Q&A: Head Covering for Unmarried Women
Head Covering for Unmarried Women
Question
Why are unmarried women exempt (if they are at all) from covering their heads when they say sacred words, whereas men are obligated?
Answer
Because among women, the accepted norm is that this applies only once they are married. (Incidentally, there are halakhic decisors who also require unmarried women to cover their heads.)
Discussion on Answer
Search online and you’ll no doubt find plenty of material.
The truth is, I asked after searching, and the information I found wasn’t high-quality or comprehensive.
There’s a short paragraph on Wikipedia: https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9B%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%99_%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%A9_%D7%9C%D7%A0%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%9D_(%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%94)
Are you looking for a list of halakhic decisors? See the Shulchan Arukh, Even HaEzer 21:2, and the commentaries there.
I’m looking for a list of medieval authorities who wrote on the subject, and I can’t find any real order to it.
I’d look in the Beit Yosef there, and in the medieval authorities on the passage in Ketubot about the law of Moses and Jewish practice.
Which halakhic decisors require unmarried women as well, aside from Maimonides? And is there an article on the subject?