Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on May 2, 2021 by Carole Daman
This blog piece was written by Carole Daman (Year ’73-’74, Spirituality Retreat ’13, ’14, ’15, ’17, ’18, WPLS ’08, ’09, PLS ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15, ’16 ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20). Sefer Vayikra begins with an invitation and ends with a warning of alienation. According to Ramban, the Sefer sets forth laws meant to protect the Continue Reading »
Posted on January 26, 2021 by Carole Daman
This blog piece was written by Carole Daman (Year ’73-’74, Spirituality Retreat ’13, ’14, ’15, ’17, ’18, WPLS ’08, ’09, PLS ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15, ’16 ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20). Each year a Day of Learning is dedicated in memory of her late mother, Rose Grossman Goldberg / Brayna Raizel bat Avraham z”l. The following Continue Reading »
Posted on September 21, 2020 by Carole Daman
This blog piece was written by Carole Daman (Year ’73-’74, Spirituality Retreat ’13, ’14, ’15, ’17, ’18, WLS ’08, ’09, ELS ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15, ’16 ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20). Each year a Day of Learning is dedicated in memory of her late husband, Harlan Daman (Tzvi Hirsh ben Dovid Aryeh) z”l. The following is Continue Reading »
Posted on January 23, 2020 by Golda Gross
This blog post was written by Golda Gross a first semester student (Fall 2019) from France. Our last step in Auschwitz was Block 27: a room containing a non-exhaustive list of people who had set foot in this cursed place during the Holocaust. We flipped through the thousands of pages filled with names, and then Continue Reading »
Posted on November 23, 2018 by Jason Gusdorf
Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Joseph’s enslavement. Reading the stories of Bereshit often makes me wonder what the Torah is trying to tell me about my older brother. Three paradigmatic stories in their own right, all emphasizing the volatile and jealous nature of the brotherly relationship. Cain murders Abel, all because a jealous God Continue Reading »
Posted on January 28, 2018 by Simon Montagu
Dvar Torah in memory of Gwen Montagu I’d like to thank Pardes for giving me the opportunity to give a Dvar Torah in memory of my mother Gwen Montagu, נעמי בת שרה, whose Yahrtzeit is this Thursday, the 9th of Shevat. As my second semester studying here begins, I want to share some of my Continue Reading »
Posted on December 15, 2016 by Seth Korelitz
Although we sometimes forget it, the Torah is not just a great religious text, it’s also a great literary text. For instance, the Torah often uses doubling — particularly of words or events — as a narrative technique. We’ll see probably the clearest example of this in the coming weeks, in the story of Joseph. Continue Reading »
Posted on December 8, 2016 by Elana Rothenberg
As part of a diverse community at Pardes, and an even greater multifaceted community within Israel at large, I am constantly intrigued at the different ways others, whom I might otherwise consider so similar to myself, view and interact with the world. At Pardes, coming together as one community each day to learn and exist Continue Reading »
Posted on November 15, 2016 by Adam Josephs
Gen. 18:16 The men set out from there and looked down toward Sodom, Avraham walking with them to see them off. וַיָקמו מִשָם הָאֲנָשִים, וַיַשְקפו עַל-פְנֵי סְדם; וְאַבְרהָם–הֹלְֵ עִמָם, לְשַלְחָם. and Gen. 21:14 Early next morning Avraham took some bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He placed them over her Continue Reading »
Posted on November 6, 2016 by Mira Niculescu
The silence after love: stretching space for all to be. A Kavannah for the month of Cheshvan Last Tuesday morning was the first day of Rosh chodesh Cheshvan 5777. All of us at Pardes, faculty and students, alumni and guests, were invited to a communal morning davening, to welcome in the new month all together. Continue Reading »
