-Jewish peoples. For this reason, some Orthodox authorities urge those considering a piercing to reflect on their motivations for doing so. There are also concerns specifically about men getting piercings based on the biblical prohibition (in Deuteronomy 22:5) against men wearing women’s attire. In societies where it’s common for both men and women to be pierced, this would presumably not be a serious concern.

Does body piercing preclude burial in a Jewish cemetery?

No. It is a common misconception that body modification — tattoos in particular — disqualifies one from a traditional Jewish burial. This is not the case. Though some individual Jewish burial societies may decline to bury individuals for any number of reasons, there is nothing in Jewish law that calls for denying a Jewish burial to someone with a tattoo or a piercing.

The post Can A Jew Get Body Piercings? appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

The objects below are listed in alphabetical order. All can be purchased from most Judaica stores and online. (Prefabricated sukkahs and sukkah-building kits are available for purchase, although many people prefer to build their own.) Most of the objects listed — with the exception of the yad, shofar and Torah scroll, which are generally reserved for synagogue use —are commonly found in Jewish homes.

Want to take a deeper diver into the world of Jewish ritual objects? Sign up for our email series.

Challah Cover

An opaque cloth, often made from embroidered velvet although any fabric can be used, that is used to cover the challah bread at the outset of the Sabbath meal. It is customary to keep the loaves covered until after the kiddush blessing is recited over wine. Find a challah cover here.

Dreidel

A four-sided spinning top marked with the Hebrew letters Nun, Gimmel, Hey and Shin (Peh in Israel), an acronym for the phrase “A great miracle happened there” (“here” in the Israeli version). Dreidel is a game played during the festival of Hanukkah. Buy dreidels here.

Etrog

A lemon-like fruit known as a citron, the etrog is one of the four species — along with lulav (palm frond), hadas (myrtle) and aravah (willow) — used on the fall festival of Sukkot. Traditionally, the four species are taken together and waved each day of the seven-day festival. A fresh etrog must be purchased each year. Buy an etrog here.

Havdalah Candle

A braided candle with multiple wicks, these candles are used in the ceremony of Havdalah (literally, separation), which marks the transition between the end of the Sabbath and the beginning of a new week. Buy Havdalah candles here.

Kiddush Cup

A wine goblet, often made of silver, used for making Kiddush, a blessing over wine (or grape juice) recited at the beginning of most Jewish holiday meals. Buy a Kiddush cup here.

Kippah

Also called a yarmulke, a kippah is a skullcap worn during Jewish ritual activities, though some observantJews wear one all the time. Traditionally, it was worn only by men, but some women choose to wear one as well. Shop for a kippah here.

Lulav

The frond of a date palm tree, the lulav is the largest of the four species used on the holiday of Sukkot. A fresh lulav must be purchased each year. When the myrtle and willow are combined with the lulav for Sukkot, the three together are referred to as a lulav. Buy a lulav and etrog set here.

Matzah Cover

An opaque cloth used to cover the matzah (unleavened bread) on the Passover seder table. Buy a matzah cover here.

Menorah

Also called a hannukiyah, the Hanukkah menorah is a nine-stemmed candelabra (eight flames plus one “helper candle,” known as a shamash) used on that holiday. Distinct from the seven-candled menorah used in the ancient temple in Jerusalem, the hannukiyah symbolizes the miracle of the holiday, when an amount of oil suitable for one day of light burned for eight days. Buy a Hanukkah menorah here.

Mezuzah

A small box containing verses from the Torah written on parchment that is affixed to the right doorpost of Jewish homes. It often displays the Hebrew letter, Shin, the first letter of one of God’s names. The practice of affixing a mezuzah derives from Deuteronomy (6:9): “And you shall inscribe them on the doorposts (mezuzot) of our house and on your gates.” Buy a mezuzah here.

Seder Plate

The centerpiece of the Passover seder table. The seder plate traditionally holds five or six items, each of which symbolizes a part (or multiple parts) of the Passover story. Buy a seder plate here.

Shabbat Candles and Candleholders

Two or three candles that are lit just prior to sunset on Friday to usher in the Sabbath. Any candles can be used, but traditionally they are white and should be large enough to burn for the duration of the Shabbat meal. Many families have special candleholders reserved for their Shabbat candles. Buy Shabbat candles here. Buy Shabbat candlesticks here.

Shofar

A ram’s horn blown in synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, and at the conclusion of services on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. In the context of High Holiday services, the shofar serves as a call to repentance. Buy a shofar here.

Siddur (Prayer Book)

A siddur is a Jewish prayer book containing liturgy recited in synagogue services. While they are generally available for anyone to use at synagogue services, many people like to have their own. There are countless editions of the siddur corresponding to different periods in history, the variety of Jewish liturgical traditions and, in modern times, a proliferation of styles and ideologies. Find out how to buy or download a siddur here.

Spice Box

A spice box, often made of silver, is used to hold sweet aromatic plants, besamim in Hebrew, that are sniffed as part of the Havdalah service ending Shabbat. In Ashkenazi homes, cloves are a common choice. Sephardic communities use sprigs of various aromatic plants. Buy a Havdalah set here.

Sukkah

A sukkah is a temporary dwelling with a thatched roof used during the fall festival of Sukkot. Traditionally used for holiday meals, some Jews have the custom to live as much of their lives as possible in a sukkah during the holiday, even sleeping there. Buy a sukkah kit here.

Tallit

A prayer shawl made from wool, cotton or synthetic fibers traditionally worn during morning prayers. In Orthodox communities, a tallit (or tallis, in the Yiddish pronunciation) is traditionally worn by men, though women in non-Orthodox congregations — and sometimes in Orthodox partnership minyans — wear them as well as a matter of personal choice. As with siddurim, tallitot (the plural of tallit) are usually provided and available for use at synagogue services, but many people like to have their own. Buy a tallit here.

Tefillin

Tefillin (phylacteries in English) are two wooden boxes, filled with scriptural verses written on parchment and bound in leather straps, which are affixed to the head and left arm (right arm for the left-handed) during morning prayers, except on Shabbat and festivals. They are worn in fulfillment of the Torah directive to “bind them as a sign upon [their] hands and making them totafot [an enigmatic term] between [their] eyes.” Buy tefillin here.

Torah Scroll

A Torah scroll (Sefer Torah in Hebrew) refers to the Five Books of Moses (alternatively the Pentateuch, or Chumash in Hebrew) written on parchment that is read aloud in synagogues on Shabbat and holidays. In the Ashkenazi tradition, the scroll is affixed to two wooden rollers, covered in embroidered velvet and sometimes topped with silver ornaments known as rimonim (Hebrew for pomegranates). In the Sephardic tradition, the entire scroll is sheathed in a hard case.

