Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on January 15, 2017 by Hirsch Fishman
Karen Feuer (Year ’99-’00 and current Pardes staff member) shares her thought about Tu B’Shvat. Seven years ago I underwent induced labor with twins at only 21-weeks into my pregnancy. The pregnancy was no longer safe for me, and this forced, early labor (that sounds nicer than “abortion”) was the result. It was a gut-wrenching Continue Reading »
Posted on August 30, 2016 by Abigail Emerson
My grandmother, Beatrice Gould Emerson, died the first time I left the United States alone. My trip was in part for her sake. I was traveling for a summer in Russia, the first of our family to return to that part of the world since our great-grandparents left. I had been there a week when my dad sent Continue Reading »
Posted on August 16, 2016 by Yael Krieger
This post was originally published in Forward. In the Hebrew Bible, the word “kidneys” is mentioned over a dozen times to metaphorically describe one’s emotional and moral choices. With a literal translation, Psalms 138:13 reads: “It was you who created my kidneys; You fashioned me in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am Continue Reading »
Posted on April 12, 2016 by Becca Shrier
In the Gregorian calendar, a leap year occurs every four years, adding one day to the month of February. In the Jewish calendar, a leap year occurs seven times in a 19-year cycle, creating an “extra” month – Adar Aleph. Occasionally, both leap years sync up – which they did this year, 2016. This poses Continue Reading »
Posted on April 3, 2016 by Yisroel Shapiro
This Sunday, the 24th of Adar, is the yahrzeit of my Bubbie, Mrs. Ruth Morris Lieberman – Rivka bas Zalman Shevach. She was like a mother to me and served as a great role model for all of her grandchildren. Though it has been ten years since her passing, I still think of her often and her kindness, 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 July 26, 2015 by Eva Neuhaus
See more from Eva on her blog. On tisha b’av we remember the ways that turning away from the Holy One and each other led to the destruction of the first and second temples. I am reminded of a visit with my friend and mentor julie portman toward the end of her journey with cancer. Continue Reading »
Posted on November 21, 2014 by Yocheved Retig
Parshat Toldot finds us smack in the middle of a generations-long family dynamic concerning favoritism and absenteeism that has yet to be resolved or recognized. The dynamic comes to a climax when Rivkah Imanu compels Ya’akov Avinu to deceive his father into receiving the blessing that Hashem pre-ordained for Ya’akov (כה:כג), but that Yitzchak intended Continue Reading »
Posted on November 8, 2014 by Sarah Marx
At Thursday’s Pardes open mic, I shared a version of the story (midrash? heresy?) below. Tonight, I wasn’t sure whether or not it would be appropriate to post it on the blog — after all, I can hear fireworks and gunshots in the distance, and I feel as though I should be writing about that Continue Reading »
Posted on August 4, 2014 by Alanna Kleinman
I cried during services last Shabbat. I cried out of frustration and fear. I cried because the Rabbi told the sanctuary that liberal voices speaking out against Israel were anti-Semitic and hateful. I cried because I was told to shut up, that there’s only one way to support a land I had come to call Continue Reading »
