Kippan' up with the Policy

The kippah committee, a small group of both DJDS administrators and board members, recommended in early August that DJDS temporarily halt the discussion on the kippa policy. They are shifting the questions of mandatory Kippahs to the broader question of the role of pluralism at DJDS.

“To answer the “kippah question” on its own would be to start in the middle; we realized that we have been trying to answer this question out of order, ” according to a blog post by Rabbi Emily Hyatt, the school’s rabbinic council representative. “Thus, after much discussion and deliberation, the Kippah Committee made the recommendation that we (temporarily) pause the Kippah conversation and reexamine our approach to pluralism as a whole.”

At Denver Jewish Day School, it is a longstanding rule that every male must wear a kippah in class. While some may view this policy as a harmless religious practice, others argue that this policy is an infringement of individual religious freedoms and practices. 

Many believe that the Kippah Policy should be part of Judaic classes, as it is essential to have a deeper connection with God while studying Torah. However, there are those who believe the policy to be an unnecessary part of non-Judaic classes if the student does not feel comfortable wearing it. 

An upper-division Judaics teacher offers a solution: “It’s a simple solution– that boys should wear a kippah for Judaic classes,” he said. “We can require them to wear a kippah, it's an aspect of Judaism that we can require.” According to the source, students have their entire life where they can decide if they want to wear one or not. They believe the Kippah should be a part of the student's day-to-day life, however, it doesn't have to be a part of their entire day. The source claims that there exist some contradictions when it comes to enforcement and support on the part of teachers and administration. 

9th grader, Julie Steiner, the student council liaison, does not believe she has any say in the matter because of her gender. “I do think that because it is a Jewish day school though, boys should wear kippahs– except for maybe sports.”

Ninth-grader Andrew Kaplan commented, “Since DJDS is a pluralistic school, I believe that each student should be able to make their own decision about how they represent themselves as Jews.” 

Both ends of the dilemma prove to make strong and compelling arguments in support of their statements. While some feel that the rule is a crucial component of the Jewish religion and ought to be upheld in Judaic classes, some claim it violates individuals' right to self-expression. Ultimately the school must determine how to best handle the situation, and perhaps they can come up with a solution that adheres to both claims.

The Paw's, Joshua Dermer contributed to this report.