which kippah should i wear?

Question: Despite having Jewish ancestry, I never really observed the religion until during the last several months. There is obviously so much I have yet to learn, but have always been taught that it is proper etiquette for any Jewish male to wear a kippah at any part of a synagogue or its grounds that he visits. However, this does give the impression that a man would be observant and know all the rituals/etiquette/customs well. In my case however, the appearance could be deceiving because I do not consider myself Orthodox (yet, at any rate) and don’t want to surprise people if I am not exactly what I appear to be. So, my question is are there any types of kippah that indicate a higher level of religiosity or awareness than others? I want to represent myself as honestly as possible especially since I am basically a newbie at being an observant Jew. –Benjamin, Singapore

Answer: This is a great question, Benjamin. In our article about head coverings, we talk about how wearing a kippah can be a badge of membership and commitment to the Jewish people. Though the kippah itself doesn’t have any inherent meaning, it does serve as a marking of a Jewish person (usually a man) who is heavily invested in Jewish life.

What you’re talking about is closely related to the famous Jewish concept of maarit ayin, or the appearance of impropriety. Basically, Jews are discouraged from doing anything that could appear inappropriate or wrong, even if it’s actually not problematic. For example, a traditionally observant Jewish person who needs to use the bathroom while walking around a city on Shabbat would be discouraged from walking into a bank or a restaurant to use their facilities. It may be technically permissible to use a bank bathroom on Shabbat, but a passerby might see the person in the bank and think the person is going to withdraw or deposit money, which is prohibited on Shabbat. Maarit ayin is aimed at preventing behavior that could be misleading to others, and that’s exactly what you’re trying to avoid by wearing a kippah.

It seems to me that you have a few options. The first is to cover your head with something other than a traditional kippah. Many religious men wear hats instead of, or over, their kippot. This allows them to cover their heads as tradition dictates, but to do so without marking themselves as Jews wherever they go. So if you can find a regular hat that you feel comfortable wearing in synagogue that is one way to avoid misrepresenting yourself to others.

But if you’d like to stay within the genre of traditional kippot, there is quite a variety to choose from. Ultra-Orthodox Jews tends to wear black velvet kippot, about the size of a salad plate. Men who don the black velvet kippah often wear a black fedora on top of the kippah, as well. If you don’t want to be mistaken for a very observant and knowledgeable member of the Jewish community, you should definitely avoid the black velvet kippah.

In general, dark colored kippot, whether they’re leather, crocheted or velvet, often are worn by members of more traditional communities. A kippah that’s white, or colorful, can imply a more modern outlook. A kippah with an obvious crease in it probably indicates that the kippah spends more time folded in the wearer’s pocket than on his head. This usually means that the person is observant enough to want to cover his head while attending synagogue or saying blessings, but not all the time.

The kippah that tends to indicate the lowest level of observance within the Jewish community is almost certainly the black (or white) silk variety that is often given out at funeral homes. These basically function as single-use kippot for people who don’t already own a kippah, and thus is a reliable sign that the person is not an authority on Jewish practice. If you want to wear a kippah but avoid being seen as an example of an observant Jew, the black silk kippah is the way to go.

I also want to mention that within the Reform movement, there are many people who do not wear a kippah at all. For decades, no kippot was the norm within the Reform community in synagogue. This has shifted in the last 20 years, and you’re very likely to find men and women wearing kippot during services at any given Reform temple, but there are still many people, including Reform rabbis, who do not cover their heads, even while standing on the bimah (the raised platform from which services are led).

There are a lot of options here, and I hope one of them fits for you. But if they don’t, try not to worry too much about what other people might be thinking. Wear whatever kippah you’re comfortable with, and if someone asks you a question that you don’t know the answer to, just be honest. It’s okay — even encouraged — to say, “I’m just learning this stuff, myself. Let’s go ask someone who knows a bit more about this.” Good luck!

A kippah (plural: kippot), yarmulke, skullcap, or koppel[a] is a brimless cap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish males to fulfill the customary requirement that the head be covered. It is worn by all men in Orthodox Jewish communities during prayers and by most Orthodox Jewish men at all other times. Among non-Orthodox Jewish communities, some who wear them do so at all times, while others wear them only during prayer, while attending a synagogue, or in other rituals. Women may also wear them in those communities.

