Why Should I Wear a Head Covering and Ruin My Beauty? 3 Reasons That May Surprise You

Just before you leave the house, you take one last look in the mirror. Straighten the shirt, add a bit of blush, center the necklace pendant with the green stone, and also change to the beige shoes. Everything fits perfectly.

But the hair – how can you do without it? To feel feminine and good about yourself when it's out of the picture?

Where am I catching you? A bride-to-be who can't bear the thought? Or maybe someone strengthening in faith who considered taking this step once or twice? Maybe you've already taken the step, but wow, how hard is it for you? Or maybe you're not even there yet, but something inside you spoke to you to hear a bit about this feminine mitzvah of head covering?

So why do it to yourself, and what will it give you? Here are some things that might make you look at it a bit differently.

1. Imagine Yourself in That Dress

Let's be honest, no sugar-coating it. If you're not one of those who gets "Wow, how amazing you look with a head covering!", or you just don't feel comfortable with it, know that you're not alone. In most cases, a head covering won't give the look of vibrant natural hair, like you had in your single days. Especially not after blow-drying and a side fringe. Hair is femininity, hair is beauty. That's not just by chance; it's the very thing set for a married woman to cover. Because a woman is meant to save her femininity for her husband, not for men in the street. And clearly, a believing woman who doesn't wear a head covering does so purely to feel good about herself and not at all to please someone else. But there's no denying it; hair is attractive, and a head covering is a clear statement of 'taken. Nothing to look for here'. This is what distinguishes between the single woman and a married woman.

But aside from the aspect of modesty, which maybe doesn't persuade you right now for such a step, there's something else that a head covering brings you, and that's – nobility. A nobility that has no substitute.

Imagine it. A long dress, that one made of chiffon, the gold earrings, the ones with the pearl. You gather your hair softly and lovingly and cover it with the new scarf you bought. The one that caught your eye in the store window, and you said to yourself 'when the day comes, I'll be ready'. You bought it and placed it deep in the drawer.

Yes, it's different from what you're used to. But it's royalty. True royalty.

This is something no top hairdresser and no Japanese hair straightening will ever give you.

2.Imagine Yourself with Spiritual Glasses, Looking at the Heavenly Realms

If you're already a mom, admit that no one prepared you for motherhood. The first child brings a dramatic change to the lifestyle we were used to until now. Spontaneity is a thing of the past, and balancing between your little treasure and everything else in life is an endless challenge. And why do you invest so much? Because you're crazy about that little one.

Love is something that brings out strengths in us, sometimes ones we didn't know existed.

And here too, in this matter of head covering, love of Hashem is entirely the main drive pushing towards observing this mitzvah. After all, I want to be close to Hashem; for what else did we come to this world if not to be close to Hashem? This is the entire purpose of the soul's descent to this world. And if one of the things He commands me is to wear a head covering, I'll do it. Even if sometimes it doesn't fit my vision.

Love of Hashem, and no less, awe as well, are what push us towards every step of strengthening and doing His will.

Sometimes I imagine spiritual glasses that would let us see what happens in the heavens when we take upon ourselves some commitment, especially one that's a bit hard for us. Probably we wouldn't be able to sleep from the feeling of euphoria.

I promise you I'd love to be near someone taking on a head covering and ask her for a blessing.

Shuli bat Yehudit, if by chance you're there on the other side of the screen reading this :)

3. Why Are There No Models with a Kippah Anywhere?! Have You Ever Thought About It?

We live in a generation of show and publicity. How many likes, how many followers, how many comments.

Girls and women need to 'prove' their beauty.

The selfie with the filter, the precise angle that needs to be at 37 degrees to the right.

We feel more valuable if we're more beautiful. And this equation needs to be shattered.

Who I am is not measured by my cheekbones. And I will not apologize for having brown eyes and not ocean blue. Self-worth and who we are can never be measured by the structure of bones and flesh. We are souls, a part of Hashem from above.

Your appearance will never be a measure of who you are. Metaphorically speaking, it's like deciding to buy a car based on its color. If someone does such a thing, it's likely they're suffering from a severe form of under-intelligence. And that's just with a car. In reality, it happens not with a car, but with human beings. We judge ourselves by how we look. How crazy is it that this is the culture in today's world? And it sweeps and influences us all to some extent.

When you put on a head covering, even if your external beauty is now less reflected, you are testifying to yourself that you know your worth. You testify to yourself that looking less good will not affect your value and self-appreciation in the slightest. You no longer need to offer the environment or even yourself your maximal external beauty to feel valuable or more worthwhile. You know your worth even without it.

Have you ever thought about why you've never seen a model with a kippah on Ayalon billboards or an Egged bus? Think about it. After all, the kippah doesn't affect the look of the garment. It's just a piece of cloth about 10 cm in diameter. So why doesn't it happen? Because it's water and fire.

The Western world and the culture we live in feed off the industry of externality – cosmetics, clothes, hair and grooming products, plastic surgery, and more. It's an industry that spins a lot of money.

The kippah? The kippah is from a different world. A world of spirit, of soul.

Putting a model with a kippah is like pouring a massive stream of water on a blazing fire. It extinguishes. It extinguishes what they're trying to ignite in you – 'go try to be more beautiful'.

The big question is, do we allow ourselves to be swept away by what they're trying to implant in us, or do we fight, become fighters, the kind who live by the real truth and values within us. Lives of faith, lives of spirit, lives of a divine soul.

So at night, before you fall asleep, think about which side you truly want to live on. The side of those who care about the poster on an Egged bus with the model at a 37-degree angle to the right, or the one with the long dress and the scarf from the store window.

Trying to strengthen in modesty and not succeeding? Rabbi Yigal Cohen with powerful encouragement:

'The Shechinah rests on the modest clothes you wear': Rabbi Yigal Cohen with a strengthening message: