These and Those

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

Tag Archives: Conservative Judaism

What is so Disrespectful about my Public Voice?

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Taylor Winfield

This week I read from the Torah for the first time. I stood up in front of my closest female friends, and sang the words of our people. I had been preparing for weeks, and I expected the moment to come with a high, a relief, a joy. But instead a seed inside of me Continue Reading »

Blessed for 13 Days

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Stefanie Groner

I shared these parting words at Community Lunch today at Pardes: In three weeks, I will start my first-ever, grown-up, real-life job as a consultant. From my understanding, a consultant comes in as an outsider to a space, gets to know the ins and outs and upside-downs of that place, and develops creative and effective Continue Reading »

My Modern Jewish Thoughts

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes

From my blog: The most challenging course I am taking at Pardes is called “Critical Issues in Modern Jewish Thought.” There is no Hebrew involved. There is no Aramaic. I don’t even have to memorize birth and death dates of famous Jewish thinkers. What I do have to do, however, is think for myself. And Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Hannah Grossman

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Derek Kwait

Hannah Grossman is an explorer. Her Jewish journey has taken her from the farthest ends of the earth to the deepest corners of her psyche. Yet the further she has traveled from her native New Jersey, the closer she has come to finally finding her Jewish home. Hannah grew up in West Orange, NJ to Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] My Pardes Experience by Eric Brief

Posted on March 8, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

Eric Brief (Yr. 2008-09) sent us the following reflection of his year at Pardes to post on These&Those! Check out his blog to see his beautiful art and weekly divrei Torah! If I remember anything about my experience at Pardes it is that I got more than I could have ever imagined. I’m not exactly Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] Ben Freedman — Building Upon my Pardes Experience

Posted on January 23, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

The semester I spent at Pardes was among the most important periods of personal growth that I’ve ever had. Upon my return to the US, when family or friends would ask about it, I could only create impressions of how I had grown or what I had truly learned. I would say, “imagine six months Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] The Beating Heart of the Jewish World

Posted on January 16, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

Sara Brandes (Year ’01, Fellows ’02, Elul ’05) shares her Pardes reflections: I met my friend, teacher and fellow Pardes alumna Rabbi Shawn Fields-Meyer during the summer before I arrived at Pardes, as a participant in the Brandeis Collegiate Institute. Inspired by her teaching and hungry for more, I sought her out. When I told Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Mike Backman

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Derek Kwait

When it came to picking out a college and a major, Mike knew he wanted to work with numbers and that he wanted to do something practical. So he searched and weighed the available data: He looked into economics but found it boring. He looked into physics, but thought it just wasn’t for him, then Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] Intrafaith Engagement

Posted on October 17, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

by Ben Barer (Fall 2010, Fellows 2011-12) Cross-posted from his blog. “All Jews are friends” I came across this article recently, and the tenor of the article greatly disturbed me.  My friend and fellow Pardes alum did a wonderful job setting the record straight, but I see the underlying problem as requiring more thought as Continue Reading »

Jewish Enough – an “It Gets Better” essay from a Jewish perspective

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Kayla Higgins

This essay is cross-posted from The Jewish Daily Forward‘s April 13, 2012 issue. The article including this personal essay in The Forward was a collection of “It Gets Better” posts requested from young queer-identified Jews involved with Nehirim, a national community of LGBT Jews founded in 2004: “Jewish Enough” Kayla Higgins, 22 ‘It gets better” Continue Reading »