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Thread ID: 14366 | Posts: 2 | Started: 2004-06-29
2004-06-29 19:55 | User Profile
Wig Ban Has Israeli Women Donning Hats
By LAURIE COPANS Associated Press Writer
June 28, 2004, 2:17 AM EDT
JERUSALEM -- It may only be about hair, but a rabbi's ruling that wigs imported from India are "unkosher" has caused a ruckus in some of Israel's religious communities.
Having burned or stashed their wigs, thousands of ultra-Orthodox women are now covering up with hats and scarves, a decidedly less popular or fashionable alternative for meeting their religion's strict hair-covering requirements.
"I talked to older people, and they say they don't remember such a tremendous thing (ever) happening," said Avi Rosen, editor of a chain of Orthodox newspapers.
The controversy began last month when Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, a top authority on Jewish religious law, banned the use of wigs from India, saying the hair in them may have been used in Hindu ceremonies involving idol worship. More than 70 percent of the hair in wigs sold in Israel comes from India, according to some estimates.
Elyashiv is considered a sage among the "mitnagdim," a particularly strict branch of Orthodoxy with tens of thousands of followers, and his ruling sowed consternation in the tight-knit community.
Unsure of the origins of their wigs, many women shoved them into their closets. Others burned their hair pieces in a bonfire in an Orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem as men and women danced around the flames.
Sima Eiron, a kindergarten assistant, was forced to shun her wig during her wedding week. "It was horrible," she said. "I was wearing elegant clothing and I had to wear a hat."
Under Orthodox Jewish law, married women must cover their hair because it is considered provocative to men. Though some women routinely wear hats or scarves, many cut their hair short or shave it and cover their heads with fancy wigs, some costing thousands of dollars.
The wig tradition began in the late 19th century, when the most privileged women began showing off their wealth by wearing wigs in contrast to cheaper coverings worn by other women, said Menachem Friedman, a sociology professor at Israel's Bar Ilan University.
By the 1950s, when families grew wealthier, wigs with imported hair from developing countries grew cheaper and all married women began wearing them, setting off debate among religious leaders, Friedman said.
"Most of the rabbis are very embarrassed by the phenomenon of the wigs," he said. "You should cover your hair because it provokes men, but you're doing it by covering your hair with more beautiful hair."
Elyashiv's ruling came after two Israeli men who had been to India told of how the hair is collected.
Throughout the year in southern India, millions of pilgrims flock to a temple in Tirupati where they shave their heads to offer thanksgiving to a Hindu god they believe has fulfilled their wishes. The temple houses a large statue of the god, laden with jewels and gold.
The hair is collected and auctioned to wig makers by the temple trust, which makes about $110,000 every year.
After sending an emissary to investigate, Elyashiv concluded the ceremony violates the Second Commandment's prohibition against idol worship and thus the hair collected at the temple is not kosher.
"In one day everyone took off their wigs because they didn't know where they came from," said one woman, who would give only her first name, Lea.
She spoke to a reporter while being fitted for a new wig of synthetic and European hair at a Jerusalem wig salon. "The scarf is tight and hot on my head, uncomfortable," she said.
Wigs of European hair can cost as much as $3,000 in Israel, while wigs from India are a little over $130.
The ruling by Elyashiv caused wig discarding in Orthodox Jewish communities around the globe, although some rabbis argued that the cut-off hair is meant only to purify the Hindus and does not connote idol worship.
In Israel, some wig stores have closed after seeing sales evaporate. Others sought rabbinical certificates certifying their wigs are free of Indian hair.
Eiron, the kindergarten teacher, still has her wig, but she keeps it hidden away. "I don't take the wig out of the closet because I am sad when I look at it."
[url]http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-unkosher-wigs,0,5896498.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines[/url]
2004-06-29 21:57 | User Profile
That rabbit made a mistake,,,,,,,,those wigs made in India are Kosher for the simple reason that Herr Hitler sold 20 trains wagons full of Jewish hair to India in 1944 so therefore they are using Jewish hair which is kosher,,,,,,, only thing is that they are not new, but used only once.