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 November 2, 2016 by Miriam Lorie
This post was originally posted on miriammuses.com. Click here for the post. The past month in Jerusalem has been quite an experience. It has been the month of Tishrei, in which some of Judaism’s major festivals fall. Think a cross between the summer holidays (country-wide) and Christmas with all its traditions and cheer, throw in Continue Reading »
Posted on September 18, 2016 by Mira Niculescu
Last Monday was our first day of class at Pardes. I had just arrived from Paris the night before, and the landing hadn’t been easy. Within a few hours of a plane journey, I had transitioned from an intense network of love and relationships to an empty apartment in a new country where I knew Continue Reading »
Posted on September 14, 2016 by Jamie Bornstein
In his writings, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel describes God as the ineffable – that which can be experienced and perceived, but which cannot be adequately described. Rabbi Heschel calls our attention to something stunning and unique to the human condition. While we can only see a definable fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum, and can only Continue Reading »
Posted on September 8, 2016 by Jesse Nagelberg
As a recent college graduate, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what school orientations looked like. You walk into the room, look for someone you know, take a seat, and wait for the teacher to go over the program syllabus, rules, regulations, and expectations. Many times the teacher will tell you all Continue Reading »
Posted on June 1, 2016 by Elana Weiner
If I were to be accused of avodah zarah, it would be to name among the mortal world a God of Audre Lorde. Since I first met her words, I have found meaning and comfort in them. One of my favorite quotes of hers aptly describes what I have learned here at Pardes: “Your silence will not protect Continue Reading »
Posted on May 29, 2016 by Maya Zinkow
When I thought about what I could say to encapsulate two years spent in this special place of learning and growth, I thought about the Maya of two years ago, how she might be unsure of where, even, to begin. There was always the parsha to look to, but if she were to close her Continue Reading »
Posted on December 27, 2015 by Cathy Schechter
There was once a man who was successful in all things. He had a fine wife, a loving family, and a craft for which he was justly famous. But still he was not happy. “I want to know Truth,” he said to his wife. “Then you should seek her,” she replied. So the man put Continue Reading »
