Summer 2025

As noted in the article, “The Sheitel Controversy,” the author reviewed a wide array of sources that could not be included due to space considerations. Links to many of these sources are presented here for those who wish to delve more deeply into this fascinating topic.

More material can be found at ‫חומר בנושא תקרובת עבודה זרה בפאות Google Drive and קונטרסים – מכון הישכם אוהבים את ה’ לחקר תקרובת העבודה זרה בפאות

Please email the author at [email protected] if you have any additional articles or books on this topic that are available to be uploaded and shared with the public, or if you are the author of an article and would like it to be removed from this page.

Notice

Some of the material below was previously available at http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/~spotter/sheitel/.  That website is no longer in service.

Annotated Summaries of Online Resources

Hindu Beliefs and Practices Regarding Hair Sacrifices – This is a compilation of information regarding the tonsuring process (cutting/shaving of hair) performed near many Hindu temples across India.

Hair Identification – This document contains information addressing whether raw human hair can be definitively identified by touch and smell.

Hindu Hair and Jewish Halakha – This is a scholarly article on the topic that appeared in the Studies in Religion journal (2011).

Halacha Headlines: The Return of the Shaitel Controversy – Source sheets from the Headlines Radio Show #167 that aired April 21, 2018.

(The audio of Halacha Headlines #167 – The Return of the Sheitel Controversy – is available at The Return of the Shaitel Controversy – Halacha Headlines)

Halacha Headlines: The Return of the Shaitel Controversy, Part II – Source sheets from the Headlines Radio Show #168 that aired April 28, 2018.

(The audio of Halacha Headlines #168 – The Return of the Sheitel Controversy Part 2 – is available at The Return of the Shaitel Controversy Part 2 – Halacha Headlines)

Can a Sheitel Be Prohibited Because of Avodah Zara? – A discussion of the halachic issues involved in the use of Indian hair written by Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff.

Chut Shani [Hebrew] – A teshuva about Indian sheitels written by Rav Shmuel Wosner and Rav Nissim Karelitz.

Dr. Mohan Transcript – Transcript of an interview with Dr. Anand Mohan, Hindu Priest and Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Queens College.

Halacha Berurah – A halachic article regarding the sheitel controversy, reviewed by Rav Yisroel Belsky.