Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on December 5, 2012 by Abayiss
Mothers shouting, children crying, fathers off fighting. Another explosion, more blood, smoke and fire, injuries, fatalities, trying to find shelter. Sderot, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Eshkol, Be’er Sheva, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Gush Etzion, Kiryat Malakhi. Gaza, Khan Yunes, Dir el-Balah, Beit Lahia, Nusirat, Rafah, Mughazi, Jibalya, Beit Khanun. Where am I??? Does it matter??? It’s all the Continue Reading »
Posted on December 5, 2012 by Abayiss
A cigarette burns away… Morning, another flyby, another explosion, shouting, running, preparing, packing… A cigarette burns away… Food passed around, small talk, waiting, hoping, praying, joking, cards, coffee… A cigarette burns away… High noon, feeling the heat thanks to the equipment, more food, more coffee, more drilling… A cigarette burns away… Ethical & moral debates, Continue Reading »
Posted on December 4, 2012 by Kayla Higgins
(Cross-posted from Interfaith Youth Core) I had just taken my first bite of lunch when I suddenly saw everyone around me stand up and head for the front door. I hadn’t even heard the siren. I put my sandwich down and joined my fellow classmates filing into the bomb shelter, where we gathered for ten Continue Reading »
Posted on December 4, 2012 by David Bogomolny
I doodled once on the cover of my notebook, but I didn’t take any notes. Every time we met with a speaker, I brought my notebook and pen with me, but I never once wrote down what they were saying. I’m not sure that I couldn’t have; I’m only sure that I didn’t want to. Continue Reading »
Posted on December 3, 2012 by Stuart Matan Lithwick
The following post has been cross-posted from my Studymoon blog. Hello! Shmatan here again, writing from the holy land! I cannot believe that Chanukah has almost arrived! That means that all us Pardesniks have now been here for 3 months! It blows my mind how fast time goes by. Before, we get started, I must Continue Reading »
Posted on November 19, 2012 by Shira Bee
Crossposted from my blog: Wherever you stand, be the soul of that place. ~ Rumi But what does it mean to be the soul of a place like Jerusalem? A place where so many people feel most closely connected to their own inner strength and beliefs, and yet stand in direct conflict with one another? One of Continue Reading »
Posted on November 19, 2012 by Ari Abelman
Originally posted on my blog: On Friday evening, an air-raid siren went off in Jerusalem. This was not supposed to happen. We were supposed to be out of range, in a city too holy to Muslims, with too large a Palestinian population. It appeared that we were wrong. Hamas had fired a rocket towards Jerusalem, Continue Reading »
Posted on November 18, 2012 by Eric Feldman
Originally posted on my blog: Hey, I’ve certainly been keeping busy over the past few weeks but I’ll hone in on this most recent week since a lot has been going on recently. The first thing I’d like to say is that, although from the media explosion through internet and TV it may seem like Continue Reading »
Posted on October 14, 2012 by M. Backman
Alex Singer was an American Jew who made aliyah to Israel and was killed in Lebanon in 1987 at the age of 25. The first segment of the hike in his honor was a discussion of the Megillat Aish (Scrolls of Fire) Holocaust memorial. The monument was intricate and moving and the discussion was quite Continue Reading »
Posted on October 13, 2012 by Andrea Wiese
http://www.alexsinger.org/ Last week I went on a hike that I had first heard about over a year ago. I was probably busy last year and didn’t pay much attention. But last year, always around pesach, Pardes put up special art work and poems in the hallway. Not only was it beautiful, it came with a Continue Reading »