Kippah

{{Short description|Skullcap traditionally worn by Jewish men}} {{italic title}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}} [[File:PikiWiki Israel 38772 Vacation Experience.JPG|thumb|300px|Crocheted kippot for sale in Jerusalem]] A '''{{transliteration|he|kippah}}'''{{efn|Pronunciation: {{IPAc-en|k|iː|ˈ|p|ɑː}}; {{langx|he|כִּיפָּה|kīppā}}, plural {{lang|he|כִּיפּוֹת}} {{transliteration|he|kīppōt}}}} ({{plural form|'''''kippot'''''}}{{--)}}, '''{{transliteration|yi|yarmulke}}''',{{efn|Pronunciation: {{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|ɑr|m|əl|k|ə|audio=En-us-yarmulke.ogg}}, {{IPAc-en|also|US|ˈ|j|ɑː|m|ə|k|ə}};<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|yarmulke}}</ref><ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/en/definition/yarmulke |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620193112/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/yarmulke |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 June 2021 |title=yarmulke |dictionary=Lexico US English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> {{langx|yi|יאַרמלקע}}, {{transliteration|yi|yarmlke}} or {{lang|yi|יאַרמולקע}}, {{transliteration|yi|yarmulke}}; {{langx|de|Jarmulke}}; {{langx|pl|Jarmułka}}}} or '''{{transliteration|yi|koppel}}'''{{efn|{{langx|yi|קאפל}} {{transliteration|yi|kapl}}; {{langx|pl|koppel}}}} is a brimless Jewish skullcap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish men and sometimes women<ref>{{Cite web |last=Learning |first=My Jewish |title=Ask the Expert: Can Women Wear Kippot? |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/ask_the_expert/at/Ask_the_Expert_Women_Kippot.shtml |access-date=2026-04-29 |website=My Jewish Learning |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Palmer |first=Jordan |last2=SHAFRIN |first2=RABBI JESSICA |date=2024-01-04 |title=Can women wear Kippot? |url=https://stljewishlight.org/judaism/from-the-rabbi/can-women-wear-kippot/ |access-date=2026-04-29 |website=St. Louis Jewish Light}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sommer |first=Allison Kaplan |title=Should a Jewish woman cover her head ... with a yarmulke? |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2013-12-15/ty-article/jewish-women-wearing-yarmulkes/0000017f-e788-dea7-adff-f7fb8d7a0000 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20230321082848/https://www.haaretz.com/2013-12-15/ty-article/jewish-women-wearing-yarmulkes/0000017f-e788-dea7-adff-f7fb8d7a0000 |archive-date=2023-03-21 |access-date=2026-04-29 |work=Haaretz.com |language=en}}</ref> to fulfill the customary requirement that the head should be covered. It is the most common type of head-covering worn by men in Jewish communities during prayers and by most Orthodox Jewish men at most other times. Among non-Orthodox Jewish individuals, some wear them at most times, while most wear them only during prayer, while attending a synagogue, or at other ceremonies, and others wear them rarely or never.

== Etymology == The term {{transliteration|he|kippah}} ({{langx|he|כיפה}}) literally means "dome" as the kippah is worn on the head like a dome.

The Yiddish term {{transliteration|yi|yarmlke}} ({{Langx|yi|יאַרמלקע}}) might be derived from the Polish {{lang|pl|jarmułka}} or the Ukrainian {{transliteration|uk|yarmulka}} and perhaps ultimately from the Medieval Latin {{lang|la|almutia}} ("cowl" or "hood").<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=yarmulke Etymonline.com].</ref><ref>Gold, David L. 1987. "The Etymology of the English Noun ''yarmlke'' 'Jewish skullcap' and the Obsolescent Hebrew Noun ''yarmulka'' 'idem' (With An Addendum on Judezmo Words for 'Jewish Skullcap')". ''Jewish Language Review'' 7:180–99; Plaut, Gunther. 1955. "The Origin of the Word 'Yarmulke'." ''Hebrew Union College Annual'' 26:567–70.</ref> The word is often associated with the phrase {{lang|he|ירא&nbsp;מלכא}} ({{transliteration|he|yire malka}}), formed from the Aramaic word for "king" and the Hebrew root {{lang|he|ירא}}, meaning "fear".<ref>{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Paul|title=World Religions in Practice: A Comparative Introduction|edition=2|year=2017|publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9781118972274}}</ref> {{transliteration|yi|Keppel}} or {{transliteration|yi|koppel}} is another Yiddish term for the same thing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewish-languages.org/jewish-english-lexicon/words/1534 |title=Koppel- Jewish English Lexicon |access-date=4 July 2018 |archive-date=19 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219122350/http://www.jewish-languages.org/jewish-english-lexicon/words/1534 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Jewish law ==

