Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on February 6, 2013 by David Bogomolny
Decisor. I’ve been familiar with this word for a while, and thought it was simply a sophisticated way of saying ‘decider’. Today, I was editing an article for work, and I realized that Microsoft Word didn’t recognize ‘decisor’ as a word at all. Interesting. So I Googled it. And then I checked it on Wikipedia. Continue Reading »
Posted on January 13, 2013 by David Bogomolny
Tamar (Fall ’12) had only planned to remain at Pardes for the Elul Program, but ended up staying for the entire Fall semester – much to her own surprise! Having grown up in the Golders Green Synagogue community, Tamar became a leader of her local Bnei Akiva youth group, taking on the role of madricha at the age Continue Reading »
Posted on January 6, 2013 by Mary Brett Koplen
A story from my Cowbird: On the sidewalk H squints at the passing buses, trying to read their destinations as they motion quickly towards the places they will go. I pretend to help, but the combination of foreign characters and moving vehicles spins my head. “You’ll learn the language soon,” H says to me smiling. Continue Reading »
Posted on December 19, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
This reflection on Pardes was written by Vera Pakhomova Katsman (Fall ’10) В 2010 году я вошла в Пардес. Вообще, Пардес – это фруктовый сад, однако Пардес – это еще и мифологическое место, куда вошли четыре еврейских мудреца, а кто они были, и что с ними случилось там, узнаете потом. Я вам расскажу, как в Continue Reading »
Posted on December 18, 2012 by Avi Benson-Goldberg
Walking around Jerusalem by myself fumbling my tongue into the shapes of an ancient language taught me how to live in the modern age. [cross-posted from my blog] I’ve had a hard time telling this. Explaining why I left the United States in the beginning of this spring–just as I started to make headway (are Continue Reading »
Posted on December 11, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
Anne Hartheimer (Year ’12) wrote this poem in Hebrew. לאן? אן הרטהימר איפה הבית שלי? לא קל לענות אי אפשר לראות. מה השפה שלי? לא פשוט לדבר עם מילים שאינן במוחי מילים שבחרו אותי. אני הולכת בדרך מילה אחרי מילה הן קשות אבל עגולות וחזקות. מילים כמו אבנים יש להן ודאות. אני עוקבת אחריהן לגלות 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 »
Posted on November 4, 2012 by Cara Abrams-Simonton
Originally posted on my blog: So there is this thing. Tel Aviv vs. Jerusalem- and I’d say probably the majority of your average secular Israelis would say Tel Aviv, hands down. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m in love with Jerusalem… there is incredible history, beauty and complexity here. But there is something else going Continue Reading »
Posted on October 27, 2012 by Aliza Geller
Originally posted on http://pomegranatesandpapercranes.blogspot.co.il/: During orientation for the program I am in at Pardes (part of the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators), we were challenged to set goals for ourselves for the year. I was a bit apprehensive about doing this at first, and put it off until now for the following reasons. The first Continue Reading »
Posted on August 28, 2012 by Andrea Wiese
יש לי סיפור ארוך. אבל תכין את עצמך כי יש לי הרבה קיטורים. כשנכנסנו לדירה שלנו לא היה דשא. אבל רצינו דשא. אחרי שמונה חודשים סוף סוף קיבלנו דשא. כשקיבלנו את הדשא, הייתי עם נפטי באירופה. אחרי עוד חודש כשנפטי הסתיים, הגעתי לביתי. והדשא גדל לגובה של הברכיים שלי! אם אתה יודע משו על כיסוח Continue Reading »