The Kipah On My Head

Jonathan Pollard - July 16, 2009

Not long after I was sentenced to life in prison for my service to the State of Israel, I was interviewed on "60 Minutes," an American television news program. I was escorted to the interview by 2 NSA agents with my hands and legs bound in chains. A moment before they placed me in front of the cameras, the agents removed my chains. They also tried to remove my kipah from my head, by force. I fought to keep my kipah because it is the consummate symbol of my very being. And the agents fought to take it away because it is the ultimate symbol of my very being. They grabbed my kipah and threw it to the ground, threatening to cancel the interview. Left with no choice, against my will, I submitted to the interview without my beloved kipah.

The kipah symbolizes everything we believe in as Jews: a) our eternal devotion to the Holy One Blessed Be He, the one true G-d of Israel; b) our unity and mutual responsibility as B'nai Yisrael, the People of Israel; and c) the indivisibility of the Holy Land of Israel, our eternal gift from the Creator of the World.

Similarly, wearing a kipah is a sign of a Jew's acceptance of the sovereign yoke of Heaven. The Holy One Blessed Be He is our Help and our Shield forever.

My kipah declares that I fear no man, only G-d. Although I have been abandoned for 24 years by the State which I faithfully served and I have been sorely afflicted by those who keep me captive, "I believe with perfect faith" that "I shall not die; I will live! And I shall tell the deeds of HaShem"!

Please pray daily, with all your heart and all your soul, for a full healing and for the immediate release of all of Israel's captives and its MIAs, and we are:

Ron ben Batya (Arad)
Zachariah Shlomo ben Miriam (Baumel)
Yekutiel Yehuda Nachman ben Sarah (Katz)
Tzvi ben Penina (Feldman)
Guy Ben Rina (Chever)
Gilead ben Aviva (Shalit)
In Japan:
Yoel Ze'ev ben Mirel Reesa Chava; Yaacov Yosef ben Rayzl; Yosef ben Eta Rivkah
In the USA:
Yehonatan ben Malka (Pollard)

"And those redeemed by HaShem shall return and will come to Zion rejoicing and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads!"

Amain! Ken yihi ratzon!
.