Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on June 15, 2012 by Daniel Weinreb
By Daniel Weinreb, PEP ’12 “It’s so appropriate that we are in this week’s parsha…” Really? I’m skeptical. In fact, when I hear that phrase in a d’var Torah I fluff up the shoulder next to me and hit the snooze button. Why? Because I anticipate I am about to get a contrived connection between Continue Reading »
Posted on June 8, 2012 by Ma'ayan Dyer
(X-Posted from my blog, Lost in Jerusalem: http://lostjlem.blogspot.com/) Well, I’m no longer lost in Jerusalem, the most interesting, intense and unique place to have the pleasure of being lost in. I’m now lost just somewhere in the vast world. Two full days of travel without sleep, three airplanes, and one jetlagged day later, I have found Continue Reading »
Posted on May 28, 2012 by Ma'ayan Dyer
(x-posted from my blog Lost in Jerusalem: http://lostjlem.blogspot.com/) Now that Shavuot has come to an end (well, for those of us in Israel, anyway), the complete cycle of my first year as a Jew has also drawn to a close. I have been fortunate enough to have my first experiences as a Jew with every one Continue Reading »
Posted on May 22, 2012 by Barer
I just had the immense privilege of watching Footnote (הערת שוליים) with some fellow Pardesniks followed by a discussion with faculty who have intimate personal knowledge of the culture being described in the film. First, I highly recommend watching the trailer and, if you are even remotely interested, watching the movie before reading what I Continue Reading »
Posted on May 17, 2012 by Ma'ayan Dyer
As most of my fellow Pardesnicks have probably gathered at this late date in the semester, I’m what one might call “quiet.” It’s not that I don’t speak up in class or won’t engage in conversation (if you strike one up first, of course). Rather, my quietness is an overall demeanor. I’m not a smiley Continue Reading »
Posted on May 7, 2012 by Andrea Wiese
At Pardes, all my teachers are orthodox, which means they don’t touch people of the opposite gender. This doesn’t really seem to be an issue, except, I love my teachers! And sometimes, I really want to give them a hug. They are the best!! I can’t explain to you how wonderful they are as people, Continue Reading »
Posted on May 3, 2012 by David Bogomolny
This is an additional thought I had about ‘mindful eating’. I’ve been running my tongue along whatever food items I’ve been using during my practices, pausing to enjoy their shapes and textures, and I’ve noticed that my mouth automatically reacts to food by filling with saliva and pushing the bits with my tongue against the Continue Reading »
Posted on April 21, 2012 by Laura H.
Today we went to Majdanek. I walked around the camp thinking a lot about why I came back to Poland. I had a hard time focusing on what was around me and found myself intellectualizing, rather than feeling things. I pictured much of the imagery from Survival in Auschwitz to try to visualize camp life. Continue Reading »
Posted on April 12, 2012 by David Bogomolny
Rob Murstein comes from a ‘very liturgical’ family; they attend Shabbat services every Friday evening, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon until havdalah. Rob’s father is a regular Torah reader at shul, his brother studied chazzanut with their cantor, and Rob himself read Torah at shul for the first time when he was six years old; and then again at Continue Reading »
Posted on April 10, 2012 by David Bogomolny
The ‘desire’ exercise was, at first, relatively comfortable, illuminating and affirming for me. I came to the conclusion that my ‘deepest’ desire to be accepted as myself (both by myself and by others). Having thought about this further, I think this desire ties into a defining feeling I live with, which I call ‘existential loneliness’ Continue Reading »
