In watching the movie “Time of Favor”, I noticed that the IDF guys are wearing kippot of various colors and styles. Does the IDF not issue uniform kippot?
I dunno, what’s a kippot? Is it a yarmulke, a hat, a doily, what? Is it kippot or kippah?
http://www.whatasimcha.com/dorldor/DorLdorCatSub.asp?id=KIPPOT
http://www.whatasimcha.com/dorldor/DorLdorItemList.asp?id=VELVET_KIPPOT&afid=
http://www.alljudaica.com/catalog.asp?catid=60000
It must be a hat because you can buy what I would call “pincurl clips” to keep it on.
http://www.whatasimcha.com/dorldor/DorLdorItemList.asp?id=KIPPAH_CLIPS&afid=
Sign me,
STUMPED BUT HAPPY TO ADD NEW VOCABULARY WORD AS SOON AS SOMEBODY EXPLAINS IT
Kippot is simply the plural of kippah, i.e., yarmulke.
Kippah is another word for yarmulke? Is one Yiddish and the other Hebrew? Why do I, with my above-average American vocabulary, only know the word “yarmulke” but not the word “kippah”?
Because I have never heard the word before.
Kippah is Hebrew. Yarmulke is Yiddish.
Haj
Is one more proper than the other?
Owww… You lured the lefties in here for Hat question?
[sulks and leaves]
I don’t think there is much difference, DDG. There is a chance that some older American Jews may not know the word kippah (or kippot) because modern Hebrew has only been the language of the Jews since 1948.
Anyway to the IDF question. Israel is still mostly secular, and kippot are not required and not issued. In fact, the style of kippah can tell you a little about the person. Many of the orthodox Ashkenazim tend to wear black kippot. The kind you often see worn by those in IDF uniform is the knitted kippah. Knitted kippah wearers often tend to be the Zionist orthodox, like many of the settlers. Zionism is pretty independent of religion, so there tends to be a spectrum of people – non-Zionist ultraorthodox to Zionist secular to Zionist orthodox to non-Zionist secular Israelis. So you will see some IDF boys in kippahs, some without. I don’t know if there is an issued knitted kippah, nor do I know if they enforce any kinds of standards on it.
Can I ask another dumb question?
Do they go into battle wearing these, or do they take them off and stick them in their pocket or something?
They wore them in the movie, at a jaunty un-military angle. 
WAG: They would be under a helmet anyway.
Good post, edwino.
The IDF isn’t as anal retentive as the U.S. military when it comes to using only standard issue items. Troops are allowed to purchase their own eyglasses, underwear, bedsheets etc., so long as they’re not too gaudy. As for kippot, religious guys wear them all the time, so the army doesn’t have to issue them.
And yeah, they wear them under their hats or helmets. They usually take them off before they put on berets.
Okay.