These and Those

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

Tag Archives: empathy

The Small Stuff (Shabbaton Dvar)

Posted on September 28, 2014 by Suzanne Hutt

When I learned that the theme of this Shabbaton would be “Building Community,” I asked Meesh if I could speak about something that I am extremely passionate about, and thankfully she said yes. But before I get to that, I want to talk about what we are, all of us, which is basically a room Continue Reading »

Play-by-play:

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Sam Stern

From my blog: Tuesday (Jan 28/27 Shevat): It was a normal Tuesday evening. Finish Pardes classes at 5, frantically run to the bus stop, ride around Jerusalem for about an hour, sit through my lady learning class, talk to Rav D, go home angry. But on this particular night, I left thinking “ma nishtana ha’lila Continue Reading »

Am I Any Different?

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Sarah Pollack

From my blog: I traveled to Bethlehem with my Jewish roommate on a program called Encounter. I also wrote about it here and here. While waiting in line to take pictures in front of the tree, we saw a Palestinian friend that we had met earlier in the day. “Aliya! (name has been changed)” I screamed, “Hey!” She came Continue Reading »

Split Down the Mechitza

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Emet Ozar

From our blog: How many times have I been asked “ben o bat?” (boy or girl) in Israel? How many times have I been stopped trying to enter the women’s side of the Kotel? Maybe I should explain first off that I’m genderqueer. I have a female body, but don’t identify with femininity at all. Continue Reading »

Teaching in the Ulus Jewish School in Istanbul

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Laura Marder

The greatest gift a teacher can ask for is to be a student and a teacher at the same time. This past week I, along with the fabulous Turkey Team, taught in the Jewish School in Istanbul. I learned so much in the process of creating the program, working with my colleagues, and interacting with Continue Reading »

Two Days in Bethlehem

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Alanna Kleinman

From my blog: One week ago I spent two days in Bethlehem with a group of 15 American Jews, on a trip run by Encounter (http://www.encounterprograms.org/). Immediately after the trip, I knew I had to write about it. I won’t pretend that I can accurately convey my experience in words, or share everything with you. Continue Reading »

I Encountered Myself

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Sarah Pollack

From my blog: Standing in Bethlehem, in a circle of Americans, Israelis, Palestinians, Muslims, Christians and Jews, we played a game. The rules of the game were simple. One, listen for the statement to be read in English and Arabic. Two, step into the circle if the statement applies to you. I AM A PERSON Continue Reading »

My ‘Third Story Midrash’

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Dita Ribner Cooper

Daniel Roth presented our ‘Judaism and Conflict Resolution’ class for Jewish Educators with this assignment, and below is the ‘Third Story’ that I wrote about Jacob and Esav: Jacob As I sit here and write this journal entry, I cannot believe that I have acquired the birthright of my family. It started today when, like Continue Reading »

[PCJE Dvar Torah] The New King

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 »

A Bris to Remember

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Nataliya Naydorf

It was odd telling family and friends back home that I was excited to go to a Brit Milah. “I just can’t wait to witness a circumcision!” never seems to resonate well with most people for some reason. In truth, while I was excited, I was also apprehensive. Prior to the ceremony, our Chumash Level Continue Reading »