Parshat Vayigash: Wearing a Kippa in London
We recently returned from a trip to London for a family wedding. A question repeatedly asked before we left was if I would be wearing a Kippa publically during our visit. We have heard of and seen videos of mass protests against Israel taking place in various cities across Europe including London. Antisemitism is more prevalent than ever everywhere and we are bombarded with terrible anti-Jewish news, culminating in the recent horrible attack on Chanukah against Australian Jews.
Call me foolish, but walking around London, I wore it davka. If you google davka you will get this definition: Davka (דווקא) is a versatile Hebrew/Yiddish word meaning precisely, specifically, actually, but often with a contrary or spiteful twist, implying “just because,” “in spite of,” or “doing the opposite on purpose,” adding a layer of stubbornness, irony, or defiance against expectations.
Yup, that was me. Wearing my Kippa everywhere I went – Davka. Not just in the Jewish areas of London like Hendon – that is a no-brainer – but elsewhere as well. On the Tube, in the West End, at Selfridges, Marks and Spencer and other department stores, at the National Gallery, at the RAF Museum and south of the Thames at a magician show someone gave us tickets to. And of course at the public Chanukah lighting in Trafalgar Square with a few thousand others, including a contingent of flag-waving Iranians who are supportive of Israel and want to see the oppressive Khameni regime overthrown.
And here’s the thing: being outwardly Jewish drew other Jews to us. It was a relief for them to see a MOT not hiding their Jewish identity. The mom and daughter who ended up sitting next to us at the public eating area inside Selfridges (which sells kosher sandwiches mind you) were Israelis on holiday who started yapping to us in Hebrew. The family at our table at the magician show initiated conversation by telling us that his tickets to the show were a Chanukah gift from his mother in law. The young man in our row on the return flight from LHR told me that when he saw me walking down the aisle of the aircraft, he was hoping I would be sitting in his row. When I took my seat, he promptly whipped out his gold Chai chain necklace. Turns out he goes to Aish programs in London.
I had no anti-Jewish looks or remarks in the week we were there. Maybe they were present and I was just too oblivious to them. Or maybe people could see I could care less what they thought of me and hence ignored me. Yeah I know this is not a scientific study by any means. But one thing I am certain of was the positive reactions of being outwardly Jewish.
My attitude was I was going to walk around as a proud Jew and that I have just as much a right to comfortably walk the streets of London as anyone else. And here is the thing. People pick up on the vibe you give off and reflect it back. As it says in Mishlei/Proverbs “As water reflects a face, so the heart reflects the person” (27:19). Which means that just as a clear pool of water shows your physical appearance, your actions and your inner self (your “heart”) it thereby reveals your true character to others. This in turn creates a mirrored reflection in others and brings out the same in them.
If you walk tall and with a matter-of-fact attitude as a proud Jew, Gentiles pick up on that and are not only OK in your presence but actually show a lot of respect for a Jew whom they often admire as a people.
When I returned back to the States after the trip, some people approached me with solemn voices and concern in their eyes, asking me “So how was it in London?” They asked with the same sort of tone in their voice that they would ask someone returning from concentration camps in Poland on a March of the Living trip. I told them that, no London is not being overrun by Jew-hating Arabs. The bustling holiday crowds on Oxford and Regent streets were filled with Europeans, Asians, and regular white British folks. And yes by many Arabs, but so what? No, it did not feel like I was in a Middle-Eastern country.
Like anywhere, if your total impression of a place is only from the bad news you read about that place, then anywhere in the world looks like a dangerous hell. Israel suffers this false reputation and those who live outside the United States might think we live in a war zone given all the mass shootings that happen here in the USA. The same goes for everything you hear about London. The fact is that 99% of the time, people are just going about their lives.
Is there more antisemitism in the world? Yes of course, we all know that. But the solution is not cowering in fear and trepidation, and tiptoeing around hoping nobody spots your Jewishness. Nay, it’s the opposite. Walk tall and walk proud. And don’t be astonished at the positive reactions you will get from others, for as King Solomon so wisely tells us, “As water reflects a face, so the heart reflects the person.”
Winding your way down on Baker Street
Light in your head and dead on your feet…
This city desert makes you feel so cold
It’s got so many people
But it’s got no soul
And it’s taken you so long
To find out you were wrong
When you thought it held everything…
And when you wake up, it’s a new morning
The sun is shining, it’s a new morning
-Gerry Rafferty
