Why do Orthodox Jewish women wear wigs?

Question

At what age do they start? Is it only after marriage?

Answer 1

orthodox judaism is a continuum, a spectrum of behavior and attitudes, rather than a static singularity.

orthodox MARRIED women wear wigs (or hats, or scarves, or snoods...) to cover their hair in front of men who aren't their husband. as has been stated, some groups will shave their heads, leaving only a very small amount of hair, and subsequently never show their hair, even to their husbands (a mother of one of the rabbis, in the gemorah, was praised for not allowing the beams of her bath to 'see her hair'). some groups will cover with a wig, or hat, or whatever, and each different group will decide what amount of hair, if any, is permissable to show - some will allow the bangs to show, while wearing a beret, or baseball cap. some groups will wear not only a wig, but also a scarf or hat on top of it, to assure themselves that no-one could think that they might be walking about with their hair showing.
all this is done for the sake of modesty, to not show 'ervah' or nakedness, and thereby distract or entice a stranger. their manner of dress will also be modest, excessively so, to modern american standards (and not anywhere as covered as muslim women) women (married and unmarried, both) will not sing in front of, or in the hearing of an unrelated man, as well, for the same reason, to not entice or distract.
that some wigs are gorgeous (and can be difficult for a non-wig wearer to recognise) and some are hideous is immaterial, the wig is NOT the wearer's natural hair, and therefore her modesty is safe.

Answer 2

Orthodox women start wearing a wig or other head covering (varies by different sect) when they get married so as to reserve their beauty for their husbands.

It is only a tiny minority of sects where the women shave their heads - it is considered extreme and frowned on by most Orthodox Jews as their is no prohibition in a women being beautiful to her husband, and it may very well be a problem since a women is not allowed to make herself disgusting to her husband!

Answer 3

Orthodox Jewish women wear wigs, scarves, or hats (and sometimes a combination of the above) to cover their hair after marriage. They do not cover their hair before marriage.
The reason for this is that the hair is considered the woman's crowning glory, her greatest beauty. As such, it should be reserved only for her husband.

Answer 4

The question really is one of strictness in interpreting the degree to which a woman's hair is "her crowning glory" and might encourage the violation of Jewish sexual and marital laws.

Some groups indeed remove all the hair and wear only a head covering; others crop the hair short and wear a wig. Some only cover their hair when in the company of others, with a scarf (called a "tichel") and others with some form of hat - and in either case, some hair may or may not show.

What you can see is an effort at modestly that is interpreted differently, and that's fine with me. Modesty as a value is to be respected by us all.

Answer 5

by using fact wigs are heavy and could kill contained in the summer season time. basically kidding. that's impractical once you could desire to placed on a hijab. The hijab, or the"heavy piece of black fabric like a tent" as you call it--isn't heavy in any respect. that's truly particularly gentle, and covers my hair gracefully--in assessment to a wig. additionally, the entire ingredient of the hijab is instruct modesty. A wig in basic terms serves the point of masking one's hair, which has no longer something to do with desirous to be modest. And, it does not say everywhere is the Qu'ran that girls human beings ought to placed on the hijab--that's a private selection. some choose it as they locate it ordinary to instruct their modesty in this way...yet others locate that they are modest devoid of the hijab. of direction, in some Islamic international places, they make it a call for...yet's that's yet another tale.

Answer 6

they wear wigs or other head coverings after marriage as a sign of modesty and because it is thought that men would be distracted from their studying by the sight of a woman's "crowning glory".

Answer 7

I have always wondered about that myself, ever since I saw that Renee Zelwegger movie 'A Price Above Rubies'.

Good movie.

Be well.