Put a little pop in your Passover

NEW YORK — Looking for a black satin yarmulke like the one your grandfather used to wear? Sure, you can still get it. But why would you want to, when stylish and offbeat options abound?

There is trendy camouflage and preppy madras plaid. Sports symbols and cartoon characters. Custom designs and colors upon colors. They are knit, crocheted, hand-painted and fashioned from leather, suede and silk.

The yarmulke, as it's known in Yiddish, or kippa in Hebrew, is a headcovering "worn as a sign of respect to remind one always that God's presence is over us and as a sign of respect whenever we say a blessing," says Rabbi Joel Meyers, a leader of the Rabbinical Assembly, which represents rabbis in the Conservative Jewish movement.

While the skullcap is among the most recognizable Jewish symbols, it is not sacred, which makes it acceptable to adorn it with sports logos or TV characters, says Meyers, who usually wears a knitted yarmulke.

"The important thing is the wearing of the kippa, not what's on the kippa," Meyers said, recalling one given to him with a propeller he thinks signifies "spiritual uplift."

So as the sun goes down April 19 and Passover arrives, take a look around the Seder table or the world around you. A yarmulke may tell you something you didn't know about, say, cousin Fred (does he really like the Grateful Dead?) or may have a great story behind it.

"It's almost like you can trace the history of pop culture through yarmulkes — whatever is popular in society ends up on a yarmulke print," says Sara Schwimmer, whose PopJudaica.com sells several fashionable skullcaps, including ones with playing cards and pinstripes and another just for dogs.

With customization, personalization and the ease of Internet shopping, there are endless possibilities for those who want to pick something different and bypass the community yarmulke basket at synagogue.

Seventh-grader Casey Lamar is an Orthodox Jew mindful that he is part of a minority. Wearing a New York Yankees skullcap most days, he says, he is proud to show his faith in Judaism as well as in his favorite baseball team.

"I guess you could say it's not only a religious statement, but it's also a fashion statement," said Casey, 12, of Fairfax, Va. "It's special. A lot of people have plain white and plain black."

A homemade skullcap can be something special too.

Helene Raush crocheted a yarmulke (white with a pink flower and purple stem) for her fiancé for their 1997 wedding and, with friends' help, made coordinating gray ones for the other men in the wedding party.

"I liked the way it looked, so I knew that this was something I would want to do," says Raush, 43, a lawyer from Cherry Hill, N.J., who learned the craft at 16. "I thought it would be nice for everybody to match and not just have the standard yarmulke."