[Avodah] Why Don't Women Wear A Yarmulke?

Prof. Levine llevine at stevens.edu
Mon May 2 08:19:45 PDT 2011


 From http://revach.net/article.php?id=1378

Why Don't Women Wear A Yarmulke?

There are two halachos of covering one's head.  The first is not to 
walk 4 amos with your head uncovered.  Whether this is a minhag or a 
Halacha is not the subject of this Teshuva.  However this was never 
intended for females and is not practiced.  The second Halacha of 
head covering (OC 91:3) is that it is forbidden to say Hashem's name 
or to even walk into a Shul with your head uncovered.  This Halacha 
should apply to unmarried women as well.  The Tzitz Eliezer (12:13) 
brings from a number of seforim that there is no logical heter for 
unmarried girls not cover their head when saying Hashem's name or 
going into Shul.  He even brings from the Ish Matzliach who says that 
in Tunisia they enforced this Halacha and all girls covered their 
head when required to do so by Halacha.  Why is this not the case in 
the rest of the world?

The Tzitz Eliezer says that we can explain this with the Chassam 
Sofer (Nedarim 30b) who says that while in the times of the gemara 
men did not always cover their heads, today one must cover their 
head.  The Taz says (OC 8:3) since the goyim worship with uncovered 
heads, if we were to do the same we would be oveir "U'BiChukoseihem 
Lo Seileichu", do not go in the way of the Goyim.  He adds that by 
women it was just the opposite.  Women were required to cover their 
heads for services.  Therefore since single women do not cover their 
heads in general, if they were to cover their head specifically to 
say Hashem's name or to go into Shul they would fall straight into 
"U'BiChukoseihem Lo Seileichu".

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