These and Those

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

Tag Archives: dvar Torah

Week of Majesty

Posted on May 29, 2012 by AdAm Mayer

Originally posted to my blog last week before Shavuot: ThisĀ week was the week of Joyceee It was also the week of Majesty I barbequed, I went to different natural springs, and I danced! I was at a baby naming šŸ™‚ and now we will always be reminded how much of a Blessing Jerusalem is! We Continue Reading »

Thoughts & Teachings about Prayer

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Austin C.

The following is from all of the notes I’ve taken this year during my studies at Pardes. The subject of prayer has been of particular interest to me… (first presented at the final Pardes Shabbaton) Liturgy/Prayer ā€“ Liturgy/Prayer is a basic way for us to get in touch with God, fellow Jews, Jewish values, and Continue Reading »

Experiencing the Omer

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Soffer

Originally posted at my blog: What an exciting time it is in the Jewish calendar! In the span of just three weeks Jews throughout the globe have reaffirmed our freedom with the holiday of Pesah, we have celebrated renewal Rosh Hodesh Iyar, and we danced through the streets of Yerushalayim on Yom Haaztmaut, as we Continue Reading »

A minute with Rav Kook

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Andrea Wiese

One quote from my Rav Kook book this week that I really liked is, “What is theĀ essenceĀ of prophecy? This unique gift is the ability to look at God’s works and recognize in them His greatness.” I’m sure there is more to being a prophet then just that, but I like to think that with practice Continue Reading »

A virgin and a widow walk into a bar. . .

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Naomi Zaslow

Tonight, my Night Seder chevruta – the amazingly talented Daniel Shibley – and I finished all 13 chapters of Ketubot in Mishna Masechet Nashim. To celebrate, we both gave short dvar’s, and had a small siyum (party). When Shibley initially asked me to give a dvar on what we had learned over the last few Continue Reading »

Sh’mot, Pardes, and I

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 »

Guest Post: Tovah Leah Nachmani

Posted on December 28, 2011 by The Director of Digital Media

Many students have been lucky enough to study with Tovah Leah Nachmani – her ‘Personalizing Prayer’ class is a favorite for students seeking to connect to Jewish tradition in a meaningful, personal way, and we appreciate her for being such an incredibly deep listener. Below is a dvar Torah she recently wrote, with a bonus Continue Reading »

Mikketz, Chanukah, the Holocaust, and Dreams: a D’var Torah from 2009

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Derek Kwait

At my shul back home, Young People’s Synagogue, members take turns giving the d’var Torah each Saturday morning. This is one I gave for Parashat Mikketz/Shabbat Chanukah on December 19, 2009 about the parsha, Chanukah, and the Holocaust. For what it’s worth, these themes repeated themselves again this year when we began learning about the Continue Reading »

Night Seder Dvar: Vayeishev

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Shibley

Our parasha, Vayeishev, concludes this week with Yosef sitting in the prison of Pharaoh. Yosef has just concluded interpreting the dreams of his fellow prisoners, the cupbearer and the baker, both of whom had committed relatively minor crimes in the eyes of Pharoah. Why would Yosef care about the dreams of anybody? Remember, Yosef has Continue Reading »

Social Justice – Emotional Equality

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Eliyahu B.

(Thanks to Falynn for asking me to post this) I gave this dvar tzedekĀ  in my Social Justice class a few months ago. I hope it is meaningful for everyone: A fundamental tenet of social justice, to me, is equality. I believe that equality is a natural human right which should always be found among Continue Reading »