Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on January 20, 2014 by Laura Marder
The greatest gift a teacher can ask for is to be a student and a teacher at the same time. This past week I, along with the fabulous Turkey Team, taught in the Jewish School in Istanbul. I learned so much in the process of creating the program, working with my colleagues, and interacting with Continue Reading »
Posted on December 18, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
From my blog: I find it fascinating how quickly our lives can change, often times without us even realizing it. On top of that, how quickly we can change the lives of others, of future generations, surely without them realizing it. It’s a rainy day outside, so you take the bus to work instead of Continue Reading »
Posted on December 17, 2013 by Avi Benson-Goldberg
Nataliya Naydorf read from the Torah last week for the first time. Then there was a terrible snowstorm. She assures me the two are not related. She’s used to the snow, of course, because Nataliya hails from the former Soviet Union (FSU). Her country of origin literally doesn’t exist anymore. I roll this thought around Continue Reading »
Posted on December 12, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes
From my blog: Yesterday, Pardes had a MASA adventure. Oh boy, oh boy. Teaming up with HUC (Hebrew Union College), CY (Conservative Yeshiva), and JTS (Jewish Theological Seminary), we commandeered four buses and headed to Tel Aviv. The point of the adventure? To learn about “Jewish Renewal” in Tel Aviv. Contrary to my previous belief, Continue Reading »
Posted on December 8, 2013 by Itay Zaidenberg
Living in Jerusalem, it’s easy to feel like Israel is abundantly observant. But when I get off the 480 at Tel Aviv’s Arlozorov bus station, I’m immediately reminded, it’s not. And if I didn’t take the 480 so many times that I now recognize several of the bus drivers, I don’t think I would have Continue Reading »
Posted on September 16, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
From my blog: I walked out of Shul on Friday night, after Kol Nidre, feeling a little bit guilty. I beat my chest, I proclaimed the words, but I didn’t feel truly connected to sins that seemed so grand. I rattled off ashamnu, bagadnu, dibarnu dofi…., but my heart wasn’t in it. I guess I fell Continue Reading »
Posted on May 12, 2013 by Andrea Wiese
From my blog: Friday morning was a blur. A scary blur. I didn’t wake up until 6:24 AM when my roommate screamed, “WIESE.” And I jumped out of bed, how could this happen, on a day that was so important to me? Never mind…we jumped in a taxi and I ran down to the women’s Continue Reading »
Posted on March 28, 2013 by David Bogomolny
Emly Oren left Israel with her family at the age of four, but in many ways Israel never left her family. At school in Orange County, Emly was the only Israeli student; but her family continued to speak Hebrew at home, and they only watched Israeli television programs. The Orens would travel to Israel every Continue Reading »
Posted on March 20, 2013 by Ruthi Wicks
Just a couple weeks ago, Dr. Micah Goodman of the Ein Prat Academy visited us at Pardes to address the student body at shiur clali. His insights into Israeli society were stimulating and refreshing. His analysis, based on the election results, that Israeli society is moving towards Jewish pluralism and openness was inspiring and very Continue Reading »
Posted on March 1, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
Ben Barer (Fall ’11, Fellows ’12) shares his thoughts on MK Ruth Calderon’s inaugural Knesset speech: I had never watched an inaugural Knesset (Israeli Parliament) speech before Dr. Calderon’s (Hebrew; English). However, I, and many in the Jewish world, watched new MK Ruth Calderon’s speech with interest. A member of the rising Yesh Atid (There Continue Reading »
