These and Those

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

Archive: January 2013

[Alumni Guest Post] I also have a dream?

Posted on January 21, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

Dan (Year ’10) shared the following reflection on Facebook… his writing is poignant as usual! Dear MLK: from one flawed human being to another flawed human being who changed the world – how did you do it? How did you see a different reality when others said there’s no chance that it will come true? Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Ben Gurin & Sydni Adler

Posted on January 21, 2013 by David Bogomolny

Sydni Adler (Year ’13) and Ben Gurin (Year ’13) met during the Summer of ’10 in Washington DC, as participants on the Mechon Kaplan program of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Together with their cohort, they took classes on Social Justice and Judaism, and each interned for an NGO; Sydni worked on campaign Continue Reading »

A Recipe for Tu b’Shevat

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Leah Kahn

This recipe has some middle eastern flair but is also a good recipe for spring because it has some detoxifying ingredients, especially in the greens. There is also a great deal of fiber in the beans and red rice, and if you are sick of tahini, this recipe offers a new spin on the middle Continue Reading »

For the Win

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes

From my blog, posted after the Arava Tiyul: One year ago, I was about to take a semester off from college. I was the thinnest I had ever been; I could no longer run or bike; the slightest bit of yoga made me dizzy. My stomach twisted and turned every day, and I hated my Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] Tzfat Shabbat

Posted on January 20, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

From Daniel Shibley’s (Fellows ’12) blog: Tzfat (Photo credit: tunnelarmr) The mystical city of Tzfat, in which I spent Shabbat with my parents, is renowned on numerous levels. Rich in history, Tzfat is one of the holy cities of Judaism. Atop the mountain, blasted by a stiff wind, sits a crusader fortress which lies in Continue Reading »

[PCJE Dvar Torah] Jeff Amshalem — Circles and Lines: the Maor vaShamesh on Parshat Beshalach

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Jeff Amshalem

An abridged version of a teaching from R. Kalonymus Kalpan Halevi Epstein, the Maor vaShamesh. וַתִּקַּח מִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן אֶת הַתֹּף בְּיָדָהּ וַתֵּצֶאןָ כָל הַנָּשִׁים אַחֲרֶיהָ בְּתֻפִּים וּבִמְחֹלֹת: וַתַּעַן לָהֶם מִרְיָם שִׁירוּ לַי־הֹוָ־ה כִּי גָאֹה גָּאָה סוּס וְרֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם                 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, Continue Reading »

The Place We Pray For

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Mary Brett Koplen

A post from my Cowbird in honor of the new semester: Early on the third day, the sun comes over the houses to the east of us. I open my eyes, kick sticky blankets to the floor. How was last night so cold? The glass on my window is hot when I touch it. My Continue Reading »

Lost (and Found) in Jerusalem

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Ma'ayan Dyer

From my blog: After seven months in the States, living a solitary Jewish lifestyle (meaning, an incredibly hollow one, sans community), day after day of ten hour shifts of packing candy on assembly lines, sitting on my tuchus in a call center selling fruit baskets and truffles to rich elderly folks, and waitressing a few Continue Reading »

Swirl Swirl Desert Stop

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes

From my blog: (written two days ago) So, last night, I sat around a crackling fire with a group of religious people chanting incantations in ancient languages while passing around a hand-carved knife and letting the blood from our left pinkie fingers drip over the hot, scalding flames… Okay, that was an exaggeration. But I Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] Pre-Israeli Elections Part II

Posted on January 19, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

Daniel Shibley (Fellows ’12) takes more photos of election signs in Israel: Jerusalem Theater parodies campaign posters Shas sticker on a mailbox.