Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on February 4, 2012 by Andrea Wiese
At Pardes, Shabbat is the topic of many discussions and the focus of a lot of study. Last semester I took Halakah (Jewish Law) and the class focused on Shabbat. I have written about Shabbat on the blog in the past as well. I have been trying to create a Shabbat “space.” One thing I’ve Continue Reading »
Posted on January 30, 2012 by Naomi Zaslow
Tonight, my Night Seder chevruta – the amazingly talented Daniel Shibley – and I finished all 13 chapters of Ketubot in Mishna Masechet Nashim. To celebrate, we both gave short dvar’s, and had a small siyum (party). When Shibley initially asked me to give a dvar on what we had learned over the last few Continue Reading »
Posted on January 16, 2012 by Derek Kwait
(X-posted from my home blog, Yinzer in Yerushalayim) As I end my first semester in Israel, I am surrounded by reminders of where I come from and how I got here. It started last Thursday night, when I made halushki, a Central/Eastern European dish popular in Western Pennsylvania, at my friend מיכאל’s (pronounced “Mee-kha-el”) apartment Continue Reading »
Posted on January 15, 2012 by Barer
Growing up in the Sephardi community in Toronto, Esther’s Judaism derived mainly from her mother and the weekly Shabbat dinners at her grandmother’s house. Her father, who comes from an essentially secular background, did not push for such a traditional upbringing, and Esther fondly remembers being snuck into McDonalds by her father, where he would Continue Reading »
Posted on January 8, 2012 by David Bogomolny
Shaul Janes grew up in Elizabeth, NJ around the corner from a synagogue that his family did not attend. They were culturally Jewish, but their lives were nearly void of Judaism. As a young man, Shaul fell in love with cooking – he would think about cooking all the time – it became his creative outlet – it was all he wanted to Continue Reading »
Posted on December 28, 2011 by The Director of Digital Media
Many students have been lucky enough to study with Tovah Leah Nachmani – her ‘Personalizing Prayer’ class is a favorite for students seeking to connect to Jewish tradition in a meaningful, personal way, and we appreciate her for being such an incredibly deep listener. Below is a dvar Torah she recently wrote, with a bonus Continue Reading »
Posted on December 19, 2011 by Lauren Schuchart
From my blog: In Jerusalem, everyone has a *guy: “You want to buy fish? Oh you HAVE to go see my guy in the shuk.” “My cheese guy is the BEST. He let’s you try whatever you want.” “Time for a haircut? You have to go to my guy on Emek!” The fun, and perhaps Continue Reading »
Posted on December 7, 2011 by Aliza B.
When you watch the news and learn that something terrible has happened, it is easy to gauge the disaster by how many people were killed. You can classify it even more by which people were affected. Were they children or elderly? Poor or rich? Humanitarians or average joes? In the back of your mind lurks Continue Reading »
Posted on November 29, 2011 by Leah Stern
Hey Pardesians and World, As some of you may know, I am learning the commentator Seforno on the parsha each week with the awesome Hayim Leiter (back right hand corner of the Beit Midrash). Two weeks ago we were studying Parshat Chayei Sarah, during which we read the story of Eliezer going to find a Continue Reading »
Posted on November 15, 2011 by Shibley
Throughout Jewish history, since the destruction of the Second Temple, up to the present day, Jews have longed for a return to Jerusalem. At weddings, in blessings after meals, in the t’fillot, in song, and in literature, the Jewish soul yearns for Jerusalem, the center of the Jewish universe. Two Shabbatot ago, I was in Continue Reading »
