The day I returned from my recent trip to Israel, I attended the funeral of my dear friend Dr. Richard Dackow. Richard and his wife Linda were early students of Project Genesis Interfaith and participated in one of our pilgrimages to Israel. Richard, a devout Catholic, spent most of his time there at Israeli hospitals that he said had saved his life. Considering the closeness of our friendship, the family asked that I deliver a eulogy, and I was invited to sit on the altar with the Christian clergy.

Before the procession began, I found myself alone on the altar, waiting, when suddenly I saw a woman dressed in a long white alb. Since it was a Catholic church, I assumed she was an altar server. But then I noticed a yarmulke on her head. It looked as though it had come from someone’s home yarmulke stash — a white crocheted kipa that matched her white gown, perhaps purchased at the church’s thrift shop.

But then, wait a minute, out they came, priest by priest, each wearing a yarmulke. Why were all the clergy wearing yarmulkes?  Having landed just a few hours earlier, I thought maybe I was in a twilight zone between Israel and New York, and not beholding a vision of “Richard’s Challenge.”

A while before his death, Richard had talked with his good friend Robert Goldman, a Jewish psychologist colleague and a kindred spirit, who heads the non-for-profit organization Tikkun Long Island. As I learned, Richard had suggested to Robert that perhaps his organization could declare a National Yarmulke Day, when yarmulkes would be distributed to people of all faiths to wear in solidarity with the Jewish people. It would be an “I am Spartacus movement,” Richard had said.

At Richard’s wake, Robert shared this idea with those in attendance. It was suggested that if Robert could bring yarmulkes to the funeral Mass, the clergy would wear them. Moreover, Richard’s wife Linda volunteered to place a yarmulke on Richard’s head as he lay in the casket.

Before leaving his home for the funeral, Robert searched cabinet drawers for the yarmulke stash he had amassed over the years. In fact, he was somewhat skeptical that they would actually be worn in church, but on the off chance…  But when he arrived at the church, the priest approached him and immediately asked for the yarmulkes. Robert handed over all that he had brought, and then waited, wondering what would happen, just as Miriam waited to see what would happen to her brother Moses.

To Robert’s surprise, as the clergy approached the altar, all were wearing yarmulkes. “As a Jew who has experienced much antisemitism from many in the Christian faith, this was the most healing moment my mentor could have given me,” Robert said. “He was still teaching me.”

In short, I found support from Christian clergy then, and now Muslim clergy. My friend Sheikh Ghassan Manasra from the Abrahamic Reunion flew here from Florida this week to join us at an interfaith discussion held at Peconic Landing. With the Oct. 7 attack on Israeli citizens still raw in our minds, he welcomed the opportunity to share an important message — that regardless of religious affiliation, there are lines that humanity should not cross. At a time when Israel has been charged with genocide in the International Court of Justice in The Hague for responding appropriately to the attack, at a time when Jews are moving their doorpost mezuzahs inside, we should not despair but should continue to wear our Jewishness with pride.

—Rabbi Gadi Capela