These and Those

Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem

Archive: January 2020

מחיה המתים

Posted on January 23, 2020 by Joe Schiff

This blog post was written by Joe Schiff, a second year PEP student. The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting last academic year took eleven lives. I happened to be at Pardes during the attack last year. Among our cohort were multiple people who knew the synagogue, the area, and the victims intimately. When a person is killed, Continue Reading »

No time to Think, Poland 2020

Posted on January 20, 2020 by Lara Rodin

This blog post, written by Lara Rodin, a second year PEP student, was originally posted on January 19, 2020 on her personal blog. It has been reposted here with her permission. “They didn’t have time to think,” Dean Bernstein told us about the victims of Treblinka, Majdanek, Auschwitz, and the other death camps and memorial Continue Reading »

My experience in Poland, 2020

Posted on January 20, 2020 by Branden Charles Johnson

This blog post was written by Branden Johnson, a PEP student. Before learning about the Heritage Poland 2020/5780 trip, I had never wanted to go to Poland. I know many people who have been there, and most of them said it was cold, dark, and too sad. After returning from the trip, I can now Continue Reading »

Day 2 Reflection – Heritage Poland 2020

Posted on January 14, 2020 by Mimi Farb

This blog post was written by Mimi Farb, first year PEP student. My day began with morning minyan in the hotel conference room in Warsaw. We read the beginning of Sefer Shemoth from the tiny Sefer Torah we borrowed from the family of Adi Rubnista, that we carried against our chests later in the day Continue Reading »

The Answer to a Question I Didn’t Ask

Posted on November 28, 2019 by Branden Charles Johnson

This post was written by Branden Johnson (PEEP ’18-’19. PEP ’19-’20). Ever since I was a young child, I have wanted to travel the world and see new places. There are very few places at which I would balk; and even fewer that don’t inspire some amount of curiosity in me. For better or worse, Continue Reading »

Questions with Question Marks

Posted on November 19, 2019 by Lara Rodin

Written by Lara Rodin, PEP ’18-’20. This was previously published on her blog VaYehi Torah. Dear Family and Friends, Our day began with a reminder: that questions have a question mark on the end of them. When taking a diverse group like Pardes to Chevron to hear from perhaps an even more diverse array of narratives, Continue Reading »

In What Am I Obligated – Tefillin and Women

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Lara Rodin

Dear Pardes community, This past week, I was faced with the question of what to do when holy objects of ritual and spiritual expression become tools for political and social provocation, incitement, and aggression.  Last year, I began wrapping tefillin. Tefillin boxes include four essential sections from the Torah taken from the books of Shemot, Exodus Continue Reading »