These and Those

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

Tag Archives: religion

The Magic Touch

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes

From my blog: Sometimes, a simple touch can make all the difference. In the Jewish world, some girls don’t touch boys. Some girls touch some boys. Some girls touch only one boy, and everyone hugs their mother. As a part of this world, I have become especially attuned to the presence and absence of human Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Ben Gurin & Sydni Adler

Posted on January 21, 2013 by David Bogomolny

Sydni Adler (Year ’13) and Ben Gurin (Year ’13) met during the Summer of ’10 in Washington DC, as participants on the Mechon Kaplan program of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Together with their cohort, they took classes on Social Justice and Judaism, and each interned for an NGO; Sydni worked on campaign Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] Ben Barer: Why Pray?

Posted on January 7, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

Ben Barer (Fellows ’11-’12) tackles the issue of Jewish prayer as an Atheist in this blog post: One of the toughest questions for me, as a religious atheist, is what do I gain bydavenning (praying).  Alain de Botton, in his fabulous book Religion for Atheists; a Non-believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion, offers a number of answers Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] Shira Abramowitz – The Burden of Legacy: It is no dream.

Posted on January 4, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

Shira has left us for another adventure, and we miss her… But her insightful writing continues (x-posted here below)! Legacy. A pretty big word around here. Here being Jerusalem, a city that many nations hold dear due to its history and importance in relation to their people, their culture, their religion. As a proud member of Continue Reading »

Jerusalem Redeemed or Jerusalem L’Malah, Jerusalem L’Matah

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Tadea Klein

Jerusalem is redeemed by her ordinariness By the wait for tardy buses the fear of meshugeneh drivers the lines at the bank In rows of clothes hung out to dry, I see ordinary people, with habitual concerns Petty, of this earth, utterly familiar and utterly commonplace Jerusalem is elevated by her extraordinariness By Arab women Continue Reading »

Women of the Wall Rosh Chodesh Tevet

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Andrea Wiese

Originally posted on my blog: I recently learned about Women of the Wall and their struggle for equality at the Kotel, the Western Wall, the most significant religious site for Jews. Every Rosh Chodesh they go to the Kotel to pray together in a minyan (technically, a group of 10 Jewish men, but for them, Continue Reading »

Newton’s Third Law and the Jewish Question

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Derek Kwait

Maybe it’s because I grew up feeling like one, or maybe it’s just some genetic Jewish thing, but for whatever reason, I’ve always sympathized with the outsider. When I went on the Tale of Three Cities tiyyul the two weeks ago, I didn’t know what to expect, except that we were going to meet three Continue Reading »

The Old City

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Ari Abelman

From my blog: Over Sukkot vacation, I got to do some relaxing and some traveling.  Sam and I spent a day at the beach in Tel-Aviv, and another day exploring the Old City of Jerusalem.  On previous trips, I spent a lot of time in the Old City’s Jewish quarter, which has a very touristy, 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 »

Bipartisanship

Posted on May 15, 2012 by David Bogomolny

“Too often bipartisanship is equated with centrism or deal cutting. Bipartisanship is not the opposite of principle. One can be very conservative or very liberal and still have a bipartisan mindset. Such a mindset acknowledges that the other party is also patriotic and may have some good ideas. It acknowledges that national unity is important, Continue Reading »