These and Those

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

Tag Archives: courses

[Self / Soul & Text] Desire Exercise

Posted on April 10, 2012 by David Bogomolny

The ‘desire’ exercise was, at first, relatively comfortable, illuminating and affirming for me. I came to the conclusion that my ‘deepest’ desire to be accepted as myself (both by myself and by others). Having thought about this further, I think this desire ties into a defining feeling I live with, which I call ‘existential loneliness’ Continue Reading »

[Self / Soul & Text] The Practices of Giving & Openness

Posted on April 3, 2012 by David Bogomolny

I picked an amount of money to donate that was more than I felt comfortable donating, and I took the cash from the money that I’d put aside to pay for my Poland trip. I have enough funds available to me to cover my upcoming Poland adventure, but when I first decided to donate X Continue Reading »

[Self / Soul & Text] Prayer

Posted on March 26, 2012 by David Bogomolny

I committed myself to davening 3x per day with the beginning of the Pardes school year, and I’ve been pretty good about davening consistently since then. My commitment to myself was not simply to daven 3x per day – it was also to create a meaningful davening experience for myself, and I’m happy to say Continue Reading »

Week 29: Role-Playing, or Jesus, Death, and All Their Friends

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Derek Kwait

(X-posted from my home blog, Yinzer in Yerushalayim) Sunday night Pardes made history as the first yeshiva ever to host the launching event for a new edition of the New Testament. The Jewish Annotated New Testament, co-edited by friend of Pardes and Gene Wilder look-alike, Mark Z. Brettler, is actually a lot like the original Continue Reading »

[Self / Soul & Text] Storytelling

Posted on March 20, 2012 by David Bogomolny

My mother tells me that when I was a child, I would stand on the perimeter of the playground, mouth agape, watching the children play with one another. She’d have to nudge me towards them before I’d move. In retrospect, I think I went through my childhood feeling overwhelmed by sensory and emotional inputs. Every Continue Reading »

[Self / Soul & Text] Radical Acceptance

Posted on March 13, 2012 by David Bogomolny

I spent last Shabbat at Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach’s moshav near the city of Modi’in, where my grandparents and other close family members live. This Shabbaton was particularly convenient for me because it allowed me to visit my family without worrying about rushing back to J’lem for Shabbat (especially during the winter). It was also quite Continue Reading »

Haman and Mordechai: A Third Story

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Eliyahu B.

Cross-posted from my Facebook note. In my Peace and Conflict class today we wrote what is called a “Third Story” regarding Amalek (the nation whose descendants have plagued Israel with wars and attempted exterminations). Here is what a Third Story is, and then I will share my “Third Story” of the conflict between Haman and Continue Reading »

[Self / Soul & Text] Singing

Posted on March 6, 2012 by David Bogomolny

Weariness wrapped itself around him, and in moments of reflection he realized he missed his family. This was a moment of such reflection. He’d wanted to spend some time singing several days earlier, but after meditating and speaking to G-d, he’d been interupted by his roommate before he could begin his song. The interuption had Continue Reading »

[Self / Soul & Text] Mindful Eating

Posted on February 28, 2012 by David Bogomolny

He sighed inwardly. It was Monday morning, and he hadn’t done his “mindful eating practice” yet. He’d been busy. Long days, full of Jewish study and prayer, were keeping him busy… but he knew also that he’d been procrastinating – he didn’t like the idea of this practice. It made him uncomfortable. He put 3 Continue Reading »

Innocent Until Proven Amalek

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Barer

To the consternation of many around the world, there has been heightened tension around talk of some sort of war starting between Israel/US and Iran.  With Parshat Zachor only a few days from being read in shuls (synagogues) around the world, it would behoove all of us to consider what kind of relationship we wish Continue Reading »