What Sets You Apart?

In the wilderness, the Children of Israel were given what is known as the Holiness Code: in addition to the Ten Commandments, these were ways in which we were instructed to dress, behave, eat and act differently from the surrounding peoples. One reason for this was to develop and adhere to, a distinct cultural identity. As a fledgling nation, we had to find out who we were, apart from who we had been in Egypt: enslaved people. We had to reclaim our culture, our "brand" if you will. As one of my Hebrew school students put it,

"If you try to be like somebody else you'll lose yourself! "

(How I wish my teenage self had been that wise!)

When I first started as a cantor (one of the first 35 females in the Conservative Movement to do so), I had a vivid reaction to trying to please/appease the congregants who weren't used to cantors looking like me: when I tried to put on a robe and hide my female identity, I was violently ill! Talk about losing oneself...

After that incident, I was determined  to be, proudly and un-apolegetically, a feminine looking human being. Now, I make kippot and headresses which help you do the same! Wearing one of these pieces will, I hope, help you to feel connected with the Shekhinah, The Divine Presence, encountered as Feminine ( with a capital F!).

To see examples, please visit my shop, www.renaissancewomankippot.org