In the Hebrew Bible, very little is said about head coverage, besides the Cohanim (priests) who were obligated to wear a turban or hat as part of their Temple service.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Exodus|28:39-40|HE}}</ref> The Israelites most probably wore a headdress similar to that worn by the Bedouin. Later on, they likely adopted a turban-like headdress more like that of the fellahin, in which a cloth is wrapped around a cap placed on the head, as suggested by {{Bibleverse|Ezekiel|16:10|HE}}.<ref>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=465&letter=H&search=Head-Dress "Head-dress"], ''Jewish Encyclopedia''.</ref> Yemenite Jews, in later generations, called the wrap around the cap a {{langx|hbo|מַצַר|matzar|label=none}}.<ref>[http://www.chayas.com/garb.htm "Clothing of the Yemenite Jews"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060220174330/http://www.chayas.com/garb.htm |date=2006-02-20}}, Chayas.com.</ref>

In later centuries, there are testimonies in the Talmud that only the extremely zealous covered their heads regularly, as a sign of respect for God.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maman |first=Eliyahu |title=הכיפה - למה ומדוע |url=https://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/8256}}</ref><ref>Shabbat 156b</ref> For example, Rabbi Huna ben Joshua never walked four cubits ({{convert|6.6|ft|m}}) with his head uncovered, saying "because the Divine Presence is always over my head."<ref>Kiddushin 31a</ref> However, such behavior was exceptional, and Jewish artwork of the Hellenistic period largely shows men with uncovered heads. In one place, the Talmud prescribes a blessing to be said upon "spreading a shawl upon [one's] head" in the morning;<ref>[https://www.sefaria.org/Berakhot.60b.5 Berachot 60b]</ref> such covering seems to have been the practice of Torah scholars, or of married men.<ref>[https://www.sefaria.org/Kiddushin.29b.16 Kiddushin 29b]</ref> This practice may have been related to the Roman pileus (worn mainly by commoners and freed slaves<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cobb |first=Thomas Read Rootes |url=http://archive.org/details/inquiryintolawof01cobbiala |title=An inquiry into the law of Negro slavery in the United States of America. To which is prefixed, an historical sketch of slavery |date=1858 |publisher=Philadelphia : T. & J. W. Johnson & co.; Savannah, W. T. Williams |others=University of California Libraries|page=lxxix}}</ref>); by covering the head, one symbolizes that he is a slave to God.

