Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on September 21, 2020 by Carole Daman
This blog piece was written by Carole Daman (Year ’73-’74, Spirituality Retreat ’13, ’14, ’15, ’17, ’18, WLS ’08, ’09, ELS ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15, ’16 ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20). Each year a Day of Learning is dedicated in memory of her late husband, Harlan Daman (Tzvi Hirsh ben Dovid Aryeh) z”l. The following is Continue Reading »
Posted on December 1, 2019 by Alissa Platcow
This article is by current PEEP (’19-’20) student Alissa Platcow. This was originally written after the holidays, and serves as a Fall semester reflection. WUSHHH! The wind whistled through the trees outside as we perched peering out the window into the storm watching the sukkah my family had lovingly built up from the ground, the Continue Reading »
Posted on October 2, 2015 by David Berman
Some would say that not many, if any foods, are associated with Succot, while so many other festivals have foods that are so obviously related to them (think kneidelach on Pesach, dairy foods on Shavuot, tsimmes on Rosh Hashanah…). Many, however, do have the tradition to eat stuffed cabbage on Succot. The reason most often Continue Reading »
Posted on May 14, 2014 by Meira Cohen
The place: a little shtieble near my house in New York. The time: the holiday of Simchat Torah. I am accompanying my brother and his two children to hakafot, the joyous circle dancing celebrating our people’s connection to the Torah. As I walk into the women’s section past the sign delineating proper and modest dress Continue Reading »
Posted on September 28, 2013 by Sam Stern
From my blog: We dance, we kiss, we schmooze, we carry on, we go home happy. What do you say? Come on. The holiday of Sukkot is sometimes referred to as the Festival of In-gathering. In the agricultural world, this time period marks the completion of the harvest and the beginning of the planting/rainy season. Continue Reading »
Posted on September 26, 2013 by Andrea Wiese
From my blog: Like any other normal day, I received an email from the synagogue/ beit knesset that I go to every week here in Jerusalem, Mizmor le David. Usually, I delete them because I know the prayer times and have my meals already planned. But with all the chaggim/ holidays, I read through the Continue Reading »
Posted on September 24, 2013 by Jeff Amshalem
Here’s a teaching of R. Aharon of Karlin (1802-1872) based on teachings his grandfather, Aharon the Great of Karlin (1736-1772), one of the earliest Hasidic rebbes, gave at Simhat Torah. Before we start, it’s worth taking a look at the midrash that will be the lynchpin of the teaching, from Bereishit Rabbah 8:1. Said Rabbi Jeremiah ben Continue Reading »
Posted on November 22, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
Benny Levy (PEP ’07-’09) originally wrote this dvar Torah for the Pardes Educators Alumni Support Project: We celebrated Simchat Torah not long ago. One of the customs of the holiday is to call all children under Bnai Mitzvah age to the Torah in order to include them in the happiness of ending the cycle of Continue Reading »
Posted on November 2, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
by Suzanne Singer, Alex’s mom Three events happened this year that gave us a theme for the Alex Hike. Benjy joined around 250 IDF officers on their trip to Germany and Poland to learn about and see the physical remains of the Shoah. Benjy’s son Itai went with his 12th grade class to Poland to Continue Reading »
Posted on October 12, 2012 by Heather Kantrowitz
Originally posted on my blog: Shalom friends and family! From Rosh Hashanah until Sukkot we were without internet at the house, hence the lapse in blog posts. Anyways, it’s back now (after a long and frustrating process) so I’ll try to summarize everything that’s been happening in my life in the past few weeks. 1) Continue Reading »