Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on February 28, 2023 by Carole Zawatsky
– Carole Zawatsky, Pardes Elul 2022 and Winter Learning Seminar 2017 Alumna, CEO of the Tree of Life, Inc. I have learned over time, and with the experiences that life has dealt me, that sometimes hitting the pause button is critical to our spiritual, and emotional growth. After a tough year and a decades long Continue Reading »
Posted on February 13, 2023 by Grace Sudry
Grace Sudry Winter 2023 PLS Participant I recently made Aliyah and wanted to set aside time during my Israel journey for some formal Jewish studies. A close friend from NYC had talked about her experience studying at Pardes years ago while she was on a career break, so when this same friend shared the information Continue Reading »
Posted on January 31, 2023 by Jonathon Adler
Jonathon Adler Winter 2023 PLS Participant On my winter vacation, I took a trip to the Holy Land. I spent an incredibly wonderful week learning at the Pardes Institute, a truly special institute of higher learning, with professors from multiple traditions within Judaism, including Orthodox rabbis who are women, which was a truly pleasant surprise. Continue Reading »
Posted on January 25, 2023 by Kim and Neal Holtzman
Kim and Neal Holtzman Winter 2023 PLS Participants Learning at Pardes has been on our bucket list for many years. We have a very dear friend who studied at Pardes for two years and spoke often and fondly of the learning and knowledge she had acquired there. We had never taken the opportunity for any Continue Reading »
Posted on January 25, 2023 by Rabbi Peter Stein
Rabbi Peter W. Stein Winter 2023 PLS Participant I serve as the senior rabbi of Temple B’rith Kodesh in Rochester, NY. At the end of December, I came to Israel to begin a two month sabbatical. I was blessed to spend the first week of my time here as a participant in the intensive Pardes Continue Reading »
Posted on April 7, 2022 by Carole Daman
The focus of this Dvar Torah is the maftir for Shabbat Hachodesh. The maftir, referred to as Parashat Hachodesh, consists of the first 20 verses of Chapter 12 of Shmot. Not only does it relate to Pesach, but it mentions both my and my son Avi’s Hebrew birthdays, the 10th (on an actual Shabbos Hagadol Continue Reading »
Posted on January 26, 2022 by Bracha Lieberman
This post was written by PLS participant Bracha Lieberman. To learn more about the Pardes Learning Seminar program, which runs during the summer and winter, please visit www.pardes.org.il/seminar. I grew up Modern Orthodox and studied in Orthodox schools through high school. My mother had wanted me to learn about the Jewish people, Jewish values, the Continue Reading »
Posted on January 12, 2022 by Josh Rolnick
I had so many reasons not to apply for the Pardes winter seminar on Cultivating Courage and Resilience. It took place during the holiday break, when my four children were off from school, a time of family and togetherness. Every day for five days, I knew, the seminar would take precious time away from my Continue Reading »
Posted on January 5, 2022 by Julie Kohl
This post was written by PLS participant Julie Kohl. To learn more about the Pardes Learning Seminar program, which runs during the summer and winter, please visit www.pardes.org.il/seminar. When the COVID surge caused my plans to go skiing in Colorado to fall through, I unexpectedly found myself with extra time during the final week of Continue Reading »
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 »