Kippa/Yarmulke: More than a Cover Up

Question

Hi Rabbi, what’s the reason and significance for wearing a kippa on the head? Thanks!

0

Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    I’ve heard that some people like to wear it because it covers their baldness — just kidding, I think. But before I explain the basic reason and significance in brief, I just can’t resist sharing the following story. I hope you find it amusing and not without a message.

    Once on a very windy day, a rabbi was walking along when a strong gust of wind blew his hat off his head. The rabbi ran after his hat but the wind was too strong and it kept blowing his hat further and further away. A non-Jewish young man, seeing what had happened ran after the hat, caught it and gave it back to the rabbi. The rabbi was so grateful that he gave the young man twenty dollars and blessed him.

    The young man was so excited that he decided to go the race track and with the rabbi’s blessing fresh in his mind decided to check the program and place the entire twenty dollars on a horse. After the races he went home and recounted his very exciting day to his father. “I arrived at the fifth race and looked at the program. I saw this horse named ‘Top Hat’ was running. The odds on this horse were 100 to 1 but since I received the rabbi’s blessing I bet the entire twenty dollars on ‘Top Hat’ and guess what? He won! In the next race, there was a horse named ‘Stetson’ at 30 to 1, so I bet the entire amount of my winnings on him and guess what … I won again!”

    “So did you bring the money home?” asked his father.

    “No,” said the son, “I lost it all on the next race. There was a horse named ‘Chateau’ that was a heavy favourite, so I bet everything on him, and since that meant ‘hat’ in French I figured he was a sure thing.”

    “You fool!” said the father. “Hat in French is ‘chapeau’ not ‘chateau!’ But who won the race?”

    “A real long shot,” said the son. “A Japanese horse named Yamaka…”

    Now to address your question about the kippa’s reason and significance. The Talmud says, “Cover [the child’s] head so that he will have the fear of Heaven.” The word kippa is Hebrew for “dome.” This name-choice is obvious. Another word for kippa is Yarmulke, which means “awe of the King [God]” in Aramaic.

    The Talmud also associates a covered head with humility. The wearing of a kippa (skullcap) first appears in the Talmud as an act of piety. In “Guide for the Perplexed,” Maimonides states that the early Sages were repelled by a bare head. The custom to wear a head covering is legislated in the Shulchan Aruch, the Code of Jewish Law.

    The color and material depend on custom. Some prefer multi-colored versions, some prefer black. The Chatam Sofer in his responsa says kippot may be crocheted or woven even if hair sticks through. Regarding size, there are differing views. Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, required that the kippa be big enough to be seen from all sides, but other authorities, including Rabbi Moshe Feinstien, disagree and said that there is no size specification. I am not familiar with any source regarding where exactly to position the kippa.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team