Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on November 9, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
Originally posted by Aryeh Ben David (Year Program ’79-’80) on the Ayeka Blog: CONTROLLING THE URGE THAT TELLS US ‘MORE IS BETTER’. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO KNOW SOMETHING? Does it mean to understand it? Does it mean to know something well enough to pass a test? Does it mean to be able to recite Continue Reading »
Posted on October 29, 2012 by David Bogomolny
I remember a late, late Shabbat night conversation several years ago on a street corner in Dupont Circle with a friend of mine. We were standing outside of a bar, as people walked by us, in and out, in and out, not heeding us in the slightest, just as we didn’t pay them any heed. We were Continue Reading »
Posted on October 29, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
By Jeremy Sorgen (Spring 2011): What is prophecy? Who are prophets? Traditionally, prophets have played the role of messenger of God. They are God’s mouthpiece, communicating their revelation to mankind–at once an onerous responsibility and an unpleasant task. The prophets of the Bible are unhappy creatures, driven mad by the intimate presence of God and Continue Reading »
Posted on October 23, 2012 by Eric Feldman
Originally posted on my blog: Hey, remember me? Sorry it’s been so long since I posted last, but things have been pretty busy here. I’m not exactly sure where I left off last, but I think it was somewhere around sukkot break (called one of the chagim aka festivals), so let me jump to that Continue Reading »
Posted on October 15, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
Naomi Adland (Yr. Prog. ’09-’10, & former Ass’t Dir. of Recruitment) postedthis: This is the d’var torah I gave last Friday night at Shir HaMa’alot, a minyan here in Brooklyn. If you’ve read other things I’ve written, you might think that some of this sounds familiar – and you would be right, because I completely, unashamedly Continue Reading »
Posted on April 30, 2012 by Barer
“Why do you wear a Kippah?” “What could you possibly get out of davenning [prayer]? “Why grow an itchy beard for a month?” These questions, and others like them, have all been asked of me, specifically in light of the fact that I do not believe in God. They are all valid questions, and have Continue Reading »
Posted on April 19, 2012 by Barer
This testimonial was written by Pardes alumnus Daniel Schwartz (Year ’10-’11): Jeff’s reaction to Orthodox Paradox? Noah Feldman had been too easy on the yeshivas of his youth. I can’t help but look back on the bulk of my yeshiva education with bitterness. My teachers smoothed over all the tensions that animate contemporary Judaism, petrifying Continue Reading »
Posted on April 8, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
Before Purim, alum Matt Bar (Year ’07-’08, Fellow ’08-’09) of BIBLE RAPS fame visited us at Pardes (and he stayed for the Purim spiel)! We videotaped him rapping for us during community lunch: We also got to talk with him about why he tries to visit Pardes regularly, and got him to share some thoughts Continue Reading »
Posted on February 21, 2012 by Barer
Many of us who fall under the label ‘modern liberal Jew’ view women’s role (or lack thereof) in traditional Judaism to be a serious affront to our notions of egalitarianism. ‘How can it be’ we ask, ‘that anyone could live in a Western democracy in the 21st century and subject women to secondary-citizen status in Continue Reading »
Posted on January 31, 2012 by Barer
[Cross posted from my blog] Last week at Pardes marked the end of a four-part lecture series given by professor James Kugel, one of the preeminent scholars of the Bible alive today. He painted an extremely interesting picture in answering the question that titled the lectures: Has Modern Biblical Scholarship Killed the Bible? The lectures Continue Reading »
