Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on November 3, 2011 by Suzi
Wrote this last night: It’s RAINING in Jerusalem Thanks to all the Jews who’ve been praying for this–but couldn’t you have asked it to wait until I got home? Though it was fun walking up Ben Yehuda and watching everybody dancing in the downpour, getting soaked and not caring one tiny bit about it…the youngsters, Continue Reading »
Posted on October 31, 2011 by Anton L. Gershteyn
PLEASE NOTE: If you are about to read this article, please listen to the two songs linked here: (First Song, Second Song) because a major part of this article is based upon your audio experience. As in many classic Jewish texts, much of the meaning is found in the footnotes (they are actually the most Continue Reading »
Posted on October 31, 2011 by Laura H.
My relationship with the Kotel is in constant flux. To be honest, I struggle with connecting to the Kotel a lot, and have done so ever since I first came to Israel when I was 13 years old. Despite this struggle, every time I come to Israel, I make a point of visiting the Kotel. Continue Reading »
Posted on October 23, 2011 by Shibley
In our efforts to try and find spirituality and deep connections in prayer often lead us to take t’fillah very seriously. Generally, that is a practice which I would commend, and even recommend, since it would theoretically allow us to block out distractions and concentrate solely on our relationship with Gd. Perhaps the best example Continue Reading »
Posted on October 9, 2011 by Shibley
I will be the first to admit that Yom Kippur is one of my favorite days of the year. Between the liturgical poetry, the beautiful nusach, and the freedom from caring about my appearance, or physical sustenance, the experience is a catharsis of emotions and senses. Even with all of the positives, I found myself Continue Reading »
Posted on July 8, 2011 by Tamara Frankel
Dear Friends, This week I have been blown away by the ways in which God (the forces of the Universe/nature, if you prefer) works, sometimes mysteriously and other times very inconspicuously. I’m not one to believe in signs or superstitions but sometimes you can’t ignore experiences that awaken and speak to your emotions and thoughts. Continue Reading »
Posted on July 7, 2011 by Avi Strausberg
this week’s parsha strangely focus on the story of one non-israelite, balaam the diviner, and his journey of how he came to know and understand God. okay, let’s back up a little bit. there’s a bad guy in this story, balak, head of the amorites, who summons our diviner-friend balaam to curse the jewish Continue Reading »
Posted on June 5, 2011 by Tamara Frankel
Dear Friends, This week I read Torah for the first time with an egalitarian Orthodox minyan at Pardes. While enjoying a festive breakfast later that morning, my friends turned to me and asked, “So, how did it feel? What was that like? What’s next?” Truth be told, there’s something almost anti-climatic about the experience because Continue Reading »
Posted on June 1, 2011 by David Bogomolny
“… now I better understand what I was looking for… I didn’t know what to ask for – I didn’t know what it looked like – I didn’t realize I could trust Judaism, but at Pardes I’ve realized that everything I was looking for exists in Jewish texts.” As a young woman growing up in Washington, DC, Merissa was heavily involved in race dialogues, and later came Continue Reading »
Posted on April 12, 2011 by Joel D.
