Married Women Shaving Their Hair Off

I think it started in Hungary. Hungarian women all shaved their heads, whether they were Chassidish or not.

I heard in particular with the Hungarian Jews it was a method to prevent women from being violated during progroms and the practice has become a minhag.

I could be totally wrong on this, I have yet to ask a SaTmarer.

Lostspark, I always assumed that to be the original reason the custom was adopted.reason.

But I could be wrong though and the original reason may be the ones I heard which that shaving is done because the hair is klippas according to sources in the Zohar and because hair could stick out of the hair covering.

Joseph, go find something else to talk about that doesn’t have to do with women’s body parts, clothing, promiscuity or subservience. You are creeping us out.

I made a mistake earlier; the yarmulkah explanation was the maharil diskin, not the the beis halevi – also a brisker, just not the beis halevi. Shulchan ha’ezer in 9:10 says that this was the zchus of kimchis. Divrei yisroel EH, 30 brings testimony about rav yosef chaim zonnenfeld, so far as to say that kolel shomrei hachomos would refuse support stipends to families where the wife does not shave her head.

preparation beforehand would help a lot… perhaps cutting it short at first..women today base a lot of their self image on their hair. That’s not a bad thing, just if you’re a member of such a kehila, it would be healthy not to initially get too “attached” pardon the pun.

We can’t do away with a kehilah’s minhag, endorsed by its poskim because some people have mental health issues.. We fix the mental health issues and their causes, not change a mesorah.

Dont conflate shaving the hair off and cutting it short.
Shaving hair completely off is a Hungarian custom.

The mainstream translation of the gemarah is that the walls of the house never saw the braids of kimchises hair. Clearly it wasnt shaven.

Cutting hair short was definitely a widespread custom.

I would think that it is in good part because of a chashash of Chatzizah. Just as many sephardic women were makpid to shave hair as well.

Norm, standard and default in which time period?

The very first woman was Chava and it says that Hashem braided her hair before setting her before adam so she should be pleasing for him. Sara immainu also says that she had long hair. There are plenty of stories in gemara where its obvious that women had long hair. The details of the punishment of the Sota, also mean she had long hair and this was not talking about one specific woman either. The Rambam doesnt mention anything about women cutting their hair although going to great detail about other areas of tznius. Pictures of women in europe/russia a hundred years ago also show that they rarely have short hair. Are you referring to shtetl life in the 1800’s? Many women in the shtetl of the Russian empire barely covered their hair because the czar decreed against it.

Cutting hair short was for women who were makpid about chatzitza. And women who were in the life stages where they werent going to mikvah regularly didnt always keep it short either.

So maybe it was norm, standard and default for certain communities in certain time periods but not as a blanket minhag yisroel.

Shaving head completely is a relatively modern minhag. Like other people mentioned it comes from women being violated during pograms and thats why only certain communities do it- the ones that came from there.

The parsha of sotah and the story of the wife of On ben Peles show Biblical women having hair

It’s not a Hungarian specific minhag, nor is it related to pogroms and women being violated, rachmono litzlon. Married women shaving their heads is a takana from the Vaad HaArba Aratzos from 500 or so years ago, due to concerns of chatzitza and women’s hair being completely covered, as explained in the Zohar HaKodosh Chelek Gimel, 256a, plain Zohar not Raya Meheimna that one strand of a woman’s hair being revealed is a great tragedy and brings destruction to herself and those around her, bringing connection to Lil-.

Amazing how all the experts here on minhagim and the reason why chassidish women shave their heads seem to base their entire reasoning why it was or wasn’t a thing on external violence being applied to Klal Yisroel, and photographs from well after the beginning of the Haskalah, which led to the change of countless ancient minhagim outside of very chassidish circles. Women in all lands governed by the Vaad followed this takanah, including Poland, Lita, Hungary, Bukovina, Ukraine, and Russia. I know also a Sefardi talmid chochom and mekubal whose wife shaves her head al pi Kabbalah. Though there is this Ari in Shaar HaMitzvos addressing why women should perhaps keep their hair, the Zohar in Chelek Gimel, can’t recall daf at this time, states that women must cut off the hair and fingernails that grew during the yemei niddah, which l’maaseh would be accomplished by shaving the head since hair grows from the roots and not from the ends of your hair. Maybe the oilem here should spend more time learning and doing proper research into the mekoros for our minhagim hakedoshim rather than just shmeesen in the kave shtibl.

barlshwartz1, thank you for your wonderful mussar shmuez… This is a discussion where we tried getting to the root of this minhug with everyone presenting what they know and you come along with this superior attitude…I’m not impressed at all. Perhaps you are right, but likely not. You do not bring any sources to your claim and so they can be as true as anyone else’s.

