Tag Archives: awareness / being present

[Alumni Guest Post] Ready!

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Sarah Margles (Year '02, PEP '04) reflects upon preparing
for Shavuot... what does "readiness" mean?

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I remember when I first started at Pardes, I would spend much of Fridays getting ready for Shabbat – shopping, cooking, cleaning. When the siren went to light candles, my roommate would inevitably yell out, while running from the bathroom in a towel, “But I’m not ready!!” When we speak of Jewish holidays, we often say things like, “The holidays are so early this year,” or “I love it when Pesach is late.” There is something about readiness that seems integral to our Jewish experience.

Shavuot has a lot to teach about readiness. In Shmot 19:11, as the people are getting ready to receive Torah, God tells Moses to tell the people to go prepare for God will arrive on the third day. But Continue reading →

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[PCJE Dvar Torah] ‘By a Hair’ – by Laura Marder

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What if

What if we were all self absorbed and never helped one another? Could you imagine never grasping a hand if you stumbled, or borrowing a bit of money in a pinch. What would our world look like if we never supported each other? Emotionally. Financially. Physically. Spiritually. Would you ever feel empowered or strong? In this week’s double Parsha Behar / Behukotai it says

If your brother becomes destitute and his hand falters beside you, you shall support him [whether] a convert or a resident, so that he can live with you.

וְכִי יָמוּךְ אָחִיךָ וּמָטָה יָדוֹ עִמָּךְ וְהֶחֱזַקְתָּ בּוֹ גֵּר וְתוֹשָׁב וָחַי עִמָּךְ

 

To support him

The Torah uses the word החזקת to describe support. Not help, or fix, or take care of. We are talking about support, with the word חזק (hazak) seen inside the Hebrew. Hazak is strength. We are being instructed to strengthen our brother when he falters. Note, that it is not when he has fallen. For we should be aware and Continue reading →

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[Alumni Guest Post] Reflection on Yom Hashoah

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Daniel Shibley (Yr. '11, Fellows '12) shared the following:

A lit Yom Hashoah candle in a dark room (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A lit Yom Hashoah candle in a dark room (Photo: Wikipedia)

As the clock turned from 9:59 to 10:00, it began. Quietly at first, and then reaching a volume that brings all of Israel to a halt. The siren of Yom Hashoah silenced all other man-made noises, leaving every body to their own thoughts and memories of the Shoah and its victims. The gusty wind and the birds, which had been muffled by the sounds of the beit midrash, were accompanying the wailing of the siren. Although Hamas shattered my hope of never having to hear the siren outside the context of Yom Hashoa and Yom Hazikaron, somehow the sanctity of that moment rang true, the souls of the victims were standing with us as we paused our Torah learning on their behalf. Continue reading →

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Or Halev Meditation Retreat with James Jacobson-Maisels – Incredible experience!

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Hello!

I spent the entirety of last week doing very little but learning so much!

Annie and I went on the week-long Jewish meditation retreat, taught by Rabbi James Jacobson-Maisels (think Self, Soul, and Text), and Rabbi Jeff Roth, at Kibbutz Hannaton. Over the entire week, we could not talk to anyone except for participating in prayer, and could not make eye contact with anyone. Our entire week was spent sitting, walking, eating, praying, and sleeping. But believe it or not, it was honestly one of the most rejuvenating weeks that I have had in my entire life. Continue reading →

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[Alumni Guest Post] Seeing the Hand of God In Your Life by Damian Zoppo

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Damian (PEP '04-'06) is currently teaching elementary school
in Even Yehuda, Israel, and taught for four years at Tarbut
V’Torah before making Aliyah with his family.

dzThe time I spent with friends and teachers studying the wisdom of our people at Pardes was a magical time in my life. I was a student, learning every day with people who shared my passion for learning. I lived in one of the most special cities in the world, Jerusalem, and was newly married to the love of my life, my wife Tammy.

During this time it was easy to see the hand of Hashem working in my life. I had the time to reflect, and I did not have the distractions that I have in my life today. I got exactly what I needed, which was clear evidence that Hashem was actively and overtly involved in my life and its direction.

