Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on January 21, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes
From my blog, posted after the Arava Tiyul: One year ago, I was about to take a semester off from college. I was the thinnest I had ever been; I could no longer run or bike; the slightest bit of yoga made me dizzy. My stomach twisted and turned every day, and I hated my Continue Reading »
Posted on January 19, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes
From my blog: (written two days ago) So, last night, I sat around a crackling fire with a group of religious people chanting incantations in ancient languages while passing around a hand-carved knife and letting the blood from our left pinkie fingers drip over the hot, scalding flames… Okay, that was an exaggeration. But I Continue Reading »
Posted on November 24, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart
Originally posted on my blog: “The desert, when the sun comes up… I couldn’t tell where Heaven stopped and the Earth began. It was so beautiful.” -Forrest Gump Here are some pictures from my school’s trip to the Negev desert two weeks ago. (Pictures are better quality if you click on them!) Israel, you are Continue Reading »
Posted on November 18, 2012 by Eric Feldman
Originally posted on my blog: Hey, I’ve certainly been keeping busy over the past few weeks but I’ll hone in on this most recent week since a lot has been going on recently. The first thing I’d like to say is that, although from the media explosion through internet and TV it may seem like Continue Reading »
Posted on November 16, 2012 by Adam L Masser
Ein Gedi, freshwater spring of legend, sanctuary of David. In the scorching desert, the Negev. In the mountains above Yam HaMelach, the Dead Sea, the burning sea of salt. Sam, falling down while climbing out of a gorge carved in a high, rocky outcropping, its steep chutes formed by the rains of a geologic epoch. Continue Reading »
Posted on November 2, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
by Suzanne Singer, Alex’s mom Three events happened this year that gave us a theme for the Alex Hike. Benjy joined around 250 IDF officers on their trip to Germany and Poland to learn about and see the physical remains of the Shoah. Benjy’s son Itai went with his 12th grade class to Poland to Continue Reading »
Posted on November 1, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart
This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to be included in a shabbaton with some of my classmates at our teacher’s house. We went on a hike beforehand, which was b-e-a-utiful. I also got to use my new camera lens! My first eBay purchase (they were practically giving it away!). Nothing too impressive yet, but Continue Reading »
Posted on October 23, 2012 by Eric Feldman
Originally posted on my blog: Hey, remember me? Sorry it’s been so long since I posted last, but things have been pretty busy here. I’m not exactly sure where I left off last, but I think it was somewhere around sukkot break (called one of the chagim aka festivals), so let me jump to that Continue Reading »
Posted on October 21, 2012 by Adam L Masser
I wrote this song last spring during my first semester at Pardes. For me, it is really tied to feelings of peace, joy and confidence that I experienced after going backpacking with fellow Pardesniks Joseph, Andrew, Adrienne and Joseph’s roommate Jonathan. We hiked a few days through the Negev and them tremped to a music Continue Reading »
Posted on October 14, 2012 by M. Backman
Alex Singer was an American Jew who made aliyah to Israel and was killed in Lebanon in 1987 at the age of 25. The first segment of the hike in his honor was a discussion of the Megillat Aish (Scrolls of Fire) Holocaust memorial. The monument was intricate and moving and the discussion was quite Continue Reading »