Rebbetzin Riva Sperling on Why Women Cover Their Hair

I went tonight to a shiur by Rebbetzin Riva Sperling, who is visiting Sydney from Yerushalayim.  She spoke on the topic of why women cover their hair.  Here is a summary of the sources.

Does a Jewish woman have to cover her hair? Is it halacha? YES.

Torah – Bamidbar Chapter 5:
Describes the ordeal of the sotah, or the woman suspected of being unfaithful to her husband.  ”The kohen (priest) shall stand the woman before G-d and uncover her hair.”  The whole lead-up to her actually drinking the bitter waters is supposed to be more and more embarrassing, to get her to confess her misdeed.  Therefore, we can infer two things from this: first, that married Jewish women cover their hair and second, that it is embarrassing to have it uncovered.

With what does a Jewish woman have to cover her hair?

Gamara – Ketubot 72a:
The Mishnah described Dat Yehudit as including a woman going out with her hair uncovered.  This means there is a minhag of women covering their hair that has taken on the force of law across all of Judaism.
The Talmud points out, via Rabbit Yishmael, that from the Torah’s perspective even a basket suffices as a head covering, but for Dat Yehudit this is insufficient.  (A “basket” could be translated as a sort of straw head-covering, a head covering of coarse cloth, or a scarf with holes in it, depending on who’s doing the translating.)

The Shiltei Giborim on Rif:
The Torah forbids a woman to go out without a basket on her head.

Rambam, Issurei Biah 21:17:
“Jewish women should not go bareheaded in the marketplace.”

Where does a Jewish woman have to cover her hair?

Gemara – Ketubot 72b:
R. Zerah points out that a woman has to cover her hair with something more than a basket when she goes to the marketplace, but in her own courtyard if she’s required even to cover her hair with a basket, it is too stringent and many Jewish women will be divorced.

Tosafot:
Say that even without a basket (the minimal head covering) a woman doesn’t violate the prohibition as long as she is in her how courtyard. (This is true even if other people can look into the courtyard!)

Gemara – Yoma 47a:
There was a woman named Kimchit whose 7 sons were all Kohen Gadol (high priest).  When the sages asked her how she merited this, she told them it was because even the walls of her house had never seen the hairs of her head. The sages responded that many women had done this without getting such reward.

Darkei Moshe, Even ha-Ezer 115, letter 4:
Going without a head-covering is only forbidden in the marketplace, but it is modest for a woman not to show her hair, even at home.

Bayyit Hadash (Bah):
Takes the more strict view that leaving the hair uncovered is forbidden, even if the woman is in her own courtyard.  Even the men of her household (her husband and children) shouldn’t see her without a hair covering.

Responsa Hattam Sofer, Orah Hayyim 36:
A woman has to wear at least a scarf, even in her own room. If she goes into the marketplace, she must also wear a hat. (Keep in mind that the Hattam Sofer was working against the Reform movement. The Reform movement went to the opposite extreme, in allowing that women never needed to cover their hair, so the Hattam Sofer responded with an extremely stringent opinion.)

Responsa Igrot Moshe, Even ha-Ezer, Vol. 1, 58:
Rav Moshe Feinstein points out that the Bah had required hair coverings in the courtyard, but the Hattam Sofer requires coverings even in the woman’s own room. He notes that all other authorities take the lenient view of the Bah. Although it is admirable to follow the example of Kimchit, women who do uncover their hair in their own space are not in violation of Dat Yehudit.

How much hair does a Jewish women have to cover?

Magen Avraham, Orah Hayyim 75:2:
According to the Zohar, every last strand of hair should be covered.

Responsa Maharam Alshakar 35:
Some women leave “the hair outside their tresses” (some strands of hair to the sides) exposed for looks.  This hair is not normally covered, so it’s not considere to be an erotic stimulus.  As far as the Zohar is concerned, it applies only to hair that is normally covered. Otherwise, women would even have to cover their eyebrows!  He also points out that “in many things our sages were lenient so that women would remain attractive to their husbands.”

Responsa Hattam Sofer, Orah Hayyim 36:
The Zohar supplants the Talmud, so that exposing any hair outside the tresses is forbidden.

Responsa Igrot Moshe, Even ha-Ezer, Vol. 1, 58:
The actually Talmudic prohibition is against Jewish women going out with their hair unkempt, so if only a few strands are visible one cannot infer that all the hair is unkempt. Therefore, these strands are not a problem. There is an amount called a tefah, which is about 8-10 cm, or half the width of the head.  You are permitted to show just under 1 square tefah of hair.  (Usually a good rule is 2 finger widths.)

