Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on February 18, 2013 by Michael Sassoon
I shared these words with the Pardes community at Community Lunch last week before my (temporary!) departure: My experience here in Israel and at Pardes has been breathtaking. I feel the following verse playing itself out here for me in terms of things I’ve done, places and people I’ve seen, delicacies I’ve tasted: אנכי ה` Continue Reading »
Posted on September 18, 2012 by Laura Marder
In our busy daily lives we are programmed as adults to subdue some of our pure emotions in order to be socially acceptable. Sometimes if not addressed through meditation, prayer, alone time etc ..our pure self can be pushed so far below the surface that even we forget who it is we really are. On Continue Reading »
Posted on September 16, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
At the Shabbaton, Rav Elisha held a session on using part of birkot hashachar (the morning blessings) to reflect our true, ideal selves. We looked at the wording in ״הי נשמה שנתת בי טהורה היא״ and “מודה אני״ and reflected on what it meant to be recreated fresh every morning. Then, we created abstract paintings of Continue Reading »
Posted on April 19, 2012 by Barer
This testimonial was written by Pardes alumnus Daniel Schwartz (Year ’10-’11): Jeff’s reaction to Orthodox Paradox? Noah Feldman had been too easy on the yeshivas of his youth. I can’t help but look back on the bulk of my yeshiva education with bitterness. My teachers smoothed over all the tensions that animate contemporary Judaism, petrifying Continue Reading »
Posted on February 4, 2012 by Derek Kwait
(X-posted from my home blog, Yinzer in Yerushalayim) I decided to challenge myself this semester, to fully take advantage of my time here by trying new Jewish things and getting outside my comfort zones. Since every subject of Torah has its own special jargon, world view, sources, legends, authorities, inside jokes, the result has been Continue Reading »
Posted on January 25, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
We see Jaclyn Rubin at Pardes on a regular basis; she studies with R. Elisha Ancselovits, and she’s often chevruta’ing in the beit midrash… but we only recently learned about her new project: PARSHAH PUZZLES for kids! This is really worth a look 🙂
Posted on November 16, 2011 by Shibley
Over the past weeks, I have used afternoon seder to study the laws of aveilut (mourning). As with many areas of halakha, there are numerous details and caveats. I have found myself troubled by the seemingly impersonal details of the halacha, which is brings me to Chayei Sarah, our parasha this week. Sarah dies in Continue Reading »
Posted on December 22, 2010 by David Bogomolny
“I’m spending this year in Jerusalem, learning how the Rabbis of the 1st and 2nd centuries endeavored to build a just society, and how Jewish tradition has built on their vision.” After graduating from Brandeis University, Julie entered into the field of interfaith organizing through the Jewish Organizing Initiative Fellowship Program. Her many conversations with young Continue Reading »
Posted on November 25, 2010 by David Bogomolny
Although they both hail from Los Angeles, Kara and David only met in college at UC Santa Barbara. As a child, Kara attended Christian Science church every week with her mother, but she became skeptical about religion as a teenager, and came to identify herself as culturally Jewish. David was raised in the Conservative Jewish movement, Continue Reading »
Posted on November 5, 2010 by Barer
What value does tradition have? What is added to an action, ritual, or practice from it being something that has been done for 500 years as opposed to 50 years or 5 years, or compared to starting a new ‘tradition’ altogether? As anyone who has watched Fiddler on the Roof knows – and judging by Continue Reading »
