Kippah

" 'Do you have a kippah?' That's what this visitor asked for."
One of us pointed to our head.
"Yes... yes, you know kippah is Hebrew for a head covering for men."
My class and I was at the Dallas Holocaust Museum for an on-site learning experience.
Or a field trip for college students.

"Does anyone know why traditionally Jewish men wear a kippah?" the docent continued.
"It's a sign of respect and fear for God, acknowledging that God is above us," one of my classmates offered.
"Right before your group walked in, this man asked for this. This was the first time in all these years I heard someone asking for a kippah. I think he recognizes some thing of what is here, some thing of why are here. We are in the realm of sacredness," she continued.

None of us spoke much on our way back.
We had been full of comments and observations on our first field trip to the synagogue.
We knew we didn't have a kippah to wear.
But we knew silence was probably the only way we can honor 11 million people killed by another kind of silence.

Is this your kind of silence?

The fruit of silence is prayer.
The fruit of prayer is love.
The fruit of love is service.
The fruit of service is peace.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Photo credit: homegrownjudaica.com

Comments

  1. Best KippahMay 10, 2012 at 4:25 PM

    Such an inspiring article! I had so much delight upon reading this. Keep this up!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownAugust 24, 2012 at 4:52 PM

    I didn't realize that this particular museum wasn't JUST a museum, but it's also a memorial as you reminded me.

    ReplyDelete

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