 So, we're going to discuss for a few moments the concept and the idea of the Jewish skull cap. The two primary terms that are used are kippah. Kippah literally means dome, interesting term to use. And the other term that's often used for a skull cap is yarmulka. And yarmulka, many people think, comes from the two words yarei malka, which means to have fear or reverence for the king. Now, it's interesting that again in our literature, you won't find any explicit reference to the requirement of wearing such a skull cap for Jewish men anywhere in the Bible. It doesn't appear there. Although you have an interesting source, you could say a source or a reference that may be interesting for us. The source goes back to the special garments worn by the priests. The high priest wore something called a mitznefet, which was a turban. And you find that in the book of Exodus, chapter 28, verse 25. And the regular priests wore a linen headdress. It wasn't actually a full turban. And that you find in Exodus, chapter 39, verse 28. And it's interesting that the Torah describes the garments of the priests called a kavod ulotiferis, that the garments of the priests were worn as a sign of honor and beauty. So the special garments of the priesthood were to serve those purposes. It indicated the honor of the priesthood, and they were supposed to be symbols that were resonating beauty. One of the things that we can learn from this is that it's true we had a priesthood, but we are also called as Jewish people a mamlechiskonim. The Bible refers to us in Exodus, chapter 19. God says that you as an entire people are to be a nation of priests. And so it's possible to suggest that just as our priesthood wore special garments for honor and for beauty and for dignity, so a Jew as well should be dressed in such a way. As a matter of fact, the Midrash teaches us that our people were only redeemed from Egypt. One of the only reasons that God found us worthy of being redeemed from the slavery in Egypt was because we didn't change our distinctive dress, our distinctive clothing. Now whether or not in ancient times Jews covered their heads is not clear, but what we learned from this is that there is an idea that distinctive clothing of a Jew is important. And one of the things, at least that we can say symbolically, is that by wearing a skull cap in the same way that the priests wore coverings on their heads, it reminds us as a people that we are to serve as priests to the rest of the world. The idea is that throughout the Bible we see that clothing is symbolic and clothing is supposed to be a reminder. So for example, the Torah tells us that we're to attach seat-to-seat ritual fringes to the corners of our garment. If you're wearing a four-cornered garment, the purpose of these ritual fringes we're told in the Torah is to remind us as a reminder in the same way that you would tie a ribbon or string around your finger to remind you to do certain things. The Torah says by having ritual fringes on your garments, you'll be reminded to observe all the laws of the Torah. So in the same way that that garment serves as a reminder, so having a head covering as well reminds us that we play a special role in the world. In the times of the Talmud, we see that the wearing of a headgear was normally not worn by all people necessarily, but it was certainly something that we find that was worn by noble rabbis, by rabbis that were respectable in high positions. They wore a head covering, again, much like the priests did, as a sign of honor. But then we have a story in the Talmud that a mother was advised by the sages to have her son's head covered at all times. This is a mother that was warned that her son might be prone to criminal activity, and so she was advised to have her son's head covered at all times so that he would always be aware of God's presence. So we find in the Talmud that this idea that having a covering on her head is supposed to be simply a reminder that God is with us, and the idea is that it teaches humility, because the covering over our head is a way of demonstrating that there's something over your head. There's something over your intellect. Human beings' intellect is limited compared to God. Prophet Isaiah tells us in chapter 59 verse 9, God says, God says your thinking, your thoughts are not like my thoughts, God says. Don't think that as human beings you can understand everything. God says my thoughts are way above your thoughts. So in order to teach us reverence and humility, having our head covered is a way of just reminding us there's something above us. As well we see from this story that the kippah, the yamlaka, is a protection against our yaitzahara, our evil inclination, because one of the messages of the kippah is to always remind us that God is watching. If you walk around and you go through your life and go through your day with the realization that God is watching everything you do, it has an effect on the way you behave. One of the terms we use in terms of having a relationship with God, the Torah speaks about yirat Hashem, having awe or fear of God. But yirat Hashem doesn't only mean fear of God, the word can also be translated as seeing God, that we are supposed to see God as being present in our lives. And also by flipping it around, yirat Hashem means God is seeing us, the seeing of God. So the kippah serves all these purposes from the times of the Talmud. It became associated as not necessarily a strict legal requirement, but as a sign of piety and as a way of reminding us that God is watching over us, that God is watching us, that there's something that's above our intellect, and it's a way of at least demonstrating a reverence for God in our lives. The practice has been, in our world at least, to train little boys to wear a kippah from a very young age, some people starting around the age of three, or at least from the time they're able to keep it on their heads. It's not a small feat for a little baby boy to actually accomplish. But according to many opinions, the head covering has the force of custom. However, there is one view among our sages, which says that when non-Jews began to uncover their heads during their prayers, or when they entered their houses of worship, the uncovering of the head became associated with non-Jewish behavior, with behavior of people that were really worshiping, as far as Judaism is concerned, idolatrous worship. And therefore, the Torah teaches us, as a verse in the Bible, we're not to walk in the ways of the nations. We're not to follow the practices of the non-Jewish nations. So if the practice of the non-Jewish world is to uncover their heads, I mean, if you go into a courtroom today, that often happens. You've got to take off your hat. If you go into a church, you're supposed to take off your hat. It's the general practice, and it's been that way for many years for the non-Jewish world in which we live. So some of our sages have said that if that's the normative practice among non-Jews, we are not supposed to copy that. And therefore, the Jewish practice has to be the opposite, that we should cover our heads. And according to this point of view, this is not simply a custom or an act of piety. This has the force of the biblical requirement, that biblically we're required to cover our heads. So the common practice today is that Torah observant men will cover their heads at all times, except of course when they're showering, unless they get a waterproof kippah, or when they're swimming, or when they're sleeping, although some Jews will actually even sleep with their heads covered. We have at least some rabbinic opinions today that permit the removal of the kippah if it's going to negatively impact your livelihood. So a person that's in business and wearing a kippah is going to either prevent them from getting a job or it will destroy their livelihood at their job itself. For example, a lawyer that may have a difficult time representing clients wearing a kippah, there would be room for them to remove their kippah in those situations.