Tzedakah Box

A tzedakah box, or pushke in Yiddish, is a receptacle for collecting money for charity. Buy a tzedakah box here.

Tzitzit

Tzitzit are the tassels affixed to the four corners of a tallit. They are also sometimes affixed to a four-cornered undergarment that is also called tzitzit (sometimes called tallit katan, or “small tallit.”). The practice of wearing tzitzit, traditionally by men, is biblical in origin. Buy tzitzit here.

Yad

A pointer, commonly made of metal or wood, that is used by the synagogue Torah reader to keep place in the scroll. Buy a yad here.

Yahrzeit (or Yizkor) Candle

A yahrzeit is the Hebrew anniversary of a person’s death, and a yahrzeit candle is a long-burning candle that is traditionally burned for 24 hours in that person’s memory. It is also known as a Yizkor candle; Yizkor is the memorial prayer service recited on several holidays. Buy yahrzeit candles here.

Want to take a deeper diver into the world of Jewish ritual objects? Sign up for our email series.

The post Jewish Ritual Objects: A Guide appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

While some liberal Jews have taken a fresh look at the topic, across the range of Jewish thought and practice, tattoos are still overwhelmingly perceived as inconsistent with the teachings of Jewish tradition.

Do tattoos violate Jewish law?

Most rabbis say yes. Their objection traces to Leviticus 19.28, which states: “You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, or incise any marks on yourselves: I am the LORD.” The Hebrew phrase k’tovet ka’aka (כתבת קעקע), here rendered as incision, is also sometimes translated as “tattoo.” According to the biblical commentator Rashi, the phrase refers to a kind of permanent, un-erasable writing engraved on the skin.

There is some debate about the source of this prohibition, but many commentators see it as rooted in a desire to distinguish Jews from idolators, some of whose practices involved the marking of skin as a sign of devotion to pagan deities. As a result, some have suggested that the Torah’s prohibition on tattoos is not absolute, but applies only to those markings associated with idol worship. However, Orthodox, Conservative and Reform authorities all agree that Leviticus and subsequent Jewish tradition reject the practice of tattooing outright.

READ: Body Piercing in Jewish Law

Within the Reform movement, there are some signs of a more lenient approach. While officially the movement’s rabbinic leaders have rejected tattooing as “an act of hubris and manipulation that most surely runs counter to the letter and spirit of our tradition,” the rabbis admit that their verdict is “subjective and laced with ambiguity.” In 2014, Reform Judaism magazine ran a cover story on tattoos, in which several Jews described their motivations for getting Jewish-themed body art. Rabbi Marshal Klaven, a tattooed Reform rabbi in Texas who wrote his rabbinical thesis on tattoos, argues that tattoos that affirm one’s Jewishness and connection to Jewish tradition would not seem to be prohibited.

Can I be buried in a Jewish cemetery if I have a tattoo?

This is so common a misperception that it has seeped into the wider culture, referenced  by Larry David in an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and prompting even the New York Times to consider the question. It is totally false. Though some individual Jewish burial societies may decline to bury tattooed Jews, the practice does not appear to be a common one and there is nothing in Jewish law that calls for denying a Jewish burial to an individual with a tattoo. Even the remains of Amy Winehouse, the heavily tattooed British Jewish singer who was cremated (another violation of Jewish law) after her death in 2011, were interred in a Jewish cemetery in London.

What about other Jewish rituals? Is having a tattoo grounds for exclusion?

No. Rabbi Alan Lucas, the author of the 1997 Conservative movement opinion on tattooing, asserts that those who violate the prohibition on tattooing should still be permitted to participate fully in synagogue life. As a rule, transgressing a particular commandment does not result in one’s exclusion from synagogue life. While some traditional communities might find it unseemly for a member with a visible tattoo to lead services or read from the Torah, there is nothing in Jewish law that requires someone be excluded. “It’s not different than a person who’s in violation of any prohibition in the Torah,” Rabbi Mark Dratch, executive vice president of the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America, tells MJL.

What about medical tattoos?

Medical tattoos are used to indicate the bearer’s medical condition or to identify a location on the body for a medical procedure. For cancer patients, tattoos are sometimes used to indicate the proper alignment of radiation equipment. When a life is at stake, nearly all Jewish laws can be violated, a concept called pikuach nefesh. In cases where there are alternatives, such as using markers, the permissibility of these types of medical tattoos is a matter of some dispute. However, if a tattoo is required for a life-saving procedure, it is permitted.

Tattoos are also sometimes used following reconstructive surgery. After a mastectomy, for instance, doctors occasionally use tattoos to enhance the natural appearance of breast reconstruction. The Reform movement specifically exempted these kinds of procedures from their ruling opposing tattoos. Among Orthodox authorities, the legal ramifications of such procedures remain a source of debate, though there is support for the idea that radical disfigurement that impedes normal social interaction constitutes a kind of intense psychic pain that might justify suspending the prohibition on tattoos.

Didn’t the ancient Hebrews engage in tattooing?

There are a number of biblical references to marking the body as a sign of connection to God. Nili Fox, a professor of Bible at the Reform movement’s Hebrew Union College, has highlighted several biblical passages that mention body marking as signs of God’s covenant with the Jewish people, though she acknowledges these may be merely “literary devices.” Nevertheless, among defenders of tattooing, these references are taken as evidence that Jewish tradition is less hostile to tattoos than the verse in Leviticus alone would suggest.

Should I have my tattoo removed?

There does not appear to be a requirement that one who has a tattoo should have it removed, though some have suggested that removal could be seen as a symbolic act of rectifying the original transgression. However, certain methods of tattoo removal, including plastic surgery or the injection of dyes that have the effect of covering up a tattoo, may themselves be violations of Jewish law.

The post The Tattoo Taboo in Judaism appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Answer: I have to quibble a little with your question, Alan. I’m guessing that you’ve seen Jewish men wearing yarmulkes, or kippot, and you haven’t seen women wearing them, so you’ve assumed that women don’t, as a rule, wear kippot. But that’s not actually true–go into any Reform or Conservative synagogue and you’re likely to see a fair number of women covering their heads.

Some women wear crocheted yarmulkes just like the ones worn by men. Others wear wire or beaded yarmulkes that are more feminine, and others cover their heads with scarves, hats, even headbands. Though these headcoverings may not look the same as the traditional ones you recognize, they are intended to serve the same purpose as the yarmulke on a man.

So what is the purpose of wearing a yarmulke? Covering one’s head is not a commandment found in the Torah or the Talmud. Instead, it’s a sign of reverence for God, a custom that became popular in the Middle Ages, and has stuck around since. Though some have suggested that covering one’s head is a way to remind oneself that God is always above, the primary function of a kippah today is to act as a sign of belonging to a certain group of people and of commitment to a certain way of life.

