These and Those

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

Tag Archives: debate

[Alumni Guest Post] I’m scared. I’m terrified. I’ve been taught to keep quiet.

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Alanna Kleinman

I cried during services last Shabbat. I cried out of frustration and fear. I cried because the Rabbi told the sanctuary that liberal voices speaking out against Israel were anti-Semitic and hateful. I cried because I was told to shut up, that there’s only one way to support a land I had come to call Continue Reading »

Thoughts on Constructive Conflict and the Pew Study

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Deborah Renert

As I reflect on Rabbi Daniel Roth’s introduction to “Constructive Conflict ‘for the Sake of Heaven’…” I cannot help but also reflect on the Pew Study, and the Pew Survey program which took place here at Pardes this past December. The Pew Research Center published on October 1st 2013 findings that reflected that the intermarriage Continue Reading »

It’s all just a power struggle

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Sam Stern

From my blog: No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it. What Being Jewish Means to Me By Sam Stern I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all written this essay before. It probably talks about receiving Hanukka presents, eating matza balls, playing with your friends at temple, and watching Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] Who is Allowed to Study Torah?

Posted on March 1, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

Ben Barer (Fall ’11, Fellows ’12) shares his thoughts on MK Ruth Calderon’s inaugural Knesset speech: I had never watched an inaugural Knesset (Israeli Parliament) speech before Dr. Calderon’s (Hebrew; English). However, I, and many in the Jewish world, watched new MK Ruth Calderon’s speech with interest. A member of the rising Yesh Atid (There Continue Reading »

The Soul of Jerusalem: A View of Multiple Truths

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Shira Bee

Crossposted from my blog: Wherever you stand, be the soul of that place. ~ Rumi But what does it mean to be the soul of a place like Jerusalem? A place where so many people feel most closely connected to their own inner strength and beliefs, and yet stand in direct conflict with one another? One of Continue Reading »

Why I’m Not Making Aliyah

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Derek Kwait

“Oh, so you’ve been here [almost a year/two years]! So are you planning on making aliyah?,” they say, bearing their teeth and gently lifting their eyebrows in anticipation of the upcoming hearty “Mazel tov!” they’re sure to owe me. “No.” “Oh,” this is less an expression than the sound a face makes as it falls. 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 »

Debate: Peter Beinart v. Daniel Gordis

Posted on May 8, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

For those who may not have seen this yet, this debate is absolutely worth watching:

‘Encounter’ing and Machloket

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Jackie F.

I made aliyah in August 2009, after completing my MPA at Columbia University, knowing that I wanted to come to Israel and use my degree to make a positive difference in the future of the Jewish people. Today I do that through my studies at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and work Continue Reading »

God in Judaism

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Barer

[Cross posted from my blog] Last week at Pardes marked the end of a four-part lecture series given by professor James Kugel, one of the preeminent scholars of the Bible alive today.  He painted an extremely interesting picture in answering the question that titled the lectures: Has Modern Biblical Scholarship Killed the Bible?  The lectures Continue Reading »