These and Those

Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem

Tag Archives: tradition

[Alumni Guest Post] Children Learning, Adults Praying?

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Naomi Bilmes

From my blog: Scene: Campers and counselors are sitting on a grassy knoll partaking in Wednesday night barbecue. (R is an 8-year-old female camper.) R: Why do you always wear skirts? Counselor: Uhhhhh…… Because I’m religious. Because I’m Jewish. Because I’m a woman. Because of modesty. R: What’s that? Counselor: Tzniut. Umm… it means that Continue Reading »

On the Other Side of the… Wait, There’s no Mechitza!

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Naomi Bilmes

From my blog: One of my close friends recently told me that I will forever be in her heart as her “mechitza-going-skirt-wearing-early-morning partner in crime Judaism.” This epigraph described our year at Pardes perfectly: we were two of the three women who regularly attended mechitza minyan; we wore skirts on a daily basis (and even Continue Reading »

[PCJE Dvar Torah] Worst. Math Homework. Ever.

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 »

Salon Pardes 2014

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Rory Sullivan

If only writing a blog post came as naturally to me as writing a song. But unlike songs, I don’t go walking around dictating blog posts to myself. Nevertheless, I really wanted to write about the Pardes Salon, because I found it so inspiring. The experience started off with an email from Candace Mittel. This Continue Reading »

Kiddushin and the Queers

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Jessica Baverman

This week, a classmate of mine at Pardes wrote a blog post about Kiddushin, being a gay man, and how he might see this tradition actualized in his own future relationship. I am a queer observant woman who is getting married to another queer observant woman, and my partner and I have discussed how to balance our Continue Reading »

At a Crossroad, Where do You Turn?

Posted on December 18, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

From my blog: I find it fascinating how quickly our lives can change, often times without us even realizing it. On top of that, how quickly we can change the lives of others, of future generations, surely without them realizing it. It’s a rainy day outside, so you take the bus to work instead of Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Nataliya Naydorf knows everything about how you use your computer.

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Avi Benson-Goldberg

Nataliya Naydorf read from the Torah last week for the first time. Then there was a terrible snowstorm. She assures me the two are not related. She’s used to the snow, of course, because Nataliya hails from the former Soviet Union (FSU). Her country of origin literally doesn’t exist anymore. I roll this thought around Continue Reading »

Questioning Tradition

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Alanna Kleinman

A recent lunchtime discussion about the ceremony of Brit Shalom caused me to question a tradition I found meaningful and quite honestly, took for granted. Brit Shalom is a naming ceremony for newborn Jewish boys that does not involve circumcision. A family can choose to create their own ceremony, or look to templates that already Continue Reading »

[Living with Judaism] Thanksgivikkah

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Elana Shilling

[Alumni Guest Post] Two Ultimate Thanksgivukkah Latke Sandwiches by Whitney Fisch

Posted on November 19, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

Whitney Fisch (year ’08-’09) at Jewhungry shares these amazing Thanksgivukkah recipes… … so good! Traditions.  I’ve been thinking a lot about traditions lately.  My husband and I don’t really have a lot of traditions.  We’ve been together for five years and married for three and I feel strongly that that’s long enough to have some Continue Reading »