Women have many ways to cover their hair. In this photo my friend wears a wig, or sheitel, while I wear a scarf, or tichel.

We then had a nice discussion about some other issues, such as women who shave their heads.  Some hassidic women do this after marriage so they never risk showing their hair.  They wear a head covering at all times and wear fancy wigs just for their husbands.  However, this practice has been discouraged by modern poskim, unless you are a member of one of these sects.

One of the reasons hair is covered, aside from because G-d said so, is that it is considered to be one of the most sensual parts of a woman and one of the most sexually attractive parts.  A married woman does not need to show this to men other than her husband. Also, a head-covering can indicate to other men that she is married.  Also, like tzitzit for a man, a woman’s head-covering reminds her of Hashem’s presence… and even more than that, reminds her that she is married.

We also talked about the mystical significance of hair, which some say represents creativity and the creative force.  Men are conduits and bring that creative force down from shemayim (heaven) but women need to contain and refine it. Therefore, a woman covers her hair to contain and control her creative forces, allowing her to take her husband’s creative forces and shape them into something more useful.

It was a great discussion and it was nice to learn all of the sources!

Can You Feed Children Meat During the 9 Days?

As a vegetarian, the restriction against eating meat during the 9 days has hardly hit my radar.  In fact, it makes eating at friends’ houses even more exciting than normal because there is often some dairy treat.

Normally, as a vegetarian, I get asked some tough questions, but those have changed recently.  Now I mostly get asked one question: But aren’t you going to allow your son to eat meat?

The answer is, I am not really comfortable with it.  From my research, I don’t think it’s healthy.  And if it’s not healthy for me to eat it, then why would I feed it to my child?  I had a healthy pregnancy without adding meat to my diet and Akiva is growing fast and healthy fed exclusively on breastmilk produced on vegetarian food.  I simply cannot think of why I would want to introduce meat to his diet!

However, it seems that the rabbis of old disagree with me to a certain extent.

All poskim agree that healthy children above the age of 7 should not be given meat… but what about those younger?

All poskim agree that children under the age of 3 are allowed to have meat. So it seems that the rabbis believe strongly that meat is necessary for the health of children under the age of three.

Some Poskim are lenient for children between the ages of 3 and 7. Other Poskim, including the Mishna Berura (Siman 551:70), are stringent and don’t allow it.

So it seems that the rabbis agree that meat is actually necessary for the health of a child below the age of three. After that, it’s debatable.

Personally, I can’t find any reason why a child, under the age of three or not, would need meat for his/her health.  The biggest concern people seem to have is that the child won’t get enough protein.  However, protein in a vegetarian diet is available in many forms – there is no need to eat meat, not during the 9 days or any other time.  Tofu, nuts, beans, and legumes are all fantastic sources of protein and they are all vegan.  Plus, you avoid harmful antibiotics and hormones added to animal products.  Trust me, your children will continue to grow just fine without the addition of bovine growth hormone to their diets!  (If you’re vegetarian, it is worthwhile to find free range eggs and dairy. And no matter what you should buy organic to avoid harmful pesticides and toxins – no child needs those!)

Perhaps in olden times when these rabbis were writing their decisions, children really did need meat to maintain their health.  Perhaps they did not have access to foods like nuts or beans on a regular basis and eggs were too valuable to be eaten.  But for most of us, this is no longer the situation.  So I would question whether children today really need to be fed meat during the 9 days – or at all.

How to Do a Pidyon HaBen

If you have never been to a pidyon haben, the ceremony for the redemption of the firstborn, please watch this video to see what happens!

What is right or wrong about this picture? Some would say, “How can you put tefillin on this monk?” while others would smile and say well done.

I’m not sure who is who in the photo. It was circulating around and if you know who the people are in it please let me know so I can give credit.

Anyway; is it okay to put tefillin on a monk? The simple answer would be, if he’s Jewish then why not? This is pretty much the case. A Jew is a Jew is a Jew, no matter what he may do, that is until he converts to another religion… yet even then he is still a Jew.

A problem I could see would be to put tefillin on someone if they were wearing the clothing of an idolater. Certainly if an idol was hanging around their neck it would be a problem, because you should not come close to such a thing, thus how could you put tefillin on the person? However when it comes to the clothes, it would be important to know what they represent. Is it idol worship in itself or does it show a way of life? You could not do a mitzvah with someone while they were worshiping an idol at the same time. It could perhaps be like the person going to the mikvah to ritually purify himself while holding onto a dead lizard, which continues to cause impurity.

