These and Those

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

Archive: March 2012

[Self / Soul & Text] Singing

Posted on March 6, 2012 by David Bogomolny

Weariness wrapped itself around him, and in moments of reflection he realized he missed his family. This was a moment of such reflection. He’d wanted to spend some time singing several days earlier, but after meditating and speaking to G-d, he’d been interupted by his roommate before he could begin his song. The interuption had Continue Reading »

[Self / Soul & Text] Mindful Eating

Posted on February 28, 2012 by David Bogomolny

He sighed inwardly. It was Monday morning, and he hadn’t done his “mindful eating practice” yet. He’d been busy. Long days, full of Jewish study and prayer, were keeping him busy… but he knew also that he’d been procrastinating – he didn’t like the idea of this practice. It made him uncomfortable. He put 3 Continue Reading »

[Self / Soul & Text] Hitbodidut

Posted on February 21, 2012 by David Bogomolny

Dear G-d, I’m going to write to You now to review our shared experience of the last hour. I preceded my hitbodidut discussion with a quiet meditation in the yard by my apartment. I meditated for twenty five minutes or so, and I was very pleased to find that my alarm signaled the end of Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Stu Jacobs

Posted on February 21, 2012 by David Bogomolny

“I’m very adamant about a pluralistic model of Jewish practice.” -Stu Jacobs In 5th grade, a teacher inspired Stu Jacobs to explore and gradually start keeping more mitzvot, and throughout his youth the young man strived to connect to and practice a new mitzvah every single year. His teacher had said that ‘he didn’t have Continue Reading »

[Self / Soul & Text] Spiritual Chevruta

Posted on February 14, 2012 by David Bogomolny

She was sitting on an adjacent couch, typing on her computer. Her weekly post was due, and they had completed their session within the past hour. They both thought that posting soon after their experience would be easier – while the thoughts and feelings were still fresh. Her phone rang, and she picked it up. Continue Reading »

[Self / Soul & Text] The Meditation Practice

Posted on February 7, 2012 by David Bogomolny

He was sitting at a cafe in Jerusalem, typing on his laptop. He had meditated for only the third time ever that same evening, and he was ready to write about the experience, but he wasn’t sure where to begin. He was overwhelmed. Life had changed for him recently, and change, especially drastic, transatlantic, soul-searching Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Carolina Rios Mandel

Posted on January 29, 2012 by David Bogomolny

“What influenced me the most was how my parents acted toward others. Both of them were my role models. Both were black sheep… I like black sheep :)” After escaping from Hungary during the Holocaust, Carolina’s grandparents didn’t affiliate themselves with the Jewish community of Venezuela, and raised their children without much Jewish tradition… so it came as Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Shaul Janes

Posted on January 8, 2012 by David Bogomolny

Shaul Janes grew up in Elizabeth, NJ around the corner from a synagogue that his family did not attend. They were culturally Jewish, but their lives were nearly void of Judaism.  As a young man, Shaul fell in love with cooking – he would think about cooking all the time – it became his creative outlet – it was all he wanted to Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Michael Rutenberg Schoenberg

Posted on December 5, 2011 by David Bogomolny

Michael (pronounced Mee-kha-el) originally hails from Portland, Oregon, where he was the only person in the whole city who had shoulder-length payos (sidecurls), and he was often mistaken for a girl until the age of eight or nine because many people did not know what payos were. His parents, two Reform rabbis, had followed a Chassidic Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Sean Leber

Posted on November 14, 2011 by David Bogomolny

Having grown up in Newton, Massachusetts, Sean had a lot of exposure to Judaism. His family’s liberal church would often invite Jewish members of their extended community to speak from the pulpit, and Sean attended many Passover seders at a family friend’s house as a boy. And of course, he only dated Jewish women 🙂 Sean began dating Kelilah Continue Reading »