[PEEP Graduation '13] Athletes of God

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Leah Kahn

Here is my dvar Torah from the PCJE Graduation ceremony!

Martha Graham was one of the sages, entrepreneurs and Rebbes of modern dance. Says Graham:

“I believe that we learn by practice. It is the performance of a dedicated, precise set of acts, physical or intellectual, from which comes shape of achievement, a sense of one’s being, a satisfaction of spirit. Ultimately, one becomes in some area of life, an athlete of God.”

Graham’s words resonate with me, because her words are rich with the wisdom of a dancer’s life…as a dancer is a prime example of someone who becomes what they practice day in and day out….

While I have spent over 40 hours a week in this Beit Midrash over the past 2 years, the place where I spent my free time was in the dance studio. Every class my ballet teacher is very clear about what she is looking for at the barre. If she doesn’t see clarity of movement from her students, she reminds the class repeatedly: “Stretch your feet! Use the floor! Stand tall!” You might be wondering: Why does she need to repeat herself? She constantly reminds her students because she is acutely aware that the dance class is where we practice technique, and every action of the body programs the muscle memory, so practicing correctly is very important for the dancer. A dancer is trying to accomplish a lot in every given movement – Continue reading →

True Blue

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Bogo

I shared this dvar in honor of the Robbin Landes Family @
a 7 Brachot meal for Hannah Robbin Landes & Eitan Gavson:

Dear Sheryl, Rav Landes, Isaac, Hannah and Eitan,

I am so touched to have the opportunity to address the five of you directly in celebration of Hannah’s & Eitan’s marriage. Thank you.

You all mean a great deal to me – both as individuals, and as a model of a beautiful family. And in both cases, you demonstrate a searching for meaning that is expressed in the thoughtfulness of the choices that you make. Your Judaism – the Judaism that compels me – is a delicate balance of commitment to our Halakhic heritage, and the embracing of every individual’s self driven journey to find his or her best and most true self.

I’d like to consider one component of Parshat Shlach with you now, examining it through the lenses of choice and commitment.

At the very end of this week’s Parasha, on the fringe, so to speak, we find the mitzvah of tzitzit (Numbers 15:38-40):

לח דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם, וְעָשׂוּ לָהֶם צִיצִת עַל-כַּנְפֵי בִגְדֵיהֶם, לְדֹרֹתָם; וְנָתְנוּ עַל-צִיצִת הַכָּנָף, פְּתִיל תְּכֵלֶת.	38 ‘Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them throughout their generations fringes in the corners of their garments, and that they put with the fringe of each corner a thread of blue.
לט וְהָיָה לָכֶם, לְצִיצִת, וּרְאִיתֶם אֹתוֹ וּזְכַרְתֶּם אֶת-כָּל-מִצְו‍ֹת יְהוָה, וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם; וְלֹא-תָתוּרוּ אַחֲרֵי לְבַבְכֶם, וְאַחֲרֵי עֵינֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר-אַתֶּם זֹנִים, אַחֲרֵיהֶם.	39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye go not about after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go astray; Continue reading →

My Modern Jewish Thoughts

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes

From my blog:

The most challenging course I am taking at Pardes is called “Critical Issues in Modern Jewish Thought.” There is no Hebrew involved. There is no Aramaic. I don’t even have to memorize birth and death dates of famous Jewish thinkers. What I do have to do, however, is think for myself. And it’s hard.

Cynthia Ozick, American-Jewish author and essayist

During each session, we alternate between group discussion and silent reading. We read philosophers such as A.J. Heschel, Mordechai Kaplan, Rav Soloveitchik, Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, and Cynthia Ozick. We covered topics such as the nature of God, the authorship of the Torah, the authority of Halahkah, and post-Holocaust theology. At the end of each unit, a few students volunteer to give a presentation: as a class, we generate a series of questions that the presenting students have to answer. Next week, I will be presenting on the topic of Feminism in Judaism. Today, while preparing to speak about this topic, I found myself spending many thoughts and minutes on each sentence; this is a tough issue that I care about greatly. It inspired a good deal of personal reflection, and Continue reading →

[Alumni Guest Post] Choose Wisely!

Posted on May 21, 2013 by admin

Tamara Frankel (PEP '09-'11) is in her second year of
teaching at Chicagoland Jewish High School.

It’s one of the first sunny days in Chicago this spring and my students beg me to take them outside for class. We negotiate and decide to review our homework in class, on the board, and then go outside to start the next sugya. Eleven rambunctious and extremely insightful freshmen sit on the grass beside the bleachers while I stand up top. I ask my students to imagine that they are at the foot of Mount Sinai and that God is holding the mountain over their heads, expecting—maybe even threatening—them to accept the Torah. If not, they will die.

My students think I’m crazy. I tell them that Rav Avdimi recounts this dramatic “filling-in-the-gaps” of a pasuk in Shmot 19:17: “ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר” “And they [the Israelites] stood at attention at the foot of the mountain”. For a moment, I’m off the hook; I could never make up this story! Continue reading →

Bound. because I Want to.

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Sam Kaye

I’m leaving for Israel and my father hands me two bags. “Take these with you. The furrier, Shlomo, your great grandmother’s brother-in-law, left them to me. Find out if it’s meaningful for you.”

The first is black felt, light to the touch, with a golden Magen David embroidered in cord on its front. The Tallit inside is thin, composed of silky white fabric that is shifting towards an aged grey. Blue stripes run along its slender frame while an intricate latticework of linen falls away from the edges only to tangle up with the Tzitzit at the corners. It’s German Reform, classic and beautiful. So light I barely feel its weight when I try it on. So thin and delicate it barely covers my shoulders. It’s not my first Tallit.

