Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on December 13, 2009 by Brenna
Experiencing prayer is one of my favorite things in Israel and Jerusalem in particular. This whole country is a place of prayer. Where else but Israel, would one hear in the beginning of the show “Survivor” one of the secular contestants sing “Modeh Ani” (a prayer praising G-d for returning to life in the morning)? Continue Reading »
Posted on December 5, 2009 by Mosheh
One central aspect of religion and tradition is ritual. Regardless of one’s theological perspective on the meaning of religious ritual, ritual in and of itself plays a primary role in human life. People have both religious and not-necessarily-religious rituals for waking up, leisure time, family time, important life transitions (such as a bar mitzvah or Continue Reading »
Posted on December 3, 2009 by Pious Antic
The rumors were swirling even before the day of Rav Landes’ shiur k’lali last week. Tuesday morning he would be addressing the Pardes community about kavod shel Beit Midrash (respect for the Beit Midrash) and what this means in terms of behavior. Although presumably no one knew in advance exactly what our Rosh Yeshiva was Continue Reading »
Posted on November 26, 2009 by David Bogomolny
Our Chanukah break is coming up soon, and I’ve been considering what sites in Israel I’d like to visit in my precious free time. Traveling to Rosh HaNikra and Haifa during our last holiday break whetted my appetite for adventuring throughout Israel. Perhaps I’ll take a bus up to Tzfat (I love its gentle atmosphere), Continue Reading »
Posted on November 24, 2009 by Naomi Adland
Two weeks ago, my grandfather passed away. He had been ill for a long time, and it was not a sudden death, but it has been nonetheless a difficult experience. At his funeral, my uncle shared a story about my grandfather that has become something of a mantra for me in the last few weeks: Continue Reading »
Posted on November 18, 2009 by Natalie C.
Last Friday, after three consecutive days of hiking in the Negev, I woke up at 6:30 am. Rather than sleep in, my roommates and I rolled out of bed, boarded a bus, and travelled up north to a kibbutz near Rehovot. Our mission? To “rescue” clementines that would have been left to rot in the Continue Reading »
Posted on November 9, 2009 by Mosheh
I just want to say one thing: I love our tradition. The following is commentary, so buckle in. I love our tradition because of the way it normalizes and honors imperfection – the real, as opposed to idealized, experience of our lives. We will start with examples in Halakhah and then move on to our Continue Reading »
Posted on November 7, 2009 by Pious Antic
During a Shabbat picnic in the Tayelet, the group of Pardesniks I was with was approached by the most evil-looking tomcat I have ever seen in my life. Of all the feral cats I’ve encountered on the streets of Jerusalem, none approached this one for pure badness. This was the Leroy Brown of cats. Continue Reading »
Posted on November 7, 2009 by Katie
Two wonderful things happened to me this week that made me realize why Pardes was the best place I could be post college. One was that I had an amazing conversation with one of my teachers this past week over lunch discussing feminism and Judaism. We discussed our struggle with being obligated or not, how Continue Reading »
Posted on November 3, 2009 by Lauren
On Tuesday afternoons a number of Pardes students volunteer with organizations throughout the Jerusalem area, and I’m working with a community called Yotzer Or. Yotzer Or is composed of mostly immigrant families, many from Ethiopia, who are living in housing projects in the neighborhood of Talpiot directly across from the wealthy neighborhood. They come to Continue Reading »
