Are Wigs Suitable Hair Coverings for Married Women?:
The Talmud in Masechet Ketubot (72) discusses the situations where a woman forfeits her rights to the Ketuba payment. (The Ketuba is a document signed by a bride and groom at the wedding, in which the husband commits to paying the wife a certain sum in the case of divorce. The woman forfeits this right, however, if she fails to meet certain obligations to the husband.) One such situation is where the woman violates "Dat Moshe Ve’dat Yehudit," which means accepted standards of modesty. The example given in the Gemara is a woman who appears in public with her hair exposed, which is deemed immodest for married women.
The question arises as to whether a wig suffices as a hair covering. On the one hand, a wig, like any covering, serves to conceal the woman’s real hair, and therefore it should perhaps suffice. On the other hand, the entire purpose of wigs is to appear like the woman’s real hair, which is meant to be concealed.
The Shilteh Giborim commentary to Masechet Shabbat (64) seeks to draw proof to the permissibility of wigs from the Mishna there in Masechet Shabbat. The Misha rules that a woman is allowed on Shabbat to go outdoors into her Haser (yard) wearing a Pe’a Nochrit, a wig, and this does not transgress the prohibition of carrying into the public domain on Shabbat. If a woman is permitted to go outdoors with a wig, the Shilteh Giborim notes (listen to audio recording for precise citation), then a wig must be considered a valid hair covering. This is the ruling of several other prominent Halachic authorities, as well, including the Rama, the Peri Megadim and the Magen Abraham.
By contrast, the work Be’er Sheva rejects this line of reasoning and forbids women to appear in public with wigs. He contends (listen to audio recording for precise citation) that the Shilteh Giborim misunderstood the Mishna in Masechet Shabbat. In truth, the Be’er Sheva writes, the Mishna refers to women who would wear a wig under their hats because they did not have a lot of hair and they wanted their hair coverings to look full. They did not, however, use the wig as their hair covering. The Be’er Sheva goes so far as to call his ruling "obvious," and he writes that the Mishna would most certainly not, "God forbid," sanction covering hair with only a wig in public.
As for the final Halacha, this issue is subject to debate among recent and contemporary Halachic authorities. It is well known that Hacham Ovadia Yosef follows the ruling of the Be’er Sheva, and maintains that women should not use wigs as their hair covering, and should instead wear hats, kerchiefs and the like. By contrast, Hacham Ben Sion Abba Shaul (Israel, 1923-1998), in his work Or Le’sion (vol. 1, Orah Haim 11), defends the practice of wearing wigs as hair coverings, and, in fact, Hacham Ben Sion’s wife herself covered her hair with a wig. Thus, women who prefer covering their hair with wigs certainly have a legitimate basis for this practice.
Of course, the assumption underlying this entire discussion is that married women are required to cover their hair; no opinion allows married women to appear in public with exposed hair. Furthermore, women who wear wigs must be sensitive to the spirit of the Halacha when purchasing their wigs, and remember that hair covering is required for the purposes of modesty. Some of today’s wigs are made in styles that completely undermine this purpose, and run in direct contrast with the spirit and goal of this Halacha. It is imperative for women to remember that the requirement of hair covering is for the purpose of appearing modest, and not for fashion.
Summary: Married women are required to cover their hair in public. The authorities debate the question of whether wigs suffice for this purpose, and women who wear wigs certainly have authorities on whom to rely. However, discretion must be used when purchasing wigs to ensure that they conform to the spirit of the Halacha, which is intended for the purpose of modesty.
