Q&A: Cross Necklace and Kippah
Cross Necklace and Kippah
Question
I have a friend who wears a cross necklace and a kippah. He claims that the cross necklace is really just like jewelry in his eyes, and he likes it because of Egyptian history, unrelated to Christianity. Is this permitted? Is this a desecration of God’s name?
Answer
See Maimonides, Laws of Idolatry 3:6: there he rules that one who worships idols out of love or fear is exempt. But it is clear that there is still a prohibition involved. I am speaking about an unmistakably Christian cross. However, if he wears the cross only for ornamental purposes, apparently there is no prohibition in this. See Responsa Yechaveh Da'at, part 3, siman 65.
However, walking around with distinctly gentile symbols involves the prohibition of “you shall not follow their statutes,” and in my opinion there is room to prohibit it on those grounds.
Discussion on Answer
Resemblance changes nothing. If it’s clear that it isn’t a cross (= a religious object), then the resemblance has no significance and it is certainly permitted.
Love of Egyptian history, and wearing symbols that express such love and tie it to one’s soul, are forbidden because of “do not stray after,” and because of “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul,” and “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Attraction to an idolatrous culture also means attraction and love for false gods, whether consciously or unconsciously. For someone who wants to cleave to the monotheistic religion and to attachment through knowledge of the true God, and to shatter all the other false idols—this question is repulsive and to be rejected by him. And this is true not only for Jews but also for gentiles, since the Abrahamic religion is directed to all the inhabitants of the world, as Rabbi A. H. elaborated in his book
Israel and Humanity, which shows how important Bible study is nowadays. A gentile like Emma Player would be ashamed to wear symbols indicating attachment to idolatrous cultures. And we, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, think we need books of Talmud in order to arrive at this simple insight.
Ridiculous preaching, and irrelevant to the discussion.
Rabbi Michi, may he live long,
what is ridiculous is that you dismiss arguments with a wave of the hand,
just to silence anyone who does not follow your line of thinking,
just because you don’t like the style.
The honorable questioner asked whether there is a prohibition against wearing a cross, since it does not stem from religious belief but from interest in Egyptian history. I answered that interest in Egyptian history that borders on admiration for it, and even a desire to wear accessories that display this, is a violation of biblical prohibitions, since this is an idolatrous culture. Are there really no verses lacking to support my claims? So true, you do not see any practical difference coming from this. But I do. Sabbath peace.
If it’s in the shape of an ankh key, it only resembles a cross — is that more acceptable?