Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on August 27, 2014 by Ilana Sumka
Cross-posted from Ilana Sumka’s (Year ’05, Fellows ‘6) blog post on the Mayyim Hayyim blog: I’m a political activist by training, so I was as surprised as anyone to find myself teaching Tanakh, (Torah, Prophets and Writings) and Jewish law to a group of conversion students. A few weeks ago I had the profound honor of witnessing my students Continue Reading »
Posted on August 4, 2014 by Alanna Kleinman
I cried during services last Shabbat. I cried out of frustration and fear. I cried because the Rabbi told the sanctuary that liberal voices speaking out against Israel were anti-Semitic and hateful. I cried because I was told to shut up, that there’s only one way to support a land I had come to call Continue Reading »
Posted on May 23, 2014 by Deborah Renert
Every morning when we recite Birchat haTorah we say “Blessed are You, HaShem our G-d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us “la’asok b’divrei Torah.” It has always struck me that this blessing could have utilized clearer wording if it were meant to refer specifically to studying Continue Reading »
Posted on May 15, 2014 by Laura Marder
What do we have to do in order to get the beautiful blessings that are promised to us in this week’s parsha? Blessings that really take care of us – our whole selves, emotionally and physically. Blessings that have blossoming effects on our shared land and bring food and joy to our tables. It seems Continue Reading »
Posted on May 1, 2014 by Elana Shilling
The omer is my least favourite time of year. Partly because of how all the clean-cut men in the world suddenly become scraggly and foreign looking and also partly because of the mournful tone of the month. Mostly however, the omer is a terrible time of year for me because of the sheer amount of Continue Reading »
Posted on April 13, 2014 by Naomi Zaslow
Over the last week, I and most of my fellow PEPers, have been traveling around the States, doing model lessons for schools in hopes of gainful employment. One of my favorite model lessons that I’ve done focused on the Passover Seder and the way that we tell our story of leaving Egypt year after year. Continue Reading »
Posted on February 3, 2014 by Jeff Amshalem
This past week, while I was substitute teaching a halakhah class here at Pardes, I mentioned by way of introduction that as well as being a proud and very busy member of the Pardes Educators Program, I am also, in that context, a member of the Kollel here. People immediately asked, what is this Kollel Continue Reading »
Posted on December 10, 2013 by Jeremy Borovitz
This is going to be very long, but here are my thoughts on Ukraine: I was sitting at my mother’s desk, obsessively scanning my news feed and hitting refresh on the Kyiv Post’s homepage, when I realized I had to go to Ukraine to see it for myself. I lived in Ukraine for nearly three Continue Reading »
Posted on September 18, 2013 by Hannah Joy
From my blog: In the days leading up to Yom Kippur, we spent a lot of time at Pardes learning about the book of Jonah. The concept that has stuck most in my mind is something we discussed in a lecture given by Judy Klitsner: that of human’s desire and ability (or lack of ability) to change. Continue Reading »
Posted on August 7, 2013 by Emly Oren
Throughout my life, I have been exposed to many different viewpoints and opinions about the Arab-Israeli conflict. As a Jewish leader and Israeli activist, I believe it is my responsibility to be educated and informed on this complex subject. However, after returning to live in Israel and trying to actively participate in this sensitive topic, Continue Reading »
