"Jewish hats" (Kippot) Facts & Purpose

The sources for wearing a kippas ("Jewish hats") are found in the Talmud. In tractate Shabbat 156b it states Cover your head in order that the fear of heaven may be upon you. As well, in tractate Kiddushin 32a it states Rabbi Huna the son of Rabbi Joshua never walked 4 cubits (2 meters) with his head uncovered. He explained: "Because the Divine Presence (Shekhina) is always over my head." While there is a minority opinion that wearing a kippahs ("Jewish hats")is a Torah commandment, most halakhic decisors agree that it is merely a custom. The prevailing view among Rabbinical authorities is that this custom has taken on the force of law (Shulkhan Arukh, Orach Chayim 2:6). From a strictly talmudic point of view, however, the only moment when a Jew is required to cover his head is during prayer (Mishne Torah, Ahavah, Hilkhot Tefilah 5:5).

Reasons given for wearing a kippa today include: * recognition that God is "above" humankind, *"acceptance" of the 613 mitzvot (commandments), *"identification" with the Jews.

Some have a custom of wearing two head coverings, typically a kippa and a cap on top, for Kabbalistic reasons; the two coverings correspond to two levels of intellect, or two levels in the fear of God. The High Priest of the Temple in Jerusalem, the Kohen Gadol, also used to wear a woolen kippa under his priestly cap (Talmud Chulin 138a).

The word Yarmulke is a Yiddish word. It derives from the Polish word "jarmulka" meaning cap. The popular claim that it comes from an Aramaic phrase "Yari Malka", meaning "Fear of the King," is without evidence, as is the claim of the Hebrew phrase "Ya'are me Elohim", "To tremble beneath the Lord". The interpretation that it is a tribute to God is emotionally resonant for Jews, which probably explains the popularity of this folk etymology.

In Hebrew, the word kippah means dome. It is fascinating to note that the ancient Gothic word kappel still exists in the Yiddish term today. The equivalent of the Hebrew word kippah is the French "calotte" and the Italian "calotta", meaning an architectural dome.