Meet Miri, the woman that created the #onescarfchallenge. THIS is what the Wrapunzel community is about; someone seeing a need, and doing something about it! Read the backstory and join! Here’s how:
– Wear only one scarf as your tichel, with one accessory (like a headband or a pin)
– When you post on facebook, instagram, or twitter, tag #wrapunzel and #onescarfchallenge
– Check out other ladies doing the same, and be inspired
– Let your friends know, the ones who are intimidated by the super intricate scarf wraps, that this mitzvah is for THEM, and the whole point of Wrapunzel is liberation and letting everyone know that “you can do it!” You don’t have to be intricate/complicated to reveal your inner essence through wrapping your hair!
… and now, let’s hear from Miri!
Backstory: How’d you come up with #onescarfchallenge?
I thought about wrapping my hair last summer, around the time our boys were kidnapped. I remember their beautiful mothers’ head coverings, and being so impressed with their poise in the face of such devastating tragedy. Their simple wraps were so beautiful, yet simple. I learned strength doesn’t always need a lot of ornamentation to be beautiful.
Up until this point, I was pretty fluid in my hair covering. I’d been married about 10 years when my family became more observant and purposeful in our religious practice. I hesitate to label me or my family as “Ba’al tchuva,” because I believe I am the same person I’ve always been. Taking on mitzvot began in earnest when we moved to Rochester, NY, from LA, and joined my husband’s family’s Sephardi shul, Light of Israel. My son’s great great grandfather founded the shul, so our small family felt incredibly connected to the kehilla. Being in a small town, well, the smallest town I’ve lived in, we had the opportunity to develop our religious practices in a way that was very organic, and really couldn’t have happened anywhere else. I could try to find out how I wanted to cover my hair IF I wanted to cover my hair. Usually no one mentioned my flirtation with covering my hair, except to give me encouragement.
During this time, I worked at a Catholic college as an assistant professor in communication, and felt like I couldn’t take many risks in the way I covered my head. I didn’t really even cover my hair in a non-religious setting until 2011 when I developed breast cancer at 45. At the time I had a five year old son and was looking for something that I could do to cover my bases spiritually, so to speak. I was sent to Israel for a professional conference, and couldn’t NOT cover my hair while I was there. This was also right before my bilateral mastectomy—covering my hair with hats seemed to be the thing to do to put myself in a good place spiritually. My husband follows R” Ovadiya Yoseph, so wigs were never part of the equation. Sometimes I’d wear a snazzy bandana, but usually I’d wear a hat or a biker ‘do rag. Still, I was searching for a personal head covering style. I went through cosmetology school in high school, so keeping my head stylish is a priority for me.
Then I saw the person you know as Jennifer Michelle Ora Kreisler. She and I had known each other briefly, years ago, when we were part of the same speech team. I hadn’t given her another thought—until I saw this radiant rebbitzen sporting an amazing wrap on a mutual friend’s Facebook page. We danced around asking each other if we were Jewish… She had been a different person when I know her before (but I was too!), and I just LOVED her wrap, but not only that—she encouraged me to try wrapping just by wearing beautiful wraps herself. If she could do it, I certainly could!
We moved to NYC for my health during my time as a wrapping lurker. When I first started wrapping with purpose last year around the time of the Jewish holidays, I was VERY intimidated by the gorgeous styles I saw on Wrapunzel. Certainly I could never have a wrap as beautiful as those I saw Rebbitzen Ora and other women wearing. But moving to NYC changed me, and I decided I could take more chances with my head covering than I did in Rochester in the small conservative school where I worked. My new NYC boss has blue highlights in her hair, for goodness sake! And so, like everyone else, I dove into the Wrapunzel pool full bore. Multiple scarves with all sorts of additional bling—pins, headband, sashes, you name it! Again, I was trying to find where I fit in the covering world. I tried all the styles “named” for someone, Shira tails, the Yael, the Leizel… All gorgeous! But where was The Miri? Would there be a Miri if I only wear one simple scarf? How could there be?! Then I read someone say something about the Wrapunzel fan group in another group—something along the lines of, “those Wrapunzel women have such intricate wraps—I could never do that, so I’m leaving that group…” What?! Give up because you can’t do multiple scarves? That was enough for me! I decided to issue the #onescarfchallenge—one little ol’ scarf with one piece of bling—headband, brooch, etc., to show women that there is no reason to feel inferior to women with elaborate wraps—one scarf can be absolutely gorgeous! I laid down my gauntlet in hopes other women would take the challenge! And you know what? They did. I might not have a style named after me, but that really doesn’t make a difference. My life is devoted to helping people on many different levels. If I can help one woman wrap and feel beautiful, isn’t that enough? One can be gorgeous. One can be playful. And like I tell my “only” son, one is sometimes all you need to be happy. #onescarfchallenge
🙂
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