Why is the kippah only worn by men in traditional Orthodox communities? In these communities all ritual clothing–such as a prayer shawl, a Hasidic stock coat, or a kittel–is only worn by men. Women are not considered obligated to perform the commandments associated with some of these garments, so they don’t wear any of them. However, in these communities, married women do cover their hair, usually with hats, scarves, or wigs. This goes back to a commandment hinted at in the Torah, and stated more explicitly in the Talmud and later rabbinic texts. It’s a law unrelated to the kippah custom.

As you can see, there’s a lot of head and hair-covering in Jewish life, for men and women alike, in Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and other Jewish communities.

The post Ask the Expert: Can Women Wear Kippot? appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

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. According to the Torah, the priest uncovers or unbraids the accused woman’s hair as part of the humiliation that precedes the ceremony (Numbers 5:18). From this, the Talmud (Ketuboth 72) concludes that under normal circumstances hair covering is a biblical requirement for women.

The Mishnah in Ketuboth (7:6), 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 loose hair, weaving in the marketplace, and talking to any man” and calls these violations of Dat Yehudit, which means Jewish rule, as opposed to Dat Moshe, Mosaic rule. 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.

Having first suggested that hair covering is a biblical requirement — rooted in the Sotah ritual — and then proposing that it is actually a product of communal norms, the Talmud (Ketuboth 72) presents a compromise position: Minimal hair covering is a biblical obligation, while further standards of how and when to cover one’s hair are determined by the community.

Elsewhere in the Talmud (Berakhot 24a), the rabbis define hair as sexually erotic (ervah) and prohibit men from praying in sight of a woman’s hair. The rabbis base this estimation 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. However, it is significant to note that in this biblical context the lover also praises his beloved’s face, which the rabbis do not obligate women to cover. 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). The latter story is a story of extreme piety, surpassing any law or communal consensus; the former case may also relay a historical fact of practice and similarly does not necessarily reflect religious obligation.

Throughout the Middle Ages, Jewish authorities reinforced the practice of covering women’s hair, based on the obligation derived from the Sotah story. Maimonides does not include hair covering in his list of the 613 commandments, but he does rule that leaving the house without a chador, the communal standard of modesty in Arabic countries, is grounds for divorce (Laws of Marriage 24:12). The Shulchan Aruch records that both married and unmarried women should cover their hair in public (Even Haezer 21:2), yet the Ashkenazic rulings emphasize that this obligation relates only to married women. The Zohar further entrenches the tradition by describing the mystical importance of women making sure that not a single hair is exposed.

Varying Interpretation in the Modern Era

Today, in most Conservative and Reform communities, women do not cover their hair on a daily basis, though in some synagogues women still cover their heads during prayer. A Reform responsum (1990) declares: “We Reform Jews object vigorously to this requirement for women, which places them in an inferior position and sees them primarily in a sexual role.”

Both the Conservative and Reform movements allow, and in some cases encourage, women to cover their heads when praying or learning Torah, because of the requirement to wear a kippah. These rulings take head covering out of the realm of female sexual modesty, and instead define it as a ritual practice — for men and women alike — that signifies respect and awareness of God above.

In the contemporary Orthodox world, most rabbis consider hair covering an obligation incumbent upon all married women; however, there is variation in the form this takes. Some maintain that women must cover all their hair, for example the Mishnah Berurah forbids a man from praying in front of his wife if any of her hair is showing.

READ: It’s Yelp for Sheitels — the First-Ever Wig Review Site

Other Orthodox rabbinic figures have suggested that hair is no longer defined as erotic in our day and age, because most women in society do not cover their hair in public. Based on this logic, the Arukh HaShulhan concludes that men are no longer prohibited from praying in the presence of a woman’s hair, and Rav Moshe Feinstein ruled that women may show a hand’s-breadth of hair.

A few Orthodox rabbis in the early 20th century justified women’s decisions not to cover their hair at all, including the Moroccan chief rabbi in the 1960s, HaRav Mashash, and the lesser known American Modern Orthodox rabbi, Isaac Hurwitz — though they drew criticism for this opinion. In their writings, they systematically review the sources surveyed above and demonstrate that those sources describe a social norm of modest dress, but not a legal requirement.

“Now that all women agree,” Rabbi Mashash wrote, “that covering one’s hair is not an issue of modesty and going bare-headed is not a form of disrespect — in fact, the opposite is true: Uncovered hair is the woman’s splendor, glory, beauty, and magnificence, and with uncovered hair she is proud before her husband, her lover — the prohibition is uprooted on principle and is made permissible.”

What Women Do

While only a few traditional rabbis have reinterpreted the law of hair covering, throughout the generations women have acted on their own initiative. The first sparks of rebellion occurred in the 1600s, when French women began wearing wigs to cover their hair. Rabbis rejected this practice, both because it resembled the contemporary non-Jewish style and because it was immodest, in their eyes, for a woman to sport a beautiful head of hair, even if it was a wig. However, the wig practice took hold and, perhaps ironically, it is common today in many Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox communities. In some of these communities the custom is for women to wear an additional covering over their wig, to ensure that no one mistakes it for natural hair.

As the general practice of covering one’s head in public faded in Western culture in the past century, many Orthodox women also began to go bare-headed. Despite rabbinic opinions to the contrary, these women thought of hair covering as a matter of custom and culture.

Many women who continue to cover their hair do not do so for the traditional reason of modesty. For example some women view head covering as a sign of their marital status and therefore do not cover their hair in their own home. Others wear only a small symbolic head covering while showing much of their hair. Also in many communities, women have persisted in covering their hair only in synagogue.

In recent decades, there is an interesting trend among women who have learned the Jewish legal sources for themselves, due to advances in women’s education, and have decided to adopt a stringent stance toward hair covering, rather than following the more permissive norms of their parents’ communities. An entire book, Hide and Seek (2005), tells these women’s stories.

Modesty, as a Jewish value, is continually being refined and redefined by Jewish women and their communities. Just as some women have chosen to deemphasize hair covering as a marker of modesty, in other communities women may choose to embrace it, developing and reinforcing a more traditional communal norm. As modesty is subjectively defined, the community to which one wishes to belong may play a large role in determining practice. The decision to cover one’s hair rests at the crossroads between law and custom, personal choice and community identification.

For further reading check out:

What to Watch After Unorthodox

18 Things to Know About Shira Haas

On the Set of Unorthodox I Brushed Up Against My Hasidic Past

The post Hair Coverings for Married Women appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Kippah: Head Covering

The kippah (in Yiddish, yarmulke) is worn during prayer services by men, and has become optional for women as well in Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist congregations. (In some Reform congregations, the kippah is also optional for men.) Jewish tradition does not require any specific type of head covering.

A kippah can be worn conveniently under a street hat, as was the custom of most Jews in the first half of the 20th century. It is still the practice of many Orthodox Jewish men to wear a head covering throughout the day, not just during prayer. (One tradition holds that a Jewish man should not walk more than four cubits in any direction with an uncovered head.)

