{"id":52897,"date":"2016-01-26T12:09:31","date_gmt":"2016-01-26T17:09:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=52897"},"modified":"2016-01-26T12:09:31","modified_gmt":"2016-01-26T17:09:31","slug":"wear-your-yarmulke-because-you-can-and-its-good-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/wear-your-yarmulke-because-you-can-and-its-good-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Wear Your Yarmulke\u2014Because You Can and It’s Good for You"},"content":{"rendered":"

The former CEO of Timberland, Jeffrey Swartz, has made numerous contributions to both his industry in particular and the corporate world generally. In addition to focusing on profits, revenue, and the financial bottom line, Swartz was among the first to emphasize a corporation\u2019s social responsibility and duty. In his first \u201cCorporate Social Responsibility Report,\u201d issued in 2000, he wrote, \u201cIt is not enough for Timberland to make the absolute best boots, or shoes, or clothing in the world. We recognize we must also serve. Everything we do, everything we sell has an impact on the communities in which we live and work.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a recent article about him, Asher Schechter describes<\/a>, \u201cJeffrey Swartz\u2019s appearance is misleading. The former president and CEO of the footwear company Timberland is an affable Jew with a yarmulke, and as far as you can get from the rugged look of the shoes he sold until recently, a brand beloved by rappers and world travelers. Swartz dresses modestly and walks around without an entourage in tow \u2013 not what one may have expected from the CEO of a big company who made a $2 billion exit when he sold it less than a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAn affable Jew with a yarmulke.\u201d Most of us don\u2019t have the platform or capacity of Jeffrey Swartz and yet we, too, have an opportunity to make a Kiddush Hashem each and every time that we publicly identify as an observant Jew. In the not so distant past, observant Jews in America could not wear their yarmulke to a job or school interview for fear it would handicap them. Many couldn\u2019t wear their yarmulke to work for fear they would be discriminated against or even lose their jobs.<\/p>\n

Recently, the head of the Jewish community in Marseille, France, called on Jews in the area to hide their yarmulkes. French President Francois Hollande called<\/a> such a situation \u201cintolerable.\u201d A couple of French lawmakers even wore yarmulkes<\/a> to Parliament in a show of solidarity.<\/p>\n

In America, for the most part we are blessed to be able to wear our yarmulkes anywhere without giving it a second thought. My understanding is that today, wearing a yarmulke to interviews or to work in most parts of the country is no longer risky nor does it draw negative attention.<\/p>\n

So, given the opportunity to wear a yarmulke so freely, why wouldn\u2019t we want to proudly and confidently identify as Torah Jews and welcome the chance to make a Kiddush Hashem through our ordinary day? All around us, people are choosing to wear pins and ribbons that communicate their commitment to, and advocacy on behalf of, the causes that they care deeply about, including different forms of cancer and autism. Members of Congress wear pins and donors to the women\u2019s division of Jewish Federation wear a Lion of Judah.<\/p>\n

We also have an accessory that enables us to show our devotion to, and advocacy on behalf of, our cause, namely to fulfill our mandate of nekadeish es simcha ba\u2019olam<\/em>, to sanctify God\u2019s name in His world.<\/p>\n

Wearing a yarmulke or openly identifying as an observant woman doesn\u2019t just serve the mission of sanctifying Hashem\u2019s name, but it helps us be mindful of how we are behaving and the impression that we leave.<\/p>\n

In an article entitled \u201cThe Trick to Being More Virtuous<\/a>,\u201d Arthur Brooks tells the story of how a briefcase changed his behavior:<\/p>\n

Several years ago, I visited Provo, Utah \u2014 in the heart of what its residents call \u201cHappy Valley\u201d \u2014 to deliver a lecture at Brigham Young University. My gracious hosts sent me home with a prodigious amount of branded souvenirs: T-shirts, mugs \u2014 you name it. The Mormons are serious about product placement.<\/p>\n

One particularly nice gift was a briefcase, with the university\u2019s name emblazoned across the front. I needed a new briefcase, but the logo gave me pause because it felt a little like false advertising for a non-Mormon to carry it. Reassured by my wife that this was ridiculous, I loaded it up, and took it out on the road. In airports, I quickly noticed that people would look at my briefcase, and then look up at me. I could only assume that they were thinking, \u201cI\u2019ve never seen an aging hipster Mormon before.\u201d<\/p>\n

That gave me minor amusement; but it soon had a major effect on my behavior. I found that I was acting more cheerfully and courteously than I ordinarily would \u2014 helping people more with luggage, giving up my place in line, that sort of thing. I was unconsciously trying to live up to the high standards of Mormon kindness, or at least not besmirch that well-earned reputation. I even found myself reluctant to carry my customary venti dark roast, given the well-known Mormon prohibition against coffee.<\/p>\n

Almost like magic, the briefcase made me a happier, more helpful person \u2014 at least temporarily.<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t magic. Psychologists study a phenomenon called \u201cmoral elevation,\u201d an emotional state that leads us to act virtuously when exposed to the virtue of others.<\/p>\n

Long before psychology identified this phenomenon, a brilliant woman in the Talmud intuited it. \u201cThe astrologers once told R\u2019 Nachman bar Yitzchak\u2019s mother, \u2018your son will be a thief.\u2019 She therefore never allowed him to uncover his head. She told him, \u2018cover your head so that the fear of Heaven should be upon you and pray for God\u2019s mercies that the evil inclination will not dominate you.\u2019\u201d (Shabbos 156b)<\/p>\n

Similarly, the Talmud (Kiddushin 31) teaches, \u201cRav Huna son of Rav Yehoshua did not go four amos<\/em> with his head uncovered. He said, the Divine Presence is above my head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dressing the part encourages us to live the part. Wearing the uniform makes us mindful to embody the uniform. The Jews were redeemed from Egypt in the merit of maintaining their names, their language, and their dress. Our Jewish dress redeems us and safeguards us from the temptations that surround us.<\/p>\n

Jews in parts of the world cannot safely wear a yarmulke in public. We who can, should be especially eager to embrace our Jewish accessories and mode of dress and wear them proudly and with conviction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The former CEO of Timberland, Jeffrey Swartz, has made numerous contributions to both his industry in particular and the corporate world generally. In addition to focusing on profits, revenue, and the financial bottom line, Swartz was among the first to emphasize a corporation\u2019s social responsibility and duty. In his first \u201cCorporate Social Responsibility Report,\u201d issued<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":733,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nWear Your Yarmulke\u2014Because You Can and It's Good for You - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/wear-your-yarmulke-because-you-can-and-its-good-for-you\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wear Your Yarmulke\u2014Because You Can and It's Good for You - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The former CEO of Timberland, Jeffrey Swartz, has made numerous contributions to both his industry in particular and the corporate world generally. 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