These and Those

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

Archive: May 2011

Poland Trip ’10-’11 Pics

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Aviva P.

Pardes trips to Poland are run in partnership with Heritage Seminars. The Claims Conference has provided trip scholarships for qualifying Pardes participants, as well as subsidies for program components directed at Jewish educators.   

Poland Trip: Noga’s Thoughts

Posted on February 17, 2010 by David Bogomolny

Pardes alumna Noga Fisher & her husband Warren joined us on the 2010 Poland Trip. Here are her thoughts: “It’s been a month since our trip. During our intense 5 days I felt numb much of the time. But since then I have been thawing, thinking and feeling, and the process is far from over. Continue Reading »

Impressions, Poland: Day V, and… Authenticity

Posted on February 16, 2010 by David Bogomolny

This will likely be my final note on the Pardes ’10 Poland Trip. We’ll see. Much of what I’ve reflected upon has been inspired by R. Levi Cooper, and I’m particularly appreciative of his emphasis on the wealth of Eastern European Jewish culture before the Shoah. We spent much of our final day touring the Continue Reading »

Impressions, Poland: Day IV

Posted on February 13, 2010 by David Bogomolny

Auschwitz I (the main Auschwitz camp) has been turned into a museum. I have photographs of the museum displays at Auschwitz I… photographs of human hair and human hair woven into cloth, of spectacles, frames, and lenses, of tallitot (plural form of tallit), of bowls, plates, and cups, of prosthetic limbs and canes, of suitcases Continue Reading »

[PEP Student] Poland Trip: Cheryl’s Poem

Posted on February 11, 2010 by The Director of Digital Media

A poem inspired by the 2010 Pardes Poland trip by Cheryl Stone: MAJDANEK Breathe deeply my dear   Breathe We have long since been forgotten   Breathe They will not remember The guard tower watches over us   Protecting The city pulses nearby But we are already dead   Breathe The light brushing of blue Continue Reading »

Impressions, Poland: Day III

Posted on February 8, 2010 by David Bogomolny

I’ve been busy recently, but that’s not the only reason it’s been taking me so long to write this post. Last week I had a conversation with a chevruta (study partner) on the subject of how we perceive & relate to the presence of G-d (it was a class assignment). We discussed a difficulty that Continue Reading »

Impressions, Poland: Day II

Posted on January 30, 2010 by David Bogomolny

I credit R. Cooper with presenting our group with a broad, illustrative picture of Jewish life in Poland before (and after) the Shoah in addition to exposing us to & teaching us about Nazi horrors. In my posts, I must necessarily gloss over some of the sites we visited because I lack the time to Continue Reading »

Impressions, Poland: Day I

Posted on January 27, 2010 by David Bogomolny

There’s a stunning, old shul (synagogue) in Tikocyn, Poland. It’s made of stone so it remains standing… the wooden synagogues of Polish yesteryear are no longer. The shul currently serves as a museum; the prayers painted upon its walls have been redone by Poles who traced the faded, unfamiliar letters (and made some errors in Continue Reading »

Poland Trip: Jordyn’s e-mail to her Father

Posted on January 24, 2010 by The Director of Digital Media

One of the Poland trip participants wrote an e-mail to her father about the Poland trip, and sent it to me for this Pardes blog… here it is: Hi Poland was an enriching experience. The days were emotionally intense and long and cold, but Rav Levi Cooper–my Hassidic teacher and main tour guide made sure Continue Reading »

Back from Poland

Posted on January 24, 2010 by David Bogomolny

I had intended to post daily from Poland, but the schedule left me exhausted; I didn’t sleep for more than five hours at any time… late nights and early mornings (particularly for those who woke up to daven Shacharit)… trekking through the bone chilling cold and snow of Poland… travelling back and forth by bus Continue Reading »