Tallit: Prayer Shawl

The tallit is a large rectangular shawl made of wool, cotton or synthetic fibers. In each of the four corners of the shawl are strings tied in a particular pattern, called tzitzit. The origin of the tzitzit is biblical; the practice is prescribed in Numbers 15. The precept is to put these strings on the four corners of one’s garment — in ancient tradition, with a single strand of blue as well–as a reminder of the duties and obligations of a Jew. Since we no longer wear four-cornered garments, the tallit is worn specifically to fulfill the biblical precept.

Traditionally, men wear a tallit during morning services; in non-Orthodox synagogues, many women also wear a tallit. In some Orthodox congregations, only married men wear a tallit. One may see people gathering the tzitzit in their left hand and kissing them when the paragraph from the Torah referring to them is recited.

Tefillin: Phylacteries

The tefillin consist of two black leather boxes and straps to hold them on. One is worn on the biceps, and its strap, which is tied with a special knot, is wound by the wearer seven times around the forearm and hand—on the left arm for right-handed people and on the right for those who are left-handed. The second box is worn on the forehead at the hairline, with its straps going around the back of the head, connected at the top of the neck with a special knot, and hanging in front on each side.

Four passages in the Torah call upon the Israelites to keep God’s words in mind by “bind[ing] them as a sign upon [their] hands and making them totafot [an enigmatic term] between [their] eyes.” Tefillin, as ordained by the rabbinic leaders of classical Judaism, are intended to fulfill that commandment.

The tefillin are worn during morning services except on Shabbat or festivals. Most men wear tefillin in Orthodox and Conservative congregations, as do some women in Conservative congregations. The use of tefillin is less prominent in Reform and Reconstructionist congregations by both men and women. Inside the tefillin are handwritten parchments with texts from the four passages mentioned above.

Learn how to buy tefillin.

Learn how to put on tefillin.

Gartel

Some men in Hasidic communities wear a cloth belt, called a gartel, during prayer. Some take it as a symbol of “girding one’s loins with strength” — a potent biblical image.

The use of special garments for prayer is full of historic and contemporary symbolism. One envelops oneself in the tallit, creating a private space for prayer and meditation in the midst of the larger congregation, its tzitzit providing a reminder of one’s duties and obligations as a Jew. The binding of the arm and the head with tefillin reminds the wearer to use her or his physical and mental powers for the service of God throughout the day, controlling action and thought in order to bring blessing to others and self. Jewish men have been wearing these items for more than two millennia, and so they are a powerful symbol of continuity over time.

The post Kippah, Tallit and Tefillin appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

A kittel may also be worn at a Passover seder, under the chuppah (wedding canopy) at a wedding, during the recitation of Tefillat Geshem (Prayer for Rain) on Shemini Atzeret, and during Tefillat Tal (Prayer for Dew) on Passover. Some people are also buried in their kittels.

The post What Is A Kittel? appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Speak to the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner. That shall be your fringe; look at it and recall all the commandments of the LORD and observe them…

Numbers 15:38-9

The precept is to put these strings on the four corners of one’s garment — in ancient tradition, with a single strand of blue as well — as a reminder of the duties and obligations of a Jew. Since most people no longer wear literally four-cornered garments, the tallit is worn specifically to fulfill the biblical precept.

Traditionally, men wear a tallit during morning services; in non-Orthodox synagogues, many women also wear a tallit. In some Orthodox congregations, only married men wear a tallit. One may see people gathering the tzitzit in their left hand and kissing them when the paragraph from the Torah referring to them is recited.

Most synagogues have prayer shawls available for visitors to use during services. However, many people prefer to purchase their own prayer shawl. A wide variety are sold at most Judaica stores and on the Internet.

Before putting on the prayer shawl, it is customary to say the following blessing:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הַעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לְהִתְעַטֵּף בְּצִיצִית

Baruch atah adonai
Eloheinu melech ha olam
Asher kidishanu b’mitzvotav
Vitzivanu l’hitatef b’tzitzit.

Blessed are you Lord our God
Ruler of the Universe
Who has sanctified us with your mitzvot
And commanded us to wrap ourselves in tzitzit.

Watch the video below for a demonstration of how to put on tallit:

The post Tallit (The Prayer Shawl) appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

A Brief History of Jewish Head Covering

Traditionally, Jewish men have covered their heads for centuries as a sign of reverence and respect for God’s presence above. Some Jewish women cover their hair when they are married in order to be modest in appearance. This article focuses on hats worn for the purpose of reverence; modesty hair coverings — scarves, wigs and hats worn mostly by Orthodox women — are discussed here.

The origins of Jewish head covering practices are not entirely clear. The Torah says that Aaron, the first high priest, wore a head covering as part of his ceremonial garb (Exodus 28:36–38). In the Talmud, Rav Huna is quoted as saying that he did not walk a distance of four cubits (about six feet) with his head uncovered to acknowledge the divine presence above his head (Shabbat 118b). The mother of Rav Nahman bar Yizhak learns that her son is destined to be a thief and so she makes him cover his head and pray for divine mercy. He manages to behave well until that covering accidentally slips off and he succumbs to the temptation to steal some dates (Shabbat 156b).

Though these ancient texts seem to imply that head covering was specifically the province of Jewish religious leaders, by the medieval period it was widespread. Maimonides wrote that head covering was required for prayer (Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Tefillah 5:5) and the most influential medieval Jewish law code, the Shulchan Aruch, states that men are to cover their heads when walking more than four cubits (like Rav Huna did). By this time, head covering was de rigeur for Ashkenazi Jews.

In the 20th century, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, and American Orthodox legal authority, issued a special dispensation for men to not wear a kippah at work if necessary — implying that the practice is generally obligatory.

Today, most Jewish men who identify as Orthodox cover their heads at all times (except when sleeping or bathing). Jews from non-Orthodox movements also cover their heads — men and, in some cases, women. Some wear a head covering all the time, others wear one just inside a synagogue, while studying Torah and/or when eating. Many choose a kippah for this purpose (also called a yarmulke or skull cap), but others fulfill the obligation with any kind of secular head covering (baseball caps are popular).

In the Reform movement, many do not cover their head even in synagogue as this was actively discouraged at one time, though in recent years the movement has moved back toward head covering during prayer.

Below is a sampling of different kinds of Jewish head coverings worn in various communities around the world.

The Kippah: Knit, Felt, Satin, Bukharian and more

A kippah, or yarmulke, is a kind of minimal cap that covers the crown of the head. It is worn for religious purposes, not for sun protection or keeping off rain. Some Jews will wear a kippah under a different kind of hat.

