These and Those

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

Tag Archives: ethics / morals / values

Finding Our Voice in Times of Conflict

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 »

A Dvar Torah from the European Aids Conference

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Zvi Henderson

Pardesniks come from a variety of professional backgrounds; some from leadership roles in youth movements, some from the Jewish professional world, from finance, business and social work. My professional background is public health, and in particular sexual health and well-being. It’s as wide a field as you can imagine. Before making Aliyah from Scotland and Continue Reading »

Culmination of Bereshit

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Sarah Pollack

As we culminate the book of Genesis, I looked back to see what we had learned. How the stories fit together. What the commonality between the past 50 chapters held. In the women’s commentary to the Torah, Tamara Cohn Eshkanezi writes that Genesis is accounting for the human condition with it’s possibilities and perils.

[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 »

Challenges of Egalitarian Religious Practice on Israeli Army Bases

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Aliza Sebert

I wanted to share an exciting project with you. As part of my semester studying Israel education (through Kesher Hadash, the Israel semester of the JTS education school), I made a documentary dealing with the challenges of egalitarian religious practice on Israeli army bases. It is based in my experiences staffing Gadna last year while Continue Reading »

Blowtorch to my Soul

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Eva Neuhaus

Here are some reflections that I shared at the final community lunch of the year: “libun” is the process of making something kosher by heating it to a high temperature. “libun” means “to whiten” and refers to heating metal until it grows white; it also means “to purify.” studying talmud this year was like taking 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 »

Birkat Hamazon

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Rory Sullivan

It took me eight years to get back to Pardes. During a Birthright trip my freshman year of college, we sat in the Beit Midrash, the great big room filled with tables of four chairs each and books lining every wall. We studied a text that I don’t remember. What I do remember is liking Continue Reading »

Reading the Megillah for Crimea

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Jessica Jobanek

The Talmud teaches, “Kol yisrael arevim zeh bazeh” (Shavuot 39a) — all Israel is responsible for one another. I have rarely felt this more profoundly than on March 16, Shushan Purim, when I joined several of my fellow students here in Jerusalem in reading portions of Megillat Esther over Skype for the Jews in Crimea. Continue Reading »

[PCJE Dvar Torah] Pigs, camels, cows, and other living things.

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Lisa Motenko

You are what you eat. For Jews, this adage rings especially true because we follow strict dietary laws that strengthen our relationship with G-d, as well as distinguish us from other nations. Growing up I was allowed to eat whatever I wanted – except for pig. Like many assimilated American Jews, my family did not keep kosher, but Continue Reading »