Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on December 25, 2013 by Jessica Baverman
From my blog: Prayer is a topic that I feel constantly comes up at school, and I’m amazed at how many people say they truly struggle with it. I never thought that prayer was something religious people struggled with. You either do it and love it or don’t feel connected to it at all and Continue Reading »
Posted on December 19, 2013 by Lisa Motenko
I chose to write a dvar torah for this week’s portion of Shemot because it is the week of my birthday and this was also the portion for my bat mitzvah 17 (gasp!) years ago! I have been privileged to study Shemot in depth this semester at Pardes and could describe dozens of fascinating insights, Continue Reading »
Posted on December 18, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
From my blog: I find it fascinating how quickly our lives can change, often times without us even realizing it. On top of that, how quickly we can change the lives of others, of future generations, surely without them realizing it. It’s a rainy day outside, so you take the bus to work instead of Continue Reading »
Posted on November 14, 2013 by Jeremy Borovitz
I’ve been suffering for some years now from a self prescribed disease known as “Shtetl Nostalgia.” Perhaps unique to 4th generation Ashkenazi Jewish Americans of the Galician frontier, it mainly consists of an intense longing for a time and a place that I never knew and that wasn’t nearly anything like I imagine. Yet I’m Continue Reading »
Posted on November 10, 2013 by Sam Stern
From my blog: Well, angelfish, the solution to your problem is simple. The only way to get what you want is to become a human yourself. It was 1:53PM Monday afternoon as I stood outside of Pardes dialing the Jewish Agency. When the call ended 4 minutes later, I felt so distant from this country Continue Reading »
Posted on September 16, 2013 by Sam Stern
From my blog: This is no ordinary lamp. It once changed the course of a young man’s life. A young man, who, like this lamp, was more than what he seemed. A diamond in the rough. Yom Kippur did not bring about the fast that I had expected. During my Friday afternoon prep, I made Continue Reading »
Posted on September 13, 2013 by Eva Neuhaus
My friend Adam Mayer posed a question that stuck with me through the Days of Awe: What is the most effective way to do teshuvah? How can we forgive ourselves and others completely? Here are some of my reflections: 1. The fact that we’ve done bad things doesn’t make us bad people. Examining our shortcomings Continue Reading »
Posted on September 10, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes
From my blog: Sometimes my Mind Thinks in Poetry Sometimes my mind thinks in poetry, but it’s a halting poem because I’m feeling and I’m feeling and I can’t put the right words to the feelings.
Posted on September 9, 2013 by Avi Benson-Goldberg
From my blog: This summer, I tried to teach Judaics to 15 year olds for 8 weeks. It was probably a failed mission from the beginning, because the last thing any 15 year old wants to do is spend an hour inside with a 24 year old authority figure, even as patently cool and with-it Continue Reading »
Posted on August 30, 2013 by Jessica Baverman
From my blog: Yesterday morning, I went to the Kotel for the first time since May. The last time I went, I had the realization that the current system of gender segregated prayer disallows for people with gender-variance to pray comfortably on either side. This time, I wanted to go to Robinson’s Arch, which is Continue Reading »
