Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on February 22, 2013 by Aliza Geller
This weekend, Parashat Tetzaveh, Shabbat Zachor is my Bat Mitzvah portion. When I was 12 years old, I wrote a dvar Torah about the maftir and haftarah. The reason this made sense, is that Shabbat Zachor is one of four Shabbatot where the maftir aliyah is from a different place in the Torah. In this Continue Reading »
Posted on February 7, 2013 by Leah Kahn
In last week’s Parsha, Yitro, we left B’nei Yisrael at Mt. Sinai, having just received the Ten Commandments directly from the mouth of God. Most would agree that they are reasonable commandments, which aim to help this newly freed people maintain order and positive values as a newly minted nation. Switching gears immediately from the Continue Reading »
Posted on December 27, 2012 by Jenna King Brill
I gave over this dvar at night seder this week: This week’s parasha is Vayechi, in which, among other things, Jacob dies and we see a scene of apparent reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers. At first, this seems to be an intimate moment in which everyone comes to understand each other, and by the Continue Reading »
Posted on December 13, 2012 by Shira Bee
Originally posted on my blog: Preparatory session for our trip to Hevron (West Bank). Speakers presented about the biblical connection to the region, the historical political background, the view from Breaking the Silence, and from an IDF soldier.
Posted on November 16, 2012 by Aliza Geller
When I was asked to write a Dvar Torah for Parshat Toldot, two memories came to mind: The first, was from when I was in forth grade, at Solomon Schechter of Bergen County, in New Milford, New Jersey. For certain Parshiot, we were assigned to do a project, Parshat Toldot was mine. I made my Continue Reading »
Posted on October 10, 2012 by Heather Kantrowitz
Originally posted on Sept. 19: Hello friends and family!! I’ve finally started school, and it’s been keeping me so busy I haven’t had time to update my blog. So, here’s the past two weeks in a nutshell: 1)SO MUCH LEARNING 2)SO MANY NEW FRIENDS! School: It’s been a combination of challenging and rewarding so far. Continue Reading »
Posted on October 5, 2012 by Sydni Adler
During Sukkot, we celebrate God’s hand in the successes of our past years’ produce and of all the work of our hands (Deut 16:15). Before the destruction of the Temple, Sukkot was much more of a raucous, noisy, purely joyful celebration than it is today. However, today, without the Temple and without sacrifice, what remains Continue Reading »
Posted on September 25, 2012 by Shanee Michaelson
In discussion with my chevrutah, we posited that the snake character of the narrative was rather puzzling. Why would a snake be in conversation with human beings? Moreover, why would a snake have such a pivotal role in גן עדן setting off a series of events and changing the course of humankind? We came to Continue Reading »
Posted on August 26, 2012 by Derek Kwait
This week was my last back at my shul Young People’s Synagogue, which last year, raised around $7,000 to send me to Pardes for a year. Yesterday, I delivered this speech to let them know how their investment turned out. So, how have you all been? For those who don’t know, from September through the Continue Reading »
Posted on May 19, 2012 by Derek Kwait
(X-posted from my home blog, Yinzer in Yerushalayim) One of the unadvertised perks of Pardes is that after studying holy texts in their original in the Beit Midrash for a whole year, no matter how advanced your Hebrew level, you come away with a black-belt in using dictionaries. Yet I have noticed that for all Continue Reading »
