Alumni Articles

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 »

eJewishPhilanthropy – Nigel Savage (Year ’94-’95) looks back on two decades at Hazon

Posted on July 26, 2021

Written by Helen Chernikoff – In 2000, Nigel Savage founded Hazon, an early Jewish environmental organization, around the idea of raising awareness by combining issues like sustainability and justice with bringing people together to enjoy the outdoors. Now, the group is merging with the Pearlstone Retreat Center in Baltimore County, Md., and Savage will step Continue Reading »

Texas Hillel Foundation Hires Rabbi Will Hall

Posted on July 26, 2021

Ahead of the 2021-’22 school year, Texas Hillel Foundation is welcoming Rabbi Will Hall (Year ’14-’15) to the position of rabbi/senior Jewish educator and Aviva Mangista to the position of Jewish Agency Israel fellow as part of its Jewish Student Life team. These staff positions are central to Texas Hillel’s mission of enriching the lives Continue Reading »

Pardes Alumni Featured in Jewish Week 36 Under 26 2021 List

Posted on July 14, 2021

Mazal tov to Pardes alumni Merav Fine Braun (Spirituality Retreat ’13-’14, Summer ’14) and Dammara Hall (PCJE ’16-’18, Summer ’16) who were both featured in The New York Jewish Week 36 Under 36 2021 list. Each year The Jewish Week celebrates 36 noteworthy New Yorkers, all 36 years old or younger, who make New York Continue Reading »