The term kippah (Hebrew: כיפה) literally means "dome", as the kippah is worn on the head like a dome. The Yiddish term yarmulke might be derived from the Polish jarmułka or the Ukrainian yarmulka, perhaps ultimately from Medieval Latin almutia ("cowl, hood").[3][4] It may also be of Turkic origin (akin to yağmurluk, meaning "rainwear"); the word is often associated with the phrase ירא מלכא (yire malka), formed from the Aramaic word for 'king' and the Hebrew root ירא, meaning 'fear'.[5][6] Keppel or koppel is another Yiddish term for the same thing.[7]

Halachic authorities debate as to whether wearing a kippah at all times is required.[8] According to the Rambam, Jewish law dictates that a man is required to cover his head during prayer.[9]

In non-Orthodox communities, some women also wear kippot, and people have different customs about when to wear a kippah—when eating, praying, studying Jewish texts, or entering a sacred space such as a synagogue or cemetery. The Reform movement has historically been opposed to wearing kippot, but in recent years it has become more common and accepted for Reform men and women to cover their heads during prayer and Jewish study.

However, according to several prominent authorities, the practice has since taken on the force of law because it is an expression of yir'at Shamayim (reverence for Heaven, i.e. God).[10] The 17th-century authority David HaLevi Segal holds that the reason is to enforce the Halakhic rule to avoid practices unique to Gentiles. Since, he points out, Europeans are accustomed to go bare-headed, and their priests insist on officiating with bare heads, this constitutes a uniquely Gentile practice, and therefore Jews would be prohibited from behaving similarly. Therefore he rules that wearing a kippah is required by halacha.[8]

Other halachic authorities like the Sephardi posek Chaim Yosef David Azulai hold that wearing a head covering is a midat hasidut, an additional measure of piety.[8] In a recent responsum, former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Ovadia Yosef ruled that it should be worn to show affiliation with the religiously observant community.[11]

The Talmud states, "Cover your head in order that the fear of heaven may be upon you."[12] Rabbi Hunah ben Joshua never walked four cubits (6.6 feet (2.0 m)) with his head uncovered. He explained: "Because the Divine Presence is always over my head."[13] This was understood by Rabbi Yosef Karo in the Shulchan Arukh as indicating that Jewish men should cover their heads, and should not walk more than four cubits bareheaded.[14] Covering one's head, such as by wearing a kippah, is described as "honoring God".[15] The Mishnah Berurah modifies this ruling, adding that the Achronim established a requirement to wear a head covering even when traversing fewer than four cubits,[16] and even when one is standing still, indoors and outside.[17] Kitzur Shulchan Aruch cites a story from the Talmud (tractate Shabbat 156b) about Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak, who might have become a thief had his mother not saved him from this fate by insisting that he cover his head, which instilled in him the fear of God.[18] In Orthodox communities, boys are encouraged to wear a kippah from a young age in order to ingrain the habit.[19]

The Talmud implies that unmarried men did not wear a kippah:

The Tanakh implies that covering one's head is a sign of mourning:

The argument for the kippah has two sides. The Vilna Gaon said one can make a berakhah without a kippah, since wearing a kippah is only a midos chassidus ("exemplary attribute"). In the 21st century, there has been an effort to suppress earlier sources that practiced this leniency, including erasing lenient responsa from newly published books.[21] Or Zarua (13th century) wrote that "our rabbis in France" customarily made blessings while bareheaded, but he criticized this practice.[22]

According to 20th-century Rabbi Isaac Klein, a male Conservative Jew ought to cover his head when in the synagogue, at prayer or sacred study, when engaging in a ritual act, and when eating.[23] In the mid-19th century, Reformers led by Isaac Wise completely rejected the kippah after an altercation in which Rabbi Wise's kippah was knocked off his head.[24] Nowadays, almost all Conservative synagogues require men to wear a head covering (usually a kippah), but in Reform synagogues there is no requirement.[25] However, kippot may be provided to anybody who wishes to wear them.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, the distinctive Jewish headgear was the Jewish hat, a full hat with a brim and a central point or stalk. Originally used by choice among Jews to distinguish themselves, it was later made compulsory by Christian governments in some places as a discriminatory measure.[citation needed] In the early 19th century in the United States, rabbis often wore a scholar's cap (large saucer-shaped caps of cloth, like a beret) or a Chinese skullcap. Other Jews of this era wore black pillbox-shaped kippot.

Often, the color and fabric of the kippah can be a sign of adherence to a specific religious movement, particularly in Israel. Knitted or crocheted kippot, known as kippot serugot, are usually worn by Religious Zionists and Modern Orthodox Jews.[26] They also wear suede or leather kippot. Knitted kippot were first made in the late 1940s, and became popular after being worn by Rabbi Moshe-Zvi Neria.[27] Members of most Haredi groups wear black velvet or cloth kippot.

