Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on January 8, 2012 by David Bogomolny
Shaul Janes grew up in Elizabeth, NJ around the corner from a synagogue that his family did not attend. They were culturally Jewish, but their lives were nearly void of Judaism. As a young man, Shaul fell in love with cooking – he would think about cooking all the time – it became his creative outlet – it was all he wanted to Continue Reading »
Posted on December 7, 2011 by Aliza B.
When you watch the news and learn that something terrible has happened, it is easy to gauge the disaster by how many people were killed. You can classify it even more by which people were affected. Were they children or elderly? Poor or rich? Humanitarians or average joes? In the back of your mind lurks Continue Reading »
Posted on October 22, 2011 by Soffer
Originally posted on Darkeynu דרכינו: Here are some thoughts I shared with Shechter Westchester students about todays (this was originally posted a few days ago) events: Gilad Shalit….Gilad Ben Aviva Shalit. For too long this simple name has been in the prayers of Jews throughout the world, as we have waited and wondered about this Continue Reading »
Posted on October 18, 2011 by Andrea Wiese
Today is an amazing day for Israel and Israelis. Gilad Shalit who was was imprisoned in Gaza by Hamas for over five years, 1,941 days, was freed this morning after long negotiations in a prisoner exchange. 1,027 prisoners were released from Israel for Gilad’s return. Many people are upset about the exchange, saying how could Continue Reading »
Posted on October 14, 2011 by Shibley
Immediately following Yom Kippur, the hammer blows could be heard echoing behind my building. I was mightily surprised when I heard those construction noises following a fast, “who could be working now?” I thought, before realizing we had begun the transition to Sukkot. All over town sukkot of all varieties began popping up on sidewalks, Continue Reading »
Posted on May 28, 2011 by Shibley
Israel bears an incredible cost for its existence. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the numbers of Israelis whose lives have been lost to war and terrorism is staggering, relative to the size of the country. This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to go to Har Herzel, one of Israel’s military cemeteries, the Continue Reading »
Posted on April 20, 2011 by Aviva P.
Note: I began writing this post almost a month ago, a day following the March 23 bombing at a Jerusalem bus station I call the first time I came to Israel, the last “Golden Year” of summer programs. I was here in 2000, several months before the start of the second intifada. No one thought Continue Reading »
Posted on April 18, 2011 by Tamara Frankel
Dear Friends, Believe it or not – I’m in Jerusalem! And although I’m tempted to take a nap before Shabbat comes in, I felt it would be a bad way to start off my “spring season” of learning. So, I did some reading on the plane and managed to read over the parsha and special Continue Reading »
Posted on April 2, 2011 by Shibley
Over a week ago, Jerusalem was struck with the blight of terrorism once again. I am not going to spend time or words rehashing the events, as they are no doubt well known by now. However, in the 10 days since the most recent act of terror perpetrated against Israel, we have continued to live Continue Reading »
Posted on March 27, 2011 by Tamara Frankel
Dear Friends, This past week’s parsha includes one of the few narratives in the book of Vayikra, namely the divinely ordained death of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, upon presenting their voluntary fire offering. But the telling of the acts of Nadav and Avihu and their subsequent deaths are brief and perplexing. We do not Continue Reading »
