These and Those

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

Archive: April 2013

[Video] A Matzoh Story

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Mary Brett Koplen

Things You Can Make With Leftover Matzoh: Matzoh Brei, Matzoh Cookies, Matzoh Balls, Matzoh Stories.

The Place We Pray For

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Mary Brett Koplen

A post from my Cowbird in honor of the new semester: Early on the third day, the sun comes over the houses to the east of us. I open my eyes, kick sticky blankets to the floor. How was last night so cold? The glass on my window is hot when I touch it. My Continue Reading »

Three Words

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Mary Brett Koplen

A story from my Cowbird: On the sidewalk H squints at the passing buses, trying to read their destinations as they motion quickly towards the places they will go. I pretend to help, but the combination of foreign characters and moving vehicles spins my head. “You’ll learn the language soon,” H says to me smiling. Continue Reading »

I Am That I Am

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Mary Brett Koplen

Originally posted on my CowBird: I AM THAT I AM. Julie is 52 and plays the dulcimer. She is a teacher and a doodler. She strikes a note. “Listen up, Israel,” the first note says to the next. Danielle is 20 and is Pro-Israel, Pro-Palestine, Pro-Peace. She tells me: “To get to the Holy Western Continue Reading »

Reading Tealeaves

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Mary Brett Koplen

Originally posted on CowBird: With Ohio in the past, I’ve counted every day I’ve been away. 37, 38, 39. Forty were the days that Noah didn’t drown. The years that Moses wandered. High above the water we float, the dry ocean heaving, bare feet pressing into ground solid but unknown. Nearness pending, but Moses never Continue Reading »

Take the Light Away

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Mary Brett Koplen

Originally posted on CowBird. Har Nof, Jerusalem: a village of the black-hatted and side-locked sort of faithful, and these are the people we pass this Saturday evening. We walk through the middle of the street, knowing there will be no cars, that the stores will all be closed. I turn to my brother-in-law, his black Continue Reading »

Learning with Pardes: Thoughts in Photos

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Mary Brett Koplen

I originally posted this on my blog after my summer session at Pardes… and I will hopefully be studying with you all next year. I had such an amazing experience this summer, and I can’t wait to be back! In the three weeks I studied at Pardes, I learned more than I ever knew I Continue Reading »

Video Blog

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Mary Brett Koplen

Cross-posted from here:

Women and Walls

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Mary Brett Koplen

Mary Brett Koplen, Pardes Summer learner, shares her Rosh Chodesh experience with Women of the Wall. For more of Mary Brett’s writing or to see her original post, visit her website: Where the Gnome Goes (A Traveling Blog). At 6:15am, I am showered and partially coffeed. I stand on a Jerusalem street corner with my Continue Reading »