However if the person say had G-d forbid put on a baptismal white robe and was on the way to be baptised, you should of course try and do a mitzvah with them because this could awaken their neshama (Jewish soul) and hopefully lead them to change their mind.

Overall it’s best not to think too much. If an opportunity presents itself to put tefillin on someone, go for it. When the Lubavitcher Rebbe first instituted the idea that men and boys should go out and put tefillin on with other Jews, there were some rabbis who spoke out against it. They said things like, “They are putting tefillin on goyim!” or “How can you put tefillin on in the streets where there is dog poo and immodestly dressed women?”

In my opinion these are concerns and I’m sure that the Lubavitcher Rebbe considered them. However, they are minor in comparison with what can be achieved by a Jew putting on tefillin. An old Jewish man in a monk’s robe is in a state of a spiritual emergency. He needs something to jump start the neshama, like jumpstarting a stopped heart with a defibrillator. This pushes aside a concern that there may be dog poo in the area.

Anyway, I did not mean to get into a whole long post here. I just wanted to share this photo.

How to Build an Eruv While Camping

Let me start by saying, that building an eruv is a fairly complex halachic endeavour. The Talmudic tractate ‘Eruvin’ is considered to be one of the most difficult ones to study. Thus said, building an eruv can be complicated or simple depending on the situation.

Imagine building an eruv in a city versus for a bungalow colony. These will be two very different structures, however, the halachot of eruvin would still apply equally for both.

I am no expert in the laws of eruvin and would not endeavour to set up an eruv around a city. However, I have grown up with a father who is a rabbi and always made an eruv to connect our summer home with those of other orthodox Jews in the area.

I attended Jewish summer camps for a number of summers where there was always an eruv setup, although younger campers never took part in in it, which is a shame as it would have been a good learning experience. I only got really involved when I joined a troop of Shomer Shabbat Boy Scouts at the age of twelve and we were often setting up eruvin. It would be hard for me to remember how many we put up over the years, be it around our campsite or an outdoor synagogue. The eruv could perhaps be something we planned to leave up for a month or maybe just for the weekend.

My most interesting eruv building was with Derech Hateva in Israel. I, along with another madrich, led a group of teenagers on a one-month trip along the Israel Trail. Part of the program and educational experience was to teach the boys how to build an eruv.

Anyway: I’m going to share some ideas here, but please note that if you are serious about camping on Shabbat and building an eruv, perhaps find a local rabbi in your community who could study some of the laws with you. It’s important to note that not all rabbis are knowledgeable in the laws of eruv. The halachot of building an eruv are rarely taught in any rabbinical seminaries as part of the standard rabbinical course.

The Laws of an Eruv

My intention here is not to go into the laws of eruv as to what is a Rishus Harbim, Reshus Hayachid, a Karmalis etc. You should find somewhere else to study about this. What I want here is to look at a practical approach to building an eruv when camping.

Though one note about eruv that is important to understand: It is permissible to carry in a closed structure, but say a wall was missing, you could create an archway which would make the structure closed.  What an eruv creates is generally a series of ‘Tzurat Hapesach,’ this being many archways.  There is no limit to how many archways there can be. If you can use real walls of a house, or a fence, etc., that’s fine, but even if there are no real walls you can keep making archways.

The easiest way to construct an archway is by using fishing string that connects from one lechi (pole) to the next.

Materials needed

• ‘Lechis’ (poles): I’d go for poles around 4 feet long because you may want to drive them a bit into the ground and you still want them to be higher than ten tefachim which is the minimum. If you plan to leave the eruv up for longer than a weekend, get 1×1 slats of wood, which will hold up better. If space and weight is an issue, then thin pieces of bamboo will do. If you are camping in an open field area you could get by with four poles by constructing a square around your camp site. When camped in a wooded area it gets trickier because you will need to scoot around trees. For one to two families camping together, I’d take ten poles.
• Nails: Drive a nail into the top of each pole. Make sure to have additional nails with you as some may fall out. The fishing line most pass directly above the lechi and may not be wrapped around the top of the pole.
• Fishing string: This is to connect one pole to another. Fishing string is good because it stays taut, which is important. If the eruv line sags too much and moves around in the wind (which could be the case when using nylon rope or twine) the eruv will not be kosher.
• Cord: Cut a few dozen 3-foot-long pieces. Cord should be about the weight of a hiking boot lace. You will need these to connect the poles to rocks, trees, cars, etc.
• An Eruv Bag: this is what you keep all the eruv supplies in. It will make it easy for you to set up and take down an eruv quickly. It’s important to be organized as I’ve seen it happen often arriving at  a camp site Friday afternoon, and there’s not much time to set up the tents, cook the food, etc. the last thing you want is to spend half an hour looking for the spare nails.

