Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on February 10, 2016 by Ma'ayan Dyer
When I decided to volunteer at Hillel, a non-profit organization in Jerusalem that is dedicated to helping former ultra-orthodox Jews that have decided to leave the Haredi world and assimilate into secular society, I was not entirely sure what I was getting into. Inspired by a disturbing report in a 2014 article in The New Continue Reading »
Posted on January 31, 2016 by Yaakov Feinberg
Even when there isn’t an ongoing garbage strike in Jerusalem, it often seems like the streets are strewn with litter. Having identified this problem, several Pardes students took the initiative to reverse the blight. Our philosophy was that since trash on the ground often encourages further littering, we needed to nip the problem in the Continue Reading »
Posted on December 16, 2015 by Celeste Aronoff
(This post was originally published by Celeste Aronoff in the Kansis City Jewish Chronicle http://kcjc.com/index.php/opinion/3496-they-didn-t-win). I want to tell you about the land I call home now. I made aliyah in August of this year, becoming an official Israeli, an actual citizen (though I won’t have an Israeli passport for some time still). I want Continue Reading »
Posted on October 29, 2015 by Nathaniel Jhirad
This week, I had the opportunity to visit a Palestinian girls’ school in an East Jerusalem neighbourhood with a group of foreign visitors. We entered the school gates aware that there were cultural norms to be observed, such as modest dress and refraining from taking pictures within the school premises. As we walked towards the Continue Reading »
Posted on September 30, 2015 by Dan Pelberg
3:00 am Walking through Jerusalem’s Old City at this hour makes me marvel at how the place can get so loud and crazy during the day. The winding, dimly lit streets are empty enough to make me feel like a lone rat in a maze, trying to find any way I can to reach my Continue Reading »
Posted on September 19, 2015 by Ma'ayan Dyer
Three weeks ago, I made aliyah. It had been a long time coming, something that I have been thinking about, dreaming of and longing for since I was first faced with saying goodbye to Israel after a year of living in Jerusalem in 2012. Back then, months before I even had to go back to Continue Reading »
Posted on April 29, 2015 by Jacob Haas
Yom HaZikaron – what a sad day. I had expectations and anxieties around Yom HaZikaron and I was actually quite relieved that my main feeling from the day was simply sadness. I was anxious that I would feel anger. Anger about the nearly constant state of war Israel is in. Anger about glorifying war. About Continue Reading »
Posted on April 22, 2015 by Debra Weiner-Solomont
Last night I sat with hundreds of others for the Memorial Ceremony, organized by the young leaders of the Youth group EZRA. This year my 16 year old son, a group leader-Madrich- for 3rd grade boys-sat with them. Each year, following the siren, young members read the names of the youth group members from the Continue Reading »
Posted on April 22, 2015 by David Derin
This week we will be reading the double parsha of Ahrei Mot-Kedoshim. This week’s reading come on the heels of the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aharon. When reading the parsha, my mind went immediately to these deaths. I could not help but draw a comparison between these week’s parsha, which is Continue Reading »
Posted on November 30, 2014 by Andrea Wiese
לֶךְ לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ: בראשית יב:א “Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.” Genesis 12:1. HaShem tells Avraham to leave his land, his birthplace, his father’s home and go to another land. HaShem continues Continue Reading »
