These and Those

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

Tag Archives: blessing / bracha

And You Shall Be A Blessing

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Rachel Opatowsky

There is something about Pardes, genuinely… inspiring. Not only are the teachers animating and knowledgeable, but the material is rich and ever-evolving. We are delving into the text of our ancestors and the books of our people. I became artistically stimulated during one of the sessions of Family Relationships in Genesis with Howard Markose when Continue Reading »

[PCJE] Vezot HaBeracha: His Last Bow

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Binyamin Cohen

Night Seder Chevrutas Binyamin Cohen and David Wallach join together to reflect on this week’s parshah. א  וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה, אֲשֶׁר בֵּרַךְ מֹשֶׁה אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים–אֶת-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:  לִפְנֵי, מוֹתוֹ ב  וַיֹּאמַר, יְהוָה מִסִּינַי בָּא וְזָרַח מִשֵּׂעִיר לָמוֹ–הוֹפִיעַ מֵהַר פָּארָן, וְאָתָה מֵרִבְבֹת קֹדֶשׁ; מִימִינוֹ, אשדת (אֵשׁ דָּת) לָמוֹ “This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, Continue Reading »

Just Keep Learning

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Hannah Joy

From my blog: (I know, I know. I haven’t blogged in months. And my year here will be over in less than three weeks. Unreal.) This past Shabbat was the final Pardes shabbaton. Here are some thoughts I shared at the tisch Friday night. Parshat Bechukotai deals with blessings and curses. It opens with the Continue Reading »

[PCJE Dvar Torah] The Chosen Blessings

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Laura Marder

What do we have to do in order to get the beautiful blessings that are promised to us in this week’s parsha? Blessings that really take care of us – our whole selves, emotionally and physically. Blessings that have blossoming effects on our shared land and bring food and joy to our tables. It seems Continue Reading »

Think about the cycles…

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Andrea Wiese

I presented this on our ’14 trip to Turkey: The first commandment Bnei Israel was given as a people was: שמות יב:ב הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם, רֹאשׁ חֳדָשִׁים: רִאשׁוֹן הוּא לָכֶם, לְחָדְשֵׁי הַשָּׁנָה. Exodus 12:2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] Snow Day in Jerusalem, Blessings, Curses, and Blessings that Seem like Curses

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 »

[PCJE Dvar Torah] Bedrock

Posted on December 12, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

This week’s PCJE dvar Torah comes from Susan Yammer, beloved teaching coach This Dvar Torah is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Nechama bat Velvel V’Aliza, on the occasion of her 13th Yahrzeit. Towards the end of our Parasha, in Bereishit 48:20, the Torah states, So he [Yaakov] blessed them on that day, saying, Continue Reading »

A Bat Mitzvah Blessing

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Nataliya Naydorf

This is the dvar Torah that I gave at my bat mitzvah on Monday: (enjoy!) In this week’s parsha, Yakov, nearing his final days, travels to Egypt to visit Yosef, his favorite son whom he thought was dead. Upon meeting Yosef, he finds that Yosef has two sons of his own, Ephraim and Menashe, born Continue Reading »

[PCJE Dvar Torah] Finding Blessing in Struggle

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Dita Ribner Cooper

During a hike outside of Jerusalem on our first Pardes shabbaton I found myself walking behind two people that had just met. Like all first meetings go, they each introduced themselves, asked where the other was from, and where the other person was living during his/her year in Pardes. It was the beginning of what Continue Reading »

Hebron: Blessing the Bad

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Ben Schneider

It was difficult to go to pray this morning after visiting Hebron yesterday. I’ll write more later about our meeting with the spokesman of the Hebron Jewish community, but suffice to say that I questioned him enough to wonder how we are part of the same people and praying to the same God for assistance. Continue Reading »