These and Those

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

Tag Archives: Pardes

Reflections

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Ari Abelman

From my blog: It’s hard to believe, but my time in Israel is almost done.  Two days from now, I’ll be in the air on my way home.  And while I haven’t been the best about blogging here regularly, at the moment I feel like a little bit of reflection is in order.  I’m going Continue Reading »

“Peak Attack”

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Eva Vadasz

I shared these words in the beit midrash on the last day of the 2012-13 Pardes year I dressed up in white. Because whenever I am preparing to do something big, I always wear white. This is a principle of mine since I have known Zsolt Erőss. Zsolt – a Hungarian mountain climber. Zsolt, who Continue Reading »

To Feel – To Know

Posted on June 2, 2013 by David Bogomolny

Here is the reflection I shared at Community Lunch last week- One of the many things that I tell people when discussing Pardes is that I wanted to study here before I ever knew that Pardes existed. As a college student I started wearing a kippah publicly before I had any idea what halakha was Continue Reading »

My Speech from the Closing Seuda

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Derek Kwait

When I spoke at Community Lunch yesterday, I only had an outline. This is the closest I can remember to what I actually said. Hi, my name’s Derek. I’m from Pittsburgh. I’m a Fellow here at Pardes, which means I’m in my second year, so if you have any questions about Pardes or Jerusalem, I’ll Continue Reading »

Shining Bright

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Brian Blumenthal

“למען ציון לא אחשה ולמען ירושלם לא אשקוט עד יצא כנגה צדקה וישועתה כלפיד יבער” For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth like radiance, and her salvation like a burning torch. (Isaiah 62:1) This semester in Yaffa Epstein’s Bekiut Talmud Continue Reading »

How Pardes Changed My Life: A Reflection

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Daniella Adler

I feel really lucky to have had the opportunity to come to Pardes this year. It is taken me on a journey of Jewish learning and spiritual growth that has exceeded my wildest dreams and expectations. Around March of 2012 I was working three jobs, I felt tired and disconnected from myself. I was missing Continue Reading »

Free Advice for Future Pardesniks

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Yisrael Ben Avraham

I’ll be a Pardes alum in the next couple weeks and possibly a second year student. I thought I’d write a list of random things for new and returning students to make their lives in Israel easier and enjoyable. These are in no particular order, but I cannot emphasis enough how much Ulpan Morasha chews Continue Reading »

The Practical Dictionary of the Pardes Lexicon: Second Edition

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Derek Kwait

At the end of last year, I gave the world “The Kwait“ the necessarily abridged First Edition of The Practical Dictionary of the Pardes Lexicon. Now, as my Pardes experience comes to a close, I present this still necessarily abridged Second Edition, to be known as “The Kwait Shayni.” This edition, like its predecessor, is Continue Reading »

Our Prophecy at Pardes

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Sydni Adler

My dvar Torah from the Galil Shabbaton: On Shavuot, Rabbi Ruth Gan Kagan spoke about the prophetic power of G-d’s ruach – G-d’s spirit, breath, or wind. Throughout Tanakh, whenever ruach appears, G-d pervades material being, and often, individual human beings. In both the Torah and Haftarah portions of Be’haalotecha, we deal directly with ruach Continue Reading »

Together in Our Wanderings

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Sean Ference

My dvar Torah from the Galil Shabbaton: In our parsha, we are given a vivid description of the Israelite’s journey through the wilderness, and what this vast undertaking entailed. Their journey would begin when the divine cloud would lift off the Mishkan; only then would the Israelite camp begin to move. How long Israel stayed Continue Reading »