The Pew Research Center this week repackaged its recent findings on Israeli Jews into an explainer about what a kippah tells you about its wearer.
“In Israel, the type of kippa – or lack thereof – worn by an Israeli Jewish man often is strongly correlated with his religious identity as well as some political views,” Pew noted.
For example, a large black fabric kippah is typically worn by a haredi Orthodox Jew. A colored or patterned crocheted kippah usually adorns the dome of a modern Orthodox Jew. And a black crocheted or knitted kippah-wearer is most likely “traditional.”
Pew does not exhaust all the possibilities for the kinds of kippahs worn and what they mean, however. Below is our research department’s guide to some styles that Pew left out. If you’ve ever donned a kippah, even if only for your third-cousin’s bat mitzvah, we’ve got a category for you.
Colorful beaded yarmulke
(Pinterest)
You are a Jewish feminist.
Rainbow kippah
(Pinterest)
You are LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly.
Large pink satin kippah
(Pinterest)
You are attending Stacie’s bat mitzvah.
Puffy kippah that sits on your head like a dumpling
Former British Prime Minister at a Hanukkah ceremony with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem, Dec. 18, 2006. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
You are a politician visiting a synagogue for the first time.
Elaborate Bukharan kippah
(Pinterest)
You are a Bukharan Jew – or a New Age rabbi.
Matching kippah-tallit set
(Pinterest)
You wore it once – at your bar mitzvah.
Crocheted kippah that looks like a slice of watermelon
(Pinterest)
You were the class clown in Hebrew school.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles kippah
(Pinterest)
You were bar mitzvahed in 1989.
Donald Trump kippah
(Pinterest)
You want to piss off your family at the seder.
Giant red kippah
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. (Wikimedia Commons)
You are a macher in the Catholic Church.
