These and Those

Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem

Tag Archives: Pardes Experiential Educators Program (PEEP)

Mikeitz Meets Chanukah

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Sara Spanjer

Mikeitz, is the parsha of this week, Pharaoh had two dreams which would led to Egypt’s peak. Joseph was at his lowest, in captive for things he did not do, Forgotten by the chief cupbearer and feeling pretty blue. Until he was remembered, it had been some time, Pharaoh needed help, interpreting the corn and Continue Reading »

[PEEP Graduation ’13] Athletes of God

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Leah Kahn

Here is my dvar Torah from the PCJE Graduation ceremony! Martha Graham was one of the sages, entrepreneurs and Rebbes of modern dance. Says Graham: “I believe that we learn by practice. It is the performance of a dedicated, precise set of acts, physical or intellectual, from which comes shape of achievement, a sense of Continue Reading »

Kotel Prayer

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Annie Matan Gilbert

From my blog: Stu and I spent our last afternoon in Jerusalem running errands. One of those errands was a final visit to the Kotel to put a note in the wall. Stu collected prayers from family members and hand-copied them from emails, even including typos so each person’s prayer went in exactly as written. Continue Reading »

The Practical Dictionary of the Pardes Lexicon: Second Edition

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Derek Kwait

At the end of last year, I gave the world “The Kwait“ the necessarily abridged First Edition of The Practical Dictionary of the Pardes Lexicon. Now, as my Pardes experience comes to a close, I present this still necessarily abridged Second Edition, to be known as “The Kwait Shayni.” This edition, like its predecessor, is Continue Reading »

Kohenet Shacharit prepared by Kohenet Annie Matan Gilbert

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Annie Matan Gilbert

Wednesday morning, at our weekly Creative Shacharit, I led a Kohenet style davenning. This means that the liturgy of the service follows the arc of a traditional shacharit service but is often not traditional liturgy. This particular service is compiled from chants and prayers from the Kohenet siddur and from my own writing and repertoire. Continue Reading »

Hachnasat Sefer Torah

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Annie Matan Gilbert

Today at Pardes, we had the honour and the pleasure of dancing our new sefer Torah, (donated in honour of a recent Bat Mitzvah) around the school. We heard lovely divrei Torah from Pardes student, Dr. Aileen Heinberg and from Rav Landes. There was some mention made of the fact that a Hachnasat Sefer Torah Continue Reading »

Sarah the Mother

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Annie Matan Gilbert

From my blog: The following snippets were written as part of a Storahtelling exercise to help us get to know the characters/voices with which we are teaching Torah. We are working with some verses from Parshat Vayera, Genesis Chapter 21, verses 8-10. In character, we were asked to answer the following questions: My biggest regret Continue Reading »

‘Rodef Shalom’ Pilot Program for Hillel Professionals

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Leah Kahn

Leah Kahn is a Campus Professional Fellow within The Pardes Center for Judaism and Conflict Resolution, a current student within the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators and former Director of Engagement, University of Chicago Hillel from 2005-2011. I know from firsthand experience that Hillel professionals are very busy managing multiple projects at once and don’t Continue Reading »

Why Fast for Ta’anit Esther?

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Annie Matan Gilbert

This fast comes in contrast with the feasting of Purim to come. In the Purim story, Esther asked Mordechai to ask the Jews to fast for three days. Some texts say this is because they were preparing for battle and others say this was to invoke God’s help and protection. There are two Hebrew words Continue Reading »

[PCJE Dvar Torah] Mishpatim: Seeing our Personal God (by Leah Kahn)

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Leah Kahn

In last week’s Parsha, Yitro, we left B’nei Yisrael at Mt. Sinai, having just received the Ten Commandments directly from the mouth of God. Most would agree that they are reasonable commandments, which aim to help this newly freed people maintain order and positive values as a newly minted nation. Switching gears immediately from the Continue Reading »