Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on December 26, 2010 by Tamara Frankel
Dear Friends, It’s hard to believe how the winter months are passing and in particular, that the ‘holiday season’ is upon us. In Israel, you don’t really feel that it’s almost Christmas — there are no colourfully decorated trees in front yards, no “Jingle Bells” playing in the mall. Being in a dominantly Jewish society Continue Reading »
Posted on December 3, 2010 by Pious Antic
This is a cross-post from my personal blog. This week in my Talmud class, as we approach the close of Chapter Four of Tractate Sanhedrin, we were looking at the talmud’s discussion of the warning given to witnesses in dinei nefashot, or capital cases. Among other injunctions, the mishnah states that witnesses are warned not Continue Reading »
Posted on November 8, 2010 by Michael
I am reading a fascinating book by Aryeh Kaplan called Jewish Meditation. It is practical as a guide to develop the spirit through at least thirty minutes of daily meditation in a completely Jewish manner. By the way, he talks about how the central prayer of Judaism, the Shemonah Esrei (meaning 18 prayers), otherwise known Continue Reading »
Posted on November 2, 2010 by Eryn
After learning פרשת בראשית I began to see a lot of parallels between the stories of this chapter and the world we are living in today. If we look at the stories of בראשית we see the beginning of man and at the same time the downfall of man. Starting with the story of חוה Continue Reading »
Posted on September 15, 2010 by Joel D.
This Yom Kippur, with your spirit and your clothing pure as light itself, you may find yourself steeped in the words of prayer. You begin the repetition of the Musaf Amidah. Your Kavana, your intentions, are pure and your passion to return to Hashem…Then two hours later you’re not even half way through the repetition, Continue Reading »
Posted on February 20, 2010 by David Bogomolny
Pardes is a very academic institution, which puts tremendous emphasis upon Jewish text study. Morning classes alternate between Talmud (or Mishnah) study & Chumash study, and the afternoon classes, which are subject-based, are also grounded in Jewish texts (Tanakh, Mishnah Berurah, Midrash, etc.). Unlike some other traditional Jewish learning institutions, Pardes does not aim to Continue Reading »
