Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on December 19, 2013 by Lisa Motenko
I chose to write a dvar torah for this week’s portion of Shemot because it is the week of my birthday and this was also the portion for my bat mitzvah 17 (gasp!) years ago! I have been privileged to study Shemot in depth this semester at Pardes and could describe dozens of fascinating insights, Continue Reading »
Posted on December 19, 2013 by Sara Spanjer
One of the most exciting things that can happen in Jewish education is when one Jewish school meets another. This past week my two Jewish schools collided, Pardes and The Weber School. Although we are all different ages, ranging from high school to post-college to grandparents, being Jewish and being in Israel brought us together. Continue Reading »
Posted on December 19, 2013 by Dorielle Parker
From my blog: I like it the most when you speak with your hands, y o u – fully unveiled from words. (Like weapons they hold us hostage) But you look so beautiful just like that! Without any hang-ups or punctuations. No finger can curl the wrong way, No thumb too long a nail. When Continue Reading »
Posted on December 16, 2013 by Andrea Wiese
There was something very special about this morning’s davening (praying) that I don’t always feel. But it started way before my friend started to sing pesukei d’zimra (the opening blessings). This morning wasn’t your average morning, yes, we came early for davening at 7am like other days, but it was difficult. After the Jerusalem snow Continue Reading »
Posted on December 15, 2013 by Elana Shilling
Posted on December 14, 2013 by Dorielle Parker
Discovering the art of Sofrut at Pardes I have always felt enchanted by shape. The coffee mug shaped perfectly for my hand. The shoes fit perfectly for my feet. The canvas built perfectly for paint. Letters curved perfectly for words. Words shaped perfectly for Creation. It is told that every Hebrew letter has a specific Continue Reading »
Posted on December 13, 2013 by Andrea Wiese
There is a very famous story about Hillel, which follows: “Most famous perhaps is the incident which occurred before his rise to leadership, when he was not yet a scholar, but had a burning desire to study Torah. At that time, Torah study was tightly controlled and limited only to those of the highest caliber Continue Reading »
Posted on December 12, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
This week’s PCJE dvar Torah comes from Susan Yammer, beloved teaching coach This Dvar Torah is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Nechama bat Velvel V’Aliza, on the occasion of her 13th Yahrzeit. Towards the end of our Parasha, in Bereishit 48:20, the Torah states, So he [Yaakov] blessed them on that day, saying, Continue Reading »
Posted on December 10, 2013 by Andrea Wiese
From my blog: Beyond my time studying Torah at Pardes, I am in my fourth season refereeing American football in Israel. I have seen a lot of amazing things, bones breaking, players helping each other, Christians, Jews and Muslims gaining respect for each other on a field. But this past Thursday topped all of these Continue Reading »
Posted on December 9, 2013 by Aliza Geller
From my blog: The Intensive Tanach Track with Neima Novetsky is exploring the “highlights” of the Torah this year. After completing the the first book, Bereshit we were tasked with coming up with a way to remember the contents of each Parsha. This would have been better for me if I had chosen my method from Continue Reading »
