These and Those

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

Tag Archives: responsibility

יתרו, yitro

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Avi Strausberg

i’ve been wondering for the past few parshot to whom moshe is able to turn when overwhelmed by the responsibility that has been thrust upon him.  as the middle man, he receives all of God’s direct commands while bearing the weight of the people’s fear and doubt.  God is able to rant to moshe about Continue Reading »

What do Avatar the 3-D movie, making a fetish of Native American culture, and dipping my dishes in a Mikveh the other night all have in common? (or; what am I doing here again?)

Posted on December 26, 2010 by Coretta

In order to tell you the answer to the title question,  I  have to call on memories of that sage who is always going to be beyond all other sages no matter how much I study (at least in the sphere of how much she is influencing me); my mom. When visiting the Native American Continue Reading »

[J Street U] A Plea For Engagement: Listening For The Prophetic

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Drew

Crossposted from Jewschool and the J Street U Blog “Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and those that return to her in righteousness.” —Isaiah, 1:27 Three years ago I moved to Jerusalem. I grew up as an involved member of the Reform movement in Connecticut, spent my college and post-college years working in Jewish education Continue Reading »

Do scholars increase peace in the world?

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Mosheh

Hebrew has traditionally been written without vowels, allowing us freedom to make connection between different words with the same constantans but different pronunciations. Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Hanina: “Scholars increase peace throughout the world” (and what is the scriptural proof of this?) for it is said in Isaiah: “All your children Continue Reading »

Poland Trip: Jordyn’s e-mail to her Father

Posted on January 24, 2010 by The Director of Digital Media

One of the Poland trip participants wrote an e-mail to her father about the Poland trip, and sent it to me for this Pardes blog… here it is: Hi Poland was an enriching experience. The days were emotionally intense and long and cold, but Rav Levi Cooper–my Hassidic teacher and main tour guide made sure Continue Reading »

this is a post about walls

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Naomi Adland

Two weeks ago, my grandfather passed away.  He had been ill for a long time, and it was not a sudden death, but it has been nonetheless a difficult experience.  At his funeral, my uncle shared a story about my grandfather that has become something of a mantra for me in the last few weeks: Continue Reading »

On Imperfection

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Mosheh

I just want to say one thing: I love our tradition. The following is commentary, so buckle in. I love our tradition because of the way it normalizes and honors imperfection – the real, as opposed to idealized, experience of our lives. We will start with examples in Halakhah and then move on to our Continue Reading »