There are several styles of kippot (the plural of kippah) that are common around the world. Often, the style of kippah worn signals the religious (and even political) affiliation of the wearer.

Knitted Kippah

The name aside, this kind of kippah is actually crocheted and is favored by Modern Orthodox Jews and Dati Leumi in Israel. They come in a variety of colors and patterns, with styles constantly changing, and sometimes playful variations. Some Jews who lean in a slightly more Orthodox direction will favor an all-black version of the same kind of kippah.

Suede Kippah

This style is popular in a variety of contexts. It is common among more liberal Jewish streams, and is frequently produced in a rainbow of hues and embossed specially for bar and bat mitzvahs and weddings. This style is also worn by some haredi Jews, usually in black and usually under another hat when outdoors.

Velvet Kippah

A black velvet kippah, which is made with a cloth lining, is favored by haredi Jews, but can be found in other Jewish contexts as well. Some haredi Jews regard the velvet kippah as fulfilling a more stringent obligation to have two layers on one’s head, though not all agree with this view.

Bukharian Kippah

These hand-embroidered, colorful kippot are usually larger than other kinds, covering most of the top of the head and secured by a wide band. They are worn by Bukharian Jews (of course) but also many other Jewish children because they are less likely to slip off the head than other styles. Lots of other Jews also enjoy these beautiful head coverings.

Satin Kippah

These soft, looser lined kippot are especially popular among older generations of Reform and Conservative Jews.

Yemenite Kippah

Yemenite Jews traditionally wear a stiff black kippah shaped like a dome. They are usually made of velvet and have decorative borders.

Breslov Kippah

These large kippot knitted from white yarn often have a pom on top and a slogan of the Breslover community around the edge. A similar white style, without the slogan, is worn by some non-Breslover Hasidic children.

Large Hats: Shtreimel, Fedora and more

Haredi Jews often recognized by their distinctive dress, including large black hats. But while black hats that are worn during the week and fancier (sometimes fur) hats are favored on Shabbat and other special occasions. These are generally worn over top of a kippah because two head coverings are considered more meritorious than one.

Shtreimel, Spodik, Kolpik

These are all large, cylindrical fur hats usually worn on Shabbat or festivals and to weddings. The streimel is a very wide brown hat made from animal tails (usual fox, marten or minx) while the spodik tends to be taller and dyed black. Because a spodik is dyed, it is a less expensive hat, though neither style is cheap. Which one you wear is usually determined by the Hasidic sect of which you are a member.

The kolpik is brown like a streimel but tall like a spodik, and usually worn by Hasidic leaders on special occasions, and sometimes by their sons and grandsons as well.

There is a great deal of lore around the origins of these hats. Some believe that, like other elements of traditional Hasidic garb, shtreimels were simply fashionable in Eastern Europe in the early modern period. When Poland was conquered by Napoleon in the early 19th century, many Poles started to wear more western styles, but Hasidic Jews retained more traditional Polish styles, including the shtreimel. 

There is also a legend that the Polish authorities demanded Jews wear tails on their heads, as a way to mark and humiliate them. The Jews constructed shtreimels out of tales to look like crowns, inverting the proclamation.

Fedoras, Hoiche Hats and Platchige Biber Hats

Not all Hasidic Jews wear fur hats. Members of Chabad, for example, favor fedoras. During the week especially, other sects wear hoiche hats: black, high-crowned hats with brims. The platiche biber hat is similar but has a lower profile. Sometimes, a rosh yeshiva, the head of a Jewish house of study, will wear a variation of one of these hats with the brim turned up.

Kashket

Some Hasidic children wear a hat called a kashket as an alternative to a kippah. This is shaped something like a Bukharian kippah — having a wide band and no brim — but it is usually entirely black and made of felt.

Fez or Tarboush

This cylindrical red cap, sometimes with a tassel, was traditionally worn by Jews from the former Ottoman empire, especially Morocco. Jews tend to call it by its Arabic name, Tarboush.

Jews have been proudly sporting hats for centuries — and sometimes have worn them under duress. In the medieval period, some Jews were required by the authorities to wear distinctive hats that would mark them as Jews. Today, thankfully, that is no longer the case — they are worn for religious and cultural reasons. This list of styles is not exhaustive, and the fashions continue to evolve.

The post The Meaning Behind Different Jewish Hats appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Distinctive Jewish Garments Today

During synagogue services, Jewish men traditionally don prayer shawls and cover their heads with kippot, practices that some liberal Jewish women have adopted as well.

While most Jews dress similarly to non-Jews when outside synagogue, many Orthodox Jews are recognizable by their distinctive garments worn for reasons of ritual, tradition or modesty. In particular, Orthodox (and some non-Orthodox) men cover their heads with kippot, and some cover these with black hats or a shtreimel, a type of fur hat. More stringently Orthodox men often wear black suits, and many Hasidic men wear suits that are reminiscent of the style Polish nobility wore in the 18th century, when Hasidic Judaism began. Many Orthodox men also wear a tzitzit, a four-pointed garment with fringes on the corners, underneath their shirt — sometimes the fringes hang out from the shirt, but sometimes they are not visible.

Many Orthodox women eschew pants and instead stick to dresses and skirts. In addition, Orthodox women generally wear modest clothes that cover much of their bodies, although how much is covered varies dramatically from community to community.

READ: Dare to Bare Those Ankles

In some ultra-Orthodox communities, women are discouraged from wearing bright, attention-getting colors. Once married, most Orthodox women cover their hair, whether with a hat, wig or scarf.

What the Torah Says About Clothing

The Torah says little about clothing, either descriptively or prescriptively. Without explanation, it prohibits blending wool and linen in a garment (such garments are known as shatnez), in the same verse forbidding “mixing” different seeds and species of cattle (Leviticus 19:19). It forbids men from wearing women’s clothes and vice versa (Deuteronomy 22:5), without specifying the characteristics of either. It also requires Jews to put fringes on the corners of a four-pointed garment (Numbers 15:37-41), both as a way of identifying the Jew and reminder reminding the Jew to observe the mitzvot.

On the other hand, the Torah provides extensive detail regarding the clothing of the priests, and particularly the High Priest, for their duties in the Tabernacle in the desert (Exodus 28), later adopted for the Temple in Jerusalem. Yet while the High Priest’s garb was elaborate, colorful and full of symbolism, for Yom Kippur, the one day a year he would enter the most holy portion of the sanctuary, he was to wear only white linen (Leviticus 16:4), a sign of humility. White clothing became the symbol of purity, and black a sign of mourning. Nowadays mourning is indicated by the tearing of a garment.

Jewish Dress in Ancient and Medieval Times

When the Jews were sovereign in their land in ancient times, the standard of dress of those who were wealthy, such as successful landowners, reflected their status. The nobility and upper classes dressed more elegantly. The styles of the neighboring peoples also had their influence. But when the Jews were exiled (70 C.E.) and lived under foreign control, the impoverishment of many Jews became evident in their dress.

