The Turban: The Early Jewish Head Covering
Thursday, October 15, 2015
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| Jews wearing turbans in Jerusalem 1895 |
It is not unusual for someone to question the reason for wearing the beanie (kippah/yarmulke) commonly sported by traditional Jews. Common answers include the explanations that a head covering is a constant reminder that Jews are under submission to the Creator (Talmud Bavli, Kiddushin 32a), as an identifying symbol that Jews are set-apart from the other nations and that it is descended from middle/near eastern cultural norm wherein one can find traditions that view the uncovered head as a symbol of brazenness and disrespect. Since ancient times the head covering of men was used to distinguish between cultural groups and nationalities. Besides ethnicity, the head covering also served as indicators or wealth, status, position, and lineage. Women also wore a covering on their head and customs varies throughout history, from the earliest simple head bands of the ancient Israelite women to the full head and lower face coverings in second-temple Judea to the scarfs and wigs worn by the modern Jewess. Head coverings for both men and women have been a historical expression of Jewish identity for millennia.
