Back to Question of the Week Back to Archives Q: Nu, so why do we wear yarmulkes if there's no authority for this in either Torah or Talmud?
		A: It's true that neither the Torah nor the Talmud mandates covering the head during prayer, never mind all day long! But, after all, since when have Jews only done things that are in the Torah and Talmud? Did you eat latkes this Chanukah? So the first part of my answer is: Judaism, despite what certain people may tell you, has always been a changing, evolving entitiy. But that's only part of an answer. Actually, already in the time of the Talmud, covering the head was considered appropriate for married scholars. Since that time, the practice of head-covering has come and gone in various Jewish communities and its meaning has also changed from time to time. It seems that the meaning most commonly associated with it has been "humility." It's as if we're putting a "cap" on our tendency to getting a "big head," or, in a more Biblical idiom, to raising our heads up to the sky and seeking to usurp God's place. I think the reason why yarmulke (kippah in Hebrew) has recently become more popular in the Reform context has to do with the usefulness of making distinctions (havdalot). First, as the promises of liberal democracy have become more and more fulfilled, and the Jews have become relatively secure as citizens of the countries where we live, there becomes more of a need to reinforce our distinct identity rather than our same-ness. The kippah is one way that Jews remind themselves of their own distinctiveness. Second, part of the way that religion works is by setting apart sacred time and sacred space, thus diverting the attention of our hearts from the ordinary to the holy. The kippah is one way of physically making that distinction between the sacred and the ordinary, of helping ourselves to focus on ultimate meanings, on God. Of course, Judaism also teaches us to try to expand the realm of holiness to encompass our entire life. So some people eliminate the distinction between prayer-time and the rest of the day by wearing a kippah always ... or never! written by Rabbi Jeremy Schwartz
		last update: August 1999 Got a question for Reb on the Web? Visit our Archived Questions SHOOT*! ("SHOOT" is the Hebrew acronym for SHe'elot OOTeshuvot (Questions and Answers), the centuries-old dialogue between Jews and their rabbis.)

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