Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on September 12, 2011 by Shibley
Since arriving in Israel last July, I have repeated numerous times the phrase, “The only thing worse than an Israeli driver is an Israeli driver in training.” They fly or creep down my street with the big lamed on top of the car. Sometimes multiple students are in the back seat. The instructor often has Continue Reading »
Posted on September 12, 2011 by Shibley
A few years ago, I had the privilege and the pleasure of living in Manhattan while I was learning at Yeshivat Hadar. New York is well known as a center of culture, arts, business, and the like. There is also a significant population of weirdos in New York, as in any city. I developed two Continue Reading »
Posted on September 11, 2011 by Andrea Wiese
Today I had my first Personalizing Prayer class. Although the name might make it seem obvious to some, the class is suppose to help the students become more familiar with the Siddur, Hebrew prayer book, the language, and to really understand the words and meaning of the prayer. Some people would prefer a different class Continue Reading »
Posted on September 11, 2011 by The Director of Digital Media
Let’s meet some more of this year’s Pardes Fellows! David was born in Jerusalem, but he grew up in New Jersey, and he lived in Washington, DC for several years before coming to study at Pardes in 2009. He completed his undergraduate education at CWRU in biomedical engineering, worked for two years as an AmeriCorps Continue Reading »
Posted on September 9, 2011 by The Director of Digital Media
Let’s meet some of this year’s Pardes Fellows! Benjamin Barer is from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and first attended Pardes in the Fall of 2010 before completing his undergraduate studies in philosophy at UBC last Spring. Before matriculating at UBC, Ben studied at a Chofetz Chayim yeshiva for high school in Vancouver, and now at Pardes, Ben revels in the diverse Continue Reading »
Posted on September 8, 2011 by Barer
This week’s parsha contains a panoply of laws, customs, and rituals, in no readily ascertainable order. Given the mixed nature of the parsha, a theme is harder to come by than in most weeks. I want to focus on a repeated phrase appearing in connection to a number of the negative commandments that I think Continue Reading »
Posted on September 8, 2011 by Shibley
Throughout the first year of of my blog I tried to write about a few different locations where I davened, in an effort to try and understand how a space does or does not impact the tfillah experience. Yesterday afternoon, I was asked by one of my Pardes teachers if I would go to mincha Continue Reading »
Posted on September 8, 2011 by Shibley
With the onset of Rosh Hodesh Elul, we will begin the twice daily recitation of Psalm 27, along with the daily blasts of the shofar. Sephardic communities begin the recitation of slichot (liturgical poems for forgiveness), and the gradual ascension from Tisha b’Av to Rosha Hashana increases its gradient. As such, I thought it would Continue Reading »
Posted on September 6, 2011 by Barer
Having recently returned to studying at Pardes I have noticed that there are two basic types of Jewish pedagogy. There are countless Jewish texts, from the Torah to the most obscure commentaries, but regardless of the source being drawn on, a teacher can choose to present an idea or set of ideas in one of Continue Reading »
Posted on September 6, 2011 by Shibley
When living far from loved ones in a distant land, Skype becomes a helpful tool for remaining in touch, and seeing the faces of friends and family. However, I would propose several rules of public skype ettiquite, for most a more positive skyping experience for you and those seated near you. In no particular order. Continue Reading »