Using natural terrain

• Is there any natural terrain you could use? A cliff wall, very thick bushes, trees, or brush that is impassable.  The walls of a lean to, a fence, a building. (Note: when using an existing structure make sure no part of the structure protrudes over the top of the eruv pole.)
• The fishing line must connect to a pole connected to the existing structure. Meaning you can’t tie the line directly to a fence or to the side of a cliff.

Guidelines in setting up the poles

• The line should run unobstructed from one pole to the next. It must not be deflected by a tree branch.
• Height should not vary from the top of one pole to the next unless it runs parallel with the terrain such as up or down a hill.
• Poles should be standing upright. A slight tilt may be okay, but certainly not anything majorly crooked.
• If the ground is firm you may be able to drive the pole directly into it. Another way to secure it is to prop it between some rocks. A further way is to tie the poles to trees using the cord, though make sure the fishing line does not touch the tree at any point.

Connecting the string

• The line must go directly over the top of the pole. It may not be tied around it. Thus the nail in the middle to wrap the line around.
• The line should not sag or move in the wind.

Please G-d in time I will try and get some photos and maybe a video made the next time I’m setting up an eruv around a campsite.

Parshas Bamidbar: Redemption of the Firstborn

Contemplating his status as firstborn

Last week, thank G-d, I gave birth to a beautiful and healthy son (bli ayin hara).  He is our first child and a son and therefore is extra-special.  In Judaism, there’s a special mitzvah called a Pidyon HaBen, or the Redemption of the Firstborn, that can only be done under special circumstances.  I am thrilled that, please G-d, we will be able to partake of this very rare and special mitzvah in just a few short weeks’ time.

So how fitting and special that it is in this week’s parsha, Bamidbar, that we find this mitzvah.  In it, we find G-d saying to us, “Behold! I have taken the Levites from among the Children of Israel, in place of every firstborn, the first issue of every womb among the Children of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine. For every firstborn is Mine: On the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified every firstborn in Israel for Myself, from man to beast; they shall be Mine – I am Hashem.”

The “first issue of every womb” doesn’t mean literally the first child born to every woman.  There are some requirements:

• Must be the first child born.
• Must be male.
• Must be a natural birth. (No cesarean sections.)
• The mother must never have miscarried after the first trimester.
• Must not be a Kohen.
• Must not be a Levite.

The firstborn sons were the ones who were originally designated to perform G-d’s service.  Indeed, they were even more special to G-d because He specifically passed them over during the slaying of the Egyptian firstborn.  G-d chose to give them life when He was taking life away from others, for they were precious to Him.  However, during the sin of the golden calf, the firstborn failed him.  Unlike the Levites, who not only did not worship the calf but actively fought against those who were doing so, the firstborn sons were indifferent.  They didn’t live up to G-d’s expectations. They disappointed Him.

This explains quite a few of the above requirements.  Obviously, this would only apply to the first child born, not any subsequent children.  Only male children were killed during the plague of the firstborn in Egypt and only men sinned during the sin of the golden calf (the women actively opposed it), so only male children need apply.  And the Kohanim and Levites are already in the service of G-d, so they don’t need to be redeemed.

In fact, the Levites were the original “currency” of redemption.  The Levites replaced the firstborn and thereby redeemed them.  But G-d knew this was not a permanent solution because He could foresee that future generations of Levites would fall from the lofty spiritual heights of their forefathers.  Therefore, He instituted the mitzvah of redemption by payment, partially to remind the Levites of how their spiritual level had decreased over time.

Like many mitzvot we find listed in the Torah, the origin of this mitzvah is not necessarily a pleasant story. Nevertheless, it is a mitzvah and as such, being able to fulfill it is an enormous honor.  It is a relatively rare ceremony and so is even more special.  It is performed after the child has reached at least 30 days of age.  We are looking forward to performing this ceremony for our little boy in just a few weeks’ time.  Hopefully you’ll be able to join us!

Shabbat shalom!

Read more on Parshas Bamidbar: Into the Desert of Our Lives