Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on September 18, 2016 by Mira Niculescu
Last Monday was our first day of class at Pardes. I had just arrived from Paris the night before, and the landing hadn’t been easy. Within a few hours of a plane journey, I had transitioned from an intense network of love and relationships to an empty apartment in a new country where I knew Continue Reading »
Posted on December 12, 2014 by David Wallach
Night Seder Chevrutas Binyamin Cohen and David Wallach join together to reflect on this week’s parshah. בראשית ל”ז:י”ט-כ’ וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל-אָחִיו הִנֵּה בַּעַל הַחֲלֹמוֹת הַלָּזֶה בָּא. וְעַתָּה לְכוּ וְנַהַרְגֵהוּ וְנַשְׁלִכֵהוּ בְּאַחַד הַבֹּרוֹת וְאָמַרְנוּ חַיָּה רָעָה אֲכָלָתְהוּ וְנִרְאֶה מַה-יִּהְיוּ חֲלֹמֹתָיו. They said to one another, “here comes the dreamer! Let’s kill him and throw him into Continue Reading »
Posted on October 6, 2014 by Jonah P.
תנא מיכאל באחת גבריאל בשתים אליהו בארבע ומלאך המות בשמנה ובשעת המגפה באחת It was taught: [the angel] Michael [travels] in one [flight], Gabriel in two, Elijah in four, and the Angel of Death in eight. And in a time of plague, the Angel of Death in one. My hevruta and I came across Continue Reading »
Posted on October 1, 2014 by Susan Fendrick
Pardes alumni, Susan P. Fendrick reminisces on her days at Pardes as she witnesses the next generation of women learning Talmud in this post originally published in the Jewish Advocate. Last week was a milestone in my daughter’s life—the kind of “first” that Jewish mothers of girls delightedly anticipate their daughters reaching, waiting to welcome Continue Reading »
Posted on September 9, 2014 by Sarah Marx
For a place so much associated with desert and stone and sun, Jerusalem is full of blue. My morning walk to school is painted blue, in both broad and slender strokes: the giant turquoise sky, or the thin stripes of the Israeli flag, or the joyful cerulean paint on someone’s shutters or garden fence. Even Continue Reading »
Posted on July 30, 2014 by Carrie Sealine
I shared these words at the final Community Lunch of the 2014 Summer Program: I am an unorthodox Jew. But I know I am Israel because I wrestle with Divine Power — אל — all the time. ישראל: the Power Wrestlers. Among the powers with which I struggle is the power that comes from privilege. Continue Reading »
Posted on July 28, 2014 by Joanne Pollack-Reed
It was a gigantic leap of faith to apply and attend Pardes this summer. Forefront in my mind was if I, a 51 yr old – out of school forever- mom would be able to keep up. Would I be that student that clearly did not belong? My fears were put firmly to rest at Continue Reading »
Posted on June 7, 2014 by Hirsch Fishman
X-posted from Eryn’s blog post: Eryn London (Summer ’06 & ’07, Community Education ’10, Year ’10-’11, Hourly ’11-’12) made Aliya from New Jersey three years ago. She is currently studying in the Manhiga Hilchatit Program at Midreshet Lindenbaum, which is a 5 year advanced Halacha learning program. Beyond learning she also runs activities at a Continue Reading »
Posted on May 26, 2014 by Tani Cohen-Fraade
From my blog: A question that is a very hot topic right now in Jewish education is about what the role of technology should be in the Jewish classroom. It was once a given that Jewish learning was being done in physical books. Enter the Xerox machine. All of a sudden, we don’t need to 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 »
