These and Those

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

Tag Archives: Year Program

Creating Community Through Zoom

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Debra Weiner-Solomont

This post was written by Debra Weiner-Solomont, MSW, Coordinator, Pardes Community Education Program. To learn more about the program please visit https://www.pardes.org.il/ce The last portion of the Torah – זאת הברכה has the verse which we recite each morning, as part of the morning brachot. It is also the first verse we teach our children Continue Reading »

Modern Israel Seminar Tiyul Reflection

Posted on February 13, 2020 by Amanda Avnery

 This blog post was written by Amanda Avnery (Year program ’20) The generation that drank the routine of exile and subjugation more than any generation before it…the generation that its entire existence is to be a bridge from the destruction and exile to a life of freedom and independence…” (Katznelson, Davar Newspaper, 1934). This quote 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 »

[Student Profile] Eli Witkin

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Sara Spanjer

Want to learn a ditty or two from the tallest guy at Pardes? Eli Witkin is your man! He loves and knows probably every song in the Pardes bencher, and he’s a patient and wonderful teacher. It seems the only thing that may distract Eli from his intense studying is music. If music is playing Continue Reading »

[Student Profile] Emet Ozar and Jessica Baverman would like to get Married. Once.

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Avi Benson-Goldberg

The time was, that when you came into Pardes, the first thing you would see in the morning was Emet Ozar (32) and Jessica Baverman, MSW (27), being cute. Not snarky, but god’s own living Bambi. Unfortunately for us, but blessedly for them, the love birds have flown back to the United States to prepare 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 »

[Student Profile] Mary Brett Koplen & Adam Masser

Posted on June 25, 2013 by David Bogomolny

If you walked the halls of Pardes days during our 2012-2013 year program, you might have noticed two students spending a lot of time together. You might have heard them laughing on a Jerusalem park bench. You might have seen them learning together in the Beit Midrash. If you found them at your Shabbat table, Continue Reading »

[PEP Graduation ’13] The Dove need not Return

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Stu Jacobs

The following is my PCJE Commencement dvar Torah from last week: 2002-2003: Pardes Year Program July 2008: Pardes Summer Session And now, 2011-2013: Pardes Educators Program I guess the only thing left to do is to talk to Robby about coming back, maybe in 2040, for the Executive Learning Seminar. But, in all seriousness, as Continue Reading »

So Many Ways

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Stuart Matan Lithwick

It is so hard to believe Annie and my year in Israel is already over! We are sitting in our hostel room in Tel Aviv, taking in the sounds of the city, as we contemplate returning to Toronto, changed in so many ways. This year has been a year with so many different facets. Challenging, Continue Reading »

Together in Our Wanderings

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Sean Ference

My dvar Torah from the Galil Shabbaton: In our parsha, we are given a vivid description of the Israelite’s journey through the wilderness, and what this vast undertaking entailed. Their journey would begin when the divine cloud would lift off the Mishkan; only then would the Israelite camp begin to move. How long Israel stayed Continue Reading »