These and Those

Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem

Tag Archives: prayer / tefillah / davening

The Summer I didn’t plan for

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Laura Marder

G-d has a plan. I believe that now more than ever. This understanding starts with me sitting on the floor of the airport waiting eagerly for my parents to land in Tel Aviv so we can start our two week adventure. It continues with me back in that same airport 20 hours later flying home Continue Reading »

Losing My Religion

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Ma'ayan Dyer

(X-posted from my blog Lost in Jerusalem: http://lostjlem.blogspot.com/) Two weeks have passed since I said goodbye to Jerusalem and hello to an old familiar foe, Medford, Oregon. The job hunt continues, and the sudden realization of how far away the nearest shul is, a mere ten miles, seems as though it might as well be Continue Reading »

Radical amazement on Pardes’ end-of-year Shabbaton

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Soffer

Originally posted on the Masa blog a couple weeks ago: By Jordan Soffer, Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies This past Shabbat Pardes had a tiyul and Shabbaton to the Galil. Prior to the tiyul, while briefly skimming the itinerary, I imagined that this Shabbaton would be the same as every Shabbaton I have been on since Continue Reading »

Week 37: The Practical Dictionary of the Pardes Lexicon

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Derek Kwait

(X-posted from my home blog, Yinzer in Yerushalayim) One of the unadvertised perks of Pardes is that after studying holy texts in their original in the Beit Midrash for a whole year, no matter how advanced your Hebrew level, you come away with a black-belt in using dictionaries. Yet I have noticed that for all Continue Reading »

Thoughts & Teachings about Prayer

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Austin C.

The following is from all of the notes I’ve taken this year during my studies at Pardes. The subject of prayer has been of particular interest to me… (first presented at the final Pardes Shabbaton) Liturgy/Prayer – Liturgy/Prayer is a basic way for us to get in touch with God, fellow Jews, Jewish values, and Continue Reading »

The Fow Ti’s special practice

Posted on May 1, 2012 by AdAm Mayer

First posted on my blog: Every morning the Fow Ti would go out to a near by lake, and sit down with his feet in the water. In the winter the water would be cold, but still, he would stick his feet in the water. He would sit this way for some time before getting Continue Reading »

[Self / Soul & Text] Tahanun Practice

Posted on April 17, 2012 by David Bogomolny

The Tachanun practice that we learned in class has shaped my daily davening. It took my a few minutes in class to take the practice seriously – to really relate to the idea of being dead, rather than just playing dead – but after a while, I was able to see my mat as a Continue Reading »

Week 32: Passover

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Derek Kwait

“Even if all of us were wise, all of us understanding, all of us knowing the Torah, we would still be obligated to discuss the exodus from Egypt,” says the Haggada. While by no means do I, like most of the people I had seder with this year, consider myself inordinately wise or understanding, I Continue Reading »

The NEW Community Davening – A Halachic Partnershi​p Minyan

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Heligman

It is with excitement that we present the new and improved community davening policy.  We hope that these new guidelines will create a more inclusive davening space that will support all members of the community and remain grounded within a halachic framework.   Community Davening–A Halachic Partnership Minyan Policy:   A minyan is defined as Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Rob Murstein

Posted on April 12, 2012 by David Bogomolny

Rob Murstein comes from a ‘very liturgical’ family; they attend Shabbat services every Friday evening, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon until havdalah. Rob’s father is a regular Torah reader at shul, his brother studied chazzanut with their cantor, and Rob himself read Torah at shul for the first time when he was six years old; and then again at Continue Reading »