We just spent an incredible 10 days in South Africa, where I grew up and where my parents and sisters still live.
To get home, we flew out of Oliver Tambo Airport in Johannesburg. We went through security, as I’ve done hundreds of times before, but this time, after I emptied my pockets and put my bags on the conveyor belt, the security guard asked me to remove my kippah while walking through the metal detector.
I refused. I explained to him it’s a kippah, a religious item worn to remind me that the One Above is watching my every step. All four of my boys were with me, wearing their kippahs (we start at age 3). I explained to the security guard that we cannot walk without it; we even sleep with it!
He was upset by my firm refusal, but I remained steadfast. It’s so deeply ingrained in every fiber of my being.
When I was about 8 years old, I was in the lead in a running race. Just before the finish line, my kippah fell off, and I had a split second to decide: continue to the finish line without my kippah or stop and pick it up. I chose the latter and came in third place, but I will never forget the experience. I may have lost the race, but the importance of never removing my kippah has stayed with me all these years later.
I told the security guard that there is no requirement for me to remove my head covering; I’ve been through hundreds of TSA checks and never been asked to.
Ultimately, I was forced to compromise. He asked me to just lift my kippah for a second so he could see there was nothing dangerous hidden underneath. I did, and my children followed suit.
In retrospect, though, I should not even have compromised on that.
As Jews living in this world we have a mission, a job, and that includes being openly and proudly Jewish. By wearing our Judaism for all to see, we show the world that there is a G-d who watches our every step and whose way of life we are proud to live.
How else can we display our pride? By ensuring our houses contain only kosher food, that despite the pressure our cell phones are shut off on Shabbat, and by making time to study Torah for a few minutes every day.
We’ve been given a gift—let’s wear it proudly at all times.