![\"\u05e2\u05d5"\u05d3](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/S1xbiICSMg_0_0_3000_2000_0_x-large.jpg\" "\\"Attorney")
<\/a><\/p>\nAttorney Nechama Tzivin<\/p>\n
(Photo: Motti Kimchi)<\/p>\n
Attorney Nechama Tzivin of Kfar Chabad, a predominantly Chabad Hasidic community in central Israel, remembers buying wigs for only a few thousand shekels when she was younger. In recent years, however, she and her friends have paid tens of thousands of shekels for wigs designed to look like natural hair.<\/p>\n
She believes the prices are unjustified and is now leading a campaign against them. Tzivin is preparing a petition to the Chabad rabbinical court demanding oversight of wig prices and intends to approach other religious courts as well.<\/p>\n
Her goal is to have wigs legally classified under Jewish law as “chayei nefesh”, a term referring to a necessity of life. Such a designation, she argues, could justify imposing a maximum permitted price or limiting profit margins.<\/p>\n
Att. Tzivin comes from a longtime Chabad<\/a> family. Chabad-Lubavitch is a Hasidic movement whose late spiritual leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson<\/a>, strongly encouraged married women to cover their hair with wigs. \u201cThere was an unequivocal instruction from the Lubavitcher Rebbe that the head covering should be a wig,\u201d she said. \u201cThat instruction was already given in the 1950s.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Rebbe handled it very sensitively. He encouraged women to buy wigs and even instructed that money be given to women to help them meet the expense.\u201d At the time, she said, wigs were relatively rare and expensive. Over the years, however, they became an integral part of life for married women in Chabad. \u201cToday, the feeling is that you simply have to cover your hair with a wig,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Att. Tzivin, who works with the Movement for Government Fairness headed by attorney Mordechai Eisenberg, said the dramatic shift came as wigs became increasingly natural-looking. \u201cThe more natural the wigs became and the more they looked like real hair, the more dramatically the prices rose,\u201d she said. \u201cWe examined the issue, and the costs do not justify this increase.<\/p>\n \u201cYoung brides want the most natural-looking wig possible, and it has become one of the largest wedding expenses. It does not fall only on the bride, but also on her mother, her sisters and the entire family.\u201d<\/p>\n Attorney Tzivin compared today\u2019s prices with those paid by earlier generations. \u201cWhen I married 50 years ago, wigs looked far less natural, but the prices were reasonable,\u201d she said. \u201cThat comparison is no longer especially relevant. But even when my daughters married in the early 2000s, wigs were a significant yet still manageable expense, costing only a few thousand shekels.<\/p>\n \u201cThe last wig I bought, three years ago, cost 18,000 shekels (about $5,900). That was an enormous jump from my previous wig, which cost roughly 5,000 to 6,000 shekels (about $1,600 to $2,000).<\/p>\n \u201cToday, the average wig in Kfar Chabad costs around 30,000 shekels (nearly $9,900), while some sell for as much as 40,000 shekels (about $13,100). The industry has always generated healthy profits, but the prices have now reached absurd levels.\u201d<\/p>\n Att. Tzivin said social media and the growing emphasis on appearance and beauty have helped drive the increase. \u201cDemand for natural wigs continues to rise, and wig makers take full advantage of that,\u201d she said. \u201cPsychology plays a central role. As demand rises, prices keep climbing.<\/p>\n \u201cA friend recently told us that his granddaughter is getting married and her wig will cost 40,000 shekels (about $13,100). In my view, this also happens with other products associated with religious observance, such as handmade Passover matzah, tefillin and prayer shawls, whose prices have also long since become unreasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n Att. Tzivin said her frustration eventually led her to act. \u201cI say this with pain, but today, to be Chabad, you have to be a sucker,\u201d she said. \u201cThe prices have become insane, specifically for products that are an inseparable part of religious life. That is why we decided to approach the Chabad rabbinical court and ask it to intervene.