Tel-Chai Nation

Israel's chief rabbi was actually willing to pan the use of wigs among religious women of Sephardic background, because that's where he comes from too, though he still didn't go far enough:

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel, denounced the custom of married women wearing wigs, saying during his weekly lecture Sunday that wearing wigs brings “idolatry” into the wearer’s home.

Married Orthodox Jewish woman traditionally cover their hair, with many in the haredi community wearing wigs to cover their own hair. While this custom is most common in the Ashkenazi haredi community, it has in recent years become more popular with some Sephardic Jewish women.

During his lecture Sunday, Rabbi Yosef slammed the custom, claiming that the hair used to make virtually all wigs sold today are collected during “idolatrous” rituals. [...]

The Chief Rabbi also criticized the practice of wearing wigs on the grounds of modesty.

“What does the Torah mean when it says ‘let the hair of the woman's head go loose’? We learn from here that a woman must wear a hair covering, for modesty. What kind of ‘modesty’ did the Torah refer to? With a wig? I’m not talking about Halacha [Jewish law], I’m talking about common sense. This is modesty? This is the madness of girls.”

Umm, when it talks about letting hair go loose, doesn't that mean not having to wear a hair covering? Mileage can vary, but I think he should consider there are reasons why it's better for a woman not to wear a hair covering - because it's easier to get vitamin D from the sun more easily. That's one more reason why even Ashkenazi women of pious background shouldn't have to wear them, and I wish he'd at least admit that, but it seems like he hasn't fully caught on to why being a realist makes a better religious person in the process.

Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, Judaism, misogyny, Moonbattery