The Surprise of the Wig

by Rabbi Mendel Weinbach zt'l

When the rabbis in Eretz Yisrael issued their ruling that wigs with hair from India were forbidden for use by married women because they were made from material offered as sacrifices for idol worship, the immediate reaction of countless women was to remove their wigs until the source of their hair could be verified and receive rabbinical sanction.

One such woman, a teacher in the fourth grade of a school in the State Religious (Mamlachti Dati) stream, appeared before her students one day wearing a snood in place of her customary wig. In response to the curious inquiries of her pupils she explained that the prohibition had been issued by the rabbis and proceeded to elaborate on the importance of obeying such rabbinical rulings.

Upon hearing this, one pupil suddenly removed the wig she was wearing, exposing the baldness of her head which had hitherto been unknown to her classmates.

All the praises heaped by the rabbis upon the married women who bravely obeyed their directive pale beside the courage of this youngster to whom we all have to tip our hats.

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