Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Many Voices, One Community – A Student’s Reflection from the Beit Midrash
Posted on December 3, 2018 by Julia Ullman 
Pardes Executive Learning Seminars. . . ‘truly a part of paradise’
Posted on October 9, 2018 by David Greenspoon
“What would George do?” On Tshuvah and changing the way we think about change
Posted on September 13, 2018 by Mira Niculescu
Posted on August 19, 2018 by Steven Michael Grafton Philp
It’s worth taking a moment to consider the radical nature of the rabbinic project. When the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E., there was no guarantee that the Israelite people, their culture, or their way of life would survive. In response to this uncertainty, the rabbis offered a profound reformulation of religious thought and Continue Reading »
Posted on July 31, 2018 by Aviva Turner
“But why are we here? And why can’t we be kinder and more tolerant of each other, other Jews, but also non-Jews?” Those were the questions my favorite havruta (study partner) kept asking through our three weeks together. I can’t say I had any answers, but the opportunity to pose these questions and others like Continue Reading »
Posted on July 22, 2018 by Mira Niculescu
Today, Tisha B’ Av, we commemorate the destruction and mourn the burning of the temple. As I open Facebook mechanically, trying to forget the hunger of a fast day, here I see it: a video shared, showing southern Israeli fields burning. Acres and acres of fields and forests and trees burning from fire kites sent Continue Reading »
Posted on July 16, 2018 by Peggy Kaz
This blog was originally published on http://pegandsidsblog.blogspot.com/. I started school on Monday. We were introduced to the Pardes Institute about 4 years ago, and have attended many classes and lectures there. It’s a top notch academy with an exceptional roster of instructors. The course offerings were mind-boggling and it was difficult to choose which ones to Continue Reading »
Posted on May 24, 2018 by Shira M. Cohen-Goldberg
This post originally appeared in Kveller. Click here to read the original. It’s weird to be pregnant again. People ask me the sex of the baby all of the time, and I say “girl,” and they say, “Oh, and how about your other kids? Boys? Girls?” And when I’m not in the mood to give Continue Reading »
Posted on May 22, 2018 by Mark S. Cohen
I am taking this opportunity to extend to the entire Pardes faculty and staff my appreciation for the great experience that I had during this past month participating in the Pardes Community Education Omer Program. Especially working full-time “in the States”, the timing worked out perfectly, enabling me to learn in the mornings, and then Continue Reading »
Posted on May 22, 2018 by Chavah Troyka
When you read the Torah, it’s impossible to miss the drama of the beginning of the revelation at Sinai. But it’s easy to read right past the end without even realizing what’s just happened. In Bamidbar 10:10, G-d is simply giving another mitzvah to the Jewish people. Then suddenly, in Bamidbar 10:11, without any explanation Continue Reading »
Posted on March 26, 2018 by Gavi Bernat-Kunin Kornsgold
Shabbat entered with a wonderful sense of familiarity. Again we were at the Etz HaHayim synagogue in Ortakoy, honored with co-leading and energizing Friday night services and dinner with our lively songs. Joining us was an Israeli dance group who we were going to see perform Saturday night at the Carmiel dance show! This was Continue Reading »
Posted on March 23, 2018 by Maxim Delchev
We just came back from the Ulus School in Istanbul, where we spent our two days learning together with the high-school students about Pesach. And we decided instead of sharing with you what we taught in the school (we hope that the kids will share that next Friday on their Pesach celebrations at home), all Continue Reading »
Posted on March 23, 2018 by Maxim Delchev
A Rabbi, a medical doctor, a biologist, 12 teenagers and a director of spice trade corporation went together to a dining hall…. And that is not the beginning of a very strange joke. But it was exactly what happened to us in our second day in the Pardes trip to Turkey. While we spent most Continue Reading »
