Community Magazine July 2016

54 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Style SPIRIT & FORTHEWOMANOFTODAY WOM N WOM N to When you first step into Fortune Wigs, the busy wig salon on Avenue O and Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, you will find nothing out of the ordinary. You will hear the hum of blow dryers and muffled chatter and see small mounds of hair on thefloor as awig stylist deftly snips a little here and a little there. You will find customers, whether they be brides or married women, trying on wigs before large mirrors. Upon closer observation, however, you will begin to see beyond the superficial goings-on at Fortune Wigs. You will begin to feel the pulse of the place: the growth in the atmosphere and the roller coaster of emotions in the air. Believe it or not, there is real drama that unfolds at Fortune Wigs, and Mrs. Esther Tobias, the owner of Fortune Wigs since 1998, bears witness to it all. From the soon-to-be married Bet Yaakov graduate to the middle-aged married woman undertaking to cover her hair for the very first time, Mrs. Esther Tobias sees them all at her salon. Fortune Wigs manufactures two lines of wigs and takes care of all the styling needed to help the Jewish woman look and feel her best as she crowns herself with a wig. Wash and sets and cuts are other popular services offered by the salon. Both its both Brooklyn and Lakewood locations offer “ seniut cuts” as well, which are free wig trims as an incentive to increase modesty. First-TimeWearers Covering their hair for the first time can be a real jump for community women who did not start out wearing wigs. They face a very real struggle to fit in with those around them who don’t cover their hair. Often they face open opposition from family and acquaintances. “But the women in our community are amazing,” says Esther Tobias, “and they do it.” Esther supports them with patience and encouragement. “I understand their struggle since I experienced it as well,” she empathizes. One woman, Denise*, was ready to embark on covering her hair but her husband opposed the idea. She purchased a natural-looking wig, and, on her third day wearing it, he noticed and asked her to take it back to the store. Uneasily, Denise approached Esther with her request to return the wig. “As soon as I told her ‘Sure, no problem,’ she changed her mind!” Esther relates. Denise declared, “You know what? Your willingness to take it back inspired me to keep it, after all. I will put it in my bank’s vault and save it for that special moment when mashiah arrives!” Ultimately, Denise’s husband came around. Today, she proudly wears a wig, as do several of her married daughters. “No one is as lucky as me to be able to experience such beauty firsthand on a regular basis,” Esther enthuses. EveryPrecious Inch Esther Tobias repeatedly highlights the greatness of our community’s women. She is inspired not only by those who make the decision to cover their hair for the first time but also by those who want to trim their wigs to give them a more modest appearance. “To part with an inch – even half an inch! – of their wigs poses a great difficulty for some women,” she says. Women often come to Fortune Wigs for a wig trim hoping to merit something, such as a refuah shelema or financial stability. “I can fill a book with the miracles that my customers experience after cutting their wigs,” Esther relates. “They come in looking for Hashem’s Hand, and they see it.” During the actual wig trim, one can feel the weight of the women’s sacrifice as the women, with their eyes closed, offer stirring, tearful prayers to Hashem. MIRIAM SASSON An Exclusive Interviewwith Esther Tobias, Owner of FortuneWigs