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If for whatever reason your head is uncovered and it is impossible for you to cover it with something else. To keep things simple let's say that you're in your boxers on the moon and you have a water fountain in front of you.

  • Do you go ahead and make the shahakol and drink?
  • Do you wait until you come across a head covering?
  • Do you forgo the blessing and drink the water?
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8
  • @AniYodea I was just wondering why it was more obvious to you to make a beracha without a headcovering than to drink without a beracha. I am not suggesting that it is a good option, just wondering why it was obviously not an option to you. I don't see the relevance of note 12 there.
    – Y     e     z
    Jul 13, 2015 at 17:19
  • @yEz, gemarah berachot beginning of 6th perek: "it's assur to benefit from anything in this world without reciting a beracha".
    – Ani Yodea
    Jul 13, 2015 at 17:22
  • @AniYodea and according to many it is assur to say a beracha without a head covering. Why is one issur more obvious to you than another?
    – Y     e     z
    Jul 13, 2015 at 17:57
  • @yEz During the time of the Gemarah, IIRC, people did not wear head coverings. Within the debate between you and Ani Yodea, in a sense, requirement to make the bracha has "priority".
    – DanF
    Jul 13, 2015 at 18:29
  • @DanF I am not arguing for either side, although I don't think your claims are as simple as you present them. I am merely wondering aloud why it was taken for granted. It could improve the question and provide some additional background information in terms of what assumptions are being made. It certainly isn't necessary, as is the case with many potential improvements.
    – Y     e     z
    Jul 13, 2015 at 18:30

3 Answers 3

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Say the B'racha without a head covering.

The Gra disagreed with R. Yosef Karo’s ruling (that it is forbidden to walk with an upright posture and cannot walk 4 amoth without a head covering) and countered that one is never obligated to wear a head covering, even while participating in a religious event. His opinion was based in part on a Tosefta in Tractate Megillah that stated, “A poheah can say the blessing on Shema” (Tosefta Megillah 3:17). According to the Gra, a poheah is, among other things, someone without a head covering.8 Therefore one can even say blessings while bareheaded. As for the Talmudic passage that formed the basis for R. Yosef Karo’s ruling, the Gra interpreted the actions of Rav Huna as a middat ḥasidut, or pious behavior beyond the letter of the law.

http://www.hakirah.org/Vol%204%20Rabinowitz.pdf

The Hid"a (Rabbi Hayim Yosef David Azulai, Israel, 1724-1806) classified wearing a Kippa as a "Midat Hasidut" (measure of piety), rather than a strict requirement.

https://www.dailyhalacha.com/displayRead.asp?readID=997

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  • Quite interesting. Should one infer from this, that there is no requirement to cover one's head while davening in shul or even entering a shul without davening?
    – DanF
    Jul 13, 2015 at 18:31
  • @DanF i don't want to tell you what to, or not to, infer on a topic like this. i believe the Rambam rules that one should cover his head when in a beith k'nesseth to pray. And almost every modern Rabbi has made wearing a Kippah a requirement/obligation, usually by pointing out it has become such a strong minhag that it has become an obligation. As for me, i choose to not wear a kippah when i'm going about my daily life, but will put one on in a synagogue. And i can tell you that i get flack for it constantly, regardless of the Rabbis or the rulings i cite.
    – Aaron
    Jul 13, 2015 at 18:38
  • @Aaron you might find the tshuvas maharshal #72 interesting.
    – user6591
    Jul 14, 2015 at 0:50
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Have someone else cover your head with their hand (one's own hand does not work unless he uses his sleeve) If there is no one else around, wait until you come across a head covering (until/unless there is any possible risk of bodily harm).

Gra (Biur HaGra 8:6 and Meorei Or (Bear Sheva 15b)) writes it is only a Midat Chasidut and if there is a bracha which one will miss if one gets a Kippah (such as if he just heard thunder) one can make the bracha without wearing a Kippah. Sh”t Yabia Omer 6:15(6) says bedieved one has fulfilled his bracha. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Halichot Shlomo Tefilla 2:16) agrees that one need not repeat it. http://halachipedia.com/index.php?title=Kippah#What_Can_One_Do_without_a_Kippah.3F

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1

You can cover your head with anything that could be considered clothing in an emergency. A plastic bag, a piece of cardboard if you're in civilisation. A tree leaf or a piece of tree cork if you're in the wild. If you're in the middle of the desert with only your boxers, you could look for a flat stone. But if you're in a sand desert, there I don't know.

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2
  • Stand on your head.
    – Double AA ♦
    Jan 29, 2017 at 18:06
  • Is this also your account? If so, please see this link to learn how to merge them and get all your posts in one place.
    – Scimonster
    Jan 29, 2017 at 20:56

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