Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on December 16, 2013 by Yisrael Ben Avraham
What does becoming ba’al teshuva look like? I reckon it can take on many forms. How it is presented in A Second Life, by Walter Orenstein, does so in a way that will reinforce the current ba’al teshuva’s decision and will surely raise the curiosity of those on their path to being observant. This book Continue Reading »
Posted on December 16, 2013 by Meira Cohen
On November 29, David Levin-Kruss walked up and down the High Line in NYC, teaching Torah and raising money for cancer research. Among those who joined him was an incoming student. by Meira Cohen I’m not due to arrive in Jerusalem for another month, but I have already experienced the legendary warmth of Pardes. As Continue Reading »
Posted on December 15, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
Alum Daniel Shibley (Year ’11, Fellows ’12) blogs about his IDF experiences: Early last week, we made our first trip to the shooting range. Winter, which had been largely absent until that point, decided to arrive. The winds picked up, spraying sand and dust onto and into everything. I had no idea that dust could Continue Reading »
Posted on December 15, 2013 by Elana Shilling
Posted on December 15, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
From my blog: Day 3 | 14 km: “Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” – Vivian Greene Recap. Where did we leave off? We were sleeping at Beit Sefer Hasadeh thanks to the hesed of Meir. We set our alarms for five, hoping Continue Reading »
Posted on December 15, 2013 by Sara Spanjer
On Monday, December 9, one of our fellow students, Nataliya Naydorf, celebrated her Bat Mitzvah at Robinson’s Arch. Despite the cold weather and wet ground, we were all warm listening to Nataliya read beautifully from the Torah, and her meaningful and well written D’var Torah on Parshat Vayechi. Nataliya is, beyond question, a role model Continue Reading »
Posted on December 14, 2013 by Dorielle Parker
Discovering the art of Sofrut at Pardes I have always felt enchanted by shape. The coffee mug shaped perfectly for my hand. The shoes fit perfectly for my feet. The canvas built perfectly for paint. Letters curved perfectly for words. Words shaped perfectly for Creation. It is told that every Hebrew letter has a specific Continue Reading »
Posted on December 13, 2013 by Andrea Wiese
There is a very famous story about Hillel, which follows: “Most famous perhaps is the incident which occurred before his rise to leadership, when he was not yet a scholar, but had a burning desire to study Torah. At that time, Torah study was tightly controlled and limited only to those of the highest caliber Continue Reading »
Posted on December 12, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
From Yishai Paquin’s (Year ’12) blog: Yes, it is snowing in Jerusalem! Yes, for my family and friends in the United States, it gets cold enough to snow in Jerusalem. Yes, it is a blessing. And yes, it may not seem like a blessing but it is. Sure it is really cold, which is tough Continue Reading »
Posted on December 12, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes
From my blog: Yesterday, Pardes had a MASA adventure. Oh boy, oh boy. Teaming up with HUC (Hebrew Union College), CY (Conservative Yeshiva), and JTS (Jewish Theological Seminary), we commandeered four buses and headed to Tel Aviv. The point of the adventure? To learn about “Jewish Renewal” in Tel Aviv. Contrary to my previous belief, Continue Reading »
