Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on October 5, 2016 by Ori Bieder
On the morning of Rosh Hashanah, Rivka went into the bedroom to wake her son and tell him it was time to get ready to go to the synagogue, to which he replied in a dull voice, ‘I’m not going.’ ‘Why not?’ Rivka demanded. ‘l’ll give you two good reasons Mother,’ he said. ‘One, they Continue Reading »
Posted on September 22, 2016 by Mira Niculescu
In honor of fellow Pardes student Jonah potasznick for his bar mitzvah parasha. May he continue to be a men talking to other men, no matter where the mountains are! Ki tavo is one of the last parashiot of the last book of the chumash, Devarim. We are getting towards the end of the kernel Continue Reading »
Posted on July 20, 2016 by Dave Benger
I’ve found that every student at Pardes has a unique backstory, and layer upon layer of reasons for what brought them to this place at this time, each story more intriguing than the last. For me, this summer at Pardes could not have come at a better time. This past year brought some radical transformation Continue Reading »
Posted on March 8, 2016 by Melinda Jones
Every Friday is a rush in my family. Everyone runs backwards and forwards getting ready for Shabbat. In order to have a peaceful and relaxing Shabbat, it seems we need to have lots of stress and much too much shouting. So nothing makes the point of having a day of rest better than that moment when we light candles Continue Reading »
Posted on January 4, 2016 by Savannah Shepherd
Over the past year, I have been trying to write myself into the story of the Jews, looking for the proper label to define myself by. I’ve been searching for the Judaism that feels right and just, and allows me to connect with G-d and my community; I chose this life, after all, and I Continue Reading »
Posted on December 25, 2015 by Tamar Benus
During this time of year, I always start to crave Chinese food, I have a list of holiday movies that I watch annually, and I start to reflect on my past year. I also strategically color coordinate my Chanukah candles, sing every single Chanukah song for the whole month and begin think about my Purim Continue Reading »
Posted on December 18, 2015 by Binyamin Cohen
I don’t deserve this. We don’t deserve this. I’ve changed, we all have. We don’t deserve this, Yehuda thinks to himself, as he approaches the strange man on the strange throne before him. Strange, yet oddly familiar. This man on the seat of power, robed like an Egyptian vizier, but with eyes that make Yehuda Continue Reading »
Posted on December 5, 2015 by Tamar Benus
Miranda Priestly, Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada said: “…that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise. It’s not lapis. It’s actually cerulean.” Last week’s parsha, Parshat Vayeshev, tells the story of Yosef. Famously, Yaakov gives his son Yosef a ketonet pasim (Bereshit 37:3): וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אָהַ֤ב אֶת־יוֹסֵף֙ מִכָּל־בָּנָ֔יו כִּֽי־בֶן־זְקֻנִ֥ים ה֖וּא ל֑וֹ וְעָ֥שָׂה Continue Reading »
Posted on December 4, 2015 by David Derin
This week Jews everywhere, around the entire world, will be reading the story of Yosef and the beginnings of the Jewish people’s journey in Egypt. Parshat Va-Yeshev begins with the story of the tension that exists between Joseph and his brothers. This tension escalates when Yaakov gives Yosef a כתנת פסים, typically understood to be Continue Reading »
Posted on November 27, 2015 by Daniella Adler
“וַיָּבֹא֩ יַֽעֲקֹ֨ב שָׁלֵ֜ם” “Yaakov arrived, whole…” (Genesis 33:18) In this week’s parsha, Parshat Vayishlach, we finally encounter our forefather, Yaakov, settling down, laying roots in the Land of Canaan. He finally arrives whole, complete and at peace. Yaakov arrives “שָׁלֵ֜ם” after countless trials and tribulations, after many personal battles of fear and uncertainty throughout his Continue Reading »
