This gallery of US Presidents and those seeking the office, wearing kippot, also known as yarmulkes and skullcaps, is quite amazing. What does it mean that a garment designed to publicly mark its wearer as a Jew, can be found on all of these non-Jews? Could there be more powerful evidence of Jews, including those who are religiously observant, having fully arrived in American political culture? Are we really up to that kind of success?
As I look at the images of these world leaders so at ease (well, some look more so than others) in their kippot, I wonder about how uneasy so many Jews seem to be in the presence of religious expression that is not Jewish. I appreciate that as a minority, Jews are often worried about being “overwhelmed” by the majority culture. But that fear needs to be proportional to our success as a part of that very same culture. And frankly, I worry that it is not. We are far more adept at seeing the threats, than appreciating the success. And our general suspicion about the public religious practices of others, particularly Christians, is proof of that.

Don’t get me wrong, that response made a great deal of sense for almost two thousand years – years during which Jews were often punished by Christians in the name of Christ. Maintaining that posture when the punishment has largely gone away however, is as senseless as it once was wise. Beyond the pride that is evoked by seeing these pictures, we need to ask ourselves a great many questions which make sure that the pride is a healthy expression of the normalcy that Jews and Judaism. Without such questions, that normalcy can easily become a fear-driven triumphalism that celebrates what others “do for us” without asking about the new obligations that arise from the success and normalcy that define Jewish experience in contemporary America.
For example, how often do we see Jewish political candidates participating in church? When we do, do we simply assume that it is necessary politicking and not a genuinely spiritual moment? If so, then why do we not judge the guys in kippot the same way, thus stripping the pictures of the pride-inducing power which they possess? Do you think that any of these men feel “less Christian” because they put on a kippah? What about a Jew participating in a Christmas tree lighting ceremony?
It seems to me that each new level of success experienced by any religious or ethnic community must invite an equally new level of reflection about how that group relates to the larger community. These pictures are powerful because they portray people who don’t feel less like themselves because they participate in the practices of others. And while there will always be limits on how far each of us feels we can go in such shared participation, it’s a question that we must never stop asking.