Why is a woman’s hair called erva only after marriage?

Hello,

It is true that there is a clear obligation from the Torah for a married woman to cover the hair of her head (see tractate Ketubot 72a, end of page a), but it was not made clear whether the reason for the mitzvah is modesty or some other reason.

And what our Sages said (tractate Berakhot 24a), hair in a woman is erva, is only because since the Torah commands a married woman to place a head covering, her hair therefore has the halachic status of covered places on the body, and is thus included in erva. By contrast, an unmarried woman, on whom there is no obligation at all to wear a head covering, has the status of exposed places on the body with regard to her hair, which is not included in erva.

And in truth, the view of several of the great poskim is that since, in practice, many married women go out in public with their hair uncovered, their hair is no longer considered erva, since it has become an exposed place, and it is permitted to recite sacred matters opposite them (Aruch HaShulchan, Orach Chaim 75:7, and Ben Ish Hai, year 1, Parashat Bo, ot 12. See also at length in Yabia Omer, volume 6, Orach Chaim, siman 13).

Of course, the intention of the poskim is not that there is any permission whatsoever for married women to go without a head covering, for certainly the Torah obligation to wear a head covering remains in full force and severity; rather, since hair in a woman is erva only by virtue of the reality that it is a covered place, once the reality has changed and women do not fulfill this obligation, the hair of their heads is no longer included in erva.

With blessings,

Hillel Meirs