News and Updates

Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle – JCC Community members named Mahloket Matters fellows

Posted on March 16, 2021

Rabbi Ron Symons, senior director of Jewish Life at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, and Suzanne Schreiber, a past president of Tree of Life Congregation, have joined the inaugural cohorts of the Mahloket Matters Fellowship, an in-depth study of what the program terms “the value of constructive disagreement,” according to a JCC press Continue Reading »

Forward – TikTok didn’t know Jews of color existed. This frum Black Jew is teaching them.

Posted on March 14, 2021

The author Mira Fox (Year ’16-’17) is a writer for the Forward. Tony Westbrook (Year ’16-’17, Fellows ’17-’18, Educators ’18-’19) is currently the Assistant Director of the Hillel at Washington University in St Louis. He’s also a burgeoning TikTok star, where he goes by @frumjewishblackboy. I met Tony Westbrookin Jerusalem, in 2016, when we both Continue Reading »

Pardes’s Commitment to Green Construction

Posted on March 11, 2021

רְאֵה מַעֲשַׂי כַּמָּה נָאִים וּמְשֻׁבָּחִין הֵן, וְכָל מַה שֶּׁבָּרָאתִי בִּשְׁבִילְךָ בָּרָאתִי, תֵּן דַּעְתְּךָ שֶׁלֹא תְקַלְקֵל וְתַחֲרִיב אֶת עוֹלָמִי, שֶׁאִם קִלְקַלְתָּ אֵין מִי שֶׁיְתַקֵּן אַחֲרֶיךָ  “Look at My works, how beautiful and praiseworthy they are! And all that I have created, it was for you that I created it. Pay attention that you do not corrupt Continue Reading »

Pardes Alumnus Dammara Kovnats Hall (Summer ’16, PCJE ’16-’18) Named 2021 Robert M. Sherman Young Pioneer

Posted on March 11, 2021

Dammara Kovnats Hall works full-time as a Jewish Studies teacher at Rodeph Sholom School where she strives to create exciting classroom communities that celebrate diversity and inclusion.  In her free time, she enjoys hosting Shabbat meals and riding motorcycles. To learn more about this prestigious award and how you can contribute to the benefit for the Jewish Continue Reading »

New Master Plan for Talpiot Industrial Zone Approved

Posted on March 10, 2021

What does this mean for Pardes? Pardes and its new home, Beit Karen, is a perfect fit for the municipality’s new vision for Talpiot, which combines residential, commercial, and green spaces with cultural and educational institutions. The city planners are therefore very excited by and supportive of the Pardes’s plans! Learn more about the Capital Campaign and Pardes’s new home by Continue Reading »

Times of Israel – A parenting book taps into the soulful side of raising a family

Posted on March 10, 2021

This article is an overview of Dasee Berkowitz’s (Year ’94-’95) new book, “Becoming a Soulful Parent: A Path to the Wisdom Within” (Kasva Press) and her continued work as an educational consultant for Ayeka. This is a complementary piece to Dasee’s recent 3-part series at Pardes called Soulful Parenting. To learn more about the book Continue Reading »

eJP – The Pardes Mahloket Matters Fellowship

Posted on March 7, 2021

Written by Rabbi Mike Uram (Chief Vision and Education Officer of Pardes North America, Year ’99-’00) – Guided by the belief that Jewish texts and their diverse interpretations can empower us to engage more constructively in disagreements today, I, along with my colleagues at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, am thrilled to announce the 31 inaugural Continue Reading »

The Pennsylvania Gazette – A Place for Pluralism

Posted on February 22, 2021

This article discusses the job transition for Pardes’s new chief vision and education officer of Pardes North America, Rabbi Mike Uram and his move from UPENN Hillel after 15 years of service to the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. Pardes is excited to welcome Mike on the team. After 15 years working there—and 10 in Continue Reading »

Times of Israel – Extending the Branches of Jewish Education

Posted on February 21, 2021

This article was written by Rabbi Aaron Finkelstein (Year ’03-’04) – For the last few years before Covid, part of my role as a school rabbi was offering learning opportunities for parents. I’ve offered classes/shiurim after morning drop off, a club for parents and children to practice putting on Tefillin, and even a scotch and steak Continue Reading »

eJP – Professional Development as a Catalyst for Community Change

Posted on February 21, 2021

This article was written by Clare Goldwater (Year ’91-’93) – January 2020, Montreal: It is snowing and freezing cold. The words “COVID-19” don’t mean anything to us yet. Twenty-four Jewish educators gather at a camp in the beautiful Laurentian mountains of Quebec to kick off the Passport to Jewish Life Fellowship. They are here to Continue Reading »