My kippot are the best, believe me

August 21, 2016 12:16 PM

Reform Jew, returning somewhat to the fold; kids are starting Hebrew and Sunday school, and my son and husband will need their own kippot at some point. The world is full of awful yarmulkes! We're Clevelanders, for example, but are not super into a kippah with a hook-nosed ethnic caricature. So, a kouple kippah kwestions:

1) Where are the really awesome kippot hiding? Any awesome Etsy sellers?
2) Is it weird/offensive for Ashkenazim to wear Buchari-style kippot? Obviously we're the majority group in the US so I don't want to be a jerk.

posted by chesty_a_arthur to Shopping (11 answers total)

Best answer: I knew people growing up (Conservative New Jersey Jews) who wore the Buchari-style. I never heard anyone make any derogatory comments about it.
posted by amro at 12:25 PM on August 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Can't speak for any Bukharan Jews out there, but it's pretty common for young Ashkenazi Jews in the US to wear those kippot, since they don't fall off so easily (plus they're colorful!). That's what I had as an uber-secular Reform Jew. I think it's less common for adults, but mainly because adults generally opt for more boring dress.
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 12:30 PM on August 21, 2016 [3 favorites]

I see people wearing all kinds of styles at our shul.

Do your kids like branded cartoon stuff?
posted by fingersandtoes at 12:31 PM on August 21, 2016

I'll add that it's my understanding that (for all intents and purposes) literally any head covering counts as a 'kippah.' You can wear a baseball hat, a cowboy hat, a turban, a beanie, a newsboy cap (these seem popular amongst eco-Jews), a pinned piece of cloth, a fez, a bike helmet... They're pretty pragmatic things.
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 12:48 PM on August 21, 2016

Bucharian kippot are fine in my home reform shul.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:57 PM on August 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

My rabbi ( reform temple) wears a Bucharian kippot
posted by prk60091 at 4:37 PM on August 21, 2016

Best answer: Not sure what an "awesome" kippah would be for your husband or son, but painted suede is common for "fun" designs. There are some like that here and googling or searching etsy for "suede kippah" or "painted suede kippah," specifically, seems to bring different/better results that just the more generic "kippah." Someone on etsy is selling a Prince-themed kippah if that's your thing...

A cowboy hat or a beanie isn't really gonna be a good solution for shul or school, even if they are OK as headcoverings from the halakhic perspective. Kippot also function as a sort of social identifier, and a random hat doesn't do that.
posted by needs more cowbell at 1:11 AM on August 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

Any more info about what you consider "awesome" in a kippah? Do you want colourful or plain? Images or patterns? Any particular styles? Without some criteria, this feels like trying to answer "what kind of clothes should I wear?"
posted by vasi at 7:01 AM on August 22, 2016

Best answer: > Kippot also function as a sort of social identifier, and a random hat doesn't do that.

I guess it depends on the shul. At mine (Reform), the only time any of the kids would wear something recognizable as a Jewish kippah was on holidays, for b'nai mitzvah, and for shabbat services. But it was more the act of being there that was the social identifier. On those days, we could wear a plain kippah from the basket by the door, our own kippah, a different sort of hat, or no head covering at all.

A cowboy hat or bike helmet would be odd, but I definitely saw people wearing baseball and newsboy caps.
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 10:47 AM on August 22, 2016

Best answer: (Middle aged Conservative Jew here) I really like the crocheted kippot - you can find interesting geometric designs that aren't so "cute" and, to my mind, more appropriate for synagogue. I tend to see the painted ones on children or on people who would wear a kipper on weekdays (either because they wear it all the time or because they are attending an evening event at synagogue). The texture of the crochet seems to help it stay on a little better and the relatively flat style means no pointy fluffs like some of the the fabric ones. Buchari style are also common (or at least not uncommon) and seem very appropriate to me. My husband likes them because a small kippah sitting in the center of his bald spot just looks weird.
posted by metahawk at 11:49 AM on August 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Vasi, I don't really know... anything more interesting than the plain basket-by-the-door ones. Could be subtle, could be super loud. Should be identifiable as a kippah -- right on to the earlier point about it being a social identifier. Think of it as "what are some interesting options I should know about?"

Thanks, all, this is super interesting. I never knew a person who wore a Buchari kippah so I haven't been sure whether there was a particular association I needed to be aware of.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 8:03 PM on August 23, 2016