Bi’ur ha-Gra: Glosses to Shulḥan arukh

6. “It is proper,” etc. The phraseology employed by the Tur¹ is “And one should cover one’s head so that one should not be in a state of bareheadedness”—this is taken from the words of the Ba‘al ha-‘itur.² Now the Bet Yosef ³ has written [commenting on the words in the Tur commencing “One should cover”] the following: “It appears that this does not refer to total bare-headed-ness, as this has nothing to do with the subject of tsitsit.” Moreover, how was the person able, therefore, to go to relieve himself and to attend to other matters? Accordingly, it must mean that although his head is covered, it is the practice of modest people to place a turban or a prayer shawl on their head, etc. It is conceivable that what was meant is this: that one should not be bareheaded insofar as the wearing of tsitsit is concerned, and that this is what the Shulḥan arukh meant by stating “It is proper.” However, this interpretation is forced, as this is not what one calls “being bareheaded”; we find in the Talmud, in several places, that it was the practice of the Sages to cover their heads with a turban, i.e. in Kiddushin 5a and Berakhot 60b, and in the chapter Arve Pesaḥim [101b], and in Shabbat ch. 16 [120a] and in Shabbat ch. 8 [77b], and in Mo‘ed Katan ch. 3 [15a] where it is stated: “No! [a person afflicted with leprosy must not have his head covered] with a cap or a turban”; and similarly in ch. 8 of Eruvin [84b], and in the R”if [R. Isaac Alfasi’s abridged version of the Talmud], in Berakhot [44b]: “The blessing over the tsitsit is recited after the blessing ‘Who clothes the naked,’ and at the end of the passage: ‘When he spreads the turban over his head,’” etc. Moreover, in regard to what the Bet Yosef has written: “How was he able to go to relieve himself?” etc.—it is implicit from what he says that it is halakhically forbidden to walk about with one’s head uncovered—but that is not the case, as we see from the fact that it is stated in ch. 16 of Shabbat [118b]: “I merit reward,” etc.; likewise in the first chapter of Kiddushin [31a]: “Rav Huna, son of R. Joshua, did not,” etc., and, at [Kiddushin 33a]: “How much temerity did that man have?, etc. Perhaps he hails from Mata Mehasya,” etc. Thus we see that it is permitted to wear a turban only in the presence of a Talmudic scholar. And likewise in tractate (Derekh Eretz) [Kallah] in regard to the case of the two small children, and in Kiddushin [29b] in connection with Rav Hamnuna, except that there, in Kiddushin, it would be feasible to interpret the passage as does the Bet Yosef; [namely, that one ought to wear a head-covering] “on account of modesty.” A further instance of this is to be found in Nedarim 30b, and similarly, in the instance occurring at the end of Shabbat [156b], where the words “Cover your head!” appear, this expression is to be understood in accordance with its plain sense, and in accordance with that which is stated in Kiddushin 31a: “Rav Huna, son of R. Joshua, did not have,” etc., and in accordance with its usage in the phrase “In the presence of a Talmudic scholar,” and in accordance with the mention, in the third chapter of Megillah, of a poheah, etc., which is interpreted in Soferim “With uncovered head,” and similarly, the instance in Kiddushin 8a is to be understood in accordance with its plain meaning; namely, that anyone else besides a Talmudic scholar does not require a turban at all, and as is mentioned in the eighth chapter of Shabbat [77b] and in the Midrash Rabbah [Vayiqra Rabba, Emor, par. 27:6] in relation to the recitation of the Shema, which is cited by the Bet Yosef in section 61: “I have not troubled you,” etc. However, it is due to the fact that a person’s enwrapping himself in his prayer shawl is for the purpose of prayer that it states that he should cover his head; and this is in accord with what is written in section 91, subsection 3, and in column 1, subsection 3; and see subsection 5. Now although the Tur has already written in section 2 that one should cover one’s head, there it is merely in passing, and in the context of a person displaying “extraordinary piety” until such time as he has enwrapped himself, whereas in the instances cited here, he is stating what is required by strict halakhah—and yet, even this is not, strictly speaking, an absolute halakhic imperative, as he has stated, since, from the strictly halakhic viewpoint, even to pray and to enter the synagogue bareheaded—all of these things are indeed permissible, as I shall state below—albeit here, everyone has an obligation to act stringently, which is not the case in relation to section 2, which is applicable solely to exceptionally modest and God-fearing individuals, in accordance with what is written in Kiddushin 8a; and in fact, any form of covering is sufficient until a person covers his head, which, in this context, means: “with a prayer shawl or a turban”: but in the Ra‘aya Mehemna [portion of the Zohar], section 3 122b it is stated: “On account of the fact that he,” etc., “for the purposes of prayer and entering the synagogue, and for the rest of the people, who do not possess turbans,” and such would appear to be the case in Shabbat 147a where reference is made to a doubly folded prayer shawl—see Rashi, and such as would further appear from section 301, subsection 29, which means “After,” etc., and likewise from the tractate chapter Ha-tekhelet where reference is made to “The prayer shawl with which a minor covers himself”—and see the Zohar, section 3 122b. Furthermore, as to what is stated in Soferim 311, to the effect that it is forbidden to pronounce any divine name with uncovered head, that too constitutes an act of extraordinary piety; for, from the Gemara in Berakhot 60, this does not appear to be the case, as is evident from section 46, subsection 1; likewise from the Midrash Rabbah cited above, namely: “I have not troubled you,” etc. The general principle is that there is no prohibition whatsoever on walking with one’s head uncovered, except when one is in the presence of outstanding personages, and similarly, at times of prayer, it is proper to cover one’s head out of a sense of propriety and respect for the Almighty; and, as regards the rest of the day, covering one’s head is required exclusively for those holy men who stand continuously in the presence of the Almighty.