Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on September 15, 2010 by Joel D.
This Yom Kippur, with your spirit and your clothing pure as light itself, you may find yourself steeped in the words of prayer. You begin the repetition of the Musaf Amidah. Your Kavana, your intentions, are pure and your passion to return to Hashem…Then two hours later you’re not even half way through the repetition, Continue Reading »
Posted on May 2, 2010 by Naomi Adland
Well, we seem to have taken a bit of a vacation here at These and Those, but I think it’s high time that the blog gets back in action. A few weeks ago, I was innocently walking down the hallway when I heard a phrase that will always strike fear into my heart – “Naomi, Continue Reading »
Posted on February 20, 2010 by David Bogomolny
Pardes is a very academic institution, which puts tremendous emphasis upon Jewish text study. Morning classes alternate between Talmud (or Mishnah) study & Chumash study, and the afternoon classes, which are subject-based, are also grounded in Jewish texts (Tanakh, Mishnah Berurah, Midrash, etc.). Unlike some other traditional Jewish learning institutions, Pardes does not aim to Continue Reading »
Posted on February 16, 2010 by David Bogomolny
This will likely be my final note on the Pardes ’10 Poland Trip. We’ll see. Much of what I’ve reflected upon has been inspired by R. Levi Cooper, and I’m particularly appreciative of his emphasis on the wealth of Eastern European Jewish culture before the Shoah. We spent much of our final day touring the Continue Reading »
Posted on February 13, 2010 by David Bogomolny
Auschwitz I (the main Auschwitz camp) has been turned into a museum. I have photographs of the museum displays at Auschwitz I… photographs of human hair and human hair woven into cloth, of spectacles, frames, and lenses, of tallitot (plural form of tallit), of bowls, plates, and cups, of prosthetic limbs and canes, of suitcases Continue Reading »
Posted on February 8, 2010 by David Bogomolny
I’ve been busy recently, but that’s not the only reason it’s been taking me so long to write this post. Last week I had a conversation with a chevruta (study partner) on the subject of how we perceive & relate to the presence of G-d (it was a class assignment). We discussed a difficulty that Continue Reading »
Posted on January 30, 2010 by David Bogomolny
I credit R. Cooper with presenting our group with a broad, illustrative picture of Jewish life in Poland before (and after) the Shoah in addition to exposing us to & teaching us about Nazi horrors. In my posts, I must necessarily gloss over some of the sites we visited because I lack the time to Continue Reading »
Posted on January 27, 2010 by David Bogomolny
There’s a stunning, old shul (synagogue) in Tikocyn, Poland. It’s made of stone so it remains standing… the wooden synagogues of Polish yesteryear are no longer. The shul currently serves as a museum; the prayers painted upon its walls have been redone by Poles who traced the faded, unfamiliar letters (and made some errors in Continue Reading »
Posted on January 25, 2010 by Phil
A brief explanation. As David pointed out already, the Poland trip was filled to the brim with learning , walking, and reacting. Getting back to the hotel at midnight, we were expected up and bright eyed by 5:45. As the days went on, it became increasingly difficult to process our thoughts by the time we Continue Reading »
Posted on January 24, 2010 by The Director of Digital Media
One of the Poland trip participants wrote an e-mail to her father about the Poland trip, and sent it to me for this Pardes blog… here it is: Hi Poland was an enriching experience. The days were emotionally intense and long and cold, but Rav Levi Cooper–my Hassidic teacher and main tour guide made sure Continue Reading »
