Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on April 23, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes
From my blog: I really need to write a blog post right now, but I must first overcome many obstacles. The above statement has two parts. I should know what they’re called because I was an English major, but thankfully, I managed to receive my degree without taking a single grammar class. So, there might Continue Reading »
Posted on April 18, 2013 by Cara Abrams-Simonton
From my blog: ד׳ באייר תשע״ג April 14, 2013 יום ראשון Yom Rishon, the first day (of the week) meaning Sunday… [I’ve decided to try to write seemingly mundane highlights for blog posts from now on since it has been so difficult for me to actually invest time in the extremely detailed descriptions I initially Continue Reading »
Posted on April 11, 2013 by AdAm Mayer
I was sitting in the chadar ochel (dining hall) during lunch yesterday with a number of Pardes students, and Zvi Hirschfield turns around from the next table and decides to poll our small group: “Lashon Hara –an aveira [sin] or just good advice?” As to be expected from any gathering of Pardes students, there was Continue Reading »
Posted on February 12, 2013 by David Bogomolny
Over the course of the past several years, I’ve come to learn that it’s not entirely clear whether praying in a minyan is halakhically required or not. Granted, most sources agree that praying in a minyan is at least encouraged & laudable… but ultimately, my halakhic obligation is to pray the correct services (morning, afternoon, evening) at the correct times. Outside of Continue Reading »
Posted on February 4, 2013 by Andrea Wiese
One thing that is very real lately at Pardes is the Jewish life cycle; particularly, the end. Last week many students traveled to Alon Shvut to support Zvi Hirschfield at the funeral of his father. And just last night, many students and people from the community gathered in the Beit Midrash for an azkara or a type Continue Reading »
Posted on January 23, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
The semester I spent at Pardes was among the most important periods of personal growth that I’ve ever had. Upon my return to the US, when family or friends would ask about it, I could only create impressions of how I had grown or what I had truly learned. I would say, “imagine six months Continue Reading »
Posted on November 14, 2012 by David Bogomolny
Aileen Heinberg grew up in a Modern Orthodox community in Brooklyn, NY, and graduated from the Yeshiva of Flatbush, which she’d attended since kindergarten; Torah learning was so woven into the fabric of her environment that she came to take it for granted. Nevertheless, the young woman eventually grew to appreciate Jewish learning as a Continue Reading »
Posted on June 12, 2012 by Esther DuBow
By Esther DuBow, PEP ’12 Daniel Weinreb, you are truly a scholar and a gentleman and having you as a colleague these past two years has been wonderful. I want that “sugya” you wrote for closing lunch. In return, I’ll give you a copy of our spiel, (PAUSE) assuming there are some left that weren’t Continue Reading »
Posted on June 7, 2012 by Barer
Tamar views her Jewish journey as a work in progress, or, as Zvi Hirschfield suggests, that of a Gemara sugiyah. As a child growing up in Los Angeles, she went to Hebrew school three days a week and was ‘that kid’ who loved it. Perhaps Jewish education’s emphasis on modern Hebrew at the time made 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 »
