These and Those

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

Tag Archives: stories and storytelling

About Jerusalem Medley

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Candace Mittel

About Jerusalem Medley As a current resident of Jerusalem, I crave to understand the Whats and Whys and Hows behind the faces I pass by every day. What is life really like here? I mean, let’s get down to it. How do you coexist in one of the world’s most disputed and contested over cities? Continue Reading »

Chassidic Tale (Tisha b’Av)

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Charlie Carnow

R. Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev said on Shabbat Parashat Hazon, the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av, every Jew is shown a vision of the third Beit HaMikdash from afar. A story is told about a visit of Rabbi Shlomo Carliner, the Rebbe of the Carlin-Stolin, to Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi on Tisha B’Av. Rabbi Shlomo Continue Reading »

Dancing with the Enemy

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Joseph Shamash

On my second Encounter trip, as we listened to various Palestinian speakers share their personal stories in a conference room in a Bethlehem hotel, I decided to take a stretch in the back of the room. At that point in the day, we had already listened to a number of speakers and I remember thinking Continue Reading »

a Dvar for Hannah

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Andrea Wiese

Relative to life, Hannah and I are new friends. Even though we knew each other before, we really met at the beginning of this year. I was lucky enough to room with her at the first Shabbaton of the year where I finally got the inside scoop on the engagement. (Eitan really couldn’t provide enough Continue Reading »

Bare

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes

From my blog: This is the story of a girl. Many girls, actually. This story was born long ago, but a recent confluence of events has compelled me to record it today. The events are as follows (some are more like situations than events): Event 1: I live with two boys. This is a situation. Continue Reading »

Bound. because I Want to.

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Sam Kaye

I’m leaving for Israel and my father hands me two bags. “Take these with you. The furrier, Shlomo, your great grandmother’s brother-in-law, left them to me. Find out if it’s meaningful for you.” The first is black felt, light to the touch, with a golden Magen David embroidered in cord on its front. The Tallit Continue Reading »

Paying a price

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Avi Benson-Goldberg

From my blog: This week, in Israel, has been particularly focused on the costs of establishing an idealist state in a previously inhabited plot of land. I’m not trying to dig too deep into the politics of it; rather I’m interested in the idea of the prices we pay to live where we do. After Continue Reading »

The Photograph

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Tadea Klein

There is a little girl in a photograph A fair-haired, sweet-faced thing Her arms wrapped around the neck of a man with dark, calm eyes and the inquisitive sniffing nose of a true Jew I know that this girl in her red shirt and black velvet dress, whose earliest memory is the sound of shouting, Continue Reading »

Sarah the Mother

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Annie Matan Gilbert

From my blog: The following snippets were written as part of a Storahtelling exercise to help us get to know the characters/voices with which we are teaching Torah. We are working with some verses from Parshat Vayera, Genesis Chapter 21, verses 8-10. In character, we were asked to answer the following questions: My biggest regret Continue Reading »

December 14, 2008 (I think)–The Day that Accidentally Changed my Life Forever

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Derek Kwait

Never underestimate the impact of one good deed, on the doer at least as much as on the recipient. I went on Birthright through Hillel in late December 2008. During one of our pre-Israel orientation sessions, they told us we would have the opportunity to pack suitcases filled with clothes, shoes, toys, etc.at the JCC Continue Reading »