
A Rosh Hashana Message from Rabbi Leon Morris, President
Posted on September 17, 2020
Dear Friends of Pardes, Today marks the end of the third week of classes here in Jerusalem, and the sense of miraculousness I felt as we first welcomed our students to Pardes on August 31st is still palpable. As the sounds of learning fill the beit midrash, dining room and the park next door, I Continue Reading »

eJP – Kids’ Mental Health Can’t be an Afterthought – Especially Not Now
Posted on September 14, 2020
Written by Carrie Bornstein (Year ’05-’06) – For months, teachers, parents, and administrators have been considering every element of the school day in preparation for reopening. The details are dizzying. Where will everyone sit on the school bus? Can we still use the water fountains? Who needs an iPad at home? How will our kids Continue Reading »

Times of Israel – How Rabbis of Yore Fought Plague with Temple Rite, Social Distancing
Posted on September 10, 2020
In this week’s Times of Israel podcast, we speak with Dr. Rabbi Levi Cooper about rabbinic responses to previous pandemics. From kabbalistic “front-line workers” to surprisingly sophisticated social distancing measures, ancient Jewish communities documented the steps they took to cope with pandemics over the centuries — and incredibly, many of the questions they had aren’t Continue Reading »

The Jewish Chronicle – In the eyes of the Torah, we are all the children of immigrants
Posted on September 8, 2020
Written by Benedict Roth (Year ’88-’89, Summer ’12, ’15) – The tension between narrower and more universal interpretation of the Torah is highlighted by a well-known verse in this week’s sidrah. Nowhere does the Jewish pendulum swing so rapidly from inclusiveness to xenophobia, from openness to suspicion, as it does at the start of this Continue Reading »

Alumni News – Alyssa Silva, a Houston Hillel Professional Expands Role
Posted on September 7, 2020
Alyssa Silva (PEEP ’18-’19, Communications Fellow ’19, WLI ’20) recently assumed a new role – assistant executive director at Houston Hillel. Silva arrived at Houston Hillel one year ago as director of Jewston, Houston Hillel’s community for Jewish twentysomethings (graduate students and young professionals). Silva will continue as Houston Hillel’s lead professional for Jewston, but Continue Reading »

Pardes Launches New Learning App
Posted on August 27, 2020
JERUSALEM – In 2005, Pardes launched Pardes in Jerusalem, which has been among the most highly rated Jewish podcast series on iTunes. It has been published weekly ever since. In 2013 Pardes launched Elmad, a highly comprehensive online learning platform that has grown tremendously over the last seven years. Today, Pardes is excited to unveil Continue Reading »

After 16 Years of Service, a Difficult Farewell to Chef David Berman and Gail Kirschner
Posted on August 27, 2020
As we enter a new year fraught with unknowns, Pardes is sad to announce that our in-house food services, which have been led for 16 years by our chef extraordinaire, David Berman, will be discontinued. David Berman has always been far more than a chef. He has cultivated deep relationships with staff and students and Continue Reading »

eJewishPhilanthropy – Nurturing the Individual and the Collective: Lessons from a Summer of Mentorship
Posted on August 25, 2020
By Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath (PCJE ’14-’15, Lo BaShamayim Hee ’17) – Like all of my fellow educators, I had a to do list in mind for Summer 2020. I was going to sit on my floor surrounded by neon index cards and thoughtfully rework my leadership development content for the year to come. I was going Continue Reading »

Pardes News – Alumna Whitney Fisch (Hillel Summer ’05, Year ’08-’09) Named Executive Director of Miami University Hillel
Posted on August 3, 2020
Cleveland Jewish News – Whitney Fisch has assumed the executive director position at Hillel at Miami University in Oxford, the organization’s board of directors announced. Fisch replaces Marcy Miller, who is retiring after nine years in the role, according to a July 30 news release. Fisch has a master’s degree in social work from the Continue Reading »

Rabbi Daniel Silverstein Releases Rap Interpretation of Psalm 91
Posted on July 30, 2020
JERUSALEM – Pardes faculty member Rabbi Daniel Silverstein, the creator of “Sanctuary,” a newly-released multi-media rap interpretation of Psalm 91, has been writing stories and poetry since his teenage years. “At college, I completely lost faith in G!d and Torah, and stopped all Jewish practice. At the same time, I started writing with a new intensity, Continue Reading »