Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on April 17, 2012 by Reka Eszter
Dear All, Coming from a country and family shocked by the Holocaust for all time, I thought that I would share with you one of the poems that was most emotional for me on this topic. János Pilinszky was one of the greatest poets of 20th century Hungarian literature. He was born in 1921 and Continue Reading »
Posted on March 29, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart
(The fifth in a series of 5 posts detailing my heritage trip to Poland… originally posted on my blog) ___________________ Righteous Among the Nations “Whoever saves one life, saves the entire world”- Talmud In a world where morality no longer existed, where any action could lead to one’s death, there were people who stood out Continue Reading »
Posted on March 29, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart
(The fourth in a series of 5 posts detailing my heritage trip to Poland… originally posted on my blog) ___________________ Belzec “Earth do not cover my blood / Let there be no resting place for my outcry” (Job 16:18) When many people think of concentration camps, they think of Auschwitz. Why? Because many of Continue Reading »
Posted on March 28, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart
(The third in a series of 5 posts detailing my heritage trip to Poland… originally posted on my blog) ___________________ Houses of Life We visited several Jewish cemetaries throughout Poland. In ordinary circumstances, a cemetery would seem like a low point on an itinerary. In Poland, cemeteries were a way to remember and memorialize great lives that were lived. Continue Reading »
Posted on March 27, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart
(The second in a series of 5 posts detailing my heritage trip to Poland… originally posted on my blog) ___________________ Gone Now are Those Little Towns “Gone now are those little towns where the shoemaker was a poet, the watchmaker a philosopher, the barber a troubadour…” –Antoni Sionimski, “Elegy for the Jewish Villages” Tykocin
Posted on March 27, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart
On January 15th, I went to Poland with a group of students and faculty from my school. The trip was a “heritage seminar,” an opportunity to explore and appreciate the Jewish vibrancy that existed in Poland prior to World War II, much of which has left an enduring mark on the history of the Jewish people. Continue Reading »
Posted on February 21, 2012 by Leah Stern
This was it. This was the part of the trip that I had most been afraid of. I had always been afraid of visiting this place, it was part of the reason I had delayed going to Poland until now. The name that is engraved on the heart of every Jew: Auschwitz. I have always Continue Reading »
Posted on January 22, 2012 by Leah Stern
Hi Pardesians and World, On Friday morning at 4:30 AM, I arrived back from Poland with my fellow Pardesians. Though we are happy to be back in Israel and are looking forward to the coming semester, we continue to process and ask questions about our experience in Poland. The first experience I would like to Continue Reading »
Posted on January 17, 2012 by Leah Stern
Hello Pardedians and world, While our time in Poland has been very meaningful so far, it is very hard to write full posts while we are here because of how full our days are. Till I devote time when we arrive home in Israel, I will share impressions of our other community members about their Continue Reading »
Posted on January 8, 2012 by David Bogomolny
Shaul Janes grew up in Elizabeth, NJ around the corner from a synagogue that his family did not attend. They were culturally Jewish, but their lives were nearly void of Judaism. As a young man, Shaul fell in love with cooking – he would think about cooking all the time – it became his creative outlet – it was all he wanted to Continue Reading »