They are leading and creating organizations and businesses of all kinds, responding to humanitarian crises, writing novels, educating at all levels, creating works of art, and so much more! In celebration of Pardes’s 50th, we are highlighting 50 standout alumni whose accomplishments exemplify the rich texture of the Pardes community worldwide.
This week, we are celebrating Pardes alumni couple Becca Linden and Rabb Ari Hart!
Becca is the Vice President for Talent Development and Strategic Impact at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America.
Ari is the Senior Rabbi at Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob, a Modern and Open Orthodox congregation in Skokie, Illinois. He is also the co-founder of Solu, which facilitates chesed and learning opportunities to help Orthodox Jews connect to other communities and build a better world for all.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE CLASS AT PARDES?
Becca: I loved all of my classes at Pardes for different reasons – but one that stands out for me was Meesh’s social justice track. The opportunity to learn with her in such a multifaceted, experiential and cutting edge way – and then to see Israel in all of its beauty and also the places that are raw and in process of being fixed. I am still in awe of her boldness and vulnerability in wrestling openly with such difficult topics – feminism, the occupation, environmentalism, poverty, refugees, sex trafficking – through both text and current events, and her discomfort but also openness to engaging in conversations with me about Palestinian life in the West Bank.
Ari: I learned Ben Sorer U’Moreh with Mishael Tzion. He opened my eyes up to ways of reading the gemara with curiosity, passion, integrity, and openness that I had never experienced before.
Almost two decades later I can still remember sitting with him in shiur and the insights we discovered. I also remember that he took me out to falafel to talk about my Jewish future, and in the middle of our lunch he got a call from his wife – they were expecting their first child imminently. The way he answered that call, apologized to me, and then went to go make sure she was ok was also Torah I have never forgotten.
CAN YOU SHARE A PARDES MEMORY?
Becca: One of the things I loved most at Pardes was that my teachers modeled the Torah they taught in the most profound of ways. One of many examples: I remember Rabbi Levi Cooper speaking with such passion as he encouraged us to sign up for the heritage trip to Poland – he so strongly and deeply believed in his approach of focusing on and learning about the richness of 1000+ years of Jewish life in Poland. It was clear that he made incredible sacrifices to be away from his wife and five kids to lead this trip. He also took time to individually connect with those of us who had family from Poland and help find their ancestral shtetles – I remember him saying kaddish with me in a cemetery where my relatives were buried – I found his generosity, care, knowledge, and dedication beyond moving.
Ari: The feeling. The feeling of walking into a room and being surrounded by incredibly diverse people who love Torah and care for one another.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PASUK, PASSAGE, OR TEXT?
Becca: Hadran alach.
Ari: Hafoch Ba veHafoch Ba.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SPOT IN JERUSALEM?
Becca: Walking around Jerusalem is one of my very favorite things to do in the whole world, in part because it brings back so many fond memories of shabbat meals – many of them at my Pardes teachers or fellow students’ homes!
And obviously the Pardes Beit Midrash.
Ari: Yakar on Shabbat mornings, running on the train tracks at dawn, evening walks with Becca anywhere.
WHAT DOES THE JEWISH WORLD NEED MOST RIGHT NOW?
Becca: More curiosity – about other people, denominations, texts, ideas, problems. And more of a sense of obligation and commitment to something larger than the individual self.
Ari: I think we would be a lot better off if every Jew spent some time in the Pardes Beit Midrash!
HOW DOES PARDES CONTINUE TO AFFECT YOU TODAY?
Becca: Profoundly and in almost every way! To a person, the teachers and administrators at Pardes modeled the type of Jewish person/communal professional/leader that I strive to be. I am so, so deeply grateful for my two years at Pardes.
Ari: Pardes is kind of an olam haba – Jews learning, struggling, supporting, challenging and growing with each other. I try and bring a chelek of that vision to bear on my work supporting Jewish community in Skokie every day.