Later ''Halachic'' authorities debate as to whether covering the head at all times is required.<ref name="Wearing a Kippa">{{cite web |title=Wearing a Kippa |url=http://www.dailyhalacha.com/displayRead.asp?readID=997&txtSearch=kippot |work=Daily Halacha |publisher=Rabbi Eli Mansour |access-date=8 December 2011}}</ref> According to some authorities, the practice has since taken on the force of law. The ''Shulchan Arukh'' rules that Jewish men should cover their heads and should not walk more than four cubits bareheaded.<ref>''Shulchan Aruch'', ''Orach Chaim'' 2:6</ref> Covering one's head is described as "honoring God".<ref>''Shaar HaTzion'', OC 2:6.</ref> According to the Mishnah Berurah, the ''Achronim'' established a requirement to wear a head covering even when traversing fewer than four cubits,<ref>''Be'er Heitev'', ''Orach Chaim'' 2:6, note 4, who quotes Joel Sirkis, David HaLevi Segal, and Avraham Gombiner.</ref> and even when one is standing still, indoors, or outside.<ref>Mishnah Berurah 2:6, note 9, 10.</ref> ''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.<ref name=autogenerated1>KSA 3:6.</ref> In Orthodox communities, boys are encouraged to wear a {{transliteration|he|kippah}} from a young age in order to ingrain the habit.<ref>''Be'er Heitev'', OC 2:6, note 5.</ref> The 17th-century authority David HaLevi Segal held that the reason is to enforce the ''Halachic'' rule to avoid practices unique to non-Jews. Segal reasoned that, as Europeans are accustomed to going bareheaded, and their priests insist on officiating with bare heads, this constitutes a uniquely non-Jewish practice. Therefore, he concludes, Jews are prohibited from behaving similarly, and thus must cover their heads.<ref name="Wearing a Kippa"/> In a recent ''responsum'', Rabbi Ovadia Yosef ruled that head coverings should be worn to show affiliation with the religiously observant community.<ref>{{cite book |last=Yosef |first=Chief Rabbi Ovadia |title=Responsa Yechavei Da'ath}}</ref>

Other opinions were more lenient. According to Maimonides, Jewish law requires a man to cover his head during prayer (but implicitly, not at other times).<ref>Mishneh Torah, ''Hilkhot Tefilah'' 5:5</ref> Isaac ben Moses of Vienna (13th century) wrote that "our rabbis in France" customarily made blessings while bareheaded, though he criticized this practice.<ref>[https://www.sefaria.org.il/Ohr_Zarua%2C_Volume_II.43.1?lang=bi Or Zarua 2:43].</ref> Other ''Halachic'' authorities, like Chaim Yosef David Azulai, hold that wearing a head covering is not required, but is rather a {{transliteration|he|midat hasidut}} (an "expression of piety", i.e., praiseworthy but not required).<ref name="Wearing a Kippa"/> For this reason, the Vilna Gaon even ruled that one can make a {{transliteration|he|berakhah}} without a head covering.<ref>''Biur HaGra'', [https://www.sefaria.org/Shulchan_Arukh%2C_Orach_Chayim.8.2?ven=hebrew|Maginei_Eretz:_Shulchan_Aruch_Orach_Chaim,_Lemberg,_1893&lang=bi&with=Beur%20HaGra&lang2=bi Orach Chaim 8:2]</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Yarmulke: A historic cover up? |journal=Flatbush Journal of Jewish Law |url=http://www.hakirah.org/Vol%204%20Rabinowitz.pdf}}</ref> Promotional images used by the Orthodox Yeshiva University show board members bareheaded as late as 1954.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lubrich |first=Naomi |title=Naomi Lubrich on Historical Fashion Prints |url=https://www.juedisches-museum.ch/en/today-wed-call-them-woke/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=Jewish Museum of Switzerland}}</ref>

In non-Orthodox communities, some women also wear {{transliteration|he|kippot}}, and people have different customs about when to wear a {{transliteration|he|kippah}}{{mdash}}when eating, praying, studying Jewish texts, or entering a sacred space such as a synagogue or cemetery. The Reform movement historically opposed wearing {{transliteration|he|kippot}}, but attitudes began to shift in the postwar era, as various social movements encouraged pride in cultural heritage.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Goldman |first1=Ari L. |date=1989-06-26 |title=Reform Jews Are Returning to Ritual |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/26/us/reform-jews-are-returning-to-ritual.html |access-date=2023-09-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> By the 1970s, the movement had returned to many traditional practices.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Freelander |first=Rabbi Daniel H. |date= |title=Birth of a Synagogue Movement: Reform Worship Through the Years |url=https://reformjudaism.org/beliefs-practices/what-reform-judaism/birth-synagogue-movement-reform-worship-through-years |website=ReformJudaism.org}}</ref> In the 21st century, wearing a ''kippah'' during Torah study or prayer has become common and accepted as an option among Reform men and women.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Biema |first=David Van |date=1999-06-07 |title=Back to the Yarmulke... |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,991153,00.html |access-date=2023-09-13 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref>

