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Video: Taxonomy of the Sheitel

The style, length, texture, color and quality of a sheitel — and above all, what the wig says about the woman wearing it — are a lot more nuanced than they appear to outsiders. In an effort to demystify the sheitel, what follows is a list (a taxonomy, if you will) of the various wigs American Orthodox women wear, and what each head covering signifies about the woman’s family and community affiliations.

Pious Jewish women have been covering their hair for hundreds of years. “Hair on a woman is ervah [nakedness, impropriety],” the Talmud declares, and therefore it needs to be covered. Jewish women in Italy were donning wigs as early as the 16th century. As wig-wearing became popular in Europe in the 18th century — think Marie Antoinette — Jewish women followed suit, with rabbis both condemning and condoning the practice on modesty grounds. Long after wigs fell out of fashion with European elites, Jewish women kept wearing them. Today, more Orthodox Jewish women wear wigs than ever before.

Click here to read the full article by Frimet Goldberger at The Jewish Daily Forward.

Please Note: The following video contains images that may not be appropriate for the viewing of men and boys. Watch at your own discretion.

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11 Comments

  • as

    woth while pointing out what was mentiond in the video the modern women wear long .

  • ??

    Kind of funny timing for erev Tisha B’av, when all of us have other things on our minds, to have this article put out, amongst details, dinim/minhagim and subjects pertaining to the forthcoming fast and the conclusion of the past 9 days

  • so funny

    I was going to post the same comment as #1. Thanks for writing it for me.

  • Anonymous

    With all the articles about tznius lately why show this woman wearing a shaitel and having uncovered elbows?

    • Tisha B'Av

      What’s the point of pointing out someone’s flaws, especially today?? Why don’t you focus on the positive? That might help klal yisroel more than your negativity. Give it some thought.

  • ???

    This is a pointless video!!! Duh we know diff types of wigs for diff types of woman…all in the name of Modesty while showing elbows and knees…seriously??? Not impressed u need to redo this video with a little more sensitivity!!

  • Anonymous

    Now that that tisha b’av is over(and I sincerely hope everybody is feeling well and had an easy fast) I was not pointing out a flaw of this woman(I personally feel sleeves until the elbow is fine). It is a flaw of this forum to show this. Today’s articles start withn a continuation of the Rebbe’s view on tznius so I feel it is only proper to show women dressed as they should be and I am not even a Lubavitcher.