Among the stories the Talmud offers for the practice of wearing the kippah is that of, Rabbi Huna the son of Rabbi Joshua never walked 4 cubits (2 meters) with his head uncovered. His explanation for this commitment to cover? “Because the Shekhina (Divine Presence) is always over my head” (Talmud, Kiddushin 32a).

Rabbi Huna’s awareness of being grounded beneath the Shekhina invokes images of the separation of heaven and earth, and inspires thoughts of similar knitted metaphors. For me, there are few knitted stitches more organic in their execution or appearance than the “brioche” stitch; here, the stitch is transformed into the “knit one below” stitch. And the Shekhina Kippah is an attempt to translate Rabbi Huna’s spiritual awareness into a simple knitted kippah. This kippah has 6 sections, one for each labored day of creation; wear it on your day of rest. May making or wearing this kippah provide appreciation of the organic world, and a sense of spiritual possibility beyond it.

The current version of this pattern is (1.2), Sept’09.
Earlier versions may contain errors that have been corrected or instructions that have otherwise been revised. Please feel free to contact me with questions or concerns about the pattern, or to obtain a copy of the revised pattern if you purchased an earlier version and have not already received an update.