I have heard from Satmer women who shave and they tell me it’s based on kabbalah that a married women’s hair is klippas and that’s why it needs to be shaved and also because it’s a big avaeirah for “bei hur” (hair that sticks out from the covering) to be seen. That’s what they are they are taught. Whether that is the original reason or not, I don’t know

Now, not only did many of the countries you claimed the women shaved their hair, not shave their hair, but they also didn’t wear wigs or headcoverings either in many of these countries, even women whose husbands were talmidei chachumim. I highly doubt they would go from shaving to not wearing any headcoverings.

Not only that, but Jewish who came from these countries to Israel in the in the late 19th and early 20th century do not shave either. Many Israeli Chassidishe women don’t shave at all.

The Oilam was interested in learning the root of this minhag. I don’t feel anyone brought any real documented sources. Vaad Arba Aratzos from 500 or so years ago is not a source. Is there a sefer/posek, page you can provide.

I know for certain it’s not according to the Ari and if you follow the Ari’s teaching it’s not according to the Zohar either.

Women of old- Kimchit, Og ben Peleg wife, Sota parasha in the Torah all had hair. Woman can retain their hair they simply have to cover it which they have been doing over 3000 years without the need to shave it off.

Vaad ARBA Artzos – Poland, Lita, Hungary, Bukovina, Ukraine, and Russia – that would be six, not four!
It was indeed 3 or 5 sometimes, but not 6 I believe … Hungary, Bukovina, and Russia were not part of it (and Russia did not have many Jews until it got part of Poland after Vaad was already abolished by Polish Seim in 1760s). Also, Vaad was a great institution but was mostly dealing with communal issues. Did this include the hair? Maybe a citation would help.

I’ve heard recently that the issue of chatzitza was because the lack of cleaning products in many communities meant that long hair had a tendency to clump together and catch dirt and lice.

Avi K
I like your response. Brief, to the point and you give clear sources. Thank you

@always_ask_questions This is the later standard. Once upon a time, that was four places. Eastern Europe’s geography changed constantly.

Vaad Arba Aratzos as source for the minhag is brought in Mishna Halochos Chelek 12, siman 95. As a historical aside the Vaad handled all communal matters, including takonos for religious standards. It was run by rabbonim, not askonim.

Source in Zohar to shave after yemei niddah is Parshas Achrei Mos, (chelek Gimel) daf 79a. It is very clearly mashma that this refers to shaving the head to bald. How the Ari says in Shaar HaMitzvos seems to be a stirah with this part of the Zohar, but if you look inside it’s very clear.

@barlshwartz1 I have never seen anything in the Zohar that is “very clear” and that is true for this chelek in Achrei Mos. It talks about cutting hair and doesn’t use any words that mean “shaving off” like the Gemara uses when talking about a Nazir or a Metzorah.

> Eastern Europe’s geography changed constantly.

yes, but to a limit: Hungary/Russia/Bukovina did not join Vaad at any time of it’s existence as far as I recall. Seems that Vaad would occasionally get involved into issues in other communities – when invited, and when Polish Jews were involved, and often reluctant to be involved.

> Avrohom Avinu never looked at Sara Imainu

(until he was going to mitzraim). And mitzrim considered her beautiful. Either she had hair or Mitzri fashions were similar to Hungarian.

> Avrohom Avinu never looked at Sara Imainu

We can’t use the actions of an adam gadol to learn out halacha lemaisah. In addition very little shaychus to this discussion, the question isn’t weather you can look at your wife (if you have one), it’s why some shave their heads if there’s a link here that I’m missing please let me know.

Still besides for the Jewish Taliban in Guatemala men look at their wives so how does this prove anything?