Kippot

Now that I'm officially future clergy, I've been trying to find ways to deepen my Jewish practice. One of the things that I have been doing is wearing a kippah (Jewish head covering) at times when I am not praying. I don't wear one all the time; just a lot more often than I used to. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this practice yet. Does it really deepen my connection to G-d? I don't know yet, which is why I'm still experimenting with wearing it more often and not just wearing it 24-7. One of the things that I have been doing is that if I put it on to daven shacharit (pray in the morning. . . something I've been trying to do more of anyway, though it's hard to get up because I'm not a morning person), I'll just wear it all day. Since we have a communal shacharit at HUC on Thursdays (i.e. praying doesn't require me getting out of bed any earlier than normal), I end up always wearing my kippah all day on Thursdays. While no one would look twice at a woman wearing a kippah in Los Angeles, in Israel, whether I like it or not, it's a political statement. Last Thursday night, I had a late rehearsal for a concert about women's rights as they pertain to religious pluralism in Israel. Good stuff. It's chamber style, which is something I want to be doing more of anyway. Singing first soprano, which should only surprise those who haven't heard me sing for a while. Anyway, rehearsal ended at 10, and there was no way I was cooking dinner that late, so I decided to stop at Burgers Bar (never fear, I am still a vegetarian, they have a great portobello mushroom sandwich). The following conversation happened between me and a cashier.

Cashier: You're a girl, and you're wearing a kippah.
Sara: Yes, of course.
Cashier: But why?
Sara: Why not?
Cashier: It's weird for women to wear kippot.
Sara: But I'm Reform.
Cashier: What's that?
Sara: It's kind of like religious, but egalitarian. (Side note: I don't mean to offend any of my friends who are more traditional than I am; this was the only way I could come up with to explain it on the fly to an Israeli who has never heard of Reform Judaism, in Hebrew nonetheless.)

Then, a young guy wearing a kippah came up to me.

Young Guy: You're wearing a kippah?
Sara: Sure.
Young Guy: Why?
Sara: Why not? Women can wear kippot too.
Young Guy: It looks nice.
He then put another kippah on my head over the one I was already wearing and told me to keep it.

I must reiterate: This would NEVER happen in Los Angeles. In LA, I used to lead Saturday morning minyan at my shul and then go out to lunch while still wearing my kippah, sometimes even to Israeli restaurants, and no one would say anything to me because no one cares. I feel like there's this perception in Israel that in order to be a religious Jew I must be Orthodox. But Jews come in all shapes and sizes and observance levels, and it kind of bothers me that a woman wearing a kippah in public is virtually unheard of in this country. If your understanding of Judaism leads you to believe that women shouldn't wear kippot, that's fine, but my understanding of Judaism leads me to believe that it's wonderful for women to wear kippot, and that should be fine too. I want to connect to G-d too! I want to wear a kippah and pray with a tallit, and if that doesn't fit into someone else's schema of Judaism, how is that my problem? My Judaism is no one else's business, unless I'm somehow personally affecting you (i.e. I use my religious beliefs as a justification for beating you up or personally insulting you or something). Why can't I just walk around Jerusalem in my kippah and not have anyone comment or look at me like I'm an alien?

Anyway, in a few days, I'm leaving for Berlin for a conference, and then Belarus to lead Pesach programming. I will be leading seders in Minsk and Baranovichi, as well as leading Pesach music for elementary school kids and singing in a cantorial concert in Minsk. I'm going as part of the Former Soviet Union Pesach Project, which is run by the World Union for Progressive Judaism. I am beyond excited. I will make sure to post after the trip is over.