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My bewigged life
Ynet News ^ | 9 March 2007 | Tali Farkash

Posted on 03/11/2007 4:50:38 PM PDT by BlackVeil

A haredi journalist explains what it’s like to cover her hair with a so-called custom wig

“Close Encounters of the Third Kind” – that’s what I like to call secular-haredi discussions. I meet all kinds of people on a regular basis, but as far as I’m concerned, secular-haredi dialogues are about as strange as they get.

Because when it comes down to it, we can be neighbors; we can drive on the same streets; and we can listen to the same newscasts. But - no matter what - the culture divide continues to loom mightily.

Whenever I meet secular Israelis, I know I must brace myself for the inevitable Q&A session. Actually, since I’m a haredi woman, the queries generally boil down to one specific topic.

With many men, it arises towards the beginning of the conversation, right after I avoid shaking their hands. This reflects the typical male “let’s get it over with” approach.

When it comes to women, however, they first check out my clothes. Occasionally, I’ll hear them heave a sigh of relief – when they realize that my top came from the same store as their pants.

Usually, these encounters are in a professional capacity. My secular colleagues stand there, ostensibly talking business, but their curious eyes predictably drift upwards towards the top of my head. I see them trying to figure it all out.

Sometimes, I take malicious pleasure in waiting for them to make the first move, when I know quite well that one sentence from me will be sufficient to put them out of their misery.

The more daring ones will eventually bite the bullet and ask the question that’s been on the tip of their tongues since they first laid eyes on me. The basic script runs as follows:

“Are you haredi?”

“Yes.”

“Are you married?” Here they glance down at my left hand, as they prepare to lob the final grenade.

“So, tell me,” they say with assumed casualness. “How is that you don’t cover your hair?”

I’ve learned that the best response is a simple one, and so I briefly explain that yes, I do cover my hair and pay about a thousand dollars for the privilege. And thus, my interlocutors are first introduced to custom wigs.

“Yes, a wig,” I repeat, lest they think they’ve misheard. As expected, they then begin staring at my hairline, in a hopeless attempt at solving the mystery.

But even if they gaze at me for a billion years, their inexperienced eyes will never be able to detect that which my brilliant wig stylist has expertly camouflaged.

“It really doesn’t look like a wig,” gushes a surprised governmental spokeswoman, who shall remain nameless. The office where she works has been racked with one scandal after another, and I had wrongly assumed that nothing could shock her anymore.

“Can I touch it?” she inquires. Against my better judgment, I politely nod yes and find myself being patted like a pedigreed poodle.

“You really can’t tell that it’s not your own hair,” she exclaims in amazement. She then wonders how this miracle, which costs as much as an average monthly salary, is made.

Wigs in a nutshell

To save myself time in the future, I’ve compiled a quick rundown of what my best friend calls “the race to the custom.”

Let there be no mistake. A custom wig – which, as the name implies, is customized and personally fitted to the buyer’s head - is a very expensive purchase. Prices can reach upwards of $2000. That’s about the cost of a romantic trip for two to Greece.

Is it comfortable? Yes, definitely. But don’t talk to me in the middle of July or August when I’m wearing this “comfort” on my head. The results won’t be pretty.

And to answer the ultimate question: Don’t I have anything better to waste my money on than a wig? Well, yeah, of course I do.

But we’re talking about something that sits on my head for long periods of time, year-round. So I think you’ll agree that it’s a worthwhile investment – as long as I don’t get in over my head.

Tali Farkash is a haredi journalist.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Religion
KEYWORDS: haredi; israel; wigs
Several things notable in this article. One is that there is a picture of her, on the original website, and I would say that the wig she is wearing is very obviously a wig!

Wigs actually improve the appearance of most women. If the whole society took on the custom that married women wear wigs (like 18th century French aristocrats) they would appear more elegant. But that, of course, is very different from the argument about religious modesty.

Also, as she notes in this article, wigs are very hot in summer. They must be very unsuitable for life in Israel.

1 posted on 03/11/2007 4:50:39 PM PDT by BlackVeil
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To: BlackVeil; Alouette

I puzzled as to the benefit of an extremely expensive and sometimes uncomfortable wig, as opposed to a scarf. Every other head-covering group I can think of wears some kind of non-hair (as it were) covering.

Is there something in Jewish history or theology - as opposed to Christian, Moslem, or none-of-the-above - that makes wigs the thing?


2 posted on 03/11/2007 4:55:27 PM PDT by Tax-chick (Free Republic, "Where a few remnant curios bite.")
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To: Tax-chick

I have a photograph of my great-great-grandmother, wearing a bristly, horsehair wig (circa 1880).

I think this custom originated in the 18th century, in imitation of the gentile nobility who wore wigs. There is an old illustration of Lady Judith Montefiore (about 1850) wearing an elegant wig. The custom of Jewish women wearing wigs was widespread by the 1800's.

Illustrations of Jewish women in previous centuries show them wearing veils or head scarves.

Gluckel of Hameln, a 17th-century Jewish woman, wrote about wearing a "wimple" but mentioned "peruke" as something worn by gentiles.


3 posted on 03/11/2007 5:11:46 PM PDT by Alouette (Learned Mother of Zion)
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To: Alouette

Thanks! That's very interesting.

Is there a socio-economic connotation to a modern Jewish woman's wearing a wig as opposed to a scarf/veil, or is it just personal preference?


4 posted on 03/11/2007 5:35:17 PM PDT by Tax-chick (Free Republic, "Where a few remnant curios bite.")
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To: Tax-chick

It's definitely socio-economic.

When I'm at work (around non-Jews), I want to look professional, so I wear a wig.

I would prefer to wear a hat or a head-scarf, but that is too casual, not professional.


5 posted on 03/11/2007 6:31:16 PM PDT by Alouette (Learned Mother of Zion)
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To: Alouette

Very informative! I appreciate your time.


6 posted on 03/11/2007 7:05:40 PM PDT by Tax-chick (Free Republic, "Where a few remnant curios bite.")
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To: Alouette

I understand the idea of being covered - I just can't wrap myself around a covering that looks like what it's covering.

Kind of like a skin-tight, flesh-colored top. I'm sorry, it sounds offensive and I don't mean to be, but I really don't understand it.

Mrs VS


7 posted on 03/11/2007 10:23:18 PM PDT by VeritatisSplendor
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To: VeritatisSplendor

From the point of view of the woman wearing the wig, it probably feels very different from being bare-headed. Of course, as you say, from the point of view of the observer, it may look the same. However, her behaviour, in a wig, is likely to be somewhat different, and these little differences add up to a lot.


8 posted on 03/12/2007 3:07:05 AM PDT by BlackVeil
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To: VeritatisSplendor

Personally speaking, I dislike wearing a wig and would throw it away in a heartbeat, but if I showed up for work wearing a hat or a headscarf people would think it was weird.

In all my years of working, much of my career spent in DEARBORN, I have never seen a Muslim woman in hijab.

I own 4 wigs, 3 "custom" and one semi-wig (fall) that I wear with a hat. I got them from my hairdresser at half price, she had received them as samples and was having a hard time selling them because of the small head size and red color.


9 posted on 03/12/2007 5:01:41 AM PDT by Alouette (Learned Mother of Zion)
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