Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on September 8, 2012 by Leah Kahn
In looking back at our Poland Heritage Trip in January, it’s quite difficult to fathom just how much we witnessed in 5 short days. We began with the colorful tapestry of Jewish life that existed in Warsaw and Lublin, which was hardly a foreshadowing of what was to come. We tapped into the spirituality of Continue Reading »
Posted on April 23, 2012 by Laura H.
Being in Israel has taught me how to prepare. No, not how to properly pack bags, or take provisions for a hike – both of which are useful skills in this country, but how to prepare mentally. I noticed this immediately when I arrived. Pardes began as the month of Elul started, a time when Continue Reading »
Posted on April 21, 2012 by Laura H.
Today we went to Majdanek. I walked around the camp thinking a lot about why I came back to Poland. I had a hard time focusing on what was around me and found myself intellectualizing, rather than feeling things. I pictured much of the imagery from Survival in Auschwitz to try to visualize camp life. Continue Reading »
Posted on March 29, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart
(The fifth in a series of 5 posts detailing my heritage trip to Poland… originally posted on my blog) ___________________ Righteous Among the Nations “Whoever saves one life, saves the entire world”- Talmud In a world where morality no longer existed, where any action could lead to one’s death, there were people who stood out Continue Reading »
Posted on March 29, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart
(The fourth in a series of 5 posts detailing my heritage trip to Poland… originally posted on my blog) ___________________ Belzec “Earth do not cover my blood / Let there be no resting place for my outcry” (Job 16:18) When many people think of concentration camps, they think of Auschwitz. Why? Because many of Continue Reading »
Posted on March 28, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart
(The third in a series of 5 posts detailing my heritage trip to Poland… originally posted on my blog) ___________________ Houses of Life We visited several Jewish cemetaries throughout Poland. In ordinary circumstances, a cemetery would seem like a low point on an itinerary. In Poland, cemeteries were a way to remember and memorialize great lives that were lived. Continue Reading »
Posted on March 27, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart
(The second in a series of 5 posts detailing my heritage trip to Poland… originally posted on my blog) ___________________ Gone Now are Those Little Towns “Gone now are those little towns where the shoemaker was a poet, the watchmaker a philosopher, the barber a troubadour…” –Antoni Sionimski, “Elegy for the Jewish Villages” Tykocin
Posted on March 27, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart
On January 15th, I went to Poland with a group of students and faculty from my school. The trip was a “heritage seminar,” an opportunity to explore and appreciate the Jewish vibrancy that existed in Poland prior to World War II, much of which has left an enduring mark on the history of the Jewish people. Continue Reading »
Posted on February 21, 2012 by Leah Stern
This was it. This was the part of the trip that I had most been afraid of. I had always been afraid of visiting this place, it was part of the reason I had delayed going to Poland until now. The name that is engraved on the heart of every Jew: Auschwitz. I have always Continue Reading »
Posted on January 22, 2012 by Leah Stern
Hi Pardesians and World, On Friday morning at 4:30 AM, I arrived back from Poland with my fellow Pardesians. Though we are happy to be back in Israel and are looking forward to the coming semester, we continue to process and ask questions about our experience in Poland. The first experience I would like to Continue Reading »
