Q&A: Kippah
Originally published:
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Kippah
Question
Hello Rabbi Michael!
Why do we continue to wear a kippah / not increase its size to the size discussed in Jewish law? So many people do not wear the "head covering" discussed in Jewish law.
Is it because the religious public is still, for the most part, interested in sectorialism?
What do you think about the kippah, and without the kippah we wear today, can we recite a blessing?
Thanks in advance.
Answer
I didn’t understand what halakhic measure you mean. Some maintain that reciting a blessing without a kippah is an actual halakhic prohibition. I’m not convinced, but it is certainly more than just a custom.
Adir wrote:
The measure I was talking about regarding a kippah is a head covering that is visible from all sides. Second—how is it that by wearing a kippah that is not considered the head covering discussed in Jewish law, we are actually continuing the custom? After all, the custom is based on a certain measure that today we do not meet. I’d also be glad if you would answer another question of mine: why do we still wear a kippah? It increasingly divides the people and puts us in a box and a mold. Thanks.
My answer:
I don’t know where you got this measure from. There is indeed such an opinion (Rabbi Shlomo Kluger), but it is disputed. Some have written that it needs to be visible from all sides, but I know of no proof for this, and it is not agreed upon.
What people customarily do today, wearing a kippah, is either because of fear of Heaven / reverence for God (which is how the original custom is usually explained) or as a sign that distinguishes the religious person. The fact that it divides the people is excellent. There is value in being divided over this background. Observing the Sabbath and eating kosher also divide the people. I have no interest whatsoever in giving up my identity in order to unite with someone who does not behave properly. And if that bothers someone—let them deal with it.