Returning from the afterlife to battle the turban

August 29, 2021 Returning from the afterlife to battle the turban

Posted at 16:37h in Artifacts, Clothing, Gender by Frieda Vizel 3 Comments

The above document is an extraordinary case of superstition that I am sure would make most Hasidim in my circle roll their eyes or laugh. It is so absurd that it might even be someone’s idea of a joke, but I am sure there are also those who would take this seriously. This comes from a sign that was presumably hung in the synagogue.

It says:

It is an obligation to make others aware:

Three important women came to me in a dream and asked me to relate a plea: women should not go shopping while wearing a TURBAN.

May god help that in return for this good deed, we should merit all sorts of good things, and that the five sick children in the community will have a speedy and full recovery.

From a resident of the community.

What’s the problem with the turban you ask? Beats me. The turban is generally the comfortable headgear that married women wear at home. Married women cover their heads always, even when they sleep, because it is the obligation and also…they usually shave their heads. When they leave the home, they wear the headgear of their social standing, which would be one of these:

But around the house, the sloppy, comfortable, sweats-equivalent clothing would be a turban.

Here are some Hasidic women on September 11, watching the towers burn from their Brooklyn apartments. They are wearing turbans, obviously, as they’re all standing around the home.

Here’s me in a turban, many moons ago. No one can eat popcorn like me.

For reasons I could never understand, there are snobs in the community who simply cannot abide others wearing comfortable clothing outside of these acceptable spheres. I once got a real earful when I defended women’s right to go to Walmart in their comfortable headgear. “It’s crazy! No! It’s not, it’s crazy, no way, no, no!” This big yenta shouted across the table at me. I had no horse in the fight; by then I was out of the community and headgear-less, but I still was pretty upset by these dogmatic demands on women’s lives.

So because this issue is not really entirely an issue of modesty as much as it is an issue of “what’s appropriate,” this person’s whole saga of having prophetic dreams and putting so much weight on shopping in formal head covering is absolutely bizarre. I suppose someone out there has a pet peeve. Maybe it’s that older woman who got so red in the face when I dared say something against her mishigas.

Meanwhile, here’s an old cartoon of mine that proves the connection between the piece of cloth you wear and death and illness. This predates Covid, because it’s really science before its time!

Related:

The people who police others have templates

A List of Hasidic Female Headgear, with illustrations

A Reply to Hasidic Men