Pardes Executive Learning Seminars 2016-17

20th Anniversary 2016-17

Pardes Executive Learning Seminars

It is a luxury to learn in an atmosphere that empowers participants to seek knowledge and information that will enable them to make their own decisions about their spiritual and religious lives.�

Stephen Donshik, Winter 2015 Pardes Executive Learning Seminar participant

Now in its 20th year, the Pardes Executive Learning Seminar brings together executives, professionals and community leaders who wish to study classical Jewish sources within the landscape of Israel. Participants grapple with ancient texts and current issues, visit historical sites and learn from the best educators in Israel.

Passionate

Educators

The Pardes faculty’s depth of knowledge is rivaled only by their engaging teaching style and their ability to bring Judaism to life. They aim not only to teach compelling ideas, but also to give you the tools to enter personally into a conversation with your heritage.

Meaningful

Jewish Study

Our renowned faculty bring together students from diverse learning backgrounds and create an educational environment that is accessible and empowering. Participants study in havruta pairs, partnering to help one another explore and gain ownership of the text. Sources are provided in their original language and in English translation.

Warm

Community

Participants from around the world come together to create a cohort of passionate learners exploring Jewish themes that are challenging and inspiring. Through classes, touring and social events, participants have the opportunity to connect with peers and expand their personal networks.

Inspired

Israel experience

The combination of studying Jewish texts and ideas, together with exploring Israel, brings the classroom learning to life and allows you to see Israel in a whole new way.

Winter

2016

Ruth and Esther: From Rags to Royalty

Ruth and Esther are two exceptional women whose stories are immortalized not only by their deeds, but by the canonization of books named after them in the Bible. They are, in fact, inverse images of each other.

Ruth lives in the time of the Judges, before the monarchy in Israel. She leaves her Moabite homeland, family and belief system, to embrace the land, people and God of Israel. Her commitment and devotion to her new family, especially her mother-in-law, lead her to full integration into the Jewish people and she becomes the “Mother of Royalty” as the progenitor of King David and the Davidic line.

Esther lives in the period following the destruction of the first Temple and the loss of Jewish sovereignty.

Bereft of her parents, she is raised by her uncle, Mordechai, but is forcefully taken to the king’s harem. She becomes Ahashverosh’s queen and is thrust into the limelight of Persian society. She is instrumental in saving the Jewish people from mass destruction and institutionalizing a holiday of joyous celebration.

We will analyze these two narratives through rabbinic and scholarly commentaries. We will

explore the personalities, struggles and triumphs of Ruth and Esther, and see how the issues which they grappled with are still relevant today. Inspired by these two heroines, we will also tackle key questions surrounding the role of women in Jewish spiritual life.

Topics of Study • What are the qualities that distinguish great people from average ones?

• Is Jewish peoplehood inextricably linked with the land of Israel?

• What can we learn from “outsiders”?

• How does real power involve empowering others?

• Where is God to be found?

• Glass ceilings then & now: women as Jewish spiritual leaders Seminar Details December 18th-22nd, 2016 Tuition: $1,400 (15% discount before October 1st)

Summer 2017

Returning to Zion: New Faces, Old Issues

When Persia became the dominant power in the Near East in the 6th century BCE, royal edicts allowed and even encouraged Jews to return to Israel and rebuild the Temple.

Ironically, the vast majority of Jews stayed where they were.

system. Nehemiah was the lay leader, appointed as the governor of Judah. His mission was to not only rebuild the city, but to establish and administer a functioning Judean province.

Ezra and Nehemiah were two outstanding and exceptional figures who embraced this historic opportunity and took on leadership roles.

The challenges they faced were formidable: physical danger, political intrigues, assimilation, ignorance and apathy.

Ezra was a priest, a scribe and served as the spiritual leader of the people. His mandate was to oversee the functioning of the Temple, to teach Torah and establish a judicial

During the seminar, we will examine Ezra and Nehemiah, their historical milieu, the issues they faced and the methods they used to resolve them.

We will study biblical and rabbinic texts to explore this fascinating historical period.

Classroom study will come to life through field trips to local archaeological sites. As we explore the parallels to our present reality, we will ask, what can we learn from their experiences to make this third return lasting and enduring?

Topics of Study • Does Israel have to be the center of the Jewish people? What should be the relationship between Diaspora communities and Israel?

• How open should Jews be to non-Jewish society and culture? Is assimilation a bad thing?

• Can coercion be a legitimate tool in Jewish education?

• What are the qualities that are necessary for effective leadership? Do we have a crisis today?

• What can we learn from the past to improve our reality?

Seminar Details July 2-6, 2017 Tuition: $1,400 (15% discount before January 1st)

Registration and information

www.pardes.org.il/executive

USA: +1 212 447 4333

executive@pardes.org.il

Israel: + 972 2 673 5210

Programming, lunch, tours and some evening meals included.

Flight arrangements should be made individually.

See website for hotel recommendations.

The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies is an open, co-ed and non-denominational Jewish learning community, based in Jerusalem and with programs worldwide. Students encounter and grapple with classic texts and traditions of Judaism, while exploring their relevance to today’s most pressing issues. Pardes empowers students with the knowledge and tools to take ownership of their Jewish experience.