In some cases, over time the Jews adopted distinctive dress voluntarily, to separate themselves from the prevailing culture. In others, they were required by law to dress in a particular way, e.g., special hats and badges in medieval Spain and 13th-century Poland. Jews of Eastern Europe came to adopt fashions of the early modern Polish nobility, such as the black robe (caftan) and the fur hat (shtreimel), which are still worn by various groups of ultra-Orthodox Jews.

The origins of men covering their heads with a hat or yarmulke (skullcap) are not clear. The Talmud relates several incidents where covering the head is considered a sign of submission to divine authority. Some attribute it to the Jews’ need or desire to differentiate themselves from Christians, for whom removal of the hat was a sign of respect. By the 16th century, it had become common enough to be codified as normative behavior among the more observant, who still cover their heads all day or at least during prayer and study.

For women, the uncovered head was from earliest times considered immodest, if not worse. Married women covered their heads so as not to draw the attention of other men. The sheitel (wig) worn by very religious married women is a relatively late variation on this. These practices are observed today only in very traditional circles.

Over the ages, rabbinic authorities often spoke out on two matters related to clothes– against excessive or gaudy styles and in favor of keeping clothing, particularly for women, “modest.” On the other hand, it has long been a custom for Jews to have special clothes for Shabbat and festivals, contributing to the special character of these days.

The post Jewish Clothing appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

So, you can imagine the discomfort I felt experimenting with wearing this ritual garb when I started thinking about becoming a rabbi. Wearing a tallit was fairly easy. I bought a beautiful multicolored tallit and loved the feel of enveloping myself in it. It felt a bit like God was reaching out and giving me a hug. Wearing a kippah was a bit harder. It was not physically uncomfortable, but I hated how it messed up my hair. Vain, I know, but true. I just did not like the way it looked. Wearing teffilin was harder still. I was given a gift of teffilin which were way too big for me. They had large black leather boxes and thick black lengths of leather that I needed to wrap around my arms. They were uncomfortable to wear.

Having written my undergraduate thesis on Jewish Feminism, I knew that women had fought for the right to wear these ritual objects. I wanted to embrace the practice of wearing them. But even after years of trying, I still feel ambivalent about wearing a kippah, and have stopped wearing teffilin entirely.

These ritual garments are important symbols with in Judaism. A religious Jew defines him or herself by how he or she dresses. In more liberal circles, a rabbi often stands out in the crowd by wearing a kippah or a tallit. The donning of these garments for prayer is a meaningful way to state ones intention to pray and forge a deeper connection to God. Some Jews believe that wearing these garments is a command form God that they must follow. There is great historical and emotional weight attached to the wearing of these garments.

I struggled for years to become comfortable with my own practice of wearing a kippah and tallit when I pray, but not wearing a kippah at other times as many of my colleagues do. In addition, since I found teffilin to interfere with my ability to pray rather than to enhance it, I no longer wear them.

I am now comfortable with my decisions. But what do I teach my daughter?

She attends a Conservative Jewish day school. Boys are required to wear a kippah. Girls are not required to cover their heads at all. When they reach bar or bat mitzvah age, boys are required to wear tallit and tefillin. Girls have an option to do so. Most of the girls in the younger grades do not wear a kippah, and most of the girls in the older grades do not wear tallit or tefillin.

You might think this practice echoes my own, so I am happy with the school’s policies. But I am not. I am frustrated. I am caught in a bind. This policy which is echoed across the Conservative Movement’s synagogues, camps, and schools (both afternoon and day) does not sit well with me. By not requiring the same practice from the boys and girls we are sending them a message that God expects different things of them. We may even be sending the message that girls are less than boys because less is expected of them. To have fully egalitarian practices we must have the same standards for both boys and girls.

And yet, boys and girls are different. Like me, many girls may not want to wear a kippah. So let’s get creative. Why not make the requirement for some kind of head covering, which is after all what the Jewish law calls for, but not specify what kind of head covering.  The shape of a kippah is not required. Why not let children choose between, a kippah, a hat, or a head band or scarf? This would let boys and girls adhere to the letter of the law while allowing for personal expression.

Why not require all to wear a tallit, and have them make or buy one of their own choosing as many already do?

Why not require teffilin for all and bring the children shopping to choose larger or smaller pairs. And why, oh why, can’t they decorate them in some way to make them more appealing. I have studied this. I know the letter of the law calls for them to be plain black leather. But if we want our children, both boys and girls to connect meaningfully to this traditional practice, then we need to figure out a way to make it more inviting for them to do so. Otherwise, make this practice optional for all.

I believe wearing ritual garb to be important and meaningful on many different levels. But I also believe in egalitarian practices, especially when they send messages to our children. The time has come for the Conservative Movement in particular, and other Jewish communities as well, to address this issue of ritual garb for boys and girls, men and women. One practice does not necessarily work for all. Let’s make a variety of different kinds of practices normative.

The original goal in wearing ritual garb is to deepen our own spirituality and connection to God, or whatever you call the force in the universe. Let’s return to that intent and see what new interpretations and practices grow out of that, and let us welcome them.

The post Should Girls Wear Kippot? The Answer Will Surprise You! appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

There is no halakhic requirement to cover one’s head, but it is considered a sign of reverence for God. Keeping the head covered at all times has mystical significance, and for this reason some people cover their heads twice — a hat over a kippah, or a tallit (prayer shawl) over a kippah —while praying.

Kippot can be made out of many materials. In traditional Orthodox communities, men wear black velvet or silk kippot, often under hats. In Modern Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform communities it is common to see men wearing leather or crocheted kippot.

The post What Is A Kippah? appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Tzitzit fulfill the following commandment in Numbers 37, in the Torah portion called Parshat Shlah:

Speak to the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner. That shall be your fringe; look at it and recall all the commandments of the LORD and observe them, so that you do not follow your heart and eyes in your lustful urge. Thus you shall be reminded to observe all My commandments and to be holy to your God.

The commandment to wear tzitzit is repeated in the V’ahavta section of the Shema prayer.

While traditional Jewish law says one must have these tzitzit on every four-cornered garment one wears, today most clothing doesn’t have corners. Instead, the tzitzit are on the prayer shawl and on a special small tallit, called a tallit katan, that some traditional Jews wear under their clothes. Some let the tzitzit from their tallit katan hang out, while others tuck them in.

The tzitzit are attached to the corners and knotted according to a specific pattern. For an explanation of the pattern and its significance, click here. To learn how to tie tzitzit, click here.

The video below also provides instructions:

The post Tzitzit, the Fringes on the Prayer Shawl appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

A Virtual Festival

In the abundant body of medieval literature that was devoted to the meticulous description of personal and local customs, whether in Germany, France, Spain or other centers of Jewish habitation, we hear not a single mention of any obligatory time or method for a child’s first haircut.

