Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on July 27, 2021 by Jeff Hurok
This teaching was written by first time PLS participant Jeff Hurok. To learn more about the Pardes Learning Seminar program, which runs during the summer and winter, please visit www.pardes.org.il/seminar. I have wanted to attend a summer Pardes Learning Seminar for a few years. I don’t recall the first time I heard about Pardes, but Continue Reading »
Posted on July 15, 2021 by Elaine Hochberg
This post was written by first-time PLS participant Elaine Hochberg. To learn more about the Pardes Learning Seminar program, which runs during the summer and winter, please visit www.pardes.org.il/seminar. Where do I begin? I spent five days last week with Pardes for the first time. The experience was revelatory. A few weeks previously, the new Continue Reading »
Posted on July 12, 2021 by Cindy Scheinfeld
This teaching was written by first time PLS participant Cindy Scheinfeld. To learn more about the Pardes Learning Seminar program, which runs during the summer and winter, please visit www.pardes.org.il/seminar. Several months ago I became interested in studying Torah. It’s not something I have done before. I grew up in a secular home with limited Continue Reading »
Posted on May 2, 2021 by Carole Daman
This blog piece was written by Carole Daman (Year ’73-’74, Spirituality Retreat ’13, ’14, ’15, ’17, ’18, WPLS ’08, ’09, PLS ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15, ’16 ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20). Sefer Vayikra begins with an invitation and ends with a warning of alienation. According to Ramban, the Sefer sets forth laws meant to protect the Continue Reading »
Posted on July 15, 2020 by Beryl Levinger
This was written by Beryl Levinger who studied at Pardes in the summer of 2008 before joining this summer’s PLS. I love that Judaism is a religion of doing. In practical terms, this means that Jewish learning should help us to grow both spiritually and behaviorally. Unpacking the multiple meanings of a text in beit Continue Reading »
Posted on July 15, 2020 by Michael Conway
This was written by Michael Conway, a participant in the 2020 Summer online Pardes Learning Seminar. Michael lives in Miami Beach, FL. In the fragmented, post-modern world in which most of us live – busily bouncing between responsibilities of jobs and families – Pardes Learning Seminars (PLS) provide a refreshing and renewed connection between ourselves, Continue Reading »
Posted on January 9, 2020 by Rhoda Weisman
This was written by Rhoda Weisman, alumna of the Winter 2019 Pardes Learning Seminar. I love the Oxford English dictionary’s definition of transformation: “a complete change in someone or something.” I am that someone who’s been transformed and the wonderful catalyst was this year’s Pardes Winter Learning Seminar. For those of you reading this post Continue Reading »
Posted on January 8, 2020 by Rabbi Joshua Katzan
This blog was written by Rabbi Joshua Katzan of Los Angeles, alumnus of the Winter 2019 Pardes Learning Seminar and Pardes Year Programs ’90-’92. “Illuminating. Challenging. Grounding. Provocative. The essence of the Pardes Learning Seminar is to practice the art of seeing ideas and Jewish text from various points of view, and to feel more Continue Reading »
Posted on August 25, 2019 by Larry Brooks
This blog piece was written by Larry Brooks, alumnus of the Summer 2019 Pardes Executive Learning Seminar. Pluralistic, genuine, immersive, non-denominational, spiritual and academic? For years I’d heard others describe Pardes this way. Still, I began the 2019 ELS summer program with a healthy dose of New York skepticism. Would the teachers be truly engaging? Continue Reading »
Posted on July 30, 2019 by Devra C. Aarons
This blog piece was written by Devra Aarons, alumna of the Summer 2019 Pardes Executive Learning Seminar. I have vivid childhood memories of sitting in my family’s synagogue on Shabbat, just listening to everyone’s voices coming together during the prayers. Somehow the tune to “Vishamru” always felt big – like a symphony and a call Continue Reading »
