These and Those

Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem

Tag Archives: leadership

Meet the Fellows 5773

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Derek Kwait

Derek Kwait never spent longer than five consecutive weeks outside of his native Pittsburgh area prior to fulfilling his dream of studying at Pardes last year. After attending one year of film school at Point Park University in 2007-8, he transferred to the University of Pittsburgh in fall 2008. He graduated in 2011 with a Continue Reading »

My words at PEP ’12 Graduation

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Jessie Gindea

By Jessie Gindea, PEP ’12 What an evening this is.  As I look around this Beit Midrash, surrounded by my brilliant teachers, my esteemed colleagues, and all of the people who have effected my experience in the last two years, it seems only natural to turn to psalms 133, verse 1: “Hiney mah tov umah Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Tamar Landau

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Barer

Tamar views her Jewish journey as a work in progress, or, as Zvi Hirschfield suggests, that of a Gemara sugiyah.  As a child growing up in Los Angeles, she went to Hebrew school three days a week and was ‘that kid’ who loved it.  Perhaps Jewish education’s emphasis on modern Hebrew at the time made Continue Reading »

Week 31: The Incoming Tide

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Derek Kwait

Long story short, I was accepted to be a Pardes Fellow next year, charged to be a leader in the community and run the blog while getting paid a generous stipend. Of course this is what I wanted to do, but the question keeping me up at night was whether or not it is what Continue Reading »

Take a load off, Moshe!

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Andrea Wiese

I can only imagine how excited Moshe would have been this week to be reunited with his wife and two sons! Yitro, who brought Moshe’s family to him, also, like any good in-law brought advise. On the second day of Yitro’s visit, (the first day he burnt an offering to G-d) he told Moshe that Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Naomi Zaslow

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Barer

Naomi grew up in a Modern Orthodox community in South Miami, where her family helped found a Young Israel. She was immersed in Judaism from a young age  – shul, day school, day camp – but rarely in a community as diverse as Pardes. It is in a Modern Orthodox community that Naomi feels most Continue Reading »

Russel vs. Chamberlain

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Soffer

Originally Posted for Shabbat Lech Lecha: Wilt Chamberlain? There is not doubt that he was great. But, Bill Russel? He’s the best that ever was. In sports, greatness cannot be measured in simple statistics–if that were possible, Chamberlain would easily be the greatest player in NBA history. But, as any sports fan knows, there is Continue Reading »

מטות, matot

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Avi Strausberg

moshe has come a long way from his days of “כבד פה וכבד לשון, slow of speech, slow of tongue” (shmot 4:10).  he has not only transformed bnei yisrael from a stiff-necked, fickle bunch of wanderers into a God-loving, jewish people, but he himself has undergone a tremendous transformation.  in the course of his adventures Continue Reading »

[PEP Student] Stand Tall

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Tamara Frankel

Dear Friends, Tonight I am writing to you from my backyard in Toronto. It’s not exactly Jerusalem, but the weather is pleasant as the sun sets and the birds are chirping. Literally. I can’t really tell if I’m ‘acclimatized’ to Toronto – not just in the meteorological sense – but so far, so good. Now Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Louis Sachs

Posted on July 2, 2011 by David Bogomolny

Over the course of many consecutive summers as a camper at JCA Shalom in Malibu, Louis learned about Judaism “without realizing” it. He first attended camp as a fifth grader, and returned year after year until the summer after his first year of college (as a camp counselor). “I did USY for six years, and went to Hebrew school through 10th grade, but Continue Reading »