Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on December 19, 2013 by Sara Spanjer
One of the most exciting things that can happen in Jewish education is when one Jewish school meets another. This past week my two Jewish schools collided, Pardes and The Weber School. Although we are all different ages, ranging from high school to post-college to grandparents, being Jewish and being in Israel brought us together.
The Weber School’s Senior Israel Experience has the privilege of visiting Pardes each year on their trip. Pardes and The Weber School are both trans-denominational communities, and several teachers at The Weber School are Pardes graduates. Since we come from a variety of Jewish upbringings, we took some time discussing our similarities.
Avi teaching Weber School students
Avi Benson-Goldberg, a second-year Pardes student, put together a fun program about Parshat Vayechi. Students in the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators (PCJE) worked in havruta with students from The Weber School in the Beit Midrash. We took turns presenting our thoughts and feelings about the parsha. Both groups learned so much from one another.
Pardes’s students are wonderful, welcoming, and insightful, just like the amazing student body at The Weber School!
Sara with her Weber School visitors
Before enrolling this year in the Pardes Experiential Educators Program (PEEP), Sara Spanjer worked as a Jewish experiential educator at The Weber School. Originally from Atlanta, Sara received a BA in Sociology from University of Alabama Georgia State University.
