Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on February 25, 2010 by Lauren
The Learnathon for Haiti was last night, and it was a rousing success. Some of Pardes’ best teachers taught amazing shiurim looking at many of the most challenging issues surrounding social justice and tzedakah, particularly in regards to imperatives for giving tzedakah to non-Jews and how we balance our finite resources. The Beit Midrash is Continue Reading »
Posted on February 20, 2010 by David Bogomolny
Pardes is a very academic institution, which puts tremendous emphasis upon Jewish text study. Morning classes alternate between Talmud (or Mishnah) study & Chumash study, and the afternoon classes, which are subject-based, are also grounded in Jewish texts (Tanakh, Mishnah Berurah, Midrash, etc.). Unlike some other traditional Jewish learning institutions, Pardes does not aim to Continue Reading »
Posted on February 17, 2010 by David Bogomolny
Pardes alumna Noga Fisher & her husband Warren joined us on the 2010 Poland Trip. Here are her thoughts: “It’s been a month since our trip. During our intense 5 days I felt numb much of the time. But since then I have been thawing, thinking and feeling, and the process is far from over. Continue Reading »
Posted on February 16, 2010 by David Bogomolny
This will likely be my final note on the Pardes ’10 Poland Trip. We’ll see. Much of what I’ve reflected upon has been inspired by R. Levi Cooper, and I’m particularly appreciative of his emphasis on the wealth of Eastern European Jewish culture before the Shoah. We spent much of our final day touring the Continue Reading »
Posted on February 16, 2010 by Lauren
Hello faithful readers! This is a short post to inform you about the Pardes Learn-A-Thon, going on from now until February 24th to raise money for Haiti’s earthquake relief efforts through AJWS. We’ll be taking on extra learning above and beyond our classroom hours on topics of tzedakah and tikkun olam. Please check out our Continue Reading »
Posted on February 15, 2010 by Naomi Adland
“Today was a good day.” It’s not often that I find myself able to unequivocally utter these words. But every once and a while, a day comes along that is so good that there is nothing left to say. Today was a good day because it was the second day of Rosh Chodesh Adar – Continue Reading »
Posted on February 13, 2010 by David Bogomolny
Auschwitz I (the main Auschwitz camp) has been turned into a museum. I have photographs of the museum displays at Auschwitz I… photographs of human hair and human hair woven into cloth, of spectacles, frames, and lenses, of tallitot (plural form of tallit), of bowls, plates, and cups, of prosthetic limbs and canes, of suitcases Continue Reading »
Posted on February 11, 2010 by The Director of Digital Media
A poem inspired by the 2010 Pardes Poland trip by Cheryl Stone: MAJDANEK Breathe deeply my dear Breathe We have long since been forgotten Breathe They will not remember The guard tower watches over us Protecting The city pulses nearby But we are already dead Breathe The light brushing of blue Continue Reading »
Posted on February 8, 2010 by David Bogomolny
I’ve been busy recently, but that’s not the only reason it’s been taking me so long to write this post. Last week I had a conversation with a chevruta (study partner) on the subject of how we perceive & relate to the presence of G-d (it was a class assignment). We discussed a difficulty that Continue Reading »
Posted on February 8, 2010 by Lauren
Celebration #1: Tu B’shvat For me, it feels like Tu B’shvat in Israel all year round because of the multitude of dried fruits all over the place, but during January, they really hit their peak. It’s time to go back to the fresh fruits, in my opinion… I’m ready for springtime. Nonetheless, I attended two Continue Reading »
