Jewish tradition requires women to cover their hair as an act of modesty before men and men to cover their heads as an act of humility and reverence before God, even though there is no explicit commandment in the Torah to do so.

In the Talmud’s Nedarim, which addresses the topic of vows, verse 30.b mentions, off-topic, that men sometimes cover their heads and sometimes not, but that women’s hair is always covered and children’s hair is always uncovered. This mention gave the custom of married women covering their hair the status of halacha. Already in the time of the Mishnah it was a universal practice for women’s hair to be covered and failure to respect this custom was grounds for divorce. In the case of men, it was optional whether or not to cover themselves.

It is a hotly debated issue among halacha scholars whether men should cover their heads at all times. Maimonides says that they should cover their heads during prayers or while studying religious texts. In the Middle Ages, French and Spanish rabbis considered covering the head when praying or studying to be a custom and not a commandment, and many of them prayed with their heads uncovered. They considered that only great scholars were required to cover their heads.

Over time, the fact that men should cover their heads became a practice recommended by Ashkenazi rabbis. Although they said that it was only a valuable custom and not a commandment, since there was no rule that prohibited praying with the head uncovered, covering the head was for them a symbol of reverence for God. Others justified this practice, using as a basis the commandment not to copy the customs of other peoples, arguing that Christian men pray with their heads uncovered.

Today, in ultra-Orthodox groups, married women shave their hair and cover their heads with a wig or a scarf. This way they guarantee 100% compliance with the custom of not showing their hair. In other groups, women only cover their hair completely or partially, especially in the synagogue.

Today, head covering has become the way to show whether you belong to an “observant” group or not, as stated in a responsa by the former Sephardic chief rabbi, Ovadia Yosef, who said that men should cover their heads at all times, to show that they belong to the observant religious community. On the other hand, in the 19th century, Rabbi Isaac Wise, leader of Reform Judaism, rejected the wearing of the kippah altogether, although this practice has returned to the Reform movement.

Head covering does not appear as a mitzvah in the list of the 613 mitzvoth. But the evolution of this custom, for both men and women, has made it, for some, as obligatory as a mitzvah of the Torah. But for others, it is not.

Prepared by Marcos Gojman.

Bibliography: The Jewish religion. A companion, by Louis Jacobs and other sources.