Kippah sewn from six wedges of white satin lined with cotton. A flat button bound in satin is sewn to the top of the cap’s crown. The brim is trimmed with machine chain stitch, ca. 0.5 cm wide. On one of the wedges of the lining, there is a printed, barely visible inscription: WEDDING RECEPTION/OF/ WILMA AND HAROLD SCHINDLER/MARCH 1. 1964/KINGSWAY/JEWISCH/CENTER. The kippah was probably sewn to commemorate the wedding of Wilma and Harold Schindler, which took place on 1 March 1964 in the Kingsway Jewish Center in New York.
Kippah (also called yarmulke) is a round skullcap worn by Jews as an expression of their respect for God. It is used by men and boys, primarily during prayer and Torah study, as well as when inside a synagogue, yeshiva, funeral home, or cemetery. Wearing a kippah is not an obligation dictated by Halakhic law but rather a custom rooted firmly in Middle Eastern culture, where covering one’s head symbolises respect. It is also a callback to the Biblical times, when priests wore head coverings when serving in the Temple. Many Jews wear kippot at all times, even under a hat. Most Hasidim wear black kippot on regular days and white kippot on holidays, others opt for yarmulkes in various colours and with various patterns.
The kippah was donated to the collection of the National Museum of Przemyśl by Salomon Freifeld in 1984. Freifeld was one of the leading activists of the Social and Cultural Association of Jews, founded in Przemyśl in 1950. He was a member of its first management board and concomitantly worked as its secretary. The main objective of the Association was to preserve Yiddish culture and language. It had some 50 members – Jewish Holocaust Survivors living in Przemyśl – who would meet in a large, well-equipped clubhouse with a library of books in Polish, Hebrew, and Yiddish.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Freifeld donated several items connected with Jewish culture and tradition to the National Museum of Przemyśl, including tallitot, kippot, and phylacteries.
