Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on August 22, 2011 by Bookie
Cross-posted from PresenTense: Imagine a world without hunger. Imagine a world full of clean air and lush forests. Imagine a world where the words “water shortage” don’t have a ring of truth to them. All of this is possible through changes in lifestyle which are echoed by some of the Jewish values we hold dear. Continue Reading »
Posted on June 9, 2011 by Pious Antic
Last week, I spoke briefly at Pardes’ closing lunch, and I have adapted what I remember of them, since I never actually got around to typing them up ahead of time, here: Two years ago, when I first arrived at Pardes, I was struck by something our dean, David Bernstein said during one of the Continue Reading »
Posted on June 4, 2011 by Pious Antic
Yom Yerushalayim, which was observed this week, celebrates the reunification of the old city of Jerusalem under Jewish control in 1967, after 19 years in which the city was divided between Jewish and Arab control. Unsurprisingly, given the historical, political and moral complexity of the events it commemorates, Yom Yerushalayim is not a universally beloved Continue Reading »
Posted on April 9, 2011 by Pious Antic
What is t’shuvah? The word is often translated as repentance, but that doesn’t quite capture it. T’shuvah comes from a root meaning to return, and it connotes the idea of turning away from sin and returning to one’s true values, to the best version of oneself, as well as the idea of figuratively returning to Continue Reading »
Posted on April 5, 2011 by David Bogomolny
On his 40th birthday, during a silent Shambhala meditation retreat on a mountain in Vermont, Jonathan (’09-’10, Fellows ’10-’11) asked himself, “what do I really want to do?” And the answer came to him, “I want to study Torah in Israel.” Soon thereafter, Jonathan applied to Pardes, and received the nicest e-mail from Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy that he had ever received Continue Reading »
Posted on March 28, 2011 by Pious Antic
When I first left for Israel, and perhaps even more so when I decided to come back for a second year, many, if not most, of my friends and family back home simply couldn’t understand why I would want to come here to spend my days studying dusty old ancient texts. To be frank, after Continue Reading »
Posted on March 27, 2011 by David Bogomolny
Pardes Alum Ben Barer has followed Avi Strausberg‘s lead, and written a poem for the ‘Haiku Torah Project’. Check it out below: After secluding Aharon and his sons for seven days, this week’s parsha begins with the first official atoning sacrifices. Rashi, bolstered by the Re”em (sp?) note that it is not by accident that Aharon Continue Reading »
Posted on March 24, 2011 by Pious Antic
In my halakha (Jewish Law) class last semester, we looked at a piece of gemara in which one rabbi asserts that an averah (sin) which is done for the sake of heaven (lishmah) is superior to a mitzvah (a good deed) that is done not for the sake of heaven. It is then countered that Continue Reading »
Posted on March 23, 2011 by David Bogomolny
I tried to call her When I heard of the bombing The lines were busy
Posted on March 22, 2011 by David Bogomolny
This profile is in honor of Katie Greenberg‘s upcoming wedding to Matan Glazer on March 31st. From all of us at Pardes, we wish Katie and Matan… 🙂 מזל טוב ובהצלחה 🙂 Katie (Summer ’06 & ’07, Year ’09-’10, Fellows ’10-’11) and Matan met at Kibbutz Ketura while Katie was on the Young Judea Year Course, Continue Reading »