More recently, kippot have been observed made in the colors of sports teams, especially football. In the United States, children's kippot featuring cartoon characters or themes such as Star Wars have become popular; in response to this trend, some Jewish schools have banned kippot with characters that do not conform to traditional Jewish values.[28] Kippot have been inscribed on the inside as a souvenir for a celebration (bar/bat mitzvah or wedding). Kippot for women are also being made and worn.[29][30][31] These are sometimes made of beaded wire to seem more feminine.[32] A special baby kippah has two strings on each side to fasten it and is often used in a brit milah ceremony.[33]

The Israelites might have worn a headdress similar to that worn by the Bedouins, but it is unknown whether a fixed type of headdress was used. That the headdress of the Israelites might have been in the fellah style may be inferred from the use of the noun צַנִיף, tzanif (the verb tzanaf meaning "to roll like a ball", Isaiah 22:18) and by the verb חַבָּש, habash ("to wind", compare Ezekiel 16:10; Jonah 2:6). As to the form of such turbans, nothing is known, and they may have varied according to the different classes of society. This was customary with the Assyrians and Babylonians, for example, whose fashions likely influenced the costume of the Israelites—particularly during and after the Babylonian Exile.[40] In Yemen, the wrap around the cap was called מַצַר, matzar; the head covering worn by women was a גַּרגוּש, gargush.[41]

In Goldman v. Weinberger, 475 U.S. 503 (1986), the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 5–4 decision that active military members were required to remove the kippah indoors, citing uniform regulations that state only armed security police may keep their heads covered while indoors.[42]

Congress passed the Religious Apparel Amendment after a war story from the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing about the "camouflage kippah" of Jewish Navy Chaplain Arnold Resnicoff was read into the Congressional Record.[43] Catholic Chaplain George Pucciarelli tore off a piece of his Marine Corps uniform to replace Resnicoff's kippah when it had become blood-soaked after being used to wipe the faces of wounded Marines after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing.[44] This amendment was eventually incorporated into U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) regulations on the "Accommodation of Religious Practices Within the Military Services".[45]

This story of the "camouflage kippah" was re-told at many levels,[46] including a keynote speech by President Ronald Reagan to the Baptist Fundamentalism Annual Convention in 1984,[47] and another time during a White House meeting between Reagan and the American Friends of Lubavitch.[48] After recounting the Beirut story, Reagan asked them about the religious meaning of the kippah.[48] Rabbi Abraham Shemtov, the leader of the group, responded: "Mr. President, the kippah to us is a sign of reverence." Rabbi Feller, another member of the group, continued: "We place the kippah on the very highest point of our being—on our head, the vessel of our intellect—to tell ourselves and the world that there is something which is above man's intellect: the infinite Wisdom of God."[48]

Passage of the Religious Apparel Amendment and the subsequent DOD regulations were followed in 1997 by the passing of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). However, the Supreme Court struck down RFRA as beyond Congress' powers to bind the states in the 1997 case City of Boerne v. Flores. RFRA is constitutional as applied to the Federal government, as seen in Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal.

The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), 114 Stat. 804, 42 U. S. C. §2000cc-1(a)(1)-(2), upheld as constitutional in Cutter v. Wilkinson, 44 U.S. 709 (2005), requires by inference that Orthodox Jewish prisoners be reasonably accommodated in their request to wear kippot.[49]

The French government banned the wearing of kippot, hijabs, and large crosses in public primary and secondary schools in France in March 2004.[50]

The provincial government of Quebec, Canada passed "An Act respecting the laicity of the State" in June 2019, which prohibits the wearing of "religious symbols" by government employees including teachers, police officers, judges, prosecutors, and members of certain commissions.[51]

Though it is not required, when a non-Jew wears a kippah in a synagogue, it is considered a sign of respect.[52] Kippot are often provided to guests at a Bar or Bat Mitzvah.[53] They are also often provided at bereavement events and at Jewish cemeteries. According to the Conservative Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, there is no halakhic reason to require a non-Jew to cover their head, but it is recommended that non-Jews be asked to wear a kippah where ritual or worship is being conducted, both out of respect for the Jewish congregation and as a gesture of respect including the non-Jewish guest.[54]

Kippot were adopted as a symbol by some of the non-Jewish African American marchers in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches,[55] most prominently by James Bevel.[56]