These and Those

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

Tag Archives: retreats

[Alumni Guest Post] Vistors to Our Hearts by James Jacobson-Maisels

Posted on November 26, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

This dvar Torah was written by James Jacobson-Maisels (Pardes Kollel ’01-’03). Today, we know and love James as one of our amazing Pardes faculty, teaching classes such as ‘Self, Soul & Text’, and running our Pardes Spirituality Retreats! One of the great mitzvot, modeled in our recent parshiot by Avraham Avinu, is hakhnasat orchim, the Continue Reading »

We Can Fly Together

Posted on May 16, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

Touching video from the One Family Fund right down the street from Pardes in Katamon to support families of terror victims.

Week 36: From Silence to Song

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Derek Kwait

(Mostly X-posted from my home blog, Yinzer in Yerushalayim) The weekend before last was the retreat Shabbaton for Self, Soul, and Text class at Kibbutz Hanaton, our teacher James’ home, in the Galil. The schedules Friday and Saturday were nearly identical, each day going like: 9-9:45: Sit. 9:45-10:30: Walk. 10:30-11:15: Sit. 11:15-12:30: Lunch. 12:30-1:15-Sit. It Continue Reading »

Rodef Shalom course

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Dr. J. Golden

I first learned about this wonderful program through the Pardes newsletter.  I was in Brazil at the time and had already missed the first class, but I immediately wrote to see if it would still be possible for me to join the course.  I also invited my M.A. student, Joshua Barer, to enroll in the Continue Reading »

What’s Meaningful to Me

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Heligman

Last December I attended the first of a series of Meditation Retreats in Hannaton (co-led by Pardes faculty member James Jacobson-Maisels).  It’s been about 2 months now since experiencing the awakened state of being that defines “Retreat”. I call it an awakened state because the sensitivity you develop during these retreats can be described in Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Stu Jacobs

Posted on February 21, 2012 by David Bogomolny

“I’m very adamant about a pluralistic model of Jewish practice.” -Stu Jacobs In 5th grade, a teacher inspired Stu Jacobs to explore and gradually start keeping more mitzvot, and throughout his youth the young man strived to connect to and practice a new mitzvah every single year. His teacher had said that ‘he didn’t have Continue Reading »

The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Andrea Wiese

Over the past weekend, my school had a “Shabbaton” which means a rest. The actual explanation is like a weekend retreat. The whole weekend was very beautiful with a lot of bonding and relaxing. I got to play some basketball on Shabbat with some of my classmates too! One of the highlights was during free Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Avi Strausberg

Posted on April 28, 2011 by David Bogomolny

After graduating from Northwestern University in 2005 with a major in theater, Avi Strausberg (2010-2011) started a non-profit theater company called the ‘Hometown Theater Project’, and continued acting and directing in Chicago for nearly three years before she found herself becoming antsy. “I wanted to be some place beautiful, and I became interested in organic Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Jonathan Tassoff

Posted on April 5, 2011 by David Bogomolny

On his 40th birthday, during a silent Shambhala meditation retreat on a mountain in Vermont, Jonathan (’09-’10, Fellows ’10-’11) asked himself, “what do I really want to do?” And the answer came to him, “I want to study Torah in Israel.” Soon thereafter, Jonathan applied to Pardes, and received the nicest e-mail from Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy that he had ever received Continue Reading »

Tish and That by Vicki Raun

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 »