“How Does A Kippah Stay On?” | Jewish Museum Berlin
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“How does a kippah stay on?”Question of the Month in the Context of the Exhibition “The Whole Truth”
If a non-Jew tries on a kippah, it usually falls off. This isn’t fair, but let’s examine the circumstances more closely.
When tourists visit the Jewish cemetery in Prague, all men are asked to wear a kippah. Those who travel kippah-free are requested to don a blue, sharply-creased, circular piece of paper. The precarious kippah is inevitably subjected to the winds off the Vltava and flutters away. Comparably, a non-Jewish man attending a synagogue ceremony such as a marriage or Bar Mitzvah, will usually be requested to wear a kippah. Here, a stiff yet slippery synthetic satin kippah is ubiquitous. No guest stands a chance.
What then is the secret to making a kippah stay on? It is disappointingly simple. Jews who frequently wear a kippah know where to put it on their head (the crown) and tend to own kippot which have been tried, tested and are a good fit. Should they opt for one of the smaller kippah sizes (as opposed to the head-encompassing “soup bowl” style) a hair clip may be used to fasten the fabric to any available hair. This solution is not universally accepted, however, and the hair clip is rejected by staunch traditionalists. If the wearer chooses a suede kippah, bald heads happily have the advantage of a high coefficient of friction.
Should all else fail, the ultimate kippah secret is double-sided fashion tape or a dot of one-sided velcro. Please note: stick the velcro to the kippah, not to your head.
Michal Friedlander, Curator for Judaica and Applied Arts
“How does a kippah stay on?”; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Anina Falasca
“How does a kippah stay on?”; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Anina Falasca
Citation recommendation:
Michal Friedlander (2013), “How does a kippah stay on?”. Question of the Month in the Context of the Exhibition “The Whole Truth”. URL: www.jmberlin.de/en/node/6229
Question of the Month: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Jews (7)
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Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Jews
Our exhibition The Whole Truth…Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Jews was based on 30 questions posed to the Jewish Museum Berlin or its staff over the past few years. In the exhibition, visitors had their own opportunity to ask questions or to leave comments on post-it notes. Some of these questions are answered here in our website.
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How does a kippah stay on?
Answered by Michal Friedlander, Curator for Judaica and Applied Arts
Essay 2013
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Why do women have to cover their hair with a wig or scarf after getting married?
Answered by Miriam Goldmann, Curator of the Exhibition The Whole Truth
Essay 2014
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Do Jews have their own language?
Answered by Martina Lüdicke, Curator of the Exhibition The Whole Truth
Essay 2013
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Why do some Jews rock back and forth while they pray?
Answered by Miriam Goldmann, Curator of the Exhibition The Whole Truth
Essay 2013
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What role do gender themes play? What’s the story with women rabbis?
Answered by Anina Falasca, Curator of the Exhibition The Whole Truth
Essay 2013
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Are there gay Jews?
Answered by Anina Falasca, Miriam Goldmann, Martina Lüdicke, Curators of the Exhibition The Whole Truth
Interview 2013
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“Was Goethe a Jew too?”
Answered by Berhard Jensen, Library
Essay 2014
Links to topics that may be of interest to you
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The Whole Truth
...Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Jews
Exhibition 22 Mar to 1 Sep 2013
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Kippah
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