As was true with respect to many areas in Jewish religious customs, a fundamental turning point occurred in the 16th century among the residents of the mystic northern Israeli town of Safed. The disciples of the renowned Kabbalistic teacher Rabbi Isaac Luria (the “Ari”) reported that their revered teacher used to go to the tomb of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai in Meron to cut the hair of his young son “in accordance with the well-known custom.” The day was celebrated as a virtual festival.

Evidently, Rabbi Luria’s custom was not associated with a particular date on the calendar. A later tradition cited in his name associated the first haircut with the child’s third birthday. Among the Safed mystics, the custom arose of cutting the haircut on Lag Ba’Omer, which was celebrated as the yahrzeit (Hebrew anniversary of the death) of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai who was venerated as alleged author of the Zohar, the central document of Kabbalistic teaching. Lag Ba’Omer became the occasion of a festive pilgrimage to Rabbi Shimon’s tomb in Meron. It is impossible to trace the origins of this “well-known custom,” inasmuch as Safed itself had virtually no Jewish history prior to its rise to eminence in the days of Rabbi Luria and his school following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal.

An important clue to the practice’s source is suggested by the fact that it was usually referred to as halaqah, from an Arabic word designating the cutting of hair. Indeed, examination of Middle Eastern folk practices reveals that offerings of hair were used for diverse religious purposes, including vicarious sacrifice, fulfillment of vows (in a manner reminiscent of the biblical nazir), or as a rite of passage. A ceremony called ‘Aqiqah is performed by many Muslims on the third, seventh or eighth day after a birth, and it is often associated with the baby naming. The ceremony normally included a ritual cutting of the infant’s first hair, alongside the offering of an animal sacrifice. Of especial relevance to our topic is the custom among Arab mothers of consecrating their children to God or to a saint in return for a safe childbirth. At some subsequent point in the lad’s life, his hair is ritually cut at a religious sanctuary or shrine as payment of the vow. Until the completion of the vow, it was forbidden to cut the child’s hair. This practice is attested among the Muslims of Safed.

Among Greek Catholics in Northern Syria, a collective shearing of 12-year-old boys was held on April 23, a date that is intriguingly close to that of Lag Ba’Omer.

Early descriptions of the Jewish hair-cutting ritual also stipulate that the hair should be weighed, and its equivalent in silver or gold donated to religious or charitable purposes. This element is also common to most of the non-Jewish versions of the practice.

Although the ritual came to be identified with the Lag Ba’Omer festivities at Meron, the timing was subject to several variations. Many Sephardic Jews preferred to hold it in the synagogue during the intermediate days of Passover. In Yemen, a festive cutting of the bridegroom’s curls was incorporated into wedding ceremonies. On that occasion, the couple’s 3-year-old relatives were also given their first haircuts.

In reality, the practice of offering one’s hair for a religious purpose is a very ancient one, and was very widespread among the ancient Greeks. It was customary for youths in those days to shave their heads, or a particular lock that was grown for that purpose, as part of a coming-of-age rite, offering it to Apollo, Heracles or a river god. These rituals were frequently associated with boisterous carousing, and were singled out by the rabbis of the Talmud as idolatrous acts that should not be emulated or assisted by self-respecting Jews (even if they happened to be barbers).

The Kabbalistic and Hasidic circles that rediscovered these dubious customs many centuries later possessed a marvelous flare for providing ingenious proof-texts to justify them. A favorite precedent was the biblical law of orlah that forbids the eating of fruit until after the tree has passed its third year. An old midrashic text had drawn a general symbolic comparison between the fruit and a human child, inspiring later rabbis to extend the analogy to the child’s first haircut, which marks a significant milestone in the development process.

Even cleverer was a tradition ascribed to Rabbi Isaac Luria himself, based on the Torah’s procedures for purifying one afflicted with a skin disease. At a certain stage in the process, the Torah (Leviticus 13:33) requires that the patient’s hair be shaved. The Hebrew word for “shave,” vehitgaleah, is standardly written with an oversized gimel, a letter that has the numerical value of three. This calligraphic peculiarity was seized upon as a biblical mandate for the practice of cutting the hair of three-year-old boys.

Whether under the Arabic name halaqah or its Yiddish equivalent upsherin, the religious ceremonies for the first haircut were generally confined to specific communities of Sephardic Kabbalists or East European Hasidim. In recent years they have enjoyed a more general popularity.

As with many folk customs, it is difficult to draw precise lines between the diverse elements of pagan superstition, inter-religious borrowing, mystical secrets, and normative Jewish observance. The distinctions between these realms can be as thin as a hair.

Reprinted with permission of the author from the Jewish Free Press (May 3, 2001).

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Tzniut means modesty, simplicity, a touch of bashfulness, and reserve. But perhaps above these, it signifies privacy. It is the hallmark of Jewish marriage, and the rabbis refer to it as the specific quality to look for in the ideal mate.

The classical symbol of tzniut is the veil. It bespeaks privacy, a person apart; Isaiah (3:18) calls it tiferet (“glory”). The Assyrians ruled that a harlot may not wear a veil, to imply that she is on public exhibit (Code of Hammurabi). The veil was instinctively donned by Rebecca as soon as she observed her future husband in the distance (Genesis 24:65). That is one reason why the ceremony immediately prior to the wedding celebration is the bedeken, or the veiling of the bride by the groom, who blesses the bride with the ancient words spoken to Rebecca.

The principle of tzniut rejects all nudity, not only in public, but also before family members at home. (Thus one must not pray or recite the Shema prayer while one is naked or standing in the presence of a naked person.) The rejection of nudity recalls Adam and Eve who, after committing the first sin, realized they were naked and instinctively felt ashamed and hid (Genesis 2:25). The same attitude reappears when Noah curses Ham, who saw his father exposed (Genesis 9:21-27).

Tzniut also implies modesty in dress. Traditionally covered parts of the body should not be exposed, although one can dress stylishly. This attitude issues from a very highly refined sense of shame, an emotion often denigrated today in the name of freedom. Not only did the Bible prohibit removing all clothing, it did not permit wearing any garments belonging to the opposite sex (Deuteronomy 22:5), as this might lead to unnatural lusts, lascivious thoughts, and a freer intermingling between the sexes.

Modesty is About More than What One Wears

Tzniut means discreet habits, quiet speech, and affections privately expressed, and infers the avoidance of grossness, boisterous laughter, raucous behavior, even “loud” ornaments. This is not merely a series of behavioral niceties, a sort of Bible’s guide to etiquette, but a philosophy of life.

