Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on February 23, 2014 by Falynn Schmidt
by Falynn Schmidt (Year ’99-’00), Pardes staff member, from her blog: It’s a strange thing how quickly a year can pass, but exactly one year ago today, I boarded a plane with a freshly minted aliyah[1] visa glued in to my US passport. My three-bag allowance and I got on an average plane flight, incognito, Continue Reading »
Posted on August 14, 2013 by Falynn Schmidt
From my blog: Does any other language have a word for the particular pride we feel when someone we love does something great? I am not sure, but perhaps this is specific to the Jewish people and their languages of Yiddish and Hebrew. Nachas. It is exactly that: a word that describes in two syllables the almost Continue Reading »
Posted on April 1, 2013 by Falynn Schmidt
Originally posted to my blog yesterday, March 31: Today is my mother’s birthday. She would have been 68. What a strange thing to think. Sixty-eight, so young. Such a difficult life, surreal in ways I can’t imagine and in ways I know too well. My mother was an amazing woman, as you’ve either experienced first Continue Reading »
Posted on December 2, 2012 by Falynn Schmidt
Originally posted on my blog: Years ago I heard comedian Yisrael Campbell give his shpiel about converting to Judaism. It is hilariously funny in the way that can only come from truths. In one part, the rabbis ask him, “Do you put your lot in with the Jewish people.” “Sure,” he shrugs, realizing that is Continue Reading »
Posted on November 13, 2012 by Falynn Schmidt
Originally posted on my blog: There is a particular majesty in cresting a hill and taking in the landscape: the great expanse of the Negev Desert or the sparkle of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), the Jordan River or the heights of the Golan. There is a sense of awe when your legs work in Continue Reading »
Posted on August 5, 2012 by Falynn Schmidt
J. Benedict Roth will never forget the first time he learned Gemara (Talmud) 23 years ago with Pardes faculty member, Leah Rosenthal. “Leah showed me that the Gemara is like a rough diamond,” Benedict explains. “You take a stone which looks rather uninteresting, and you think you can understand it. But then you crack it open, and suddenly Continue Reading »
