Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on April 28, 2011 by David Bogomolny
After graduating from Northwestern University in 2005 with a major in theater, Avi Strausberg (2010-2011) started a non-profit theater company called the ‘Hometown Theater Project’, and continued acting and directing in Chicago for nearly three years before she found herself becoming antsy. “I wanted to be some place beautiful, and I became interested in organic Continue Reading »
Posted on April 23, 2011 by Tamara Frankel
Dear Friends, Moadim l’simcha! (This is a special greeting for the interim days-chol hamoed-between the Yom Tov at the beginning and end of Pesach, or Sukkot.) I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the crunchy taste of matzah this Passover. I was fortunate to spend the Seder with my friends and my sister Continue Reading »
Posted on March 30, 2011 by Zach
After my first month at Pardes, I started getting into the routine of classes, and developed a pretty good sense of how the rest of the year would look. They way we learn here is very different from the way we learn in college; in college, classes meet two or three times a week for an hour at Continue Reading »
Posted on January 24, 2011 by Joel D.
Posted on January 5, 2011 by Shibley
Last week I had the opportunity to visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Museum with fellow Pardes students. I had never been to Yad Vashem at night before, but I was surprised to find that the lack of natural light emphasized the murder of the Shoah. As I worked my way through the permanent exhibit, I Continue Reading »
Posted on January 1, 2011 by Daniel Weinreb
Here’s a map of the Beit Midrash and a few thoughts to go with it. (pdf map) By November, the Beit Midrash was getting a little messy – books of the Rif, Gra, and Rambam lying on tables next to BDBs, Franks and Jastrows. Books off of shelves is a good sign, a sign that Continue Reading »
Posted on December 3, 2010 by Pious Antic
This is a cross-post from my personal blog. This week in my Talmud class, as we approach the close of Chapter Four of Tractate Sanhedrin, we were looking at the talmud’s discussion of the warning given to witnesses in dinei nefashot, or capital cases. Among other injunctions, the mishnah states that witnesses are warned not Continue Reading »
Posted on November 6, 2010 by Pious Antic
This entry is a cross-post from my personal blog. This week, in my Talmud class, we looked at a couple of classic sugyot in the Gemara, one of of which, in the first chapter of Tractate Eruvin, discusses some conflicts between the rival schools of Hillel and Shammai. Before the Montagues and the Capulets, before Continue Reading »
Posted on October 28, 2010 by Shibley
Sunday, chazara. Monday, night seder with R. Levi Cooper. Tuesday, issur v’heter. Wednesday, Kiddushin chevruta. Thursday, Brachot chevruta. If it hadn’t been for the title, you might have thought that the aforementioned days and subjects were merely highlights in a day packed with Torah learning. And if you had thought that, you would have been Continue Reading »
Posted on October 24, 2010 by Vicki Raun
Student Profile on Stefan Tiwy by Fellow Student Vicki Raun You won’t find Israel between Germany and the United States in a typical atlas. But for Pardes Year Program student Stefan Tiwy, it is a logical route. Stefan, born in Germany, is hoping to become a liberal rabbi in the United States. At Pardes, “I’m Continue Reading »
