These and Those

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

Archive: February 2014

Tribal gowns and knit kippot

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Sam Stern

From my blog: She believed in dreams, all right, but she also believed in doing something about them. When Prince Charming didn’t come along, she went over to the palace and got him. For anyone who hasn’t already heard the play-by-play (or can’t wait to hear it again) of the Beit Din/mikva experience, click HERE Continue Reading »

Play-by-play:

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Sam Stern

From my blog: Tuesday (Jan 28/27 Shevat): It was a normal Tuesday evening. Finish Pardes classes at 5, frantically run to the bus stop, ride around Jerusalem for about an hour, sit through my lady learning class, talk to Rav D, go home angry. But on this particular night, I left thinking “ma nishtana ha’lila Continue Reading »

Carving out Freedom

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Naomi Bilmes

From my blog: וְהַ֨לֻּחֹ֔ת מַֽעֲשֵׂ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים הֵ֑מָּה וְהַמִּכְתָּ֗ב מִכְתַּ֤ב אֱלֹהִים֙ ה֔וּא חָר֖וּת עַל־הַלֻּחֹֽת “And the tablets were a work of God; the writing was the writing of God; it was carved on the tablets.” (Exodus 32:16) Moses has smashed the first set of tablets. He has pleaded with God to spare the Jewish people or Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] Borscht Recipe!

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Nataliya Naydorf

You will need: 1 defrosted chicken thigh (or veggie bullion cube or 2 tablespoons of olive oil) 1 medium sized onion (peeled and whole) 1 half of a cabbage (grated) 2 medium sized potatoes (peeled and cubed) 2 medium carrots (peeled and cubed) 1 beet (grated) ketchup (to taste) (trust me) salt (to taste) pepper Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] Pardes didn’t change my life

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Vicki Raun

Alum Vicki Raun (Year ’11, Fellows ’12) continues to study at Pardes in the evenings, and this is her personal reflection: Pardes didn’t change my life and I don’t expect it to in the future. Which is why I continue to take classes and attend Night Seder. Yes, I moved 7,626 miles [according to Google] Continue Reading »

Taanit Dibur 9th of Adar Project

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Aaron Rabinowitz

These photographs featuring Pardesniks Sam Stern (Year ’14) and Max Einsohn (MAPP ’14) aim to show how we are constricted by the lashon hara that we speak. I was trying to show that if we break the bonds of speaking lashon hara (or in this case peel off the gags of lashon hara), then we Continue Reading »

9 Adar: Happy Conflicts!

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Aliza Geller

Imagine that you are at summer camp. You are a rising 5th grader, and share a communal bathhouse with rising 6th and 7th graders. It so happens that whenever you go to wait in line to brush your teeth there is a 7th grader who pushes her way to the front of the line. What Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] The Intersession Bible

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Nina Gordon-Kirsch

On Sunday morning, I arrive at Pardes to empty hallways and a quiet Beit Midrash. No hassles or traffic jams, I find my locker and take my class materials into Room 5, or rather, the space that has been my womb for sometime now. Fall semester ended just three days prior, and I’m not yet Continue Reading »

Putting on Tefillin for the First Time

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Jessica Baverman

There has been a lot of hype around women wearing tefillin lately (see here, here, here, and here). Since I just started taking the “Women and Mitzvot” class, this is a topic that I have followed. I’ve also been intrigued by the whole idea of tefillin for a while now. For most of my life, I saw tefillin as Continue Reading »

[PCJE Dvar Torah] Spirit Dressing

Posted on February 6, 2014 by AdAm Mayer

Getting dressed in the morning is a necessary part of my day. It prepares me physically to go out into the world – If I did not have clothes, I would not be able to leave my room. It prepares me mentally and emotionally as well. I think, feel and behave differently when I dress Continue Reading »