Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on October 20, 2012 by Mary Brett Koplen
Originally posted on CowBird. Har Nof, Jerusalem: a village of the black-hatted and side-locked sort of faithful, and these are the people we pass this Saturday evening. We walk through the middle of the street, knowing there will be no cars, that the stores will all be closed. I turn to my brother-in-law, his black Continue Reading »
Posted on October 13, 2012 by Andrea Wiese
http://www.alexsinger.org/ Last week I went on a hike that I had first heard about over a year ago. I was probably busy last year and didn’t pay much attention. But last year, always around pesach, Pardes put up special art work and poems in the hallway. Not only was it beautiful, it came with a Continue Reading »
Posted on September 25, 2012 by Shanee Michaelson
In discussion with my chevrutah, we posited that the snake character of the narrative was rather puzzling. Why would a snake be in conversation with human beings? Moreover, why would a snake have such a pivotal role in גן עדן setting off a series of events and changing the course of humankind? We came to Continue Reading »
Posted on September 16, 2012 by Derek Kwait
My friend Simcha and I wrote this story together while bunkmates at the Ivy League Torah Study Experience in the summer of 2010. I shared it at the Tisch during the Shabbaton this weekend, and now thought I’d share it with you. Enjoy. The Legend of the Bird Shem Tov by Yehosh Mohsh & Simcha Continue Reading »
Posted on August 28, 2012 by Andrea Wiese
יש לי סיפור ארוך. אבל תכין את עצמך כי יש לי הרבה קיטורים. כשנכנסנו לדירה שלנו לא היה דשא. אבל רצינו דשא. אחרי שמונה חודשים סוף סוף קיבלנו דשא. כשקיבלנו את הדשא, הייתי עם נפטי באירופה. אחרי עוד חודש כשנפטי הסתיים, הגעתי לביתי. והדשא גדל לגובה של הברכיים שלי! אם אתה יודע משו על כיסוח Continue Reading »
Posted on August 17, 2012 by Andrea Wiese
היום משו מצחיק קרה. באוטובוס בבוקר קארה ואני פגשנו את האיש מהשמים. מיד אהבתי אותו כשראיתי קוים בידו מתפילין. כשגמרתי קפה שלי, הוא לקח את הכוס ושם באשפה בשבילי!!! איזה גבר! אין לו סיבה, רק בגלל שהוא נחמד. מאוחר יותר, אחרי שסיימנו את הטיול בשוק מחנה יהודה, עמדנו על יד השוק העראקי. יש שם הרבה Continue Reading »
Posted on June 4, 2012 by Deborah Galaski
Here’s a little bit about my article: “For the Sake of the Righteous:Divine Love and Human Responsibility in Bereshit Rabba” I first fell in love with midrash when I read a passage in Bereshit Rabba, describing the moment when God created the first human being. I was in my second year of graduate school, where Continue Reading »
Posted on June 3, 2012 by Derek Kwait
(X-posted from my home blog, Yinzer in Yerushalayim) So this is it. The end. It’s over. After Shabbat, I’m going to see everyone again in the fall at best, never at worst. Still, this is ultimately what I signed up for, to become a Pardes Alum. I’m almost positive that from the moment I touch 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 20, 2012 by David Bogomolny
My mother tells me that when I was a child, I would stand on the perimeter of the playground, mouth agape, watching the children play with one another. She’d have to nudge me towards them before I’d move. In retrospect, I think I went through my childhood feeling overwhelmed by sensory and emotional inputs. Every Continue Reading »
