Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on August 11, 2016 by Erika Davis
This was originally posted on the author’s blog, Black, Gay and Jewish: A gay black woman’s discovery of her Jewish self. I’m not sure if it’s purposeful, but after two weeks of study it’s nice to see ways in which the classes that I’m taking overlap with one another. Scribal Arts, a sort of elective, Continue Reading »
Posted on August 9, 2016 by Estella Gabay
Before I got on the plane to Israel, I had many doubts. It wasn’t my first time in Israel, but my purpose was different from my previous visits. I was hesitant this time, overwhelmed. I am from Istanbul. I am Jewish, living in a Muslim community. Am I living a Jewish life? I ask that question to Continue Reading »
Posted on August 7, 2016 by Yuliya Mazur
This blog has been cross-posted from this link. Here at Pardes I like all of my teachers. Otherwise I wouldn’t have taken their classes, right? But a person whose class and relationship with I treasure the most, is definitely Yaffa Epstein. Yaffa is the reason I am coming to Pardes for the second year and Continue Reading »
Posted on July 20, 2016 by Dave Benger
I’ve found that every student at Pardes has a unique backstory, and layer upon layer of reasons for what brought them to this place at this time, each story more intriguing than the last. For me, this summer at Pardes could not have come at a better time. This past year brought some radical transformation Continue Reading »
Posted on May 29, 2016 by Maya Zinkow
When I thought about what I could say to encapsulate two years spent in this special place of learning and growth, I thought about the Maya of two years ago, how she might be unsure of where, even, to begin. There was always the parsha to look to, but if she were to close her Continue Reading »
Posted on March 21, 2016 by Rivka Glick
Hi–I’m Rivka from Chicago. Because I’m leaving Pardes in two weeks, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank my teachers, my fellow students, and the Pardes personnel, all who have been my teachers (Joanne taught me how to wrap my head). One of my friends in Chicago said, “education is relationship.” “Yeah,” I said. “A Continue Reading »
Posted on November 14, 2015 by Yaakov Feinberg
After my first month of the Pardes Year-Program, I was on a first-name basis with most of the teachers. Even if I didn’t attend a particular teacher’s shiur, I had either been invited to their house for Rosh Hashanah dinner, or spoken with them during a tiyul, or sat with them at community lunch, so Continue Reading »
Posted on December 3, 2014 by Geo Poor
Forms dart and flow drip and flight not liquid quite not the light of sight but a charged shadow byte that drift up and down, in and out bringing energy – dangerous healing energy life giving – kivyachol
Posted on October 15, 2014 by David Gutbezahl
When I arrived at Pardes in 2012, I had already been out of college for two years. I have to admit, during those two years between college and Pardes I was pretty lazy. I spent a few hours teaching at religious schools, and a few hours applying for jobs while living with my parents. It Continue Reading »
Posted on September 7, 2014 by Suzanne Hutt
The first thing you should know is that I live in a cistern. A cistern that has been converted into a multi-level, modern apartment, but a cistern nonetheless. Sometimes I sit on the couch and gaze up at the skylight, musing to myself that not so long ago, this whole thing would have been filled Continue Reading »
