Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on February 18, 2011 by David Bogomolny
Natalie (above, right) and her sister Sharyn (above, left) from Melbourne, Australia arrived at Pardes in September, knowing they would only be able to join us for one semester. Natalie (Nat) informed These&Those that the Australian summer holiday is in December and January, and the academic year runs from February through November. This explains her plans to return home next week to continue her professional studies. Continue Reading »
Posted on February 9, 2011 by Joel D.
By Faith Brigham “Barefoot and exposed I walk along a shoreline. With the clumping of a million grains of sand, my toes tingle Reminding me of my human-ness. My body-ness. The limitless of these grains tickle my brain as they tickle my limited body. A conch shell lies before me. My eyes gravitate towards its Continue Reading »
Posted on January 26, 2011 by Aviva P.
A Reflection from the 2011 Pardes Heritage Seminar to Poland In memory of my family and all those killed at Bełżec extermination camp I walk into the depths of death, surrounded by the abandoned bones of my brothers and sisters. Hate and fear stifled their cries; barren fields of rocks and concrete trap their whispers, Continue Reading »
Posted on February 17, 2010 by David Bogomolny
Pardes alumna Noga Fisher & her husband Warren joined us on the 2010 Poland Trip. Here are her thoughts: “It’s been a month since our trip. During our intense 5 days I felt numb much of the time. But since then I have been thawing, thinking and feeling, and the process is far from over. Continue Reading »
Posted on February 16, 2010 by David Bogomolny
This will likely be my final note on the Pardes ’10 Poland Trip. We’ll see. Much of what I’ve reflected upon has been inspired by R. Levi Cooper, and I’m particularly appreciative of his emphasis on the wealth of Eastern European Jewish culture before the Shoah. We spent much of our final day touring the Continue Reading »
Posted on February 13, 2010 by David Bogomolny
Auschwitz I (the main Auschwitz camp) has been turned into a museum. I have photographs of the museum displays at Auschwitz I… photographs of human hair and human hair woven into cloth, of spectacles, frames, and lenses, of tallitot (plural form of tallit), of bowls, plates, and cups, of prosthetic limbs and canes, of suitcases Continue Reading »
Posted on February 11, 2010 by The Director of Digital Media
A poem inspired by the 2010 Pardes Poland trip by Cheryl Stone: MAJDANEK Breathe deeply my dear Breathe We have long since been forgotten Breathe They will not remember The guard tower watches over us Protecting The city pulses nearby But we are already dead Breathe The light brushing of blue Continue Reading »
Posted on February 8, 2010 by David Bogomolny
I’ve been busy recently, but that’s not the only reason it’s been taking me so long to write this post. Last week I had a conversation with a chevruta (study partner) on the subject of how we perceive & relate to the presence of G-d (it was a class assignment). We discussed a difficulty that Continue Reading »
Posted on January 30, 2010 by David Bogomolny
I credit R. Cooper with presenting our group with a broad, illustrative picture of Jewish life in Poland before (and after) the Shoah in addition to exposing us to & teaching us about Nazi horrors. In my posts, I must necessarily gloss over some of the sites we visited because I lack the time to Continue Reading »
Posted on January 27, 2010 by David Bogomolny
There’s a stunning, old shul (synagogue) in Tikocyn, Poland. It’s made of stone so it remains standing… the wooden synagogues of Polish yesteryear are no longer. The shul currently serves as a museum; the prayers painted upon its walls have been redone by Poles who traced the faded, unfamiliar letters (and made some errors in Continue Reading »
