These and Those

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

Tag Archives: creative writing

‘These Are Moments’ Poem

Posted on April 21, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

These Are Moments Written by Andrew Lustig (Year ’11-’12) these are moments. of clarity and insight. of sitting and talking and laughing and learning. dancing in circles. not afraid. moments that are made by songs and psalms and stories of what we are and deciding what we can be. these are moments. rarely where you Continue Reading »

Build a Temple

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Tadea Klein

We have built Temples of our bodies, dear Built them in sweat and groaning In the saliva that collects in your mouth when pushed too hard The dryness in your throat when pushed too far The burn of muscles over-used And the shaking relief when we fall, exhausted, in sprawled heaps of splayed-out limbs Only Continue Reading »

Ghosts in the night

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Abayiss

Tonight is the night.   No, I am not OK. No, you can not help. No, you do not understand. No, I am not alone.   Tonight is the night I dread all year. All the ghosts that have been pushed into the shadows (with the exception of the occasional visit) come out. Tonight is their Continue Reading »

The Photograph

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Tadea Klein

There is a little girl in a photograph A fair-haired, sweet-faced thing Her arms wrapped around the neck of a man with dark, calm eyes and the inquisitive sniffing nose of a true Jew I know that this girl in her red shirt and black velvet dress, whose earliest memory is the sound of shouting, Continue Reading »

Sarah the Mother

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Annie Matan Gilbert

From my blog: The following snippets were written as part of a Storahtelling exercise to help us get to know the characters/voices with which we are teaching Torah. We are working with some verses from Parshat Vayera, Genesis Chapter 21, verses 8-10. In character, we were asked to answer the following questions: My biggest regret Continue Reading »

[Video] A Matzoh Story

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Mary Brett Koplen

Things You Can Make With Leftover Matzoh: Matzoh Brei, Matzoh Cookies, Matzoh Balls, Matzoh Stories.

Desert Sand

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Laurie Franklin

I am the desert sand: Hot sand of mid-day, Cold sand of clear night. Feet press into me, And speak a language I understand. I feel the joy of dancing, the resolute march of armies, The fluttering of small children at play. Always, always footprints press Then blow away. Each grain of my sand seeds Continue Reading »

New Friendships

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Tadea Klein

Talk to me, talk to me Talk to me! Fill me up with your stories, play me your life Pour it into a tea-cup and let me drink deep I, once content in my aloneness Find myself craving the contact Of an arm across my shoulder A knee resting against my own Take interest in Continue Reading »

The Return

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes

From my blog: It’s back! It’s back! It’s back! What’s back? Oh, you know, that flattish device that clicks when you use it and lights up when you press a button and performs a number of menial tasks such as making writing legible and connecting an individual to the rest of the world… Oh yes, Continue Reading »

My Ayeka Journey

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Annie Matan Gilbert

Among the many blessings I have experienced this year is the Ayeka course facilitated by David Bogomolny.  I share here some of my favourite take-aways from the course (handily preserved in my writing exercises and reflections.) This module was about bringing God back to the conversation.  I felt like it gave me a place to Continue Reading »