Featured Post

Free The Hostages! Bring Them Home!

(this is a featured post and will stay at the top for the foreseeable future.. scroll down for new posts) -------------------------------...

Nov 20, 2008

Uh Oh. The Gedolim said so. Now what?

The sign above has been spread around frum neighborhoods around Israel... It seems that some people think that every utterance out of Rav Elyashiv's mouth has to be heeded to by the masses. Forget the fact that we often find rabbonim arguing on each others' psakim, including with the gedolim, and people are generally instructed to follow the psak of their own rav...

That is even if the pasuk of "ועשית ככל אשר יורוך" even applies, but that is another topic. I think it is being misused - they are only allowed to use that demand for voting in elections, not for actual halachik issues!

Anyway, if you read the sign above, you will see that Rav Elyashiv came out very harshly against women wearing sheitels nowadays. He states clearly that the discussion of sheitels being permitted does not apply today - todays sheitels are completely prohibited. Only sheitels from a hundred years ago, and perhaps even a bit nicer ones, can possibly be permitted...

The consolation is that Rav Elyashiv says the husband does not need to divorce his wife if she wears a sheitel, just that he needs to tell her she is not allowed to wear it!

I wonder if all those who demanded voting UTJ in the elections because the gedolim said so, if they are goign to demand that their wives stop wearing sheitels.....

20 comments:

  1. HAHAHAHA!

    Here in the states, when RE normally says something, the lakewood here jump. This issue was brought before a very popular lakewood-taught Rov and the excuses started flying. "Oh, he wasn't saying it for the rabim, he was just giving a shiur, it's out of context....etc".

    "Daas Torah" is a joke. Gedolim are losing respect, not b/c of what they say, but b/c of their followers. When asked as a follow-up, so how does one know what to listen to, the response was "oooyyyy" with a look up to the ceiling. It's those responses that make people sick.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think it is being misused - they are only allowed to use that demand for voting in elections, not for actual halachik issues!

    Rafi, be careful, people might not realize that you are being sarcastic!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would hope that (at least) most people would get it...

    ReplyDelete
  4. The best reason to prohibit nice sheitlach is "hatora chasa al mamonam shel yisrael".

    ReplyDelete
  5. anon - that is why the torah would not require specifically sheitels. but if somebody wanted to spend the money, that is not an issue any more...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Can anyone say " Sheaitel Bonfire"??

    ReplyDelete
  7. Da Jew - the smell is horrible. I have a neighbor who burnt one during the indian hair fiasco....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Everyone agrees with what RYSE says. The issue is WHAT did he say? Looks like all he said was that non-tznius-dik sheitels are a problem. Isnt that obvious? Now what needs to be determined is what is considered non-tznius.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Everyone agrees with what RYSE says. The issue is WHAT did he say? Looks like all he said was that non-tznius-dik sheitels are a problem. Isnt that obvious? Now what needs to be determined is what is considered non-tznius.

    ReplyDelete
  10. anonymous - that is not accurate, according to the sign. According to the sign, he said all sheitels nowadays are assur. you are giving the reason and saying it might apply to some but not to others, but he says it applies to all (at least according to the sign)

    ReplyDelete
  11. what about human hair streimels?

    ReplyDelete
  12. I posted about this yesterday ועשית ככל אשר יורוך with a slightly different take.

    ReplyDelete
  13. finally a haredi psak i can support! (no sarcasm intended) - it's about time. rav ovadia has been saying this already for years. welcome aboard ashkenazim

    ReplyDelete
  14. Just in case any of you out there haven't heard this one...
    http://www.discountseforim.com/xcart/files/clips/12465.wma

    ReplyDelete
  15. shimon - that was great! was it Gershin Veroba? That was totally appropriate for the "I'm So Sick of Racheim" cd...

    ReplyDelete
  16. ummm hubscubs, I mean this with the utmost respect, however, whenever you walk through a very chareidi area (Bnei Beraq for example), it is usually the Sefardi women with the most fashionable (i.e. not tzniuzdik) shaitels. I don't think they are listening.

    Please don't be offended, it's just what is obvious on the street.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Rafi, in my browser the end of the above link is cut off. The end should be clips/12465.wma

    The disclosure for the album says "From the folks who brought you "I'm So Sick of Racheim," this hilarious recording features vocals by Gershon Veroba, Larry Gates & Martin Davidson (Rechnitzer Rejects). On a serious note - the guidance and directives of our Gedolei Torah must be respected to the utmost, and this CD, of course, is for amusement purpose only (great for Purim or anytime you just want to laugh!)."

    ReplyDelete
  18. I didn't listen to the shiur, but I do know what R' Eliyashiv was referring to when he says 'today's sheitels'. I heard him say, at a tznius kennes, and I was told by Rav Ganz in his name, that the long 'stylish' Sheitels are very 'attention' grabbing and must not be worn. He has said the same thing MANY TIMES about clothing in general. It desn't help to be covered when every detail is on display because things are too tight and revealing. Any man knows exactly what that means and which sheitels are too long and stylish. There is no need for exact measurements, though Rav Ganz tells the seminaries he speaks at that the sheitel should not drop below the third vertebrae from the neck. Rav Eliyashiv has never expressed any problems with the idea of a wig. Sepharadim, on the other hand, are halachically forbidden from wearing any kind of wig regardless on how it looks.

    ReplyDelete
  19. the sheitel should not drop below the third vertebrae from the neck

    Ah, the third vertebrae! The traditional difference between tznius and ervah!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...