word which has been understood to mean "uncovered" or "with loose hair"), suggesting that, normally, her hair is not parua. According to the Talmud, this indicates that the Torah prohibits married women in general from appearing parua in public. The Mishnah, however, implies that hair covering is not an obligation of biblical origin. It discusses behaviors that are grounds for divorce, such as, "appearing in public with a parua head, weaving in the marketplace, and talking to any man", and calls these violations of Dat Yehudit ("Jewish law") as opposed to Dat Moshe ("Mosaic law"). The Talmud reconciles the sources by saying that if her head is completely uncovered in public, this would indeed be a violation of Dat Moshe, whereas a woman who appears in public wearing a kalta (a minimal covering of part of the hair, perhaps a basket resting on the head) has satisfied Dat Moshe but is still violating Dat Yehudit. Another relevant Talmudic source is Berakhot 24a, where the rabbis define hair as sexually erotic (ervah), and prohibit men from praying in sight of a married woman's hair. The rabbis base this judgement on a biblical verse: "Your hair is like a flock of goats" (), suggesting that this praise reflects the sensual nature of hair. However, "with a few exceptions, there is halachic consensus that the obligation of women's head-covering derives chiefly from the sota and, secondarily, from dat Yehudit", rather than from ervah, and a number of leading poskim ruled that while head-covering is required, in societies where this law is widely ignored, the uncovered hair ceases to be considered ervah for the purpose of prayer. The Zohar, a commentary on the Hebrew Scriptures and the primary source of the beliefs of Kabbalah, also describes the mystical importance of women making sure to not expose their hair. The parashat Naso 125b-126b suggests that a woman who strictly obeys head covering traditions will reap many blessings for her husband and children. Unmarried women The medieval codes do not mention any exemption for unmarried women. According to the Mishna, if a woman went to her wedding with hair uncovered, this serves as proof that she was a virgin (i. e., never before married) at the time. This seems to indicate that never-married women did not cover their hair, but divorced and widowed women did continue to cover their hair. This is also the position taken