Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies

The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies was founded in 1972 and is the leading non-denominational institute for authentic text study in Israel. Its goal throughout its thirty year existence has been to foster a love of Torah study in an open and accepting enviornment. Pardes' hallmark has been its reverance for serious textual study with encouragment for frank discussions confronting a broad spectrum of religious and cultural issues.

The Year Program, a core Pardes program, offers serious study for post-university students, including dynamic interactive learning, day and overnight trips, and community service. Students learn both in Havruta study (partner learning) and in seminar-style classes five days per week.

The Pardes experience gives students maximum exposure to the classic texts of Jewish tradition.

Students in the Pardes Year Program have the option of participating in one of three specialty tracks:

• Self, Soul, and Text
  • The Self, Soul & Text: Personal Transformation in Judaism Track will focus on the spiritual, psychological, ethical and religious transformation of the individual and the community. Participants will work on transforming their moral and spiritual selves and deepening their awareness through the study of Jewish texts from the spiritual, mystical and musar traditions, performance of spiritual practices of self-transformation, processing these practices and the experiences of being they produce, field trips, guest speakers and a class retreat.
• Peace and Conflict
  • The Peace and Conflict Track includes in-depth study of various types of conflicts and attempts to make peace, including interpersonal, family, communal, and international conflicts, through the lenses of both classical Jewish texts and the related academic literature. Classes will focus on the traditional pre-modern Jewish models of peace and reconciliation, as well as an attempted creation of a new post-modern Jewish model. Students will also participate in related site visits, guest lectures and weekly volunteering opportunities relating to the field of peacemaking in Israel.
• Social Justice
  • We all want to build a better world, but how should that world look and how should we get there?The Social Justice track combines the study of social issues such as the environment, gender and minority welfare, through classical and modern Jewish texts. In addition, students will be learning about the state of the field and specific challenges in Israel with the help of guest lectures from the governmental and non-profit sectors and field visits. The track is aimed at giving current and future activists the tools to use Jewish text to inform and inspire their work.

The Pardes Educators Program is designed for motivated, creative, passionate people eager to enter into the field of Jewish Education. This 2 year joint degree program provides students with substantial academic and living scholarships, an MA in Jewish Education from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Certificate of Judaic Studies from the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. Students who are accepted into the program commit to the 2 years of study in Jerusalem and 3 years of teaching in North American Jewish Day schools.

Visit our website at http://www.pardes.org.il or email info@pardesusa.org for more information!