Deborah Anstandig is the Educational Director of Engagement at Pardes, where she began her Jewish education career nearly 20 years ago through the Educators Program and later served as a mentor. She has taught and mentored at SAR High School and The Heschel School in New York City and has participated in fellowships in pedagogy, facilitation, and Jewish learning.
Ordained as a rabbi by Hebrew College in 2025, Deborah also served the Kehillath Israel and Temple Emunah communities and completed chaplaincy training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She is a graduate of Yeshiva University, Hebrew College, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Deborah is passionate about teaching Torah that speaks to today’s challenges, including polarization in our communities. She enjoys biking, swimming, Hebrew conversation, and making music with others.
Connect with Pardes’s Educational Director of Engagement, Rabbi Deborah Anstandig, as she visits and teaches in the following locations this Nov/Dec.
Contact deboraha@pardes.org.il for additional details, or to arrange an in-person chat!
Monday, Feb 2 – Wednesday, Feb 4
Association of Reform Jewish Educators Conference
Minneapolis, MN
Wednesday, Feb 4
Macalester College
St. Paul, MN
Is Repair after Severing Possible?
Wednesday, Feb 4 @ 7:30 PM
Jews and Brews @ Pyres Brewing – with Beth El Synagogue
Minneapolis, MN
What Shipwrecked Rabbis Can Teach about Resilience
Email DeborahA@pardes.org.il to RSVP.
Shabbat, Feb 7
1:00 PM Lunch & Learn
Silverstein Base Lincoln Park
Chicago, Illinois
What Shipwrecked Rabbis Can Teach about Resilience
Register Here
Sunday, Feb 8 @ 9:15 AM
Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel
Chicago, Illinois
The View from Over Here is Not the View from Over There
A light breakfast will be served. RSVP here.
Sunday, Feb 8 @ 7:30 PM
Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue
Skokie, Illinois
The View from Over Here is Not the View from Over There: Israel and Diaspora in the Book of Joshua and Today
RSVP here
Monday, Feb 9 @ 6:30 PM
University of Chicago Hillel
Chicago, Illinois
The View from Over Here is Not the View from Over There
A light dinner will be served.
Contact DeborahA@pardes.org.il if you would like to attend.
Tuesday, Feb 10
11:30 AM Lunch & Learn
Northwestern University Hillel
Evanston, Illinois
What Shipwrecked Rabbis Can Teach about Resilience
Wednesday, Feb 11
EVENING TIME TBC
Bayit BaBeltline
Atlanta, Georgia
The Ethics of Empathy: Dispelling the Myth of Us and Them
First drink on Pardes!
Thursday, Feb 12 @ 6:30 PM
Emory University Hillel
Atlanta, Georgia
The View from Over Here is Not the View from Over There
Contact DeborahA@pardes.org.il if you would like to attend.
Monday, Feb 16:
TIME TBC
University of Miami Hillel
Miami, Florida
Wednesday, Feb 18: @ 7:00 PM
Temple Beth Ahm
Miami, Florida
The View from Over Here is Not the View from Over There
ABOUT THE TOPICS:
What Shipwrecked Rabbis Can Teach about Resilience
Sometimes it feels as though we are living our lives through storms—times of uncertainty when the world feels out of control. In this class, we will explore rabbinic texts and contemporary voices that offer diverse approaches to navigating chaos, cultivating resilience, and finding ways not only to survive, but perhaps even to thrive.
The View from Over Here is Not the View from Over There
Understanding the intentions of others can be a risky—and deeply human—endeavor, especially when suspicion clouds our judgment. In this text-based shiur, we’ll delve into a dramatic episode from the Book of Joshua in which a potential civil war is narrowly averted. Through close reading and discussion of classical and contemporary commentaries, we’ll reflect on what this story teaches about misunderstanding, communication, and the dangers of jumping to conclusions.
Is Repair after Severing Possible?
In a time of deep division and growing distance between “us” and “them,” the biblical stories remind us that these struggles are enduring. Join us as we dive into Genesis Chapters 16 and 21 to explore the tangled relationships between Sarah, Abraham, Hagar, and God—and what they reveal about belonging, empathy, and moral responsibility. Through close reading and feminist biblical scholarship, we’ll uncover the possibilities and limitations these ancient narratives offer as we navigate a complicated world.
With the release of her new book, Planting Seeds of the Divine, Yiscah Smith continues her book tour this Fall/Winter—making stops in Boston, Las Vegas, and Portland.
Check out if she’s coming to a city near you!
