Greatness Unmasked: True Women’s Liberation

My wife and I went to see Rav Amnon Yitzchak at our local Chabad House in Afula.  

In the front row was someone who looked a little out of place. She had long, wavy, bright blond hair flowing halfway down her back.  

All the guys did their best not to look at her. It was hard, she stood out.  

The Rav gave a great shiur (lesson). At the end, he opens the room for questions, and for those in the audience to pour their heart out to the Rav.  

The lady started. She talked about how her life had taken a difficult turn. She had all sorts of challenges. She began to cry. Then, she mentioned that she has three kids and an ex-husband.  

The Rav, without hesitating, said, “You need to cover your head.” 

She smiled.  

The Rav took out a hair covering wrapped in plastic, and tossed it to her. She started to put it on. After covering part of her hair, the Rav yelled out, 

“Get it all. Does anyone have something to bun her hair so she can cover everything?“ 

Once the top of her was engulfed with covering, the Shul (synagogue) broke out in applause. By accepting the mitzvah of modesty, a daughter of Israel took a giant leap forward – and took us with her.  

Music began. Her tears, once streaming out of sadness, now sprang out from joy. She was laughing, smiling.  

The Rav smiled. He gave her a blessing that everything harsh would turn around. We all shouted, in unison, Amen.  

It was like taking off a mask.  

Uncovered  

The next day over morning coffee, my wife made an observation.  

“When she first entered the Shul, none of us could take our eyes off her. That blond hair really stood out. It even enhanced her tight clothing and the figure it was wrapping. But the moment she put on the tichel (head covering), she looked like everyone else. You couldn’t distinguish her appearance from the women sitting next to her.” 

That was the unmasking.  

From now on, she cannot gain respect or attention for the way she looks.  

She can only earn respect by the things she does. She can only be accepted for who she really is – as defined by her actions, and not what she looks like.  

Isn’t that the world we all want to live in? 

Dr. Martin Luther King put it perfectly when he dreamed of a world where a person is judged “by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.“ 

He should have been Jewish.  

In covering up her hair, this woman liberated her spirit. She elevated her soul. She showed a hundred men and a true tzaddik how amazing a Jewish woman can be.  

This is true women’s liberation: The demand that a person be valued for who they are and what they do . . . and not how they look. 

In the Next World, nobody will ask us how much we could bench press or what our peak body measurements were.  

They will ask us what we did.  

This act of covering up sets the stage for a lifetime of meaningful answers to this question.  

By concealing our physical looks, we will force our inner essence to the surface. We commit ourselves to stand out in the way God wants us to: with an ongoing smile and a pleasant disposition towards our brothers and sisters.   

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David Ben Horin lives in Afula with his wife and children. Since moving to Israel in 2002, David has discovered Torah, writing hi-tech, hiking, coding ReactJS Apps, and hearing stories about the Land of Israel from anyone excited to tell them. Check him out on Highway 60 or email him your favorite Israel story at:  david.ben.horin@spreadyourenthusiasm.com.