These and Those

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

Tag Archives: vulnerability

The Nakedness of New: Opening up to true Encounter through Torah Learning

Posted on September 18, 2016 by Mira Niculescu

Last Monday was our first day of class at Pardes. I had just arrived from Paris the night before, and the landing hadn’t been easy. Within a few hours of a plane journey, I had transitioned from an intense network of love and relationships to an empty apartment in a new country where I knew Continue Reading »

A Song of Gratitude and Request

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Ahava Zarembski

This is a song of gratitude and request As I flow into the next phase of life May I integrate all of the various pieces of myself May I share it with others may I share it with myself May I stand in fullness in all of the fragments That once shattered into being And Continue Reading »

[PCJE Dvar Torah] Learning to rejoice in what we have

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Laura Marder

What if you always knew exactly how long you have something or someone to enjoy? You knew that these were the precious few days or years and then they/ it would be gone. Would that change your relationship or feelings towards them/it? Would you follow the wise words of Rav Tim McGraw and “live like Continue Reading »

A NFTY Gmar Chatima Tova (A good signing into the book of life.)

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Andrea Wiese

From my blog: During Yom Kippur, we are commanded to “afflict ourselves.” “עינוי נפש” The gemara has a very lengthy discussion of what this could mean. Does it mean we don’t have sexual relations, does it mean we physically hurt ourselves? No, the gemara concludes, it means that we don’t eat or drink. But how Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] Thank God I’m a Work in Progress: A Reflection on Teshuvah

Posted on January 29, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

From Alissa Thomas’ (Spring ’11) S Blog: Teshuvah is a lifelong work in progress. Every year during Elul and the Yamim Noraim, I find myself digging deep into the process of teshuvah. I think to myself that I would love to feel such an intense spiritual desire toward growth and tikkun year-round. But each year after the chagim pass and I get more entrenched Continue Reading »

What is a prayer? [pt. 3 in a series]

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Avi Benson-Goldberg

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) It’s been quite a long time since we last checked in. As you might recall, in parts one and two, we looked at what Meir and Rahel had to say about praying. The arrangement of the shiur was fascinating, because we heard first from a very capable prayer, and Continue Reading »

What is a prayer? [pt. 1 in a series]

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Avi Benson-Goldberg

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) Pardes was rocked by a shiur clalli (public class) about prayer in the Jewish world, particularly as experienced by three of our teachers: Rahel Berkovits, James Jacobson-Maisels, and Meir Schweiger. It was certainly an honor to see these teachers of ours open themselves up and expose the real humans inside! Continue Reading »

Creation of the Third Story (Mediation in the Chumash)

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Avigayle Adler

I drew this picture as part of a unit summary in Daniel Roth’s Chumash class; Mediation in the Chumash. We spent a couple of weeks learning through the Adam and Eve story including an exhaustive study of the meforshim (both modern and classic as well as many in-between). At the end of the unit (as Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] Sarah Mulhern on Parashat Lech Lecha

Posted on October 23, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

Sarah Mulhern (Year Program ’09, Fellows ’10) shares her dvar Torah for Parashat Lech Lecha with These&Those. This commentary is provided by special arrangement with American Jewish World Service. To learn more, visit www.ajws.org. Lech Lecha One of the things I find most inspiring about studying Torah is that the biblical characters are human. They Continue Reading »

‘Encounter’ing and Machloket

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Jackie F.

I made aliyah in August 2009, after completing my MPA at Columbia University, knowing that I wanted to come to Israel and use my degree to make a positive difference in the future of the Jewish people. Today I do that through my studies at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and work Continue Reading »