Rabbi Meesh Hammer-Kossoy: Cultivating Pardes’s halachic studies

In the world of halachic study, the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies stands out as a trailblazer. 

Characterized as an open-minded and inclusive beit midrash (study hall), Pardes opens its doors to everyone. Those who study there come out as educators, Jewish spiritual and communal leaders, and scholars. 

As a senior leader of the beit midrash, Rabbi Meesh Hammer-Kossoy guides these learners and explorers of Judaism and Jewish texts on their journeys. 

With Pardes’s summer programs about to begin, Hammer-Kossoy is undoubtedly very busy. But she made time to sit down with In Jerusalem to talk about her life and why Pardes is so special to so many people.

How did you get to Israel and Pardes?

I had always dreamed of coming to Israel. When I was 18, against my parents’ great protests, and with the promise that I would come home afterward, I went on Nativ, the USY post-high school program. It was held in the building called Machon Pardes, where Pardes students were also studying. 

We spent the year watching these amazing grownups learning Torah and living in Israel. It was so exciting. My roommate and I promised that when we graduated college we would come back to Israel and study at Pardes, and we kept that promise. 

She introduced me to my husband, who was also studying in Israel that year, and many of my best friends are from the year that I studied at Pardes. 

That year, I said to Rabbi Levi Lauer, then the director, that when I grow up, I want to teach at Pardes. He said, ‘Forget about it. Everyone wants to teach at Pardes – study something else.’ Boy, did I show him! It’s such a privilege. I can’t believe it’s happened to me. It’s such a dream come true.

What is it like being a female rabbi in Israel?

Until I was [ordained as] a rabbi, I was always a good Orthodox scholar, someone who just taught Torah and was Orthodox. It’s funny that since I was ordained in 2015, I suddenly got the badge of extremist feminist radical, even though it came out of a deep love of Torah, which is my source of strength and connection and delight. It suddenly became this act of tremendous protest.

Most people who called me ‘Rabbi’ did so as a joke, and that was fine because it was just like they laughed at [the biblical] Sara when Isaac was born. 

Label aside, I’ve been stunned by how desperate the need is for female rabbis. People call me all the time. Strangers and people who knew me before but would never ask me any questions would call me and ask me halachic questions. There is a deep thirst for female rabbinic leadership, so I feel like I’m filling a real need.

And I think being a rabbi is really important to my students. Many of them find it inspiring that I have broken this glass ceiling for many who are trying to carve out spaces in the Orthodox world or in Judaism in general. 

What is it like to work at Pardes? What makes Pardes so unique?

A Mishna in Avot says that every dispute that is for the sake of heaven will endure, and every dispute which is not for the sake of heaven will not endure. 

For the sake of heaven is Hillel and Shammai, not for the sake of heaven is Korach. 

Working at Pardes is like working with Hillel and Shammai. It’s the most exciting place in the Jewish world. It’s a place of searching and dialogue and open exploration; of belonging, inclusivity, and passion – a buzzing beit midrash of Jews from so many different walks of the Jewish world, from so many different countries. It’s the only beit midrash that doesn’t have a picture in mind of what the ideal successful student looks like.

You can come as a liberal Jew with very little Jewish background and decide you want to live an ultra-Orthodox lifestyle. Or you can come from the Orthodox world, which wasn’t working for you, and use Pardes as a place to find a way to connect to Judaism that resonates with you and is alive and deep. And everything in between.

You can [decide] not change at all, too. It’s a place where Jews from across the spectrum are learning together from across the Jewish world. Being in that kind of space is incredibly invigorating and inspiring for me on a day-to-day basis.

What advice do you have for anyone looking to study Halacha in Israel, especially women?

When I started learning Torah seriously, there weren’t any places to study Halacha at an advanced level for women. And now, there are many choices.

I would certainly love to put a plug in for my fantastic teacher, Rabbi Herzl Hefter, and Beit Midrash Har’el, a place where men and women learn together. It feels especially important for the Jewish world to have women’s voices heard, and by men who still hold the main part of the power.

That said, Pardes is still a great place to study Halacha.■