\u201d<\/p>\n She rejected the argument that buying an expensive wig is simply a consumer choice. \u201cPeople ask why there is any need to fight this,\u201d she said. \u201cThey say that just as one person buys a car for a million shekels and another buys a used car for tens of thousands, the same is true of wigs.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that comparison is wrong. A car, a home or cosmetics are not religious commandments. A wig, at least for a Chabad woman, is a basic necessity. In the language of Jewish law, it is a matter of ‘chayei nefesh’.\u201d<\/p>\n Att. Tzivin stressed that the campaign is not aimed at preventing wig makers from earning a profit. \u201cOur argument is not against charging money,\u201d she said. \u201cAnyone who wants to buy a simple synthetic wig can do so, and even there, a reasonable profit is legitimate.<\/p>\n \u201cThe dispute is over wigs that generate profits of hundreds of percent. We are not asking anyone to sell at a loss. If the cost is 20,000 shekels, the seller may earn whatever profit Jewish law permits. But the wig cannot be sold for 40,000 shekels simply because it is connected to a commandment and is essential for women. That is precisely why we are approaching the rabbinical court.\u201d<\/p>\n Her central demand is the creation of a special halachic status for wigs. \u201cOur goal is for a wig to be defined as a product of ‘chayei nefesh’,\u201d she said. \u201cOnce that becomes its legal status, it will not matter whether the wig is synthetic or made from natural hair. Every wig will be subject to the same rules, and profit margins will be supervised.\u201d<\/p>\n Attorney Tzivin claimed there are significant gaps between production costs and retail prices. \u201cBased on information we have received, there are cases in which profit margins reach 200% or even 300%,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the expense does not end with the wig itself. After the purchase, customers are offered maintenance products, serums, treatments and accessories.\u201d<\/p>\n She said the cost of ongoing upkeep has become part of the problem. \u201cProducts that can be bought online for tens of shekels are sold by wig makers for hundreds,\u201d she said. \u201cThis happens in other industries as well, but in the wig business, there is a sense of exploitation at every stage.\u201d<\/p>\n Att. Tzivin\u2019s campaign has become a widely discussed issue among Chabad women and in other Haredi communities in Israel and abroad. She said a Haredi social activist from France recently contacted her and described a parallel campaign against wig prices there. Women who can switch to another form of head covering do so, while those who cannot turn to charitable organizations for assistance.<\/p>\n Gila Maman, founder of FairWigs, a French organization that assists women with wig-related issues, praised Tzivin\u2019s initiative. \u201cI wanted to thank you personally for your courage and the incredible work you are doing for women,\u201d Maman wrote in a message to Tzivin. \u201cI was deeply moved to read about your initiative. It is inspiring to see someone willing to stand up to a system that has made so many women feel unheard and powerless.\u201d<\/p>\n Maman said the problem extends far beyond Israel. “Many women feel trapped, silenced and alone under the dictatorship of wigs,\u201d she wrote. \u201cYou have no idea how many women in France have told me they stopped covering their hair because of all the problems involved.\u201d<\/p>\n FairWigs, she said, provides charity, free wigs, free repairs, legal assistance and a platform for women to share their experiences. She called for the campaign to grow into a broader international movement.<\/p>\n Wig makers, however, reject claims that the industry is exploiting religious women. <\/p>\n Zehava Weitzman, who has owned a boutique wig business for 30 years, said prices have risen because both demand and production standards have increased. <\/p>\n \u201cClients demand the highest-quality hair,\u201d she said. \u201cAbout 40% of my customers are not Haredi or religious at all. Women are dealing with cancer, alopecia, an autoimmune condition that causes hair loss, or thinning hair, alongside Haredi women. They all want the same level of quality. It is a matter of supply and demand.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\u05d6\u05d4\u05d1\u05d4](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ByMvLLCrzl_0_0_1200_1600_0_x-large.jpg\" "\\"Zehava")
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