These and Those

Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem

Tag Archives: kippah / yarmulke

Split Down the Mechitza

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Emet Ozar

From our blog: How many times have I been asked “ben o bat?” (boy or girl) in Israel? How many times have I been stopped trying to enter the women’s side of the Kotel? Maybe I should explain first off that I’m genderqueer. I have a female body, but don’t identify with femininity at all. Continue Reading »

To Feel – To Know

Posted on June 2, 2013 by David Bogomolny

Here is the reflection I shared at Community Lunch last week- One of the many things that I tell people when discussing Pardes is that I wanted to study here before I ever knew that Pardes existed. As a college student I started wearing a kippah publicly before I had any idea what halakha was Continue Reading »

Jews in funny hats and leather straps.

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Avi Benson-Goldberg

From my blog: The thing is, the apparatus of “traditional prayer” are sort of kinky. The thing is, we’re ten men tying ourselves up in leather straps too early in the morning. And we’re enshrouded in these huge sheets, and some people cover their heads and faces and it’s very anonymous even when I know Continue Reading »

Pardes According to Me

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Eva Vadasz

This blog is about my school, the purpose and the aim of my sojourn in Kookooland (for English speakers, the title of my blog is zizilend meaning kookooland). Pardes (meaning “orchard”) is a yeshiva (Hebrew school) where Jews of all backgrounds and affiliations can study their religion, at any level. In this yeshiva, boys and Continue Reading »

A Párdesz [Hungarian]

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Eva Vadasz

Repost a blogomból Ez a bejegyzés az iskolámról, az egy éves zizilendi tartózkodásom okáról és céljáról szól. A Pardes (a szó jelentése citrus- vagy gyümölcsliget) egy olyan jesiva (héber hittudományi iskola), ahol bármilyen háttérrel rendelkezők, bármilyen irányzathoz tartozók tanulhatnak zsidóságot, bármilyen szinten. Ebben a jesivában fiúk és lányok együtt tanulnak. (Gy. k.: ez egészen rendkívüli, Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] Ben Barer – Why I Wear a Kippah II: Staying in the Conversation

Posted on November 6, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

Cross-posted from Ben Barer‘s (Fall ’10, Fellows ’11-’12) blog: Last year, I posted a short reflection on why I wear a kippah, but there is another major aspect of publicly identifying as Jewish that I would like to fill in now. I believe that, in addition to the freedoms and decrease in antisemitism that have Continue Reading »

Finding Home (Again)

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Andrew Lustig

I’m back in New York Which is kind of depressing. I wish I wasn’t… But I’m kind of stressing.   People dress too nice. They make fun of my hair. And when I wear my Moshiach flag Well… people stare.   People here don’t know me. Like my Pardes friends do. They just see my Continue Reading »

Of Religious Atheists

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Barer

“Why do you wear a Kippah?” “What could you possibly get out of davenning [prayer]? “Why grow an itchy beard for a month?” These questions, and others like them, have all been asked of me, specifically in light of the fact that I do not believe in God.  They are all valid questions, and have Continue Reading »

Morning Prayer

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Sharon G.

Uniforms

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Shibley

I would venture a guess that the majority of jobs throughout the world have some sort of uniform. Whether said uniform is mandated by the employer, it is simply practical, or it becomes a matter of identity, the fact is that such a uniform exists in most cases. Israel is no different in this regard; Continue Reading »