Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on March 15, 2013 by Lauren Schuchart
In this week’s Torah portion, we move from the exciting and relatable narrative in the books of Bereshit (Genesis) and Shmot (Exodus), into the legalistic and methodical book of Vayikra (Leviticus). In the first Torah portion, God tells Moses how the Children of Israel should go about establishing a holy community, a “kingdom of priests.” Continue Reading »
Posted on March 1, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
Ben Barer (Fall ’11, Fellows ’12) shares his thoughts on MK Ruth Calderon’s inaugural Knesset speech: I had never watched an inaugural Knesset (Israeli Parliament) speech before Dr. Calderon’s (Hebrew; English). However, I, and many in the Jewish world, watched new MK Ruth Calderon’s speech with interest. A member of the rising Yesh Atid (There Continue Reading »
Posted on December 22, 2012 by Adam L Masser
The Torah presents an idealized world in Eretz Yisrael. It describes an agricultural society with certain egalitarian features and a strong ethic of taking care of each other. Everyone has an inherited plot of land, sufficient to support a family. The Israelites are even told by G-d to trust that there will be enough food Continue Reading »
Posted on November 27, 2012 by David Bogomolny
Evan was my first flatmate in Israel; he and I studied at Pardes together, and we had plenty of conversations about our shared Jewish heritage over the course of that year. He had fond childhood memories of his grandfather, a traditional, American shul-going Jew, and recalled the smell and texture of the tallit that he had worn at Continue Reading »
Posted on November 6, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
Cross-posted from Ben Barer‘s (Fall ’10, Fellows ’11-’12) blog: Last year, I posted a short reflection on why I wear a kippah, but there is another major aspect of publicly identifying as Jewish that I would like to fill in now. I believe that, in addition to the freedoms and decrease in antisemitism that have Continue Reading »
Posted on October 17, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
by Ben Barer (Fall 2010, Fellows 2011-12) Cross-posted from his blog. “All Jews are friends” I came across this article recently, and the tenor of the article greatly disturbed me. My friend and fellow Pardes alum did a wonderful job setting the record straight, but I see the underlying problem as requiring more thought as Continue Reading »
Posted on September 19, 2012 by Derek Kwait
Shabbat shalom. My dvar hangs on the verses from the Parsha, “Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath, but with those that stand here with us this day before the Lord our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day,” which means us, and “All Continue Reading »
Posted on September 9, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
Sam Rotenberg (Year ’11-’12) and his friends have begun a new Jewish music project! Check out the intro video! Rock Shabbat Introduction from Rock Shabbat on Vimeo. And here’s their first full weekly video: Rock Shabbat Week 1 ~ The Southeast Part 1 from Rock Shabbat on Vimeo.
Posted on May 28, 2012 by Ma'ayan Dyer
(x-posted from my blog Lost in Jerusalem: http://lostjlem.blogspot.com/) Now that Shavuot has come to an end (well, for those of us in Israel, anyway), the complete cycle of my first year as a Jew has also drawn to a close. I have been fortunate enough to have my first experiences as a Jew with every one Continue Reading »
Posted on May 22, 2012 by Barer
I just had the immense privilege of watching Footnote (הערת שוליים) with some fellow Pardesniks followed by a discussion with faculty who have intimate personal knowledge of the culture being described in the film. First, I highly recommend watching the trailer and, if you are even remotely interested, watching the movie before reading what I Continue Reading »
