Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on March 23, 2015 by Geo Poor
My favorite service of the whole year is Hallel, a special service we add to certain holidays and to the seder. Hallel has a strange structure. It starts out by saying we are commanded to praise God. Why would be commanded to praise? Does praise really even count if it is not done by choice? Continue Reading »
Posted on March 15, 2015 by Jacob Haas
Below is a Dvar I wrote for Moishe House. As Pardes and Moishe House have a new partnership I thought it would appropriate to share this with the Pardes community as well. “This is the decree (Hok) of the Torah, which God has commanded, saying: Speak to the Children of Israel, and they Continue Reading »
Posted on September 13, 2014 by Suzanne Hutt
I haven’t always been obsessed with fire. In fact, when I was younger I used to be terrified of it, to the point where I would hide in the pantry closet when anyone in my family lit birthday candles. It’s a long story, but let’s just say it had to do with a Passover hametz-burning Continue Reading »
Posted on April 28, 2014 by Gabby Goodman
Written by Gabby Goodman (Year ’13) As I got ready to lead the Seder for the first time for my family in New York City this year, I remembered last year when I was at Pardes, when I wondered at the fact that I would be sitting at a Seder table in Jerusalem and saying 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 April 8, 2014 by Eli Freedman
On Passover night, we ask many questions. Here is one you may have never asked: why did the Egyptians want to subjugate the Israelites into slavery in the first place? What can we learn about ourselves by connecting Torah, the history of its interpretation, and Jewish conflict resolution theory? Welcome to the Pardes Center for Continue Reading »
Posted on April 5, 2014 by Naomi Bilmes
From my blog: (No, not cleaning the kitchen in my underwear. I’m not that much of an exhibitionist. And it wasn’t even my kitchen, so cleaning in my underwear might have been a wee bit inappropriate.) Thank goodness for Passover, the holiday without which most Jews would never clean their kitchens. But in preparation for the holiday that requires Continue Reading »
Posted on May 27, 2013 by Stuart Matan Lithwick
Hello everybody! Here is something that I wrote in a workshop run by Avigayle Adler! We were asked to write a letter expressing the feelings being felt by one of the 4 sons from the Pesach seder to their father… See what you think! Dear dad! Don’t condemn me for having a strong spirit and Continue Reading »
Posted on May 1, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
Alissa Thomas (Spring ’11) blogs about relating to Jewish Converts, inspired by her own father: There is nothing like seeing my father dressed head to toe in all white. His soul hearkens to the time of the Kabbalistic rabbis who, draped in white clothing, would sing Kabbalat Shabbat in the fields. I imagine my father in his Shabbat white Continue Reading »
