Yiscah Smith, at The Blogs

Yiscah Smith

Aug 29, 2019, 10:10 PM

After decades as an Orthodox man, I finally became the religious woman I was born to be

My journey as a trans woman helps me help students encounter a deeper part of themselves, the Divine spark within

Sep 27, 2015, 6:47 AM

I have! Spiritually I mean. For most of my life I wandered in my own personal wilderness. I lived in one temporary dwelling after the next, never feeling at home -- with me nor the world around me. The sense...

Sep 18, 2015, 3:30 PM

Teshuva – return – but to whom? Where to?

With Yom Kippur soon upon us, the practice of Teshuva -- return -- usually receives more attention than usual. I am referring to a spiritual moment when one intentionally directs one’s thoughts, speech, and deeds in a way that allows an encounter...

Sep 12, 2015, 11:53 PM

A reflection on Rosh Hashanah: Who is judging and what is being judged?

I’ve been reflecting on the theme of judgment during Rosh HaShanah and its relationship to the “mitzah of the day” – the blowing of the Shofar. I’ve been aware of a stirring within to reach a new understanding, to...

Aug 3, 2015, 8:10 PM

The Paradox of Light and Darkness in Jerusalem

Thur, 30 JUL 2015 – It’s around 5:15 and I just finished teaching the last of several classes at the Conservative Yeshiva’s 2015 Summer Program. As a matter of fact, this class, spiritual insights into the weekly Torah portion, concluded...

About Me

Yiscah Smith is the author of Forty Years in the Wilderness: My Journey to Authentic Living. A documentary on her life, I Was Not Born a Mistake, will be out fall in Israel and North America. She lives in Jerusalem and teaches at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies and in her home in Jerusalem.