Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on June 16, 2011 by Zach
I know a lot of my posts have been about how holidays are celebrated in Israel, but I hope you’ll bear with me through one more. I promise, no more! Last week we celebrated Shavu’ot – the “Festival of Weeks” and the forerunner to Christian Pentecost. Like most Jewish holidays, it was originally an agricultural Continue Reading »
Posted on June 6, 2011 by Zach
Earlier this week, I was talking with a friend who works for an American company, and she mentioned that she had a day off. I was confused for a minute, since she works all the time. Then she reminded me that it was Memorial Day in the US. Having just recently witnessed the the big Continue Reading »
Posted on April 7, 2011 by Zach
(or almost)הנה הסתו עבר, הגשם חלף הלך לו Lo, the winter has passed, the rains have gone, gone away (song of songs, 2:11) Again, it’s been too long since my last post. I’ve been studying hard at Pardes, and not much has changed. But finally, Spring is here! And with that, the first dig season Continue Reading »
Posted on March 30, 2011 by Zach
After my first month at Pardes, I started getting into the routine of classes, and developed a pretty good sense of how the rest of the year would look. They way we learn here is very different from the way we learn in college; in college, classes meet two or three times a week for an hour at Continue Reading »
Posted on March 13, 2011 by Zach
Not so long ago, I was walking along Pierre Koenig Street near my house, and got to a red light at the intersection across from Pardes. It was pretty deserted at that time of night, with only a few cars and pedestrians out. While I was waiting, a van pulled up next to me, completely Continue Reading »
Posted on March 2, 2011 by Zach
We just got back from the annual Pardes tiyul to the Golan, and I want to share a few of my photos: Click on photos for larger versions!
Posted on February 21, 2011 by Zach
About a month ago, we began our second semester at Pardes, giving us the chance to switch up our class schedules. I had been studying Tanakh (in the Intensive Tanakh Track), and enjoying it, but I didn’t find the Tanakh course offerings for the new semester very interesting. Instead, I decided to take advantage of the Continue Reading »
Posted on December 15, 2010 by Zach
After the overview of my Chanukkah break, I wanted to go into a bit more depth about one of my day excursions. A good friend of mine, Zak, a Palestinian Christian who owns a shop in the old city, and I were talking, and I mentioned that I wanted to see some of the West Continue Reading »
Posted on December 13, 2010 by Zach
Yet again, it’s been way too long since my last post. I seem to start every post that way… maybe I’ll get better at this eventually. Instead of giving the normal Christmas break that American schools give, Pardes, and Israel in general, has a winter break for the eight days of Chanukkah. Chanukkah this year Continue Reading »
