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October 15, 2010
Pardes meets expectations
Israel is the only place to really discover more about Judaism.
BEN BARER
Coming from Vancouver, I had a hard time during my first two weeks in Jerusalem figuring out why someone would want to live here. Coming from a place where security doesn’t jump into my mind until I see security guards at a Canucks game, I can’t imagine living where security is a constant consideration. Coming from a place where it is never uncomfortably hot or cold, I struggle to figure out why one would voluntarily live somewhere like this, with summers necessitating air-conditioning wherever you go. Most importantly, coming from a place where freedom of religion is neither questioned nor controversial, I struggle to adapt to living with my religion on my sleeve.
For me, having already had many “stops” along my Jewish journey, I cannot support an argument to live here based on the notion that this is the holiest city in the world. For me, my geographical location will not be determined by religion, but by proximity to those I love and attaining as high a level of personal (mental, physical, etc.) security as is possible in this age where no one place is too far removed from any other. There is no question that Vancouver scores better on these matters than does Jerusalem.
But I am not sorry that I chose to come here. Quite the opposite: I have unearthed a community that could only exist here – and, through that, I have found a reason to wish to live here for longer than my current four-month program allows. That community is called Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, a graduate institution (in that students have completed at least one post-secondary degree, not that it grants degrees) open to Jews of all ages from all across the religious spectrum, male or female. However, Pardes not only features an extraordinary combination of intellectually motivated (predominantly upper middle-class) Jews from around the world, as many programs of this sort undoubtedly do, but there is an additional characteristic that all students (and staff) at Pardes have in common: we have chosen to be here. If all I was looking for a year ago when I decided to spend a term abroad was a place to study Judaic topics in Israel, my options would have been numerous. However, Pardes caught my eye because I had never heard of such a place before – open to all Jews, not catering to any specific denomination. The potential for me to wrestle with my Judaism was clearly going to be enhanced at a place like Pardes, as opposed to an institution where all of the participants are of one denomination, teaching and re-transmitting ideas that are already accepted. Therefore, I chose to go to Pardes, not with any specific expectations, but with a sense of enormous expectation as to what I could learn and experience. Now, having met those with whom I will be learning and experiencing Judaism, Israel and everything in between, I can say with confidence that the conscious process that led me to attend Pardes took place – albeit in a form applicable to each individual – in each of my fellow students, as well as my teachers.
Therefore, while I have no doubt that the struggle will continue, just by coming here I have gained an important piece of the puzzle of why one would wish to live here, in Jerusalem. So long as I am interested in discovering more about Judaism, in as vibrant a setting as possible, Jerusalem (or Israel generally) will continue to be the place to do that. And the opportunity to be a part of such a community is worth forsaking (temporarily at least) a milder climate, both literally and religiously, the nearness of my friends and family, and the physical security that a place like Vancouver affords.
Ben Barer is an honors philosophy student at the University of British Columbia, and is studying this semester at the Pardes Institute. He can be reached at [email protected].
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