Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on January 29, 2016 by Elana Rothenberg
“A man walks into a bar. Ouch.” Silence. Then suddenly, five Turkish twenty-year-olds begin laughing hysterically at this classic joke. When was the last time someone actually laughed at this joke, I wonder? I marvel and give the joke teller, a fellow Pardes student, a look of amused awe. The twenty-year-olds, leaders of a Jewish Continue Reading »
Posted on December 27, 2015 by Cathy Schechter
There was once a man who was successful in all things. He had a fine wife, a loving family, and a craft for which he was justly famous. But still he was not happy. “I want to know Truth,” he said to his wife. “Then you should seek her,” she replied. So the man put Continue Reading »
Posted on December 20, 2015 by Josie Glausiusz
When my father offered to weave blue techelet threads onto my tallit, I was so surprised that I said no. It took me several minutes to re-consider my reflexive reaction, but it took me another year until I picked up the phone and asked him if he would, indeed, tie the blue threads on to Continue Reading »
Posted on December 16, 2015 by Celeste Aronoff
(This post was originally published by Celeste Aronoff in the Kansis City Jewish Chronicle http://kcjc.com/index.php/opinion/3496-they-didn-t-win). I want to tell you about the land I call home now. I made aliyah in August of this year, becoming an official Israeli, an actual citizen (though I won’t have an Israeli passport for some time still). I want Continue Reading »
Posted on November 16, 2015 by Rachel Cohn
I wrote the following reflection after returning from my second trip with Encounter, an organization that brings Jewish leaders to meet with and hear from Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The goal of these trips is not to find political solutions or to dispute each other’s narratives, but rather to encounter voices Continue Reading »
Posted on July 29, 2015 by Ira Blum
4 Questions, Reflections, Responses and Resolutions from a Period of Immersive learning with the Future Jewish People. (While flying back from Tel Aviv to Philly, I struggled through turbulence in time and space, bearing the weight of collective memorial with the Jewish people, while transitioning back to the work place, following a generative period of Continue Reading »
Posted on March 26, 2015 by Loren Berman
Today brought me back to my days as a Nitzanim (4th/5th grade) counselor at Camp Ramah in California. I am not the only one on our trip with youth group leadership experience, so I am sure others felt similarly. We did our best to bring lots of energy to the young Turkish students in order Continue Reading »
Posted on January 8, 2015 by Suzanne Hutt
This week’s parsha, Shemot, is the first in the Book of Exodus. It tells of the beginning of Moshe’s life and the story of Passover. In the beginning of the parsha, we hear of Pharoah’s evil decree, in which he commands the midwives to kill all of the male Hebrew babies. The midwives, however, do Continue Reading »
Posted on November 10, 2014 by Eva Neuhaus
From my blog: i just came through a month of feeling totally disoriented by judaism and wondering what the hell i’m doing in rabbinical school. here’s what i learned: 1. sometimes what’s called for is to follow the feelings of disorientation all the way down the rabbit hole. there have been times recently where i Continue Reading »
Posted on September 1, 2014 by Eva Neuhaus
All the month of Elul before eating and sleeping let every man sit and look into his soul, and search his deeds, that he may make confession. (S.Y. Agnon, Days of Awe, citing Maharil) Last week I had an epic fail. I think failures are precious—especially the big ones— because they offer a huge window into the Continue Reading »