Prospect Heights Shul
Brooklyn, NY
Shabbat Eve,Oct 31 – 5:30pm
Shabbat Day,Nov 1- 12:45pm
Temple Israel of Boston
Boston, MA
Sunday, Nov 02 – 10:30am
The Lehrhaus
Somerville, MA
Sunday, Nov 02 – 5:00pm
Temple Sinai
Las Vegas, NV
Saturday, Nov 08 – 7:00pm
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Tuesday, Nov 11 – 6:30pm
Congregation Sha’ar Zahav
San Francisco, CA
Wednesday,Nov 12 -6:30pm
Congregation Etz Chayim
Palo Alto, CA
Thursday, Nov 13 – 7:30pm
Chadeish Yameinu Jewish Renewal
Santa Cruz, CA
Shabbat Eve, Nov 14 – 7:15pm
Chadeish Yameinu Jewish Renewal
Santa Cruz, CA
Shabbat Day,Nov 15 -10:00am
Congregation Emanu-El
San Francisco, CA
Sunday, Nov 16 – 11:00am
Congregation Beth Israel
Bellingham, WA
Wednesday, Nov 19 – 7:00pm
Eastside Jewish Commons
Portland, OR
Thursday, Nov 20 – 7:00pm
Temple Beth Am
Los Angeles, CA
Shabbat Eve, Nov 21 – 6:00pm Shabbat Day,Nov 22 – 12:30pm
Third Meal, Nov 22 – 4:00pm
HaMakom
West Hills, CA
Sunday, Nov 23 – 9:45am
Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center, CA
Sunday, Nov 23 – 1:00pm

Yiscah is a spiritual activist, educator, mentor, and meditation guide, who addresses the spiritual practice of encountering the Divine spark within and beyond. In fact, Yiscah views Judaism as a spiritual practice.
She relies on Jewish spiritual teachings to inform and uplift her students and audiences, acting as a compass, gently guiding them to their unique inner selves. As a spiritual trailblazer, Yiscah exemplifies what it means to carve one’s own path, as she has grappled with the entanglements at the intersection of her spirituality, Jewish tradition and passionate desire to live a life of truth and integrity. Encouraging, empowering and ennobling others to carve their own paths and to cultivate the integrity to remain faithful to their unique paths is indeed her passion and inner calling.
Yiscah teaches Jewish contemplative practice and spiritual texts at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies and at Applied Jewish Spirituality. She has also founded and directs Conscious Community Nachlaot, an organization in Jerusalem that hosts Shabbat in-person spiritual gatherings, virtual guided meditation sits and spiritual text classes. In addition, Yiscah works with individuals in her private spiritual mentoring practice. Yiscah has earned a reputation as a sought-after inspiring international public speaker.
Contact: yiscahs@pardes.org.il or listen to her podcast collection.
November 5, 12, 26, December 3 – 1pm IST
The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic, European Rabbinic Assembly [online]
November 14-15
Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, NY
November 16 – 2pm EST
Conversation with Miriam Anzovin, Limmud NY
November 18 – 8pm EST
Young Israel of Scarsdale, NY
November 19 – 8:30am EST
SAR Academy, NY
November 19 – 7:30pm EST
Jewish Parents Academy, NY
November 20 – 9am EST
Yeshivah of Flatbush, NY
November 20 – 7:30pm EST
Jewish Parents Academy, NY
November 21-22
Beth Tfiloh Congregation, MD

Gila Fine is a lecturer in rabbinic literature at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, exploring the tales of the Talmud through philosophy, literary criticism, psychoanalysis, and pop-culture. She also serves on the faculty of the Nachshon Project, the London School of Jewish Studies, and Amudim Seminary, and has taught thousands of students at communities and conferences across the Jewish world. Gila’s work has been featured in the BBC, Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, Jerusalem Report, Tradition Journal, Jewish News, and Jewish Chronicle (which selected her as one of the ten most influential Brits in Israel). Haaretz has called her “a young woman on her way to becoming one of the more outstanding Jewish thinkers of the next generation.”
Contact: gilafine@gmail.com
Start date: ASAP
We are seeking a charismatic, creative, and action-oriented Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement and Activation to lead this initiative. This individual will play a key role in bridging the gap between the immersive Jerusalem-based Pardes experience and the ongoing life-long learning opportunities we offer in North America.
Key Responsibilities:
Qualifications:
Preferred Qualifications:
Benefits:
How to Apply:
Interested candidates should submit a resume and cover letter detailing their qualifications and passion for this role. All applications should be sent to Assistant Director of Programs at Monica at monica@pardes.org.
Cover letters should answer the following questions
Applications are due by October 8th and interviews will be the week of October 28th. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.
Pardes North America provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants in all organizational facilities without regard to race, color, religious creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, pregnancy, childbirth, (or related medical conditions, including, but not limited to lactation), physical disability, mental and/or intellectual disability, age, military status or status as a Vietnam-era or special disabled veteran, marital status, registered domestic partner or civil union status, gender (including sex stereotyping and gender identity or expression), medical condition (including, but not limited to, cancer-related or HIV/AIDS-related), genetic information, or sexual orientation in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.