These and Those

Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem

Tag Archives: student profiles

[Student Profile] Eli Witkin

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Sara Spanjer

Want to learn a ditty or two from the tallest guy at Pardes? Eli Witkin is your man! He loves and knows probably every song in the Pardes bencher, and he’s a patient and wonderful teacher. It seems the only thing that may distract Eli from his intense studying is music. If music is playing Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Emet Ozar and Jessica Baverman would like to get Married. Once.

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Avi Benson-Goldberg

The time was, that when you came into Pardes, the first thing you would see in the morning was Emet Ozar (32) and Jessica Baverman, MSW (27), being cute. Not snarky, but god’s own living Bambi. Unfortunately for us, but blessedly for them, the love birds have flown back to the United States to prepare Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Nataliya Naydorf knows everything about how you use your computer.

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 »

[Student Profile] Josh Pernick went to public school, but will teach in day schools.

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Avi Benson-Goldberg

Josh Pernick plays doubles tennis at the Israel Tennis center, and needs a regular partner. When I mention that this fact will be making it into the final piece, Josh points out that last night is the first time he’s managed to play doubles, and he played with David Levine. This profile, of course, will Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Mary Brett Koplen & Adam Masser

Posted on June 25, 2013 by David Bogomolny

If you walked the halls of Pardes days during our 2012-2013 year program, you might have noticed two students spending a lot of time together. You might have heard them laughing on a Jerusalem park bench. You might have seen them learning together in the Beit Midrash. If you found them at your Shabbat table, Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Emly Oren

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 »

[Student Profile] Hannah Grossman

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Derek Kwait

Hannah Grossman is an explorer. Her Jewish journey has taken her from the farthest ends of the earth to the deepest corners of her psyche. Yet the further she has traveled from her native New Jersey, the closer she has come to finally finding her Jewish home. Hannah grew up in West Orange, NJ to Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Marty Flashner

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Derek Kwait

Originally hailing from Boston, Marty Flashner has a wife and three kids, a law degree, an MBA, and worked for almost thirty-three years with Ernst & Young, one of the largest professional service firms in the world, including running the firm’s tax practice in Connecticut for the last ten years. Yet, for all this career Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Ben Gurin & Sydni Adler

Posted on January 21, 2013 by David Bogomolny

Sydni Adler (Year ’13) and Ben Gurin (Year ’13) met during the Summer of ’10 in Washington DC, as participants on the Mechon Kaplan program of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Together with their cohort, they took classes on Social Justice and Judaism, and each interned for an NGO; Sydni worked on campaign Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Tamar Roth

Posted on January 13, 2013 by David Bogomolny

Tamar (Fall ’12) had only planned to remain at Pardes for the Elul Program, but ended up staying for the entire Fall semester – much to her own surprise! Having grown up in the Golders Green Synagogue community, Tamar became a leader of her local Bnei Akiva youth group, taking on the role of madricha at the age Continue Reading »