knit kepot

Ah, the knit kepah. So much can be expressed through one's knit kepah. The first thing it says is - I'm not ultra-orthodox. Generally knit kepot wearers are dati leumi (religious and patriotic), meaning they serve in the army and hold a job, they don't study all day, though this isn't universally true. Knit kepot are often hand crocheted by friends, girlfriends, daughters, nieces, sisters, etc, often with a personal touch - the person's name, or a picture of something he likes. You can also buy knit kepot with everything from geometric designs to your favorite baseball team. Although I have quite a few pictures of knit kepot, I still have not covered the entire range, so this entry will be supplemented by others periodically.


A Breslover kepah, whose meaning I have explained in a previous entry.




In the world of knit kepot, size matters. A small one can say, I'm religious, but don't take it too seriously, or, my mother may make me wear a kepah, but she can't control what size I wear.




A larger kepah often indicates a more hippie/spiritual outlook on life.








Placement of the kepah also says something. Do you wear it on the back of your head (more traditional, an older look), right on the top of your head (more of a high school/college age group), or even farther forward (high school and also in the 'thinks they're cool crowd')?






Some classic knit kepot above.


I can't say for sure, but I'd be willing to bet a small amount of money that this boy's kepah was crocheted for him. Maybe by the girl he's sitting and talking with?



another classic



Blacks in Israel are usually Ethiopian. I'm not sure what their headgear was before they immigrated, but now they can be seen wearing all the modern versions, including the teeny tiny one this boy is wearing.



This man may be wearing a knit kepah, but he is ultra-orthodox, as can be easily seen from his shaved head and long peyot (side curls). Many men wear white kepot during the time between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, as an expression of the purity they are trying to attain. But some wear them all year long. The pom pom on top generally indicates a particular sect or group they belong to.







The solid black knit kepah. This man is straddling worlds. He says, "I'm not quite liberal enough to wear a colorful kepah, but I'm not ready to identify with the more old fashioned society that wears black velvet or leather, either."









This man too is straddling worlds. His kepah gives a modern touch, but his black pants, white shirt, tzitzit (fringes) hanging out and being past his knees, and his peyot (side curls) tell you he's still firmly planted in the most traditional sector of society.



Another example of Ethiopian assimilation.










Kepah hanging off to the side. It might mean, "I'm too cool to worry about whether my kepah is falling over my ear." It might mean, "I'm not concerned with appearances." It might mean, "My kepah clips won't stay on."




Big purple kepah and wearing a backpack? Definite hippy.







Another version of the white knit kepah, this one sans pom pom.





This is only a taste of the knit kepah world. More to come!

honorary entry

Ok, I know I haven't been posting (not for a lack of headgear, but for a lack of time) and I know this particular headgear wearer isn't in Jerusalem, but...as a headgear enthusiast, I can't NOT post a pic:





now that's a hat.

election day

About a week ago, Jerusalem had its municipal elections. Here, what you wear on your head makes a statement about your political views, among other things, so I hung around our local polling place, taking pictures of the different kinds of hats that showed up to vote. Obviously, this is only a small sample of the local color, but I caught a number of different kinds of voters. For the purposes of showing the diversity, I also took pictures of non-hat wearers. After all, they were voting too!








The two pictures above show men working for Shas, the right wing religious party. This is probably the strongest political example of hat/party correlation. People who wear black hats are likely to vote for Shas, and Shas represents mainly the interests of people who wear black hats.



I feel that I should point out, that I did not intentionally take an unflattering picture of the man above. I waited and waited for him to stop scratching his nose, but he never did. I guess he had a very itchy nose. Also, for the uninitiated of you who can't tell this for yourself, the woman here is wearing a wig.











This woman is not wearing a black hat, but is wearing headgear I associate with the women in what is actually called here the "black hat community."

Just to make clear, I would never presume to guess who is voting for who. I simply group these people together because of their hattage.



This young man is working for Nir Barkat, our new mayor. I can tell because the shirt on his head says so.



The next few pictures are of "knit kepot." Knit kepot are most often worn by members of the dati leumi community - literally "religous and patriotic." - these hats often denote rightist political leanings and strong sense of Zionism. Unlike the Haredim, or black hats, above, who often do not support the state of Israel because it is too secular, people wearing knit kepot are often fiercely patriotic. They also, as a rule, serve in the army, whereas the black hatters, as a rule, do not. Obviously there are exceptions to both rules. I will go in into the culture surrounding the knit kepah in more depth when I get around to giving them their own entry.


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This larger kind of knit kepah (above) often is worn by people of a more spiritual bent, and often somewhat more leftist.







I don't know if the man above should really be included. He was walking his dog past the polling place, but as of when I spoke to him, he wasn't sure yet if he was going to vote.

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The charming hats above seem to be worn by the older generation. I admit to not knowing what flavor of religion they go with.


And...presenting the secular men! Secular Jewish men are easier to spot than secular women. No hat = secular. Here are a few varieties.





The people sporting this particular style (above) are commonly referred to as arsim. (s. ars). As headwear goes, the ars can be identified by his short spiky hair and copious gel. This subgroup is secular, in general, though they do sometimes follow various rules as part of family tradition.
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And the women. It's harder to tell religiousness with the women, because single religious women do not cover their hair. However, as a guideline, the religious single women generally do not have hair dyed colors that do not appear in the population naturally. So here is a hodgepodge, with no identification attempted.












And welcome to new mayor, Nir Barkat! Called in bbc.com a "champion of secular Judaism", he does not wear a hat.