Question of the Week:
I understand the reason behind wearing a Kippah is to acknowledge the presence of G-d above you. My question is, why do chassidim also wear a hat on top of that? Isn't the Kippah enough?
Answer:
There's above, and then there's above. Indeed G-d is above us. But He's not just above us, He is above being above us. However wondrous we think G-d is, He is way beyond that. However much we think we have understood G-d, there is an infinity we haven't even come close too.
But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. As beyond as G-d may be, He wants us to attempt to grasp Him as far as is humanly possible. This is why He gave us the Torah, His infinite wisdom expressed in terms that we finite beings can relate to. Through studying Torah we engage our minds in an intimate relationship with the Divine, we get to know G-d, all the while knowing that our minds can only go so far.
For the Jew, faith and reason do not clash. On the contrary they are two complimentary powers within the human character. Our mind explores the limits of the finite world, and our faith takes us beyond those limits to the world of the infinite. The logic in our brain analyses what's possible, and the faith in our soul opens us up to the realm of the impossible. And the Torah is the marriage of the two - infinity in a finite package.
This is perhaps why Jews have always been at the forefront of innovation, invention and the furthering of humankind. We encourage intellectual inquiry, but are not limited by the shackles of logic. When you are propelled by faith in that which we can't understand, the possibilities are endless.
This is also the symbolism of the dual headwear, the Kippah and the hat. The Kippah covers my head snugly, fitting to the shape of the skull. This represents the recognition that G-d is above us, but in a way that we can understand, appreciate and somewhat relate to. The hat, on the other hand, surrounds my head completely. It represents that light of G-d that is beyond our understanding, beyond our imagination, that I can't grasp with my mind, but I can touch with my soul.
Use your brain to think, but don't let your mind be your limit. Hats off to that.
Good Shabbos and Good Yomtov,
May we all receive the Torah with joy and internalise it,
Rabbi Moss