The second bag is old and mustard yellow, fine prismatic threading has frayed across its front where it spells out the words “Tefillin” in Hebrew. The Tefillin inside are old with paper caps atop the Shel, each heavy with lacquer. The leather is cracked and aromatic, the black stain no longer present along the edges. The two bags go into my duffel, right next to my other Tallit, but as I put them down one Tefillin fall out of their yellow bag. The paper top tips off and the shin of the Rosh stares up at me like blurred eye still heavy with sleep. I stare back. What do I do with you?

Why does a Reform Jew wrap T’fillin? Continue reading →

Reading, Writing, Running: A Personal Challenge

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Megan D.

From my blog:

With only a little over two months left in my second round of adventures in Jerusalem, I’ve been disappointed in myself for not keeping up my reading and writing habits as a part of my day to day life. I have been clinging to the romantic notion that living in the Holy Land would inspire my creative side, and that perhaps my study of Torah and my so-called yeshivish lifestyle would instill the discipline necessary to keep up good habits, like reading and writing every day. But alas; bad habits are so much easier to keep up than good ones, and though the environment that surrounds me inspires all kinds of meaningful emotions, thoughts and impulses, it would appear that I still have to get off of my ass once in a while and take the initiative to be productive in my literary practices…or rather, to sit on my ass, but with a pen and paper in hand, a laptop with an open Word document in front of me, and a new book sitting at my side, waiting for me to turn the next page.

Where have I gone wrong? It’s not as though I don’t love writing and reading, so why have I not been doing it all the damn time? I’ve been battling the same aversion to good habits when it comes to running. I used to be a runner you see, just on my own time and for my own pleasure, and after doing it several times a week for a month or so, it started to feel really Continue reading →

In Honor of Fred Worms z”l

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Andrea Wiese

I presented this in Fred Worms' (z"l) memory
at today's Pardes community lunch

Della Worms and Fred Worms z”l

When I first started learning about Mr. Worms I felt an instant connection because of his love of sports. I love sports and playing sports, as well. In a speech that Mr. Worms gave when he stepped down from being the Honorary President of the Maccabi World Union, he talked about Muslims and Jews playing basketball together at Gan Ha’apamon. I have refereed American tackle football in Israel for three years, which is made up of Israelis, Americans, Brits, Palestinians, Russians, Australians, Jews, Muslims, and Christians. I don’t think he would have been surprised by the diversity that makes up the teams, but would have been happy to know that this sports league exists and is thriving in Israel.

As I continued learning about Mr. Worms, I only became more grateful for him and for the mitzvot that he did which actually have an affect on my life today. Continue reading →

[Alumni Guest Post] My Pardes Experience by Eric Brief

Posted on March 8, 2013 by admin

Eric Brief (Yr. 2008-09)
sent us the following reflection of his year at Pardes
to post on These&Those!

Check out his blog to see his beautiful art
and weekly divrei Torah!

Eric Brief – Self Portrait

If I remember anything about my experience at Pardes it is that I got more than I could have ever imagined. I’m not exactly sure why I decided to go as I look back to when I booked my ticket to Israel just two weeks before Rosh Hashanah in 2008. I had just finished college a few months earlier and right before I went to the Burning Man Festival in Nevada I chose that Pardes was the plan for the next year.

I was a pretty skeptical when I arrived. I had a hard time believing that all these people were uprooting their normal lives to come to Israel and actually study Torah – you know – for real. I kind of felt like a spy – like I didn’t truly belong there. A product of Upper West Side NYC Jewish day school, early on in life I secretly decided that nobody truly cared about learning outside of school – except the future rabbis. At Pardes I found teachers that were extremely passionate about their work, lives, and Judaism in general. The students seemed to catch on to this and Continue reading →

“True Love – or – Shir HaShirim, pt. II”

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Abayiss

When I think of my life, look back and reflect, I know she’s always been there. It was ALWAYS her, no matter what, through all the trials and despite our occasional differences, she will always be by my side, and I love her for it.

She will never diminish, she is as much a part of me as I am of her. She is magnificent and eternal, and I am truly blessed and grateful. I am hers, in body and soul. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her. And all I ask in return is that she never change, that she remain majestic, amazing, beautiful.

She truly is flawless. Her every curve a work of art, the very image of perfection as I imagine it. She stands, proud and tall, and I am struck with amazement. Everything about her takes my breath away.

I observe and take in every detail, and the memories and associations flood me: Continue reading →

It’s Complicated

Posted on February 3, 2013 by Bogo

I can’t speak highly enough of Ben Barer (Fellows ’12), and I am consistently appreciative of his blogging. His recent post on ‘Picking Our Battles’ gave me pause because Ben and I agree on many things, but we’ve chosen different sides of the “Orthodox Community” – he’s chosen to be outside of it, and I’ve chosen to be inside of it.

In his recent post, Ben wrote:

“In order to make some of the changes that I can only dream of experiencing in my own lifetime surrounding issues of gender acceptance, and eventually, equity, in Judaism, I often feel the need to fight from the inside [the Orthodox Community].”

In response, I must say that even as a self-identified, halahically observant member of the “Orthodox Community”, I hardly expect that my affiliation has empowered me personally to “make some of the changes” that Ben and I would both like to see. My response to Andrea Wiese’s (PEP ’14) post, in which she describes her struggle to accept the role of women in the Orthodox community, would be no different. Continue reading →

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