I am a Reform Jew. I would say there are not many Reform Jews who wear kippot in public but some do for teaching, shul and maybe at other times. There certainly are lots of Reform Jews of both genders who wear kippot and tallit at services. There may be some Reform rabbis who wear them in public, on Shabbat or holidays or during Jewish activities. There is a range of practices at the temples around Seattle. I see alot of kippot during services, but definitely not all. Some only on the bima; some only if reading from the Torah, some children do. There is no requirement. Kippot are always available. Children are not required to wear kippot at religious school. Some teachers and students do wear them. Because Reform Jews are open to such a range of practices, I don't think kids would be confused. That said, they might be more confused when they see only the men wear kippot and not any women. I think illustrators/publishers add them to ensure easy identification of a Jewish character, for diversity, windows or mirror purposes but that sets up a false stereotype in many ways. I may point out when I see an obvious Jew (because of the kippa) in an illustration during storytimes, which could lead to a discussion. For some Reform Jews, illustrations like that might signal that the book is for an Orthodox or Conservative community. I wish they could be more creative and add some Jewish objects to the mix instead of always kippot, such as a character wearing a Star of David or a CHAI, a dreidel or menorah sitting on a table, sharing challah, lots of other ways to indicate a Jew. But many illustrations are not Jewish or familiar with Jewish identity or ritual. Thanks for these great questions. I hope others will speak up.
Toby Harris Librarian Temple Beth Am, Seattle On Mon, Aug 2, 2021 at 9:02 PM Lisa Silverman via Hasafran < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi safranim, > I am co-editor of the AJL children's book reviews and have noticed a trend > but I need someone who knows more about this to comment, please. > > It seems that children's illustrators are putting kippot on most of the > men and boys in Jewish-themed books, and I assume it is to make them > acceptable to all denominations. But I find this a rather false narrative > in many of these books. > > For instance, there is a lovely new picture book about Rabbi Joachim > Prinz and how he was a civil rights activist and spoke at the March on > Washington, but he is wearing a very visible kippah there at the Lincoln > Memorial, and photos of him at the time do not reflect that. Here are my > questions for anyone who can help--- and certainly one person would not > have to answer all of them-- > > > 1. Would Joachim Prinz be wearing a kippa at any time in public? > 2. Do any Jews affiliated with the Reform or Progressive movements > ever wear kippot in public? > 3. Do Reform Jews wear kippot at all times in the synagogue? Do they > have kids wear them at Hebrew school? > 4. Would a book be too confusing to children if some men at, say, a > sukkot gathering, wear a kippah and some do not? > 5. Do Orthodox or more observant denominations only buy picture books > if all the men and boys wear kippot? Or do they not buy picture books from > secular publishers anyway? > 6. When was the practice of wearing knitted or patterned kippot begun > in North America? > > > > thank you in advance for any light that can be shed on this! > > *Lisa Silverman* > *Co-editor, AJL News and Reviews* > *Curator, Jewish Journal Streaming Guide* > __ > Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual > author > and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries > (AJL) > ================================== > Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: > [email protected] > To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: > https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran > Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: [email protected] > Ha-Safran Archives: > Current: > > https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran*40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html__;JQ!!KGKeukY!nLKp7iW4Ov4q8_ZPYxb1Qe_OkdHdntnCVt7JHy2sjGv8dKiCrxkazOfHOPoncehLCBKSA1PkFAQv84I$ > > Earlier Listserver: > > https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran*40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html__;JQ!!KGKeukY!nLKp7iW4Ov4q8_ZPYxb1Qe_OkdHdntnCVt7JHy2sjGv8dKiCrxkazOfHOPoncehLCBKSA1PkzfYtK_A$ > > AJL HomePage > https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.JewishLibraries.org__;!!KGKeukY!nLKp7iW4Ov4q8_ZPYxb1Qe_OkdHdntnCVt7JHy2sjGv8dKiCrxkazOfHOPoncehLCBKSA1PkTWzagnM$ > > -- > Hasafran mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran >
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