Israel. A Better Stimulus Plan.

rebecca karp, pardes institute

Following her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, Rebecca
Karp was not ready to plunge into the world of graphic design, her
main academic focus. Instead, she chose to further pursue her
extracurricular interests through study at the Pardes Institute of Jewish
Studies, a pluralistic co-ed yeshiva in Jerusalem.

At Pardes, Rebecca found the tools she needed to explore her Jewish
identity which had never been fully articulated.

Surrounded by individuals from all Jewish affiliations at Pardes,

Rebecca could study in an environment that actively encouraged
constant questioning and reflection. “The critical thinking and story-
telling, the opportunity to learn why we do the things we do and where laws come from—it affected
my everyday sensibilities,” Rebecca says of her learning experience at Pardes. “I don’t have separate
ethical and Jewish values. I live my life according to Jewish values.”

During her time in Jerusalem, Rebecca discovered an open and engaged community that extended
well beyond the classroom. Instead of serving as mere springboards for each other’s ideas and beliefs,
students provided one another with support and mutual understanding. During Thanksgiving, a time
of homesickness for many American students, Rebecca prepared a meal for 16 religiously diverse
female students in her apartment’s kosher kitchen. “There were women in short skirts, long skirts,
pants, and shorts,” Rebecca recalls. “And we had all come to Israel with a common goal: to learn.”

Upon her return to the United States, Rebecca began looking for jobs in graphic design, but her
heart yearned for something more. When she landed the job as assistant director of the American
Jewish Committee’s Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey chapter, she was thrilled. The opportunity,
which includes working with different ethnic groups in the United States to promote mutual cultural
education, allows Rebecca to instill the values of understanding and openness, so central to her Pardes
experience, in her own community.

Upon her return from Israel, Rebecca also sought to create a Jewish community similar to that which
existed at Pardes. She began a Moishe House in Philadelphia, where she lives with several other Jewish
post-college individuals who create Jewish-themed events for young adults in the area. Jews from all
backgrounds and denominations attend the events.

Looking back, Rebecca believes that her work in the Jewish community was inevitable. “But without
Pardes, I couldn’t have gotten there,” she says.

www.Abetterstimulusplan.org
Masa Israel Journey is a project of the Government of Israel and the Jewish Agency for Israel and is made
possible by the generous support of the Federations of North America and Keren Hayesod-UIA