Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on May 9, 2014 by Andrea Wiese
I originally posted this on the Grey Zone Blog: I have felt to be in a Grey Zone before. There have been times that I felt that I didn’t fit in. But last Rosh Chodesh at the Kotel with Women of the Wall may have made me feel to be in the “greyest” zone of Continue Reading »
Posted on April 7, 2014 by Melissa Scholten-Gutierrez
From my blog, Redefining Rebbetzin: There has been a lot of talk online over the past few months about Orthodox Feminism – ranging from how it is not possible, to how oppressed we are, to why we stay Orthodox. The posts on the latter topic seem to come mostly from women who grew up within Continue Reading »
Posted on February 28, 2014 by Taylor Winfield
This week I read from the Torah for the first time. I stood up in front of my closest female friends, and sang the words of our people. I had been preparing for weeks, and I expected the moment to come with a high, a relief, a joy. But instead a seed inside of me Continue Reading »
Posted on February 6, 2014 by Deborah Renert
As I reflect on Rabbi Daniel Roth’s introduction to “Constructive Conflict ‘for the Sake of Heaven’…” I cannot help but also reflect on the Pew Study, and the Pew Survey program which took place here at Pardes this past December. The Pew Research Center published on October 1st 2013 findings that reflected that the intermarriage Continue Reading »
Posted on January 21, 2014 by Yisrael Ben Avraham
It was a paradox in the space time continuum. Two spaces that were but only a few meters away was actually worlds away. What was an inconspicuous courtyard I felt was actually a wormhole to that connected two very different worlds that seemed like other dimensions. What I’m talking about is the courtyard between the Continue Reading »
Posted on January 19, 2014 by Ben Schneider
From my blog: I’ve been learning a lot about traditional Jewish marriage this semester. In Gemara classes on tractates Kiddushin and Ketubot, we’ve been talking about how a man betroths a woman and what the language of the Ketubah indicates about their rights and obligations. There are also more esoteric topics: A man can encourage Continue Reading »
Posted on November 17, 2013 by Ben Schneider
This past week, I had the privilege of being a member of the Masa delegation to the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly. The JFNA is the largest Jewish charity, and I believe the largest charity of its kind in the world, and its primary purpose is to raise money and distribute it in Continue Reading »
Posted on November 10, 2013 by Sam Stern
From my blog: Well, angelfish, the solution to your problem is simple. The only way to get what you want is to become a human yourself. It was 1:53PM Monday afternoon as I stood outside of Pardes dialing the Jewish Agency. When the call ended 4 minutes later, I felt so distant from this country Continue Reading »
Posted on August 13, 2013 by Adena Kemper
I spent three weeks at Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies this summer, and what did I learn? Yes, I learned about Birkat Hamazon in the Gemara and halachah pertaining to women and even postmodern philosophy. Sure, I learned a few new zemiros tunes and how Karaites differ from rabbinic Jews. But above all, at Pardes Continue Reading »
Posted on June 2, 2013 by David Bogomolny
Here is the reflection I shared at Community Lunch last week- One of the many things that I tell people when discussing Pardes is that I wanted to study here before I ever knew that Pardes existed. As a college student I started wearing a kippah publicly before I had any idea what halakha was Continue Reading »
