Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on December 23, 2014 by Bracha Berkson
I remember the first Chanukah I ever celebrated. It was 2003 and I had been thinking about converting for a little over a year. I was already in the process of meeting with a Rabbi and was beginning to participate in Jewish holidays. I was also living at the time with my non-Jewish boyfriend. November Continue Reading »
Posted on December 27, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes
From my blog: On Tuesday night, I went to Bethlehem. Growing up in America, all I saw of Christmas were signs reading “Buy One get One FREE” and “Sale: 70% mark down! 5-7am only!!” All I saw was consumerism and a huge traffic jam outside of the church. But this year I’m in the Middle Continue Reading »
Posted on December 21, 2013 by Jessica Baverman
From my blog: Can’t believe it, but December is almost over! We just survived a big snow storm here in Jerusalem last week. You might have heard about it – Jerusalem shut down for a week, and we were stuck inside for a while. It did give Emet and I lots of time to work Continue Reading »
Posted on January 13, 2012 by Derek Kwait
(X-posted from my home blog, Yinzer in Yerushalayim) Last year on Parshat Sh’mot, I gave the following speech at Young People’s Synagogue where I announced my intention to apply to Pardes for the coming year. As it turns out, once I got to Pardes, I spent most of the first semester in Chumash studying Parshat Continue Reading »
Posted on December 31, 2011 by Derek Kwait
(X-posted from my home blog, Yinzer in Yerushalayim) Menorah at the Jerusalem Great Synagogue This was actually my second Chanuka in Israel, I was here on Birthright in December 2008. So the menorahs on the streetlights, the Chabad menorahs in every public square, the impossibly delicious-looking sufganiyot* everywhere, and the total lack of anything Continue Reading »
