Times of Israel – Colleyville: ‘It is burning, brothers, it is burning’
Posted on January 19, 2022
This blog for Times of Israel was written by past Israel Board Chair Sherwin Pomerantz – In February 2019, I was in Colleyville, Texas, at Beth Israel Congregation for the bat mitzvah celebration of the daughter of Charlie Cytron-Walker, the rabbi who was held hostage with his family this past Shabbat. His mother-in-law is my Continue Reading »
eJewishPhilanthropy – Shmitta and Organizational Change
Posted on January 6, 2022
Written by Pardes Alumna Elyssa Hurwitz (PCJE ’19-20) – What would it look like for employees to have individualized or intentionally chosen professional development every six months, with the purpose of supporting growth in the areas they need? How would it impact the retention of employees to offer bonuses or benefits of some kind at Continue Reading »
Jerusalem Post – Which Israel educator are you?
Posted on November 11, 2021
Written by Ilan Bloch (Community Education ’06-’07, ’15-’16, Year ’20-’21). This article was inspired by Pardes faculty member Rabbanit Nechama Goldman Barash. A tour guide or teacher might also have higher expectations of her students. She may embrace the Socratic method continuously, even when students are exhausted. Our Sages teach (Taanit 23a) that halfway through Continue Reading »
Pardes Alumnus Jeff Green (Year ’86-’87, ’87-’88) and His Aliyah Featured in the Jerusalem Post
Posted on November 7, 2021
The Jerusalem Post – Written by Howard Blas — As a teenager, Jeff Green was a committed and observant Conservative Jew with plans of becoming a Conservative rabbi – until a friend showed him a brochure for Pardes. The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem refers to itself as “an open, inclusive, diverse and Continue Reading »
Israel21 Online – A Bank With a Charitable Ethos and No Building
Posted on November 3, 2021
Written by Pardes Alumnus Briam Blum (Year ’85-’86, Community Education ’18-’20) – Shawn Melamed’s home office is filled with high-tech equipment – computers, microphones, cameras for Zoom. But the most visible keyboard is not connected to his laptop. It’s a full-sized one meant for making music. Melamed, who cofounded and serves as CEO of Spiral, a Continue Reading »
eJewishPhilanthropy – Tired of gender talk? I’m not!
Posted on October 17, 2021
Written by Lisa Bodziner (Mechina ’05-’06, PCJE ’06-’08, Summers ’09, ’10) – I must admit, four years ago today, when I drove up to Towson University’s campus for the third time in my life I thought I was a shoo-in and knew exactly what I would be doing as the executive director of a medium-size Continue Reading »
Jerusalem Post – The Art of Making Aliyah During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Posted on October 10, 2021
Immigrating to Israel isn’t easy at the best of times — The coronavirus pandemic didn’t make things any easier for Rebecca Kerzner (Summer ’19, Year ’21). Rebecca Kerzner’s aliyah plans were slow and took their sweet time getting built up – and then COVID happened. But that didn’t stop her. With a heart full of Continue Reading »
Jerusalem Post – Different flavors of the Jewish legacy in American Jewry
Posted on August 29, 2021
Written by Fern Reiss (Israel board member, Year ’06-’07, Summer ’07, Fellows ’07-’08) – The legacy rewritten, like in My Unorthodox Life; the legacy despaired, like the Pew Report Jews; and the legacy described in David Kuney’s (Pardes North America board member, PLS ’13, ’20, ’21) new memoir. “Jewish legacy” seems to be the flavor Continue Reading »
Patheos.com – How the Bible Gives Us the Compass We Need for Americas Turmoil Now
Posted on August 8, 2021
Written by Noah Lawrence (Year ’15-’16, Summer ’16) – Unprecedented is one of our most frequent words for these challenging times in America. We have witnessed astonishing political turmoil and even violence reaching a climax during the transfer of power in Washington and still ongoing in our conflict over understanding what happened this past January. Continue Reading »
eJP – Smashing the idol of inertia: Sunsetting the second day of holidays
Posted on August 8, 2021
Written by Rabbi Dr. Shai Cherry (Year ’91-’93) – Returning to the States after two years at the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem, where I first became traditionally observant, was disorienting enough. Never did I seriously entertain keeping the second day of holidays as do most traditional Jews outside of Israel. But that was way back Continue Reading »