This concept of modesty does not imply a rejection of the body. On the contrary, the Jewish people are taught to respect the body. Hillel [an early rabbinic sage] did not bathe solely for hygienic reasons, but to care for the body–the most magnificent creation of God (Leviticus Rabba 34:3). Rabban Gamaliel [a second century sage], on seeing a beautiful person, praised God (Jerusalem Talmud, Berakhot 9:1). One consequence of this concept is the emphasis on the need for marriage and on healthy sexual relations between husband and wife.

Tzniut was intended to preserve the sanctity of the inner human being from assault by the coarseness of daily life. The Bible (Psalm 45:14) says kol k’vudah bat melekh p’nimah (“the whole glory of the daughter of the king is within”–some translate it playfully as “the whole glory of the daughter is the royalty within”). Dignity comes not from exposure and indecent exhibition, but from discretion and the assurance that the human being will be considered a private, sensitive being, not merely a body.

Modesty’s Opposite

The antonym of tzniut is hefkerut, abandon, looseness, the absence of restraint and inhibition. In its extreme, it is gross immorality, gilui arayot (the uncovering of nakedness). Tzniut is covering, vulgarity is uncovering. Vulgarity that is repeated ceases to astonish us or to shock our moral sensibilities. Thus the canons of taste have degenerated as immorality has increased. Those who would rather be clothed than exposed are considered square and puritanical, victims of the centuries-old repression of healthy instincts.

Privacy, in contemporary parlance, refers primarily to property. Sarah Handelman observed that “privacy refers to ‘property,’ not to ‘person.’ Our homes are our inviolate castles: ‘Private Property-No Trespassing.’ Our gems, stocks and bonds are hidden away in vaults. But our bodies, and the precious inner jewels of our personalities, are open to all comers. Nothing is inviolable there. God forbid that someone should know your bank balance, but a casual meeting with a stranger at a bar is warrant for immediate sexual intimacy” (Sheina Sarah Handelman, “The Paradoxes of Privacy,” Sh’ma, November 10, 1978).

The [Babylonian] Talmud (Bava Batra 57b) has an interesting comment on privacy as it relates to persons and property: Privacy was required for women who did their laundering in a brook, because they had to uncover their legs. The Talmud ruled that private property rights had to be violated to protect the privacy of persons, “because Jewish women cannot be expected to humiliate themselves at the laundering brook.” Because of such legal decisions, moral principles are still relevant to Jews. It is said (in BT Yevamot 107a) that ein b’not yisrael hefker, (the daughters of Israel are not in a state of abandonment, available for every public use). The vulgarities of society can be symbolized by the biblical phrase nezem zahav b’af hazir (“a gold ring in the swine’s snout”). That which is pure gold, the God-given ability to reproduce, is so often used for wading through the public mud.

“A man should always be watchful of the possibility of moral abandonment … for it will cause all he owns to go to waste … as a worm in a sesame plant who eats everything within, without anyone noticing it, and all that is left is the shell” (BT Sotah 3b). The gradual abandonment of tzniut has proceeded virtually unobstructed and undetected, until all that remains is only an outer shell of morality.

Reprinted with permission from The Jewish Way in Love and Marriage (Jonathan David).

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Most men wear tefillin in Orthodox and Conservative congregations, as do some women in Conservative congregations. The use of tefillin is less prominent in Reform and Reconstructionist congregations by both men and women. Inside the tefillin are handwritten parchments with texts from the four passages mentioned above.

The tefillin consist of two black leather boxes and straps to hold them on. One is worn on the biceps, and its strap, which is tied with a special knot, is wound by the wearer seven times around the forearm and hand—on the left arm for right-handed people and on the right for those who are left-handed. The second box is worn on the forehead at the hairline, with its straps going around the back of the head, connected at the top of the neck with a special knot, and hanging in front on each side.

Four passages in the Torah call upon the Israelites to keep God’s words in mind by “bind[ing] them as a sign upon [their] hands and making them totafot [an enigmatic term] between [their] eyes.” Tefillin, as ordained by the rabbinic leaders of classical Judaism, are intended to fulfill that commandment.

Tefillin can be purchased at Judaica stores or on Amazon.com.

How To Put on Tefillin

The video below walks you through the process. For a text version, with photographs, click here.

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Answer: The strings you see hanging out of their shirts are called tzitzit (sometimes pronounced tzitzis) and they are derived from the commandment in the Book of Numbers:

Speak to the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves fringes (tzitzit) on the corners of their garments throughout the ages. Let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner. That shall be your fringe; look at it and recall all the commandments of the Lord and observe them, so that you do not follow your heart and eyes in your lustful urge. (Numbers 15:38-39)

According to traditional Jewish law, one must have these tzitzit on every four-cornered garment one wears. However, today most clothing doesn’t have corners, so a special garment called a tallit is worn. A tallit has four corners with tzitzit on each corner. Many people have the custom of wearing the tallit only when they are praying, but others, particularly Orthodox Jews, wear a special small tallit, called a tallit katan, under their clothes. When they pray, they may wear an additional larger tallit over their clothes.

So when you see the strings hanging out, what you’re seeing are the tzitzit. And when Jews see the tzitzit, we’re meant to remember all of the commandments in the Torah, and remembering the commandments is meant to inspire us to avoid “lustful urges.” But you’re right that not all Orthodox men wear their tzitzit hanging out so they’re visible. Some men choose to tuck their tzitzit in. Why do some tuck them in, and some let them hang out?

To some degree, this has to do with personal preference. Though many rabbinic authorities today advocate for men to wear their tzitzit hanging out to be a more obvious reminder, there are a number of rabbinic texts, going back to the Shulhan Arukh in the 16th century (Oreh Hayim 8:11), that allow for tzitzit to be tucked in, particularly if there’s a concern of anti-Semitism. The understanding is that the tzitzit will be untucked during the Shema prayer, when we read the lines from Numbers having to do with tzitzit, and that looking at the fringes then will be enough of a deterrent for lustful urges.

Some men choose to wear their tzitzit out, but tuck them into their pockets, or wrap them around their belts.

I asked Yeshivat Chovevei Torah rabbinical student Seth Winberg why he chooses to wear his tzitzit the way he does, and he said, “I wear my tzitzit tucked in. I feel immensely thankful to live in a time and place which affords me unprecedented religious freedom. I am not afraid to express my religious identity publicly. I wear a kippah, after all. I wear my tzitzit tucked in because I value appearing dignified to others. Letting my tzitzit hang out looks… shlumpy.”

In other words, some folks, like Seth, think that tzitzit hanging out looks messy, and tuck the tzitzit in to avoid appearing undignified. Others may not necessarily like the look of tzitzit hanging out, but are more stringent in observing the commandment and its exhortation to see the fringes. So there are different ways that people make the decision about whether to let their tzitzit hang out or not, taking into account both their personal taste (and even sense of fasion) and how their community interprets the specific commandment of tzitzit.

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