These and Those

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

Tag Archives: Turkey

Turkey 2016: An Extra Soul

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Rachel Cohn

Our rabbis say that on shabbat we receive an extra soul. This shabbat, I learned what it looks like when a whole community gets an extra soul. We spent this shabbat davening, singing, eating, and offering “l’chaim”s with members of the Ortokay synagogue in Istanbul. What made this shabbat particularly special, however, was the way Continue Reading »

Turkey 2016: The Light in a Traditional Service

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Giulia Fleishman

“Be flexible,” and “Prepare to make compromises” were common phrases at our Turkey trip planning meetings. Levi repeatedly informed us that the Turkish Jewish community is quite traditional and we, especially the women, would probably have to adjust our davening practices for the sake of the community. No problem, I thought. While I strongly value Continue Reading »

Turkey 2016: Jewish Education in Practice

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Maya Zinkow

One of the most meaningful aspects of the trip has been connecting to the Turkish Jewish Community’s past, present, and future. Thursday was spent walking up and down the hilly, winding streets of Galata, where we took in the beauty of the Ashkenazi synagogue, the Italian synagogue, and Neve Shalom, Istanbul’s largest synagogue. We sang Continue Reading »

Turkey 2016: The Power of Stories

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Rachel Dingman

Today was an incredible reminder of how powerful a story can be. We had the privilege of visiting multiple synagogues today (Italian, Sephardi, Ashkenazi). Each Sefer Torah we looked at, each impeccably crafted stain glass window, and each siddur told a story I will never be able to fully grasp. I felt honored to be Continue Reading »

Turkey 2016: The Power to Connect

Posted on January 17, 2016 by David Wallach

While yesterday, we spent much of our time remembering what was, today we really spent time getting to know the Jewish community in all its current glory. We had a chance to see many important synagogues in the Turkish Jewish community. We were blessed with the opportunity to have an audience with the Chief Rabbi Continue Reading »

Turkey 2016: Every Rise has its Fall

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Yosef Lopez

Today we spent much time remembering what was. We made our way to Gallipoli which is on the Gelibolu Peninsula. Our first stop was a synagogue in ruin. A rotting wooden frame was revealed as the remaining skeleton of the kahal, scattered bricks, and over grown weeds and grass surrounded the ruins, and in what Continue Reading »

Turkey 2016: Learning from History

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Binyamin Cohen

We got off our minibus at the top of the ridge, sparse trees all around us. We began to follow the road up to the peak, and as we do we begin to see signs of the reason we’re here: trenches, tunnels, foxholes. Gallipoli became much more real at the top of the hill: from Continue Reading »

Turkey 2016: Day One – Elu V’Elu

Posted on January 13, 2016 by Andrew Ash

Today was the first day of our 2016 Pardes trip to Turkey. It was not an uneventful day. With sadness and anger did I receive the news that a suicide bomber attacked the heart of Istanbul’s historic center, a square adjoining the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia. These monuments have stood for generations and will Continue Reading »

Volunteering – The Pinnacle of our Studies

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Eliezah Hoffman

While at Pardes, the fellows and Rav Meesh continually stressed how volunteering was the pinnacle of our studies; that by volunteering and giving back to our community, we were practicing the Torah we were engaging in all week long. This idea stuck with me as I created and executed my volunteering projects over the course Continue Reading »

Tiyul Shorashim to Turkey

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Louise Szczerb

For most young and involved Jews growing up in Israel, Europe or North America a trip to Poland is a formative part of their Jewish journey. In Israel they call it a ‘Tiyul Shorashim’, a trip designed to help you discover your roots. Although many of my mother’s mother’s family were part of the 98% Continue Reading »