[[File:Zielona kipa z domu Szymona Klugera w Oświęcimiu, MZ-334-O 01.jpg|thumb|230px|Green {{transliteration|he|kippah}} found in a Jewish home in Oświęcim in Poland. Collection of the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oświęcim]]

[[File:IDF soldier kippah put on tefillin-small.jpg|thumb|right|230px|IDF soldier Lt. Asael Lubotzky prays with {{transliteration|he|kippah}} and {{transliteration|he|tefillin}} (box of scrolls)]]

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.<ref>Klein, Isaac. ''A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice'', New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1979.</ref> In the mid-19th century, early Reform Jews led by Isaac Mayer Wise completely rejected the {{transliteration|he|kippah}} after an altercation in which Wise's {{transliteration|he|kippah}} was knocked off his head.<ref>Scharfman, Rabbi Harold (1988). ''The First Rabbi''. Pangloss Press.</ref> Nowadays, almost all Conservative synagogues require men to wear a head covering (usually a {{transliteration|he|kippah}}), but in Reform synagogues there is no requirement.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lauterbach |first=Jacob |title=Worshiping with Covered Heads |journal=CCAR Responsa: American Reform Responsa |date=1928 |volume=XXXVIII |pages=589–603 |url=https://www.ccarnet.org/ccar-responsa/arr-8-21/ |access-date=7 August 2018}}</ref> However, {{transliteration|he|kippot}} may be provided to anybody who wishes to wear them.

== Types and variation == [[File:Shabbatdinnerwithkippot.jpg|thumb|A Passover seder with two boys wearing kippot]] [[File:Woman of the Wall.jpg|alt=A woman wearing a Bukharian yarmulke while studying a Torah scroll|thumb|192x192px|A woman wearing a kippah while studying the Torah]] [[File:Air Force Jewish Chaplain (Capt.) Sarah Schechter - Iraq.jpg|thumb|Rabbinical chaplain Sarah Schechter with fellow U.S. Airmen wearing camouflage {{transliteration|he|kippot}}]]

During 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|date=January 2022}} In the early 19th century in the United States, rabbis often wore a scholar's cap (a large saucer-shaped cap of cloth, like a beret) or a Chinese skullcap. Other Jews of this era wore black pillbox-shaped {{transliteration|he|kippot}}.

Often, the color and fabric of the {{transliteration|he|kippah}} can be a sign of adherence to a specific religious movement, particularly in Israel. Knitted or crocheted {{transliteration|he|kippot}}, known as {{transliteration|he|kippot serugot}}, are usually worn by Religious Zionists and Modern Orthodox Jews.<ref>Boyarin, Jonathan. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ng2PCUQQ4lwC&dq=kippah+sruga&pg=PA51 ''Thinking in Jewish''], University of Chicago Press, 1996, p. 51. {{ISBN|0-226-06927-3}}.</ref> They also wear suede or leather {{transliteration|he|kippot}}. Knitted {{transliteration|he|kippot}} were first made in the late 1940s, and became popular after being worn by Rabbi Moshe-Zvi Neria.<ref>[https://mizrachi.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/HaMizrachi-Sukkot-2021-Knitted-Kippah.pdf The First Knitted Kippah].</ref> Members of most Haredi groups wear black velvet or cloth {{transliteration|he|kippot}}.

