Jews & Hats
Why do Jews wear Hats?
Jewish men have worn head coverings since at least Talmudic times (circa 70 common era) as a symbol of reverence during worship.
The custom likely started as a sign of respect, but with the passage of time the custom of covering the head during worship increasingly became mandatory. As the persecutions by the Church increased, the Jewish aversion to everything Christian deepened. The covering of one’s head became an act of Jewish piety. For convenience the skullcap, or yarmulke, was adopted.
Yarmulkes / Kippot
A kippah, or yarmulke, is a kind of minimal cap that covers the crown of the head. It is worn for religious purposes, not for sun protection or keeping off rain. Some Jews will wear a kippah under a different kind of hat.
There are several styles of kippot that are common around the world. Often, the style of kippah worn signals the religious (and even political) affiliation of the wearer.
True freedom, then, is not only Exodus, freedom from oppression, but Sinai, the positive liberty of access to education and economic independence. The commandments that enjoin these freedoms, then, do not hamper liberty, but enhance it.
Larger Hats
Haredi Jews often recognized by their distinctive dress, including large black hats. But while black hats that are worn during the week and fancier (sometimes fur) hats are favored on Shabbat and other special occasions. These are generally worn over top of a kippah because two head coverings are considered more meritorious than one.
What about the Ladies?
Why is the kippah only worn by men in traditional Orthodox communities? In these communities all ritual clothing–such as a prayer shawl, a Hasidic stock coat, or a kittel–is only worn by men. Women are not considered obligated to perform the commandments associated with some of these garments, so they don’t wear any of them. However, in these communities, married women do cover their hair, usually with hats, scarves, or wigs. This goes back to a commandment hinted at in the Torah, and stated more explicitly in the Talmud and later rabbinic texts. It’s a law unrelated to the kippah custom.
Women's Kippot
Some women wear crocheted yarmulkes just like the ones worn by men. Others wear wire or beaded yarmulkes that are more feminine, and others cover their heads with scarves, hats, even headbands. Though these headcoverings may not look the same as the traditional ones you recognize, they are intended to serve the same purpose as the yarmulke on a man.
Other Women's Head Coverings
In many traditional Jewish communities, women wear head coverings after marriage. This practice takes many different forms: Hats, scarves, and wigs (often referred to as sheitels) all cover and reveal different lengths of hair. Many women only don the traditional covering when entering or praying in a synagogue, and still others have rejected hair covering altogether.
The rabbis define hair as sexually erotic (ervah), but as the general practice of covering one’s head in public faded in Western culture in the past century, many Orthodox women also began to go bare-headed. Despite rabbinic opinions to the contrary, these women thought of hair covering as a matter of custom and culture.
Many women who continue to cover their hair do not do so for the traditional reason of modesty. For example some women view head covering as a sign of their marital status, while others wear only a small symbolic head covering while showing much of their hair. Also in many communities, women have persisted in covering their hair only in synagogue.
In recent decades, there is an interesting trend among women who have learned the Jewish legal sources for themselves, due to advances in women’s education, and have decided to adopt a stringent stance toward hair covering, rather than following the more permissive norms of their parents’ communities.
Modesty, as a Jewish value, is continually being refined and redefined by Jewish women and their communities. Just as some women have chosen to deemphasize hair covering as a marker of modesty, in other communities women may choose to embrace it, developing and reinforcing a more traditional communal norm. As modesty is subjectively defined, the community to which one wishes to belong may play a large role in determining practice. The decision to cover one’s hair rests at the crossroads between law and custom, personal choice and community identification.