Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on February 20, 2016 by Dan Pelberg
Over the past 18 months I have been living a more religiously Jewish life. At the same time, I have constantly confronted the question of whether or not I am going in the direction of a life that I believe to be true, and that will ultimately make me happy. There has yet to be Continue Reading »
Posted on January 4, 2016 by Savannah Shepherd
Over the past year, I have been trying to write myself into the story of the Jews, looking for the proper label to define myself by. I’ve been searching for the Judaism that feels right and just, and allows me to connect with G-d and my community; I chose this life, after all, and I Continue Reading »
Posted on October 15, 2015 by Hannah Joy
(Cross-posted from Hannah Elovitz’s blog Finding Joy in Jerusalem: http://joyinjlem.blogspot.co.il/2015/10/start-somewhere-parshat-bereishit-5776.html) Good Yuntiv. Just kidding. Good Shabbos. This time of year always feels like endless new beginnings to me. For those of us connected to the academic calendar in some way, it’s the start of a new school year. Perhaps for some of us the start Continue Reading »
Posted on November 21, 2014 by Yocheved Retig
Parshat Toldot finds us smack in the middle of a generations-long family dynamic concerning favoritism and absenteeism that has yet to be resolved or recognized. The dynamic comes to a climax when Rivkah Imanu compels Ya’akov Avinu to deceive his father into receiving the blessing that Hashem pre-ordained for Ya’akov (כה:כג), but that Yitzchak intended Continue Reading »
Posted on November 8, 2014 by Sarah Marx
At Thursday’s Pardes open mic, I shared a version of the story (midrash? heresy?) below. Tonight, I wasn’t sure whether or not it would be appropriate to post it on the blog — after all, I can hear fireworks and gunshots in the distance, and I feel as though I should be writing about that Continue Reading »
Posted on November 4, 2014 by Celeste Aronoff
I came to Pardes this year because I needed to be in Jerusalem. I was supposed to start rabbinical school in the spring, but I decided to come to Jerusalem instead for the summer to study Hebrew and deepen my Jewish experience and identity before then embarking on my rabbinical journey in August. But a Continue Reading »
Posted on October 1, 2014 by Sarah Pollack
From my blog: “To not forgive would be an unbearable breach of the unity of creation.” – Jay Litvin It seems as though this is the time to talk about doing teshuva, returning, asking for forgiveness. I feel as though since I arrived in Israel, a day has not passed by without talking about forgiveness. Continue Reading »
Posted on September 11, 2014 by Binyamin Cohen
Night Seder Chevrutas Binyamin Cohen and David Wallach join together to reflect on this week’s parshah, Ki Tavo. דְּבָרִים כו:ב, ה ב “וְלָקַחְתָּ מֵרֵאשִׁית כָּל-פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה, אֲשֶׁר תָּבִיא מֵאַרְצְךָ אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ–וְשַׂמְתָּ בַטֶּנֶא; וְהָלַכְתָּ, אֶל-הַמָּקוֹם, אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, לְשַׁכֵּן שְׁמוֹ שָׁם… ה וְעָנִיתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, אֲרַמִּי אֹבֵד אָבִי, וַיֵּרֶד מִצְרַיְמָה, Continue Reading »
Posted on June 13, 2014 by Misha Brenner
My words from the final Community Lunch of the 2013-14 Year Program, based off the song “21 Questions” by 50 cent: Mishmei DiRavi Misha Mishum HaRav NateDogg, Zichron LiVracha: Amar Hakadosh Baruch Hu LiTzurba DiPardes… Girl, it’s easy to love me now, but would you love me if I was down, and out, would you Continue Reading »
