You're all familiar with bazaars -- your Yeshiva bazaar, the
Shul sale, or the Ladies Auxiliary of "you name it"
organization's bargain opportunity. However, the semi-annual
Yerusholayim Sheitel Sale held in the Tamir hotel is the
greatest bazaar of all, or as Sadaam would say, it is the
Mother of all Sales. That is not only because it is attended
by mothers of all ages, sizes, and group affiliations --
it's the sheer magnitude of the undertaking!
All during the year, the organization's leaders are busy
collecting sheitels. Jewish women worldwide and wig
manufacturers donate pieces that are not being used. Reasons
for disuse vary. Often a woman will buy a sheitel and be
disappointed with the way it was styled, or the color may
differ from the shade usually worn, or the quality may be
less than expected, or the look may bear no resemblance to
that worn by the model in the advertising catalogue. Instead
of letting the sheitel sit in the closet or depositing it in
the box of Purim costumes, the owners wisely donate them to
the Yerusholyaim Sheitel Sale.
As the wigs fly in from all over the world, they are
distributed to volunteer sheitelmachers who wash, set
and make them "ready to wear." A date is set and a hall,
too, is generously donated for the occasion.
At the last sale, over four hundred wigs were set up on
different tables according to color, to make shopping
easier. Fifteen sheitelmachers donated their evening
to assist the women. They advised customers as to what to
purchase and styled the sheitels as soon as they were
bought.
The wigs sold for seventy shekels (US $15) and the money,
after deducting expenses, was given directly to Tzedoka.
Hundreds of women from low income families had the
opportunity to buy a decent wig for a mere $15 as opposed to
$500 and feel good about themselves at an affordable price.
In addition, thousands of dollars were raised for Tomchei
Torah of Ezras Torah, to assist the needy families of the
neighborhood.
It is amazing to witness the sale live. Early in the
evening, women line up and can hardly wait for the doors to
open. Once they are allowed inside, the action is lively. A
Russian kallah selects the wigs she never knew about
in her youth. The mother of a bar mitzva boy happily picks a
`new' [they are almost new] sheitel for her long awaited
simcha. The kollel wife is thrilled to replace her
five-year-old day- in-day-out wedding sheitel!
The organizer remembers one woman coming to pay for her
purchase. "Which sheitel are you taking?" she asked, looking
at the lady's empty hands.
"Oh, it's already on my head!" the woman replied happily.
It's an evening where everyone benefits and the mood in the
hall mirrors the simcha [as do the mirrors!]. The
people who donated the sheitlach are happy that their
possessions are given to a good cause and the women wearing
"new sheitlach" are thrilled and grateful. "Tomchei Torah"
then provides for the poor in the neighborhood, completing
the circle of Tzedoka and Chessed.
The Sheitel Committee invites you to participate in their
effort. Perhaps you or your friend have a sheitel in good
condition and wish to donate it to a woman who cannot afford
to buy one. Pieces are now being collected for the next sale
to be held after Pesach, IY"H.
Please call for wig donations and pickups: 02-538-3130.
Of course, if you are in Yerusholayim, this is also an
invitation to attend the next Sheitel Sale. Unless you
experience the event first hand, it is hard to believe that
it is possible to raise the mitzvah of covering the hair
modestly to such an unprecedented level.