More recently, {{transliteration|he|kippot}} in specific colors are sometimes worn to indicate political or community affiliation, such as the LGBT community, or in the colors of sports teams, especially football. In the United States, children's {{transliteration|he|kippot}} featuring cartoon characters or themes such as ''Star Wars'' have become popular; in response to this trend, some Jewish schools have banned {{transliteration|he|kippot}} with characters that do not conform to traditional Jewish values.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/23/style/lifestyle-the-yarmulke-is-now-a-fashion-item.html Lifestyle; "The Yarmulke Is Now a Fashion Item"], ''The New York Times'', 23 Sept 1990.</ref> {{transliteration|he|Kippot}} have been inscribed on the inside as a souvenir for a celebration (bar/bat mitzvah or wedding). {{transliteration|he|Kippot}} for women are also being made and worn.<ref name="GU">{{cite news |url=http://www.jewishindependent.ca/archives/July06/archives06July07-06.html |title=A guide to Jewish head-coverings: Kippot no longer only come in one style, but a medley of colors, shapes and designs |first1=Wendy |last1=Elliman |date=7 July 2006 |work=Jewish Independent |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309024448/http://www.jewishindependent.ca/archives/July06/archives06July07-06.html |archive-date=9 March 2012}}</ref><ref name="MAZ">[http://www.mazorguide.com/Living/JewishAttire/home.htm Living Jewish – Jewish Attire!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425031633/http://www.mazorguide.com/Living/JewishAttire/home.htm |date=25 April 2023 }},'' Mazor Guide.'' Retrieved 19 December 2010.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120113061953/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/1011733051.html?dids=1011733051:1011733051&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jul+10%2C+2005&author=AVI+BASS&pub=Jerusalem+Post&desc=California+firm+offers+kippot+for+women&pqatl=google "California firm offers kippot for women"], ''The Jerusalem Post'', 10 July 2005.</ref> These are sometimes made of beaded wire to seem more feminine.<ref>[https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ask-the-expert-why-dont-women-wear-kippot/ "Ask the Expert: Can Women Wear Kippot?" ''My Jewish Learning''].</ref> A special baby {{transliteration|he|kippah}} has two strings on each side to fasten it and is often used in a {{transliteration|he|brit milah}} ceremony.<ref name="JW">[http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/22990/from-baby-kippah-to-tylenol-bris-kit-has-everything-but-the-implement/ "From baby kippah to Tylenol, Bris Kit has everything but the implement"], ''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', 18 June 2004.</ref>

{| class="wikitable" |- !Image !Type !Movement |- | 100px | Crocheted | Religious Zionism, Modern Orthodox, Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism |- | 100px | Suede | Modern Orthodox,<ref name="MAZ"/> Conservative Judaism,<ref name="myjewishlearning">{{cite web |url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ritual/Prayer/Ritual_Garb/Kippah.shtml |title=Kippah |publisher=My Jewish Learning |date=2014-01-31 |access-date=2017-04-22}}</ref> Reform Judaism<ref name="myjewishlearning"/> |- | | Terylene<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.milechai.com/kippot/how-to-buy-a-kippah/ |title=How to buy a Kippot and Kippah Judaica 720-362-3497 |access-date=2014-02-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301185150/http://www.milechai.com/kippot/how-to-buy-a-kippah/ |archive-date=2014-03-01}}</ref> | Yeshivish, Hasidic, Haredi, Lubavitch – Popular among Rabbis teaching in yeshivas and seminaries |- | 100px | Black velvet | Yeshivish, Hasidic, Haredi<ref name="JPK">[https://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395368958&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Barring violence]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''The Jerusalem Post'', Yigal Grayeff, 9 February 2006.</ref> |- | 100px | Satin | {{ubl|Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism;|In Israel: Hilonim and Masortim during major Jewish traditions}} |- | 100px | White crocheted | Many Jerusalemites wear a full-head-sized, white crocheted {{transliteration|he|kippah}}, sometimes with a knit pom-pom or tassel on top. The Na Nach subgroup of the Breslov Hasidim, followers of Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser, wear it with the {{transliteration|he|Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman}} phrase crocheted in or embroidered on it.<ref>[https://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/spages/766226.html On New Year, thousands flock to Rabbi Nachman's grave in Ukraine]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, HaAretz, Yair Ettinger.</ref> |- | 100px | Bukharan<ref name="B">[https://archive.today/20130104135202/http://www.record-eagle.com/features/local_story_103094128.html?keyword=topstory Hats Off To Fashion: Yarmulkes go beyond basic black], Traverse City Record-Eagle, Associated Press, 13 April 2008.</ref> | Popular with children,<ref name="GU"/><ref name="B"/> and also worn by some Sephardi Jews, as well as liberal-leaning and Reform Jews.<ref name="FOR">[http://www.forward.com/articles/4778/ Kippah Couture], The Forward, Angela Himsel, 29 September 2006.</ref> |- | 100px | Yemenite | Typically stiff, black velvet with a {{cvt|1–2|cm}} embroidered strip around the edge having a multi-colored geometric, floral, or paisley pattern. |}

