Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on November 2, 2010 by Eryn
I was fortunate to be able to take a break from the office and participate in one class during the Pardes “Yom Iyun Sukkot.” The class, taught by Pardes faculty member, Tovah Leah Nachmani, was entitled, “Sukkot: Is God on the Guest List?” Starting with the controversial statement by Hillel the Elder – “If I Continue Reading »
Posted on November 2, 2010 by Eryn
Pardes is a wonderful place to study, and also an amazing community. Like every community, the one at Pardes is formed of shared experiences. The community that is Pardes really became real for me at the first tish of the school year, during our first retreat. Tish is a time in the evening to share Continue Reading »
Posted on November 2, 2010 by Eryn
“ברוך אתה ה אלוקינו מלך העולם מתיר אסורים” – “Blessed are you, Hashem, our God, King of universe who releases the bound” – I am particularly grateful for this blessing from Birckot Hashachar. It is symbolized through stretching. I have always thought of stretching as something purely physical, however, this bracha makes us aware that there Continue Reading »
Posted on October 28, 2010 by Mosheh
It’s been recently pointed out to me that there is a tradition of doing netilat yadayim (ritual hand washing and blessing) before prayer, just as we do before eating bread. Apparently, it is not so common for people to follow this custom, which is why I hadn’t noticed it before, but it does exist. Moreover, Continue Reading »
Posted on September 22, 2010 by Mosheh
Before coming to learn at Pardes I lived in Chicago for five years. Having moved from the suburbs of Detroit, I was quite taken aback by actually living in the ‘big city’ for the first time in my life. One of the things which really struck me was all the homeless people on the streets. Continue Reading »
Posted on February 20, 2010 by David Bogomolny
Pardes is a very academic institution, which puts tremendous emphasis upon Jewish text study. Morning classes alternate between Talmud (or Mishnah) study & Chumash study, and the afternoon classes, which are subject-based, are also grounded in Jewish texts (Tanakh, Mishnah Berurah, Midrash, etc.). Unlike some other traditional Jewish learning institutions, Pardes does not aim to Continue Reading »
Posted on January 10, 2010 by David Bogomolny
Several weeks ago, I decided that it was high time for me to visit the Tayelet in J’lem, and I woke myself up at an early hour to daven (pray) the shacharit (morning) service with my tefilin (phylacteries) at sunrise, facing the Old City of J’lem. It was a chilly morning, and I felt it. Continue Reading »
Posted on December 13, 2009 by Brenna
Experiencing prayer is one of my favorite things in Israel and Jerusalem in particular. This whole country is a place of prayer. Where else but Israel, would one hear in the beginning of the show “Survivor” one of the secular contestants sing “Modeh Ani” (a prayer praising G-d for returning to life in the morning)? Continue Reading »
