Yarmulke - kippot

• Why it is worn
• Helping in identification
• Mezzuzah
• The shofar

The Yarmulke-Kippot is a traditional headwear worn by religious Jews. It resembles a skull cap and is thin in texture. Both men and women wear the Yarmulke-Kippot in the Reform as well as Conservative sects.

Why it is worn

The Yarmulke-Kippot is worn primarily as a mark of respect for God. However, while most conservative and orthodox Jews prefer to wear it all times in the day, some people do not wear all the time today. The modern Jewish religious laws have been relaxed to cater to such persons.

Helping in identification

The Yarmulke-Kippot helps Jewish persons identify the sect or groups to which they belong. For example, the Zionist community calls it kippot and is a meaning of knitted or crocheted kippot. Modern Jews in America prefer wearing leather or suede Yarmulke-Kippot that needs a clip to fasten them into position. Haredi community members wear the Yarmulke-Kippot in the materials of cloth or velvet. The color chosen is typically black. Such persons are called kipot shekhorot, or black Yarmulke-Kippot. Many of the modern Jews prefer to use colors on the Yarmulke-Kippot to show their support for a particular sport team such as in football. Followers of the famous Rabbi Odesser wear the Yarmulke-Kippot in white color and with the mantra crocheted into it. The Samaritan Israelis wore Yarmulke-Kippot once upon a time in blue color to segregate them from ones who wore white colored Yarmulke-Kippot. However, in modern times, the Samaritans rarely wear Yarmulke-Kippot at all times. Only during prayer and religious occasions, they wear it.

Mezzuzah

The mezzuzah is a parchment paper, enclosed within decorative casings. These scrolls contain ancient verses from the Torah, which have been inscribed by qualified scribes. All Jewish families hang mezzuzah on the doorpost. Though some families prefer placing such mezzuzah only on the front doorpost, others prefer placing it on all the doorposts of the house, excepting the smaller closets and the bathroom. According to the sect they follow, Jews can hang the mezzuzah vertically on the door or in a slanting manner towards the home. When the mezzuzah is hung tilted towards the home, it signifies that the Torah and God is entering the house. Before the first mezzuzah is hung a special prayer needs to be said. The prayer is as follows: ‘Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us with His mitzvot, and commanded us to affix a mezuzah’. The scribe checks for any tears or faults in the scrolls and regularly scrutinizes the mezzuzah. Any defects present will nullify the religious significance of the mezzuzah and it will need replacement.

The shofar

The shofar is a religious instrument blown during ceremonies and prayers. The sound of the shofar is very unique and can be heard from quite a distance. Typically, shofar is made from the horn of a kosher animal such as ram, goat, gazelle etc. Such animals chew cud and have split hooves. However, cows are not used for making shofar. There are four primary sounds made by the shofar namely Tekiah, Teruah, Tekiah Gedolah and Shevarim.