Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on December 12, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes
From my blog: Yesterday, Pardes had a MASA adventure. Oh boy, oh boy. Teaming up with HUC (Hebrew Union College), CY (Conservative Yeshiva), and JTS (Jewish Theological Seminary), we commandeered four buses and headed to Tel Aviv. The point of the adventure? To learn about “Jewish Renewal” in Tel Aviv. Contrary to my previous belief, Continue Reading »
Posted on November 25, 2013 by Alanna Kleinman
A recent lunchtime discussion about the ceremony of Brit Shalom caused me to question a tradition I found meaningful and quite honestly, took for granted. Brit Shalom is a naming ceremony for newborn Jewish boys that does not involve circumcision. A family can choose to create their own ceremony, or look to templates that already Continue Reading »
Posted on November 17, 2013 by Ben Schneider
This past week, I had the privilege of being a member of the Masa delegation to the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly. The JFNA is the largest Jewish charity, and I believe the largest charity of its kind in the world, and its primary purpose is to raise money and distribute it in Continue Reading »
Posted on November 10, 2013 by Sam Stern
From my blog: Well, angelfish, the solution to your problem is simple. The only way to get what you want is to become a human yourself. It was 1:53PM Monday afternoon as I stood outside of Pardes dialing the Jewish Agency. When the call ended 4 minutes later, I felt so distant from this country Continue Reading »
Posted on October 3, 2013 by Andrea Wiese
I will be sharing this dvar Torah at the Pardes Shabbatonthis weekend – enjoy! Maybe everyone has read the parsha already, but if not, at the end there is a very short story of the Tower of Bavel. And they said: וַיֹּאמְרוּ הָבָה נִבְנֶה-לָּנוּ עִיר, וּמִגְדָּל וְרֹאשׁוֹ בַשָּׁמַיִם, וְנַעֲשֶׂה-לָּנוּ, שֵׁם: פֶּן-נָפוּץ, עַל-פְּנֵי כָל-הָאָרֶץ. ‘Come, let Continue Reading »
Posted on September 16, 2013 by Sam Stern
From my blog: This is no ordinary lamp. It once changed the course of a young man’s life. A young man, who, like this lamp, was more than what he seemed. A diamond in the rough. Yom Kippur did not bring about the fast that I had expected. During my Friday afternoon prep, I made Continue Reading »
Posted on August 13, 2013 by Adena Kemper
I spent three weeks at Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies this summer, and what did I learn? Yes, I learned about Birkat Hamazon in the Gemara and halachah pertaining to women and even postmodern philosophy. Sure, I learned a few new zemiros tunes and how Karaites differ from rabbinic Jews. But above all, at Pardes Continue Reading »
Posted on August 7, 2013 by Andrea Wiese
Every summer when I start working with forty reform North American teenagers, I know exactly what is going to happen. I am going to pour my heart and soul into being their mechanechet (educator), taking them through Europe and Israel, into keeping them healthy, and making sure they feel loved. And when they leave five Continue Reading »
Posted on June 2, 2013 by David Bogomolny
Here is the reflection I shared at Community Lunch last week- One of the many things that I tell people when discussing Pardes is that I wanted to study here before I ever knew that Pardes existed. As a college student I started wearing a kippah publicly before I had any idea what halakha was Continue Reading »
Posted on May 31, 2013 by Laura H.
Here are the words I shared at Community Lunch: I spent a lot of time going back and forth in my head about whether or not to give a dvar Torah today. I have learned so much over the last two years, how would I choose something to talk about? What would I say to Continue Reading »
