Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on October 30, 2011 by Suzi
Here’s something I wrote on my first day in Israel, standing at the Kotel, my hand pressed against the stones and clutching my steno pad. I couldn’t seem to let go of the ancient wall. I thought I’d publish this on These&Those, and challenge y’all to share your own first impressions of the country. On Sunday, June Continue Reading »
Posted on September 13, 2011 by Derek Kwait
(First published on my blog for “The Jewish Chronicle” of Pittsburgh, Yinzer in Yerushalayim, 9 September 2011) Sunday was orientation at Pardes. The getting-to-know-you introductions at the beginning made one thing clear straight-away—this is a place of diversity. The students at Pardes range from future Open Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform rabbis, to a dude who’s Continue Reading »
Posted on September 13, 2011 by Derek Kwait
(First published on my blog with “The Jewish Chronicle” of Pittsburgh, Yinzer in Yerushalayim 4 September 2011.) Thank God, everything arrived on time. From getting the Mega Bus in Pittsburgh ($1.50 ticket!) to the planes at JFK and Kiev, I had no problems. By far the best part of the trip though was getting to Continue Reading »
Posted on July 18, 2011 by Daniel Weinreb
5. The entryway symbolizes the transition from the mundane to the sacred Entrances are a big part of life in Israel as much as liminal states that a person moves through from one part of his life to another. The liminality begins when you duck your head to board the El Al plane unless you happen to Continue Reading »
Posted on July 10, 2011 by Mary Brett Koplen
Mary Brett Koplen, Pardes Summer learner, shares her Rosh Chodesh experience with Women of the Wall. For more of Mary Brett’s writing or to see her original post, visit her website: Where the Gnome Goes (A Traveling Blog). At 6:15am, I am showered and partially coffeed. I stand on a Jerusalem street corner with my Continue Reading »
Posted on June 22, 2011 by Jeremy S.
I originally posted the following entry on my blog back in February: And going out to meet You, I found You coming toward me. -Yehuda Halevi (c. 1075-1141) It was my first shabbat in Jerusalem. After lunch I walked with a young aspiring rabbi to the Old City, in through the Jaffa Gate and down to Continue Reading »
Posted on June 4, 2011 by Pious Antic
Yom Yerushalayim, which was observed this week, celebrates the reunification of the old city of Jerusalem under Jewish control in 1967, after 19 years in which the city was divided between Jewish and Arab control. Unsurprisingly, given the historical, political and moral complexity of the events it commemorates, Yom Yerushalayim is not a universally beloved 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 December 5, 2010 by Shibley
Cross-posted from my blog: On Friday afternoon, as I was preparing for Shabbat, I found myself in front of a pan of hot oil. No, I was not making latkes or sufganiyot. I was instead whipping up a batch of shnitzel for Shabbat lunch. With the cooking completed, and grease splatters on my shirt ( Continue Reading »
Posted on September 21, 2010 by Michael
We have nearly reached the one-month mark in our studies, and I have to wonder at the fact that, until this journey in Israel, I have never taken the time to document my life week by week in a journal. I have to tell you that there is a lot of power in shared journaling. Continue Reading »
