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Modern Modesty

Wrapunzel duo shares expertise in elegant hair-wrapping techniques.

Susan Tawil I Special to the Jewish News

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The event was held to support the Bridal
Canopy, a local charitable organization
that provides low-cost rentals of beautiful
wedding gowns and accessories to brides.
Southfielder Leah Tolwin began the organi-
zation in 2001 and has since helped outfit
more than 750 brides.
Event organizer Rivky Rothenberg thought
a head-wrapping event would be a fun way
to raise funds for the Bridal Canopy because
most Orthodox Jewish women take on the
mitzvah of covering their hair after marriage
for reasons of modesty.
Grinberg, 28, and Perlman, 37, are both
Orthodox. Although the original intent of
their blog was to promote and enhance the
mitzvah of hair covering, to their surprise,
only one-third of those who visit Wrapunzel
are Jewish. The site attracts all types of
women who think head wrapping is "cool" as
well as women with hair loss issues or those
undergoing chemotherapy.
Grinberg and Perlman believe that teach-
ing women to cover their hair in an enjoy-
able, comfortable and beautiful way provides
an outlet for creativity and self-expression.
For Jewish women, they hope this will
increase their appreciation of this sometimes
difficult mitzvah.
Referring to the Torah laws of modesty
and hair covering for women, Grinberg says:
"It's a responsibility that HaShem [God] gave
to us. You should feel joy when you pick
out what to wear in the morning. It [hair
covering] allows who I am to shine out from
my face. I want women to feel beautiful and
enjoy the mitzvah:'
Perlman adds, As Jews, we need to be
proud of what we stand for."
Not all the women in attendance covered
their hair. Talya Woolf of Farmington Hills
said she was gradually taking on the mitzvah,
at this point covering her hair on Shabbat
and Yom Toy A number of women in the
audience were already expert at "tichel tying"
[scarf wrapping], while others were clueless.
All were interested in learning more.
After the talk, some women came onstage
and had their hair wrapped while Grinberg
and Perlman explained their techniques and
demonstrated different styles. Following
a brief question-and-answer session, the
audience broke up to shop the scarf and
accessories tables (part of the profits went to
the Bridal Canopy), schmooze with friends,
enjoy delicious homemade cookies and
brownies and to "get wrapped:'
Rebecca Klausner, 29, of Southfield, was

12

November 6 • 2014

Rivka Malka

Perlman

demonstrates

a wrap on Leah

Tolwin, with

Andrea Grinberg

in the background.

head-wrapped by Grinberg in a lovely teal
pashmina with a lace overlay. "I was looking
forward to the result; she said. "I don't know
how to do this at all, but now I'm gonna try:'
Miriam Newman of Oak Park was there
with her married daughter and two daugh-
ters-in-law. "[Wrapping] matches my inner
self much more than a sheitel [wig] does,"
she said, referring to the wigs that many
Orthodox women wear to cover their hair yet
"blend in" with society.
Newly married Aliza Newman, 23, visit-
ing from Elizabeth, N.J., picked up on this
idea. "I wear sheitels to work:' she said. "It
doesn't draw attention to me. When you
wear scarves, it looks exotic and exciting. You
have to be comfortable with that, with your
identity as a Jewish woman:'
Her sister-in-law Chava Newman, 23, of
Southfield said, "I love my big curly hair,
and couldn't find a sheitel like it, so tichels
express my personality better. I've been
wearing them this whole past year to Wayne
[State University], and it just became who I
was. With all the Muslims there [who also
cover their hair], no one even comments:'
Mira Benjamin, a med tech at Beaumont
Hospital, wears a sheitel to work. "I'd be
nervous to wear scarves to work:' she said.
"It's too much of a statement. I don't think it
looks professionalf But she said she hopes

Esther Ross gets a wrap and a kiss from Rivka Malka Perlman.

the trend catches on.
"It's becoming a fad in Detroit:' said
Yehudis Blavin, 24, of Oak Park "I definitely
see more women wearing scarves:" A nurs-
ing student at Children's Hospital and Henry
Ford Hospital, Blavin says she wears scarves
to work "At first I worried what people
would
she said. "The African Americans
thought it was cool and pretty. Now it's just
what I wear:'

Esther Ross, owner and creative director
of Garden of Eden Florist, loves wearing
scarves. "You can express yourself in a kalei-
doscope of colors," she said. "Who wants to
be subtle when you can be spectacular?"

❑

For more about Wrapunzel, go to wrapunzeL
wordpress.com or wrapunzeLcom. The Bridal
Canopy can be reached at thebridalcanopy@
gmaiLcom or (248) 845-VEIL (8345).