Sheitel

Sheitel (Yiddish: שייטל‎, sheytl m.sg.; שייטלעך, sheytlekh m.pl. or שייטלען, sheytlen m.pl.; Hebrew: פאה נוכרית‎) is a wig or half-wig worn by some Orthodox Jewish married women in order to conform with the requirement of Jewish law to cover their hair. Some Hasidic groups encourage sheitels, while others avoid them.[1]

Not to be confused with Shatel.

Judge Rachel Freier, a married Hasidic woman, wearing a sheitel

Name

The related term in Hebrew is pei'ah (פאה‎).[2]

Purpose

This practice is part of the modesty-related dress standard called tzniut. Traditional sheitels are secured by elastic caps, and are often designed with heavy bangs to obscure the hairline of their wearers. More modern designed lace-front wigs with realistic hairlines or real hair are growing in popularity.[2]

Acceptability

In 2004, there was a degree of controversy over natural hair sheitels procured from India. It was discovered that the hair used for the production of these wigs was taken from a Hindu temple. According to Jewish law, one cannot derive benefit from anything used in what Judaism considers to be idolatry. The controversy ceased when it became clear that the hair was neither worshiped nor offered as a sacrifice to the deity, but shaven as a rite of purification, thus excluding it from the category of forbidden items.[3]

Today, many wigs used by Jewish women come with a hechsher (kosher certification), indicating that they are not made with hair originating from rituals deemed to be idolatrous.[4]

In many Hasidic groups, sheitels are avoided, as they can give the impression that the wearer's head is uncovered. In other Hasidic groups, women wear some type of covering over the sheitel to avoid this misconception, for example a scarf or a hat. Married Sephardi and National Religious women do not wear wigs, because their rabbis believe that wigs are insufficiently modest, and that other head coverings, such as a scarf (tichel), a snood, a beret, or a hat, are more suitable. In stark contrast, the Chabad rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, encouraged all married Jewish women to wear sheitels, even though we see that in Torat Menachem, he writes that in fact, "if she can cover her hair with a scarf, it is definitely good if she would do so, but in reality, we know that this doesn't happen."[1][5]

See also

• Shpitzel
• Tichel

References

1. Letters on the importance of wearing a sheitel from the Lubavitcher Rebbe
2. Sherman, Julia (November 17, 2010). "She goes covered".
3. Ron Grossman (June 9, 2004). "Orthodox Jews in hairy dilemma on wigs". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
4. hair sources and background. "Kosher Wigs". prweb.com. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
5. "Torat Menachem תשי"ד P. 189-190"