Jews
|
1. Why do many Jews keep their heads covered even when they pray? |
|
According to some, the Jewish custom of keeping the head always
covered originated in |
|
This headgear we see upon the head of many Jews is called Yarmulke in Yiddish (a language which
is a mixture of German and Hebrew), and Kippah
in Hebrew. |
|
To an Orthodox Jew, to pray without it, and to some Orthodox Jews even
to go from one place to another (even from the kitchen to the bedroom)
without it, is a sin. |
|
They wear that headgear in order to remember that they are in the
presence of God. |
|
Obviously, to a Jew, wearing the skullcap in the midst of those who
are not Jews is also a way to distinguish himself and
to show his pride of being a Jew. |
|
In some Jewish communities even some women wear the skullcap. The kind
of headgear the Jews wear shows the group they belong to. For instance, there
are some groups of Orthodox Jews who wear a hat (in some groups this hat is
like a top hat). Many Israelites wear some skullcaps which are knitted, which
show an attitude open to modernity. Many non-orthodox Jews don’t wear any
headgear even when they pray, for they point out that such a custom is not
written in the Bible nor in the whole Halachic literature which goes from the
Mishnah to the Shulcan Aruch, and that the Jews who lived in Israel and in
Europe worshipped God with their heads uncovered from the most remote ancient
times to the late Middle Ages. Nevertheless, in recent times among the
Reformed Jews (who, unlike the Orthodox Jews, do not accept some Jewish
doctrines and practices) the custom of praying with the head covered has
grown. |
|
I take the opportunity of pointing out that the men who have believed
in the Lord Jesus Christ cannot and must not accept the Jewish custom of
praying with the head covered because the Scripture forbids men to cover
their heads when they pray or prophesy. The apostle Paul says to the
Corinthians: “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the
image and glory of God” (1 Corinthians 11:7 – NKJV). Therefore a man who is
in Christ must not wear any headgear while he prays or prophesies because he
is the image of God. What happens if he wears a headgear when he prays or
prophesies? He dishonours Christ his head, for it is written: “The head of
every man is Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:3 – NKJV) and: “Every man praying or
prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head” (1 Corinthians 11.4
– NKJV). |
|
On the contrary, every woman who is in Christ must cover her head when
she prays or prophesies because she is the glory of man and thus she must
have, because of the angels, a sign of authority on her head. Every woman who
prays or prophesies with her head uncovered, dishonors her head, that is, man
(1 Corinthians 11:3-16). |