== Civil legal issues == thumb|right|Kippah improvised from a piece of military uniform 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 {{transliteration|he|kippah}} indoors, citing uniform regulations that state only armed security police may keep their heads covered while indoors.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oyez.org/cases/1980-1989/1985/1985_84_1097 |title=Goldman v. Weinberger |website=www.oyez.org |publisher=IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law}}</ref>

Congress passed the Religious Apparel Amendment after a war story from the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing about the "camouflage {{transliteration|he|kippah}}" of Jewish Navy Chaplain Arnold Resnicoff was read into the ''Congressional Record''.<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/100/crecb/1987/05/11/GPO-CRECB-1987-pt9-5.pdf ''Congressional Record''], 100th Congress, 11 May 1987.</ref> Catholic Chaplain George Pucciarelli tore off a piece of his Marine Corps uniform to replace Resnicoff's {{transliteration|he|kippah}} when it had become blood-soaked after being used to wipe the faces of wounded Marines after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing.<ref>"Solarz Passes Religious Apparel Amendment", ''The Jewish Press'', 22 May 1987.</ref> This amendment was eventually incorporated into U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) regulations on the "Accommodation of Religious Practices Within the Military Services".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110304112825/http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/130017p.pdf "Accommodation of Religious Practices Within the Military Services"], Department of Defense Instruction.</ref>

This story of the "camouflage {{transliteration|he|kippah}}" was re-told at many levels,<ref>Bonko, Larry. "Rabbi's Camouflage Yarmulke Woven With Tragedy, Heroism", ''Norfolk Ledger-Star'', 13 January 1984.</ref> including a keynote speech by President Ronald Reagan to the Baptist Fundamentalism Annual Convention in 1984,<ref>{{cite web |title=Remarks at the Baptist Fundamentalism Annual Convention |date=13 April 1984 |access-date=20 April 2013 |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=39775#axzz1Nry3hQkr |publisher=The American Presidency Project}}</ref> and another time during a White House meeting between Reagan and the American Friends of Lubavitch.<ref name="top">{{cite news |title=Rabbis Explain 'Top to Top' |work=Wellsprings |volume=2 |issue=7 |date=August–September 1986 |publisher=Lubavitch Youth Organization}}</ref> After recounting the Beirut story, Reagan asked them about the religious meaning of the {{transliteration|he|kippah}}.<ref name="top"/> Rabbi Abraham Shemtov, the leader of the group, responded: "Mr. President, the {{transliteration|he|kippah}} to us is a sign of reverence." Rabbi Feller, another member of the group, continued: "We place the {{transliteration|he|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."<ref name="top"/>

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's 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''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/docketfiles/04-1084.htm}}</ref>

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 {{transliteration|he|kippot}}.<ref>[http://openjurist.org/391/f3d/1299/benning-v-georgia ''Benning v. Georgia''], 391 F3d 1299.</ref>

The French government banned the wearing of {{transliteration|he|kippot}}, hijabs, and large crosses in public primary and secondary schools in France in March 2004.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3531151.stm French Senate backs headscarf ban], BBC News, 3 March 2004.</ref>

The 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-government-adopts-controversial-religious-symbols-bill-1.5177587 |title=Quebec government adopts controversial religious symbols bill |publisher=CBC News |date=16 June 2019 |access-date=18 June 2019}}</ref>

