August 10, 2024

Much like the Jewish prayer shawl, the Law does not require the Jews to cover their head during either worship or daily activities, so what has prompted this common practice?

In Exodus 39:28 we read that “they made … a turban of fine linen [and] exquisite hats of fine linen” for the high priest and the other priests who served at the tabernacle.

We also read in 2 Samuel 15:30 that as he fled Jerusalem during Absalom’s revolt, “David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up and he had his head covered … and all the people who were with him covered their heads” though this was probably more of an act of mourning than a requirement for worship

Even so these two passages may have influenced the modern requirement for Jewish men to cover their heads during worship. Interestingly enough, the only commands in the Bible regarding the use of head coverings during worship are from the New Testament where women rather than men are required to do so when they pray, “For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head” (1 Cor. 11:10). For a man to do so “dishonors his head” (v. 4. Yet Jewish rabbinical teaching states the very opposite—that men honor the Lord when they cover their heads for prayer.

Also called a kippah (which literally means “dome”) and sometimes called a yamaka, a skull cap is a round, brimless cap or covering worn throughout the day while eating, praying, studying sacred writings or visiting a cemetery or a synagogue although its use will vary depending on the religious community to which one belongs.

Skull caps are made of various materials, but typically cloth, and often the color or material identifies the specific Jewish community to which the wearer belongs. In conservative communities women are forbidden to wear them, but sometimes you’ll even see newborns wearing one.

—The Talmud, a Jewish commentary on the Bible, commands, “Cover your head in order that the fear of heaven may be upon you,” and some insist that skull caps should be mandatory as a sign of submission to God since his divine presence is always over one’s head.

—Daniel McCabe