In my spiritual journey to find what traditions are meaningful to me and enhance my understanding of Judaism, I've considered starting to cover my hair (I'm married). How do I reconcile my feminist values with Jewish ideas of Tzniut and practices such as hair covering?

Hair covering is an important part of the wardrobe of the married Jewish woman.  What uniform exactly am I speaking of?  It is the garb of a priestess.  Jews are a “kingdom of priests” and we are supposed to dress and act as much.  The purpose is to be physical representatives of the values of the Torah that all of the world are supposed to follow.  One of the missions of the Jewish woman is to communicate to the world the values of modesty and monogamy.  When a Jewish woman covers her hair, she is displaying a higher level of modesty as she is reserving herself for her husband as well as declaring to the world she is married, thus showing the value of such a relationship.  The hope and expectation is that non-Jews will look at the way the Jews conduct themselves and want to emulate our behavior.

Judaism has a concept of feminism.  Some of it overlaps with the secular version/s, some does not.  For example, modesty is seen as a way to put the emphasis on the insides of a person and not simply their looks.  This applies to both genders but women are seen as the guardians of modesty.  This is due to the fact that Judaism has a concept of gender roles, the anathema of most feminist thinkers I am familiar with.  The purpose the gender roles is to create a yin-yang type of relationship where men are supposed to take care of certain functions and women are meant to take care of others. It is not meant to be a control mechanism of men over women.

The only way to really answer whether this step will contradict your feminist values is to clearly define what they are.  Are you a first generation feminist like Susan B. Anthony that simply believes that women should have equal rights to representation and equal pay for equal work and such? This doesn’t seem to be a problem.  Other strands of feminism present much more of an issue.  Feminists thinkers like Naomi Wolf for example say things that are much more problematic from our perspective.  We don’t believe that feminist values are a trump card over all other moral or ethical considerations. 

To appreciate the Jewish value of modesty, you should take the time to look at some of the literature on the issue.  A very good book to read is A Return to Modesty by Wendy Shalit.  She wrote the book before she became religious so it has a much broader base of appeal.  Outside/Inside by Gila Manolson also deals with the topic, but I can’t recommend it since I haven’t read it.

I wish you much success with all of your spiritual endeavors.  Hashem should help you make the right decisions.

In terms of covering your hair, I think there are a number of questions to consider.  You could start by investigating the historical roots of this practice, in order to help give you a greater context and understanding of how this practice came into play, and what significance and meaning was originally ascribed to it.  For example, you will find that some traditional sources explain that women’s hair was considered to be very erotic, and therefore had to be covered once a women was married in order to avoid any inappropriate temptation.  Within the context of contemporary society, this perspective could seem outdated, irrelevant, and demeaning.  That said, you may find some other traditional sources or explanations that make sense to you.

Once you consider the background, if you do find the roots of this practice in conflict with your contemporary sensibilities, you may then want to consider whether or not you are able to personally reinterpret this practice in a new light.  Is there a way to “reframe” the practice so that it fits within your values and worldview?  A wonderful example of how this “reframing” has played out in recent years is the resurgence of the mikvah.  Though many women are uncomfortable with some of the traditional roots of the mikvah’s use, many individuals and communities have been “reclaiming” the mikvah through the application of contemporary values, practices, and understandings to this ancient tradition.  This has led to exciting renewed interest in mikvah usage within liberal communities.

I recommend you then examine whether or not there is indeed a tension between your feminist values and the general Jewish concept of tzniut. On the one hand, some practices which fall under the category of “tzniut” (e.g. “Shomer Negiyah”--the practice of avoiding contact with members of the opposite sex, or “Kol Isha”—the practice of women not singing in front of men) have their roots in assumptions that are demeaning or degrading to women. On the other hand, not all elements of tzniut are necessarily in conflict with feminism. One might, perhaps, argue that modesty IS a very “feminist” value as it is ultimately all about self-respect.  Modesty can be about treating yourself with the honor and dignity due to one who is made in God’s image.  At its best, modesty, practiced by both men and women, can be a reminder that our bodies are not merely objects, but rather holy vessels that are meant to be valued as such. 

With all of this in mind, I think that your consideration of the practice of covering your hair is an expression of the way you are obviously embracing the Jewish concept of “walking” and it is something you should be proud of, even as this exploration is bringing up an experience of internal conflict.