These and Those

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

Tag Archives: intention / kavanah

On “I’m Sorrys”

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Tadea Klein

I first presented this on the Arava Tiyul,in a slightly different form. Around the middle of the first semester, someone said something like this: “I’m sorry, but I won’t pray in a place that doesn’t accept me all the time.” This person was not sorry at all. And whether or not I agree with their Continue Reading »

What’s in a (Jewish) name?

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Ma'ayan Dyer

From my blog: With the tenth of February just around the corner, it’s hard to believe that I’ve been in Israel for a month already. I have big plans for my time abroad, and while I’ve mostly been happily consumed with Jewish studies at Pardes, I feel like there’s still just so much for me Continue Reading »

A Chanting Journey from Mitzrayim to Tzion

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Annie Matan Gilbert

From my blog: This past week, I taught my first Peer Teaching lesson at Pardes.  It was a chanting workshop on the personal experience of Yetziat Mitzrayim.  Often, when I lead chanting workshops, I offer kavannot once the group is lost in the chant.  Words of yearning or blessing that float about the sounds of Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] The Word “Jew”

Posted on December 20, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

Originally posted on the Ayeka blog By Aryeh Ben David (Year ’80): Sometimes I start a workshop by asking people if they know what the word “Jew” means. It is amazing how many people do not know what it means. I checked a few encyclopedias, googled it, and was surprised to see how many theories Continue Reading »

What is a prayer? [pt. 1 in a series]

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Avi Benson-Goldberg

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) Pardes was rocked by a shiur clalli (public class) about prayer in the Jewish world, particularly as experienced by three of our teachers: Rahel Berkovits, James Jacobson-Maisels, and Meir Schweiger. It was certainly an honor to see these teachers of ours open themselves up and expose the real humans inside! Continue Reading »

Notes By ShiraBee: A Directed Heart (Mishnah)

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Shira Bee

Originally posted on my blog:

Kavuah T’filah

Posted on December 5, 2012 by David Bogomolny

Fixed prayer is a salient element of halakha (Jewish law). Jews committed to halakha pray 3x every day (morning, afternoon, evening), and for many it is challenging to find meaning in the mandated, daily recitation of standardized liturgy. A couple of years ago, I took a class that explored various spiritual practices in Hasidic and Continue Reading »

Eating Meditation

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Annie Matan Gilbert

This was post for my Self, Soul and Text class about a practice of eating with awareness and intention (kavannah) Eating slowly with intention to feel every juicy tingle & salty crumb to scrape it across my tongue & lick drops & specks from my lips suck bite down exploding tart pomegranate seeds red, sweet-sour Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] D’var Torah: Bereishit

Posted on October 15, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

Naomi Adland (Yr. Prog. ’09-’10, & former Ass’t Dir. of Recruitment) postedthis: This is the d’var torah I gave last Friday night at Shir HaMa’alot, a minyan here in Brooklyn. If you’ve read other things I’ve written, you might think that some of this sounds familiar – and you would be right, because I completely, unashamedly Continue Reading »

Attitude

Posted on October 1, 2012 by David Bogomolny

I credit this quote to Dr. Viktor Frankl, having read his book (a must read), but first heard this idea from my mentor Aryeh Ben David: Source: google.com via Rocio on Pinterest   To paraphrase: The only thing you can control is your attitude. Some years ago I was sitting with a teacher, learning about the fast of Continue Reading »