Ask the Rabbi: Wearing a Kippa in Today’s US Social Atmosphere | Rabbi Daniel Mann | Beit Midrash

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Question: Some of my students (American young-adult shomrei mitzvot) who are in college and the workplace have asked me if they should wear a kippa there, since it can expose them to discrimination or verbal or physical attack. What do you recommend?

Answer: We will look at classical sources and recent discussion of kippot in the workplace before discussing today’s situation.

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Rabbi Daniel Mann

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There are three main Talmudic contexts of men’s head covering. One gemara (Shabbat 156b) implies that one must cover his head for davening, and the Shulchan Aruch (OC 91:3 applies it to uttering Hashem’s Name and entering a shul. Another gemara (Kiddushin 31a) tells of an Amora who would not walk four amot with his head uncovered, as an acknowledgement that Hashem is "above our head." The gemara (ibid. 33a) says that it is disrespectful to stand before a talmid chacham with an uncovered head. The implication is that it is not Talmudically required to wear a kippa, except in the context of things related to holiness, but it is appropriate for those who act with special tzniut (see Rambam, De’ot 5:6),

Nevertheless, the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 2:6) codifies not walking four amot without a kippa as standard guidance. Indeed, it is not unusual for behavior of the elite to be accepted by Klal Yisrael as expected of the general populace. It then is taken seriously but often with more leniency than a Torah law and even a Rabbinic law.

However, things became more complicated. The Mahari Bruna (Shut 34) notes that in his time (15th century Germany) non-Jews viewed uncovering one’s head as a religious value, and he therefore compared a Jew doing so to chukot hagoyim (a Torah-level prohibition against "copying" practices of other religions or perhaps of non-Jews in general). The Taz (8:3) agrees that chukot hagoyim applies, whereas the Magen Avraham (91:3) apparently does not. Chukot hagoyim is societally dependent, and was not applicable in Muslim countries, as they do not make a point of removing head coverings as a sign of respect for religious matters.

In contemporary times, some say that chukot hagoyim does not apply because removing a covering is now more societal than religious (Igrot Moshe OC, IV:2). On the other hand, since wearing a kippa has become an observant Jewish man’s "uniform," not wearing one seems to disavow that affiliation (see Otzar Hakippa p. 431).

Practically, the more accepted approach in America is Rav Moshe Feinstein’s (see Igrot Moshe ibid.). He says that in certain cases of need, one can assume like the Magen Avraham that wearing a kippa is a matter of middat chasidut, which is not stronger than a positive mitzva for which one does not have to lose significant money (Rama, OC 656:1). His context is when being bareheaded is needed in his place of work. One would also need to cover his head for a beracha and put one on in contexts in which it is possible (e.g., they mind when meeting with clients, not with office staff). College settings are rarely discussed, and there is much less room for leniency. It is rare for one to need to go to a place where he cannot wear a kippa in order to get good professional training. Also, it is usually acceptable to wear a baseball hat, and at worst take it off after being seated in the classroom (see Mahari Bruna ibid.)

Your question about antisemitic atmosphere is a good one. On the one hand, there has always been antisemitism in the US, even as the identity of the perpetrators and their "motivation" changes. On the other hand, through the 1960s, most observant Jews did not wear a kippa at work outside our community, avoiding outward signs of their observant Judaism although less frequently their Jewish identity (or family names). One who is in a setting where he has real concern for damaging or upsetting encounters, can ask his rabbi for his blessing to not wear a kippa. A person’s "makeup" and size are among factors. However, the consensus of my rabbinic colleagues in the US is that there is not a general plan to act more submissive now in this regard compared to before October 7.

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