Yarmulke/Kippah

The Hebrew word kippah, yarmulke in Yiddish, refers to a head covering that functions as an outward sign of Jewish identity. The exact derivation of these terms is uncertain, but Rabbi Joseph Telushkin postulates that yarmulke is a combination of the two Aramaic words yarei and me'elokha (“one who fears God”). Over time and throughout Jewish diasporic life, kippah has taken on a multiplicity of meanings, oftentimes representing conflicting views of Jewish Halakha (“law”) and attesting to developed minhag (“custom”). There is no halakhic mandate on the fabric, size, shape, and color of a kippah. There even is no halakhic injunction that one needs to wear it constantly or whether it is solely for men. Even within each movement, traditions are not static. What is consistent in variations on the tradition of wearing a kippah is that its use represents attempts at humility and respect.

An early allusion to a head covering, not necessarily the kippah, is found in the biblical description of priestly garments worn in the Temple. One Midrash speaks of Moses showing proper reverence, according to the rabbis, when pronouncing the name of God by hiding his face, in contrast to others who demonstrated insolence by looking on with uncovered heads. Yet covering here refers to wrapping one's body, not just the head, in a tallith (prayer shawl).

Notions of cultivating piety and reflecting one's devotion are emphasized in later rabbinic writings. Several Babylonian Talmud tractates mention covering one's head in the hope of inducing piety, a belief echoed in the Zohar, a medieval kabbalistic text, which states that a rabbi walked no more than 4 cubits without a covered head out of consciousness of the Divine Presence above. Other Talmudic tractates indicate that wearing a hat is optional, a matter of custom. The major emphasis [Page 1393]in these texts contrasts impudence (i.e., bareheadedness and haughtiness) with proper forms of reverence (i.e., humility within the community and in God's presence).

Developing out of the ambiguous Talmudic and post-Talmudic statements is the notion that wearing a kippah has taken on the force of law. A differentiation is made between interpretations of devotional head covering and historical instances of female bareheadedness, which varied across cultures and through time. Beginning in the 17th century, and breaking with the previous custom of dressing like others, developments in some European Jewish communities included prohibition on praying as the Christians did (i.e., bareheaded), although these customs varied regionally.

Cases continue to arise that put in question the status of the kippah and the identification of its wearer. For example, as of 2004, the French government banned the wearing of a kippah in public schools, and the specific kippah that passes as a symbol of a particular religious and political movement within Israel, the nationalistic segment of Orthodox Jews, takes on new, less religious and political, overtones in the United States. Today, Orthodox males cover their heads at almost all times, and Conservative males and some females use the wearing of a kippah in the synogogue. Within Reform Judaism, decisions on head covering are left to the individual.

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