Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on May 11, 2017 by Rachel Dingman
I looked back on a blog post I wrote in 2014–my first summer here at Pardes. The blog post was titled “I’ve been saying watermelon a lot”. This phrase comes from an amazing Shabbat meal I had at Yaffa Epstein’s house. Everyone started singing and I looked around filled with confusion. Yaffa said “Sing along, Continue Reading »
Posted on April 27, 2017 by Rachel Dingman
Life can only be perfected through the affording of a breathing space from the bustle of everyday life. The individual shakes himself free from ordinary weekday life at short and regular intervals – on every Sabbath… What the Sabbath achieves regarding the individual, the Shemitah achieves with regard to the nation as a whole. – Continue Reading »
Posted on February 19, 2017 by Rachel Dingman
“Oh God, make it last forever…” Hannah Senesh writes as she sits on the shore line of Caesara and I can’t help but feel those words in the depth of my soul. I’ve felt this many times on our tiyulim…when we see the beautiful landscape of the Arava; when we are literally able to touch Continue Reading »
Posted on January 17, 2016 by Rachel Dingman
Today was an incredible reminder of how powerful a story can be. We had the privilege of visiting multiple synagogues today (Italian, Sephardi, Ashkenazi). Each Sefer Torah we looked at, each impeccably crafted stain glass window, and each siddur told a story I will never be able to fully grasp. I felt honored to be Continue Reading »
