Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on September 4, 2013 by Jessica Baverman
From my blog: Last year, I spent Rosh Hashanah in Ra’anana with a family I hadn’t known more than a month before the holiday. I didn’t prepare much, and I was getting used to being in Israel. This year, I am surrounded by a new set of friends, an amazing partner, and a lot more Continue Reading »
Posted on August 21, 2013 by David Bogomolny
The Genesis at Brandeis University program where I’ve worked for the past two summers has many moving parts on the participant, staff and faculty levels. The ‘investigation’ component of a residential staff member’s responsibilities is an opportunity for professional development, through which the staff person explores an element of hir work at Genesis (or its Continue Reading »
Posted on August 13, 2013 by Adena Kemper
I spent three weeks at Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies this summer, and what did I learn? Yes, I learned about Birkat Hamazon in the Gemara and halachah pertaining to women and even postmodern philosophy. Sure, I learned a few new zemiros tunes and how Karaites differ from rabbinic Jews. But above all, at Pardes Continue Reading »
Posted on August 11, 2013 by David Bogomolny
After three years of living in Israel, I came back to the USA last summer (’12) to work at Genesis at Brandeis University, and one of my best friends came to visit me on one of my days off. I’d last seen her in the summer of ’09 at her wedding. She’s not around any Continue Reading »
Posted on July 29, 2013 by Jim Sumner
לשנה הבאה בירושלים We three friends come from different professional backgrounds. One of us is a teacher, another an asset manager, and the third is in politics. Last summer each of us was motivated to take time out of our lives back home to study at Pardes. We arrived at Pardes with different expectations, Continue Reading »
Posted on July 22, 2013 by Susan Daniels
I became a widow in the year 2000. I never thought I’d be checking that box on printed forms and registrations. I had two small children, and a two week old Masters in Education. My most memorable interview was at the Orthodox Day School where I found my new job. The principal tried to convince Continue Reading »
Posted on July 2, 2013 by Ben Macdonald
Two months ago, I decided to do a little experiment. For those who haven’t heard me talking about it, I decided to take 30 days and live shomer mitzvot. I started on Yom HaZikaron and ended on Shavuot and from the first day in I had a really difficult time. First off I needed to Continue Reading »
Posted on June 20, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
Lisa Bodziner is currently the special programs and curriculum coordinator at the Pearlstone Center. She received a Bachelor’s degree in comparative religions from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. She then lived in Israel for four years, receiving a Master’s Degree in Jewish Education from the Pardes Institude and Hebrew College; working at an Ethiopian restaurant Continue Reading »
Posted on June 16, 2013 by Ben Weiss
So this blog post rises out of a series of conversations I’ve had with Pardes students and faculty. There is a (mis)conception that Pardes is a bubble. It is perhaps one of the pitfalls of living in an expatriate environment. It is very easy to stick close to one’s institutional community and let things end Continue Reading »
Posted on June 12, 2013 by Hannah Perlis
Here’s my Dvar from last week’s PEP Graduation! Ralph Wiggum from The Simpsons once said, “When I grow up I wanna be a Principal or a Caterpillar.” When I was younger I thought I wanted to be a supermarket cashier because you get to stand near the candy all day. I learned a lot about Continue Reading »