Today my life is much different. Continue reading →

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Running the Jerusalem Half Marathon, March 1st, 2013

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Literally running into (or rather, alongside of) DLK‘s team of 10k Jerusalem Marathon route walkers this past Friday morning reminded me all over again of the thrill that was the morning of March 1st – the Jerusalem Marathon. Although I do have to say that as beautiful as the walk must have been a week later on such a glorious day, I was very happy to wake up to a cloudy morning on the day of the race. The chillier the weather, the less chance there is of an unhappy stomach during a run.

As I told DLK and some other listeners by the coffee station last week, I have never done anything in my life about which people were still talking excitedly so many days later. I’ve realized what was so novel to me about this reaction: I do not remember a time where I have been widely congratulated for something I did physically, not mentally or academically.

Gabby Goodman and Kayla Higginson Team Shalva

Gabby Goodman and Kayla Higgins
on Team Shalva

Continue reading →

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Dare I Rant?

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From my blog:
I need a man, not a monkey.

I need a man, not a monkey.

I am usually a very tolerant person, especially when people are trying to understand human diversity. I will kindly explain that, no, Connecticut is not New York and that, yes, I would rather watch reruns of “Gilmore Girls” than new episodes of “Jersey Shore.” I will gladly explain that I would much rather bake with a guy than go to a bar with him, and I’ll even accept his offers to get things for me from high shelves.

But this weekend, I reached a limit. There comes a point when I can no longer make jokes about all the things I should make jokes about.
The scene: Friday night dinner with a few Pardes students and a wealthy British family.
The subject: Being gluten-free.

It all started off innocuously enough. Continue reading →

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[Alumni Guest Post] Thank God I’m a Work in Progress: A Reflection on Teshuvah

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From Alissa Thomas' (Spring '11) S Blog:

Teshuvah is a lifelong work in progress.

Every year during Elul and the Yamim Noraim, I find myself digging deep into the process of teshuvah. I think to myself that I would love to feel such an intense spiritual desire toward growth and tikkun year-round. But each year after the chagim pass and I get more entrenched in the routines of daily life, I realize that teshuvah is a very tough state of mind to maintain and is in fact my greatest work in progress.

Teshuvah requires a raw awareness of our flaws and negative intentions as well as a continuous commitment to change and growth. Most importantly, teshuvah depends on humility before God and honesty with ourselves—two perspectives that are not always so intuitive.Teshuvah is a vigilant magnum opus through which we separate from our baser instincts in order to return to our purest, holiest selves. Continue reading →

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[Alumni Guest Post] Lauren Henderson — Parshat Beshalach

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From Lauren Henderson's (Summer '09, Year '10) blog:

The d’var torah (more or less) that I gave at Sunday night’s Encounter Leadership Seminar:

When I first got to Israel in the fall and started to get acquainted with the current stagnant political situation (for both domestic and foreign issues), I started to actually hope that things would get really, really bad this year. I got attached to this morbid fantasy that the Haredim would do something so horrible and offensive that the rest of Israel would have no choice but to rise up together against them and shift the power dynamic, or that (God forbid) there would be another intifada, and the brief period of violence would somehow lead to renewed peace negotiations. I knew that the situation here would probably have to get worse before it got better, but I was impatient for a quick fix. I wanted things to be resolved once and for all, and it would have been really convenient for it to happen all in the course of one academic year – right?

The desire for shortcuts and quick fixes shows up in the much-commented upon first verse of Parshat Beshalach, Exodus 13:17:

ויהי בשלח פרעה את העם ולא נחם אלהים דרך ארץ פלישתים, כי קרוב הוא, כי אמר אלהים “פן ינחם העם בראתם מלחמה ושבו מצרימה…”

And when Pharaoh was sending the people out, God didn’t lead the people by way of the Philistines, because it was close, since God said, “Lest the people be led (astray) when they see war and return toward Egypt….”

God intentionally doesn’t lead the people by the most direct path out of Egypt, because it’s the shortcut. Instead, God chooses the long, windy route through the desert. The long route isn’t safer or easier – the Israelites still encounter war, famine, and plenty of other challenges along the way – but at least there isn’t the fear that they might actually be able to return to Egypt if things get especially bad. Continue reading →

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