Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on October 27, 2013 by Ben Schneider
Based on a Dvar Torah I delivered this Friday night. I was surprised that I was able to connect with prayer at the Cave of Machpelah. By the time we reached the cave on Tuesday, we had been in Hebron for about five hours. We had toured the city, met with the spokesman of the Continue Reading »
Posted on May 20, 2013 by Kayla Higgins
Our bus returned to Jerusalem an hour before Shabbat candle-lighting time. I quickly biked home to shower and light the candles before heading out to my friend’s place for dinner. It was only at twilight, while walking along the Rakevet (the old railroad tracks that cut across the south Jerusalem) and reading from a commentary Continue Reading »
Posted on May 17, 2013 by Tani Cohen-Fraade
In Rabbi Meir Schewiger’s Parashat ha-Shavuah (weekly Torah Portion) class, while learning Sefer Shemot (Book of Exodus), we spoke about the desert as a place where one goes to prepare for Torah study. When B’nei Yisrael (Children of Israel) leave Egypt, they flee through the desert and are on the run until they get to Yam Suf (Red Continue Reading »
Posted on May 2, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
This week, Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy discusses Parashat Behar-Bechukotai in “An Economic Vision of Justice.” b-b ’73 Shabbat shalom!
Posted on April 14, 2013 by Abayiss
Tonight is the night. No, I am not OK. No, you can not help. No, you do not understand. No, I am not alone. Tonight is the night I dread all year. All the ghosts that have been pushed into the shadows (with the exception of the occasional visit) come out. Tonight is their Continue Reading »
Posted on April 3, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
Posted by Daniel Shibley (Yr ’11, Fellows ’12): The Great Outdoors. Most digital cable and dish networks in the United States have an entire channel or two devoted to the outdoors and the numerous related activities, from hunting and fishing, to hiking and camping. Israelis, although I am not able to vouch for the television Continue Reading »
Posted on March 20, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
Kim Phillips (Summer ’06) is a marketing professional, artist, writer and teacher in Nashville, Tennessee. One Shabbat morning, the rabbi entered Torah study and, instead of launching into the text, looked intensely around the circle of people gathered there. “I want to know how you feel about Israel,” she said. “However you feel is fine, Continue Reading »
Posted on February 18, 2013 by Michael Sassoon
I shared these words with the Pardes community at Community Lunch last week before my (temporary!) departure: My experience here in Israel and at Pardes has been breathtaking. I feel the following verse playing itself out here for me in terms of things I’ve done, places and people I’ve seen, delicacies I’ve tasted: אנכי ה` Continue Reading »
Posted on February 14, 2013 by Abayiss
When I think of my life, look back and reflect, I know she’s always been there. It was ALWAYS her, no matter what, through all the trials and despite our occasional differences, she will always be by my side, and I love her for it. She will never diminish, she is as much a part of me Continue Reading »
Posted on November 8, 2012 by Derek Kwait
“Oh, so you’ve been here [almost a year/two years]! So are you planning on making aliyah?,” they say, bearing their teeth and gently lifting their eyebrows in anticipation of the upcoming hearty “Mazel tov!” they’re sure to owe me. “No.” “Oh,” this is less an expression than the sound a face makes as it falls. Continue Reading »