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I've been that woman! Except that I wear a hat, scarf, or snood, never a sheitel (wig). I get too hot in a wig, even in winter.



I pretty much decided that because I work out in a non-Jewish gym (a gym in which my bashert and I are the only Jews I ever see), I'll wear whatever I want, since my bashert and I are the only ones who have an opinion on how a Jew should cover.



In a Modern Orthodox community, or Conservative, that would work just great! The less modern the community, the more you might get weird looks, but go for it anyway if you like. Or ask your rabbi. He'll be able to tell you how your particular community interprets "covered legs," and then if someone does give you any guff over it, you'll be able to say, "Well, my rav says that this is acceptable, so take it up with him."



Good point. If your community is small and filled with modern folks, and/or widely varying levels of observance and modesty, you're probably safe as long as your knees, elbows, and collarbones are covered (and of course the stuff in between).



I'm not in New York, no, but other than that, I don't like to give out my RL location online.

I can go you one better, kingpinsqeezels. Try looking at Chabad's calendar page. You can click to go forward or back as many months as you want. Best of all, if you enter your zip code, it'll tell you what your local candle lighting times are, what time the fasting starts and ends, and anything else related to the Jewish calendar.

You can also get a calendar from HebCal by entering your zip code (in the US) and the information you want displayed. You can download the HebCal calendars to your iCal, if you have iCal, or to most other calendar/appointment systems you may have on your personal computer.

About New York, I have never lived there, but I've visited once and I do have some friends and family who live there. It's fantastic, with a public transportation system that is easy to understand and use. If you're a Jew in New York, you will be able to find a Jewish community that suits your personal style and beliefs. There are groups for Orthodox computer geeks, Reform artists, Conservative gays/lesbians, and anything else you can imagine. There's also a plethora of kosher restaurants, and you can get kosher food in most places within the city. Upstate is utterly gorgeous as well. My bashert's aunt lives in a gorgeous modern log cabin home in the mountainous area just outside Poughkeepsie (which is pronounced puh-KIP-see), surrounded by tall tall forests and amazing views. New York definitely has some of the best that the US has to offer. Of course, watching any cop show on TV will tell you that it's also got some of the worst, so become savvy and streetwise. Just don't let it blind you to the beautiful people that you'll also meet there. Everywhere there are examples of kindness and quiet heroism.

The best way to find out how to light candles to usher in the Sabbath or Passover is to check the Chabad website, or do a Google search on "how to light Shabbat candles" for Sabbath, or "online haggadah" for the Passover ritual. The basic blessing for candle lighting is, "Baruch atah Hashem elo(h)einu, melech ha-olam, asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel [Shabbat, Yom Tov, or in some cases the specific name of the holiday, like Chanukah]." It translates to, "Blessed are you, Hashem, our God, sovereign of the universe, who sanctifies us with commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of [the specific occasion]." But of course, for every holiday there are a few more prayers to say after that. Don't worry about being noobish about it, though. Everyone was new at some point, either as an adult or as a child. It's no crime to want to learn more than you already know!



It's true, NYC has some fantastic schools. Lots of amazing shopping. It's great to have a strong Jewish community, but there are so many other reasons to visit or move to New York City, too. If you decide to go there, though, make sure you have time to work at least one job. Rent there is sky-high. $1500 a month for a tiny one-bedroom apartment is... average. It's insane.

Divash is right, NYC is expensive. I live in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, which is a Jewish neighborhood, and I rent someone's very small basement for $550 a month with utilities included, which is _really_ cheap, but this place is a dump! My outside door has a broken key stuck in it, my cabinets in my tiny little kitchen area are falling apart, my shower clogs up and spews out moldy water from the drain sometimes, the toilet gets clogged easily... I lived in a nicer place, but I had to have a roommate and my rent was higher.. I moved into this place to save money.

It's not actually as dangerous as it seems from TV and newspapers, though - you can look at crime statistics by police precincts and basically tell where the bad parts of the city are. (East New York, for example, is a very bad part of Brooklyn, and you can tell if you go there that you should get the heck out.) I'm working as a volunteer EMT, and I've worked in emergency rooms, so I've seen all the aftermath of the worst parts of the city.. x_x

I originally moved here to go to CUNY Brooklyn College and later, SUNY Downstate Medical Center for med school, and also to study for my conversion, but I love living a walking distance from most things I need (grocery store, drugstore, library, take-out _kosher_ food, etc), plus having public transportation that runs 24 hours a day literally a 5-10 minute walk from my house? I love it. xD

Jewangel, I think that's a lovely idea. There are a few women in my synagogue, myself included, who cover completely. Most just cover partially. Their (completely valid, in my opinion) feeling is that the mitzvah is "kisui rosh," which means "covering the head," rather than "kisui se'ar" which means "covering the hair." It's simply a reminder to oneself and others that one is married, and that one is subject to a high standard of thought and behavior. I know that once I go out in my head covering and my tzanuah (modest) clothing, people know that I'm a Jew, so everything I do will either bring honor to the Jewish people or shame. I try to live up to it, and my head covering is my constant reminder to do so.

Linen is so comfortable. It's light, breathable, casual but still kind of fancy. The ONLY problem with linen is that it wrinkles like crazy. If you don't mind that, then linen is the perfect fabric. Cotton wrinkles too, depending on the weave, though. I'm wondering if they wove linen like they do cotton -- stretchy knits, denim-type weave, that kind of thing -- if that might cut down on the wrinkling problem.

Those do look really comfortable. I have only one linen skirt, but I wear it in the summertime when I want to look very presentable but don't want to roast to death. I'm thinking I should get another one in a lighter color, too.

There aren't kippot, but the Gambino Hat Rack and other places do have regular hats.

I cover my hair in real life because it is reserved purely for my bashert. Sometimes I cover with a scarf; other times I use a snood, cap, hat, or hood. But I know a great many women who cover with a sheitel/wig/hairpiece. Since that's not their real hair, they're permitted to let it be seen.

My avatar's hair, likewise, is not my real hair. It's not anyone's real hair. It's not even convincing as fake hair -- everyone can totally tell it's a cartoon. So there is absolutely no problem with letting it be seen, just like there's no problem with letting your avatar's arms, legs, or even stomach be seen.