Life At Pardes - Pardes Moments
Honesty and Integrity
When asked to describe my Pardes experience, the two words that immediately come to my mind are honesty and integrity. These two characteristics embody the entire institution. The faculty, administrators and students, as well as the very texts being studied, all are a lesson in being true to oneself, and one's community.
I can't begin to explain what it feels like to walk into a room, and not have to know the correct answer, because there is none. To not have to figure out what the subtext is, and how you should respond. To know that your teacher and your fellow student expect nothing from you, but that you look at the text, look at yourself, and look at the other - and express your true thoughts.
And to have your teachers listen to your thoughts, and exclaim "Oh wow", substantiate your read of the text, admit they had not seen it that way and entertain your reading of it, allowing you to become an active member of your learning process. It is a gift I appreciate greatly and one I have grown from tremendously in these last few months.
This is the beauty of Pardes - no pretenses, no illusions.
Yaffa E.
Kansas City, Missouri
Bar Ilan University
Pardes Advanced Scholars 03, 04