Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on December 9, 2011 by Derek Kwait
(X-posted from my home blog, Yinzer in Yerushalayim) (In no order) *People here really look out for you. I know I’ve written about this at least twice before, but I really can’t get over it: Last week, when I went to pay utility bills at the post office, when I finally got to see the Continue Reading »
Posted on December 7, 2011 by Aliza B.
When you watch the news and learn that something terrible has happened, it is easy to gauge the disaster by how many people were killed. You can classify it even more by which people were affected. Were they children or elderly? Poor or rich? Humanitarians or average joes? In the back of your mind lurks Continue Reading »
Posted on November 20, 2011 by Shibley
Nope, not about freshly printed U.S. dollars, but it got your attention! Nearly two weeks ago we began adding the request for rain to our daily prayers. Within hours, there was a torrential downpour, with a brilliant lightening display and booming thunder. This grand display of the awesome power of nature was certainly awe inspiring. Continue Reading »
Posted on November 16, 2011 by Derek Kwait
(X-posted from my home blog, Yinzer in Yerushalayim) My Bubbie died Tuesday morning. The funeral will be Friday. As I am in Israel, I will not be able mourn with my family or attend. But this is life, this is what happens. It was not a shock, she had been sick for about a month Continue Reading »
Posted on October 31, 2011 by Laura H.
My relationship with the Kotel is in constant flux. To be honest, I struggle with connecting to the Kotel a lot, and have done so ever since I first came to Israel when I was 13 years old. Despite this struggle, every time I come to Israel, I make a point of visiting the Kotel. Continue Reading »
Posted on October 30, 2011 by Shibley
Sukkot has been over for a week and a half, but there is one more element that I observed and would like to share. The secular sukkah. It was not surprising to find sukkot in areas like the ultra-Orthodox Mea She’arim, or even in the more Modern Orthodox/Dati neighborhoods, like the one where I live. Continue Reading »
Posted on October 29, 2011 by Derek Kwait
Ever since I’ve arrived here there’s been stuff I wanted to talk about but just didn’t have room for in that week’s blog post. Since this was a relatively slow week, I thought this would be a good opportunity to share some of them, but I’ll start with the biggest story from this week: *So Continue Reading »
Posted on October 24, 2011 by Shibley
I would venture a guess that the majority of jobs throughout the world have some sort of uniform. Whether said uniform is mandated by the employer, it is simply practical, or it becomes a matter of identity, the fact is that such a uniform exists in most cases. Israel is no different in this regard; Continue Reading »
Posted on October 24, 2011 by Suzi
I wrote this last Friday, after Sukkot: Someone dear to me used to say I saw the big picture bigger and the details as if through a microscope, but couldn’t see the real world as it exists in front of me. Is that why I set off happily for the shuk today, oblivious to the Continue Reading »
Posted on October 22, 2011 by Soffer
Originally posted on Darkeynu דרכינו: Here are some thoughts I shared with Shechter Westchester students about todays (this was originally posted a few days ago) events: Gilad Shalit….Gilad Ben Aviva Shalit. For too long this simple name has been in the prayers of Jews throughout the world, as we have waited and wondered about this Continue Reading »