== Wearing by non-Jews== [[File:Lea Rabin-Clinton.jpg|thumb|U.S. President Bill Clinton wearing a {{transliteration|he|kippah}} to visit the grave of Yitzhak Rabin on Mount Herzl]] Though it is not required, it is considered a sign of respect when a non-Jew wears a {{transliteration|he|kippah}} in a synagogue.<ref>{{cite book |first=Bradley Shavit |last=Artson|author-link=Bradley Shavit Artson|title=Jewish Answers to Real-Life Questions |year=1998 |publisher=Torah Aura Productions|page=23|isbn=9781881283294|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WnYaLZ7ngWYC}}</ref> {{transliteration|he|Kippot}} are often provided to guests at a Bar or Bat Mitzvah.<ref>{{cite book |last=Marjabelle Young |first=Stewart |title=The New Etiquette |year=1997 |publisher=Macmillan |page=21}}</ref> 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 {{transliteration|he|kippah}} where ritual or worship is being conducted, both out of respect for the Jewish congregation and as a gesture of respect to include the non-Jewish guest.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jay M. |last=Stein |title=Non Jews and Kippah in the Synagogue |year=2009 |url=https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/halakhah/teshuvot/20052010/Kippah%20JaySteinfinal.pdf |website=Committee on Jewish Law and Standards}}</ref>

{{transliteration|he|Kippot}} were adopted as a symbol by some of the non-Jewish African American marchers in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.jta.org/1965/03/23/archive/negro-marchers-from-selma-wear-yarmulkes-in-deference-to-rabbis |title=Negro Marchers from Selma Wear 'Yarmulkes' in Deference to Rabbis |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |access-date=2017-12-25 |language=en-us}}</ref> most prominently by James Bevel.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6oaAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA187 |title=Selma to Saigon: The Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War |last=Lucks |first=Daniel S. |date=2014-03-19 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=9780813145099 |pages=187 |language=en}}</ref>

The Hungarian Methodist pastor Gábor Iványi wears a kippah while leading his Bible study meetings.<ref name="Biosca">{{cite news |last1=Biosca Azcoiti |first1=Javier |title=El predicador cristiano más peligroso de Hungría: ¿de la cárcel a la presidencia? |url=https://www.eldiario.es/internacional/la-semana-internacional/predicador-cristiano-peligroso-hungria-carcel-presidencia_132_13158677.html |access-date=21 April 2026 |work=elDiario.es |date=21 April 2026 |language=es |quote=El local está lleno de simbología judía. A la entrada está la mezuzá, típica de los hogares judíos, y Gábor lleva la kipá durante la reunión. Su iglesia es metodista y ha dedicado su carrera a ayudar a los migrantes, a los pobres y a las comunidades más marginadas. |trans-title=Hungary's Most Dangerous Christian Preacher: From Prison to Presidency? |trans-quote=The place is full with Jewish symbology. At the entrance, there is a mezuzah, typical of Jewish homes, and Gábor wears a kippah during the meeting. His church is Methodist and he has devoted his career to helping migrants, the poor and the most marginal communities.}}</ref>

== See also == * Head covering for Jewish women * {{transliteration|ar|Taqiyah}}, a similar skullcap culturally worn by Muslim men * Kufi, a similar cap culturally worn by Muslim and African men * {{transliteration|he|Srugim}}, an Israeli television show named after the knit {{transliteration|he|kippah}} worn by Religious Zionists * List of hat styles * Jewish hat {{Clear}}

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== * [https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/483387/jewish/Why-Do-We-Wear-a-Kippah.htm Why Do We Wear a Kippah?] Chabad {{Commons category|Kippah}} {{wiktionary}}

{{Hats}} {{Jewish life}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Jewish ritual objects Category:Jewish religious clothing Category:Non-clerical religious clothing Category:Religious headgear Category:Middle Eastern clothing Category:History of Asian clothing Category:Jewish life cycle Category:Articles containing video clips Category:Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law