Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on January 25, 2014 by Josh Pernick
Back in my host family’s home after an amazing day of teaching at the Ulus School, and with a few hours to spare before Shabbat, I decided to do a little exploring around my temporary neighborhood. After putting on my coat, hat (because you can’t wear a kippah outside in Turkey, but that’s a whole Continue Reading »
Posted on January 23, 2014 by Melissa Scholten-Gutierrez
As I progress in my pregnancy and it becomes so visibly obvious people become more and more free with their questions, and one of the most common ones I get goes something like this: Person: Are you going to have the baby here or go back to America? Me: Here! 🙂 Person: Is your family Continue Reading »
Posted on January 21, 2014 by Jessica Baverman
This week, a classmate of mine at Pardes wrote a blog post about Kiddushin, being a gay man, and how he might see this tradition actualized in his own future relationship. I am a queer observant woman who is getting married to another queer observant woman, and my partner and I have discussed how to balance our Continue Reading »
Posted on January 20, 2014 by Andrea Wiese
I was recently in Istanbul with the group of students from Pardes and I stayed after to see my friends who are living there. (Six years ago I lived and studied in Istanbul.) I stayed in my friend’s apartment and I stayed through another Shabbat. At first I was nervous because I didn’t want anyone Continue Reading »
Posted on January 10, 2014 by Andrea Wiese
Tonight, I am sharing this dvar with the communityof Istanbul tonight on Shabbat: When I think about Turkey, and specifically visiting Turkey, I think about hospitality. I have lived in a lot of places and countries, but no place in the world receives guests like Turks. Some may argue that it’s because of Islam: Muhammad Continue Reading »
Posted on December 28, 2013 by Andrea Wiese
From my blog: This isn’t the first time I have written about The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, and honestly, it probably won’t be the last. Today, Shabbat, Parsha Va’Eira, was very special. There was a Bar Mitzvah of Avi, a son of one my teachers at Pardes, Meesh Hammer Kossoy. I have no idea Continue Reading »
Posted on December 25, 2013 by Alana Bandos
Together in Paris. That’s what Anastasia’s grandmother says to her before their family is torn apart in the hit animated feature film Anastasia (which is not actually a Disney movie). It’s on the necklace the young girl wears through to adulthood and it helps her reclaim her true identity as heir to the Russian throne. Continue Reading »
Posted on December 16, 2013 by Andrea Wiese
There was something very special about this morning’s davening (praying) that I don’t always feel. But it started way before my friend started to sing pesukei d’zimra (the opening blessings). This morning wasn’t your average morning, yes, we came early for davening at 7am like other days, but it was difficult. After the Jerusalem snow Continue Reading »
Posted on December 13, 2013 by Andrea Wiese
There is a very famous story about Hillel, which follows: “Most famous perhaps is the incident which occurred before his rise to leadership, when he was not yet a scholar, but had a burning desire to study Torah. At that time, Torah study was tightly controlled and limited only to those of the highest caliber Continue Reading »
Posted on November 29, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
From my blog: מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם, שֶׁהֶחֱזַרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְּחֶמְלָה. רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ. Grateful I am before you, living and eternal King, for You have mercifully restored my soul within me; Your faithfulness is great. These are the first words that leave our lips in the morning – while still laying in bed. Continue Reading »
