These and Those

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

Tag Archives: prayer / tefillah / davening

[Alumni Guest Post] D’var Torah: Bereishit

Posted on October 15, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

Naomi Adland (Yr. Prog. ’09-’10, & former Ass’t Dir. of Recruitment) postedthis: This is the d’var torah I gave last Friday night at Shir HaMa’alot, a minyan here in Brooklyn. If you’ve read other things I’ve written, you might think that some of this sounds familiar – and you would be right, because I completely, unashamedly Continue Reading »

Being Cool and Staying in School!

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Heather Kantrowitz

Originally posted on Sept. 19: Hello friends and family!! I’ve finally started school, and it’s been keeping me so busy I haven’t had time to update my blog. So, here’s the past two weeks in a nutshell: 1)SO MUCH LEARNING 2)SO MANY NEW FRIENDS! School: It’s been a combination of challenging and rewarding so far. Continue Reading »

My Spiritual High at Zorba

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Laura Marder

Do you ever feel like there is a cage around you? Like you can carry it around but sometimes it gets heavy and tires you down. Perhaps it restrains you from moving in a comfortable way or running to what you really desire. I hadn’t really thought of myself in a cage at all before Continue Reading »

Tefillin

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Andrea Wiese

Recently, with the help of a teacher and a friend, I have taken on the mitzvah of tefillin. To be honest, I’m not sure when I really started wanting to try it, it’s such a personal experience so it’s hard to say, “I wanted to have this feeling, so I started to wrap tefillin.” But Continue Reading »

צום קל

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Aliza Geller

Cross-posted from my blog: Yom Kippur ended a couple of hours ago, but I cannot fall asleep. Instead, I decided to update my blog. I think that this year has been the easiest fast I have ever had. Last year, I got sick enough that I needed to end the fast a few minutes early. Continue Reading »

Dvar Torah – Parsha Netzavim/Rosh Hashana

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Eric Feldman

What would you do if you were greater than you are? In Judaism, hypothetical situations are occasionally used in order to put ourselvest in a certain mindset – for example, on Passover, we imagine what it would have been like to have been slaves in Egypt.  And now, with these weeks of transformation upon us, Continue Reading »

Who says art projects are for kids?!

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Laura Marder

In our busy daily lives we are programmed as adults to subdue some of our pure emotions in order to be socially acceptable. Sometimes if not addressed through meditation, prayer, alone time etc ..our pure self can be pushed so far below the surface that even we forget who it is we really are. On Continue Reading »

Shofar and God’s Love of Israel

Posted on September 10, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

by Rabbi Alex Israel Cross-posted from his blog Thinking Israel On the one hand, the cycle of the Jewish year is predictable and familiar: The solemnity of Yom Kippur, the smells and feel of the Sukka and the 4 species, the warmth and intimacy of Hannuka, Purim’s raucous frivolity, the tunes and tastes of Seder Continue Reading »

The Rules of the Game

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Ross Meltzer

I am not sure when the last time was I actually did something for the first time. So when I was approached a few days ago to write a blog, I knew instinctively from childhood that I have to try everything once. I wasn’t sure how to approach this, or if anyone would even read Continue Reading »

Kaddish for a friend and teacher – David Goldberg

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Gil

Baruch Dayan HaEmet I have just learned that one of my friends and teachers, David Goldberg, has recently passed away. Given that he has thought me how to lead a prayer service in memory of my father’s yahrzeit, I thought that there would no better opportunity than say the kaddish for him here at Pardes Continue Reading »