Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on May 28, 2014 by Naomi Bilmes
From my blog: One of my close friends recently told me that I will forever be in her heart as her “mechitza-going-skirt-wearing-early-morning partner in crime Judaism.” This epigraph described our year at Pardes perfectly: we were two of the three women who regularly attended mechitza minyan; we wore skirts on a daily basis (and even Continue Reading »
Posted on April 22, 2014 by Eva Neuhaus
the relationships we have with our parents form a template for our relationship with the Divine. i grew up giving my parents a very hard time, constantly bucking their authority. we fought all the time. this power struggle is present in my relationship with God, as it is in my relationships with everyone and everything. here Continue Reading »
Posted on April 13, 2014 by Naomi Zaslow
Over the last week, I and most of my fellow PEPers, have been traveling around the States, doing model lessons for schools in hopes of gainful employment. One of my favorite model lessons that I’ve done focused on the Passover Seder and the way that we tell our story of leaving Egypt year after year. Continue Reading »
Posted on March 31, 2014 by Sam Stern
From my blog: Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all? It was 3:30 on a beautiful Friday afternoon when Judy and I started to embark on our big trip to Alon Shvut. The plan was simple: go tremping, make a left, find the green garbage cans, go down the stairs Continue Reading »
Posted on February 28, 2014 by Taylor Winfield
This week I read from the Torah for the first time. I stood up in front of my closest female friends, and sang the words of our people. I had been preparing for weeks, and I expected the moment to come with a high, a relief, a joy. But instead a seed inside of me Continue Reading »
Posted on February 28, 2014 by Benjamin Friedman
“Without a profound simplification the world around us would be an infinite, undefined tangle that would defy our ability to orient ourselves and decide upon our actions…. We are compelled to reduce the knowable to a schema.” -Primo Levi The above quotation by Holocaust survivor Primo Levi says something profound yet simple about human nature Continue Reading »
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 February 22, 2014 by Carolyn Gerecht
This year, studying in the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators’ Program for Experiential Jewish Education (PEEP) and Yeshiva University’s Certificate in Experiential Jewish Education, I’ve been fortunate to have had many, many opportunities to answer the question, “What exactly is Experiential Jewish Education?” Typically, I respond in a couple of short sentences. “Most people think Continue Reading »
Posted on February 13, 2014 by Anna Pomson
I don’t know if this only happens to me, but throughout this year I have continually been having flashbacks. Sometimes it is in the education courses, reminiscing about the strategies my teachers used, but more often than not this happens during the morning hours of the day while we study various bits of Tanach and Continue Reading »
Posted on February 13, 2014 by Sam Stern
From my blog: She believed in dreams, all right, but she also believed in doing something about them. When Prince Charming didn’t come along, she went over to the palace and got him. For anyone who hasn’t already heard the play-by-play (or can’t wait to hear it again) of the Beit Din/mikva experience, click HERE Continue Reading »
