To learn more about the Pardes Learning Seminar program, which runs during the summer and winter, please visit www.pardes.org.il/seminar.
Elaine Hochberg
Where do I begin? I spent five days last week with Pardes for the first time. The experience was revelatory.
A few weeks previously, the new Senior Rabbi of our synagogue in New York City had contacted several congregants, including me, and asked if we would be interested in learning with Pardes. I knew about Pardes but had never participated in their programs before. I did not know what to expect, but I readily agreed to register.
The 2021 Pardes Learning Seminar was entitled Cultivating Courage & Resilience. This was an apt title for a post-pandemic seminar, but I was apprehensive about spending a week reliving some of the issues of the previous year. Nevertheless, upon inspection of the schedule, I realized that I was familiar with some of the faculty (in fact, I had been reading the book of one faculty member) and was intrigued by the titles of the courses. With registration completed, I waited for the seminar to begin on July 4th with a houseful of the family I had not seen in a year in tow and clear instructions that I would be occupied most of the day for five days straight.
Once the seminar began I was completely absorbed. The schedule was jam-packed but well organized. The instructors were well prepared and engaging, some were even remarkable in their presentation of new perspectives on texts that were very familiar to most. For me, the most memorable aspect of the program was the havruta breakouts. Attendees from all over the world thoughtfully and richly shared their input on the topics under discussion. To be frank, I was the most concerned about the havruta part of the curriculum, and am still somewhat surprised that it was the part of the program that I looked forward to each and every day.
It is hard to single out any one session from the week, truthfully, all were good. Each class that I took proved to be strong and thought-provoking. Each session contributed to my understanding that Torah is made and remade by those who engage in serious study. Traditional interpretations contrasted with newer perspectives, yet all were firmly rooted in text and a deep devotion to learning.
I thrill to think of this week with Pardes. I miss it already and look forward to the next time I can immerse myself in such a sea of learning. Also, I fully intend to thank my Rabbi for inviting me to attend the Pardes Learning Seminar. I believe many individuals would cherish the experience, and I fully intend to return to Pardes as often as I can in the years to come.
Cindy Scheinfeld
Several months ago I became interested in studying Torah. It’s not something I have done before. I grew up in a secular home with limited exposure to formal Jewish education. My father was raised in an orthodox environment yet renounced his orthodoxy as a young adult. So I was exposed to a strange mix of Jewish knowledge within the shadow of rejection. It took years for me to find my footing and get to this point, and now it has become important for me to know more and connect to my Jewish heritage.
One day, in a casual street stop-and-chat with my rabbi, I expressed this interest. Like a good teacher, he listened, so I wasn’t surprised when he reached out a few weeks later and suggested that I consider the Pardes Summer Learning Seminar as a way to begin this journey. This seemed to me like a good way to test the idea of Torah study to see if this was truly something I wanted to fully commit to.
The theme of the 2021 Summer Seminar was Cultivating Courage & Resilience. Now that I have completed the seminar, I see how much courage it took to say yes to engage in this week of learning and how much resilience I needed for each day of study.
Within a few minutes of beginning the seminar, self-doubt kicked in. I could hear how learned and knowledgeable other students were. I questioned whether I would be able to contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way. Like the spies in Parshat Shelach (Numbers, 14 & 15), I turned myself into a grasshopper in the eyes of my fellow students.
I found immediate inspiration from Sefer Yehoshua, Chapters 1 – 5, “The LORD said to Joshua…Be strong and resolute….be very strong and resolute.” With the study of Yehoshua, I began the process of learning.
From my first Havruta session I began to engage with the text. My partners helped me to understand that we are all on the periphery, working our way to the center. I came to see that there was no right or wrong. I learned that each text has an author, and that author has a plan. Our interpretation reflects who we are, what we believe and what we relate to.
As the week progressed, I enjoyed getting to know my classmates. I began to feel more comfortable with the material and in contributing to the conversation. I could feel myself slowly believing, like Calev in Numbers 13:30, that surely I can do it.
So many of the teachings resonated with me. I will hold onto the idea from Deuteronomy, Chapter 11, verses 10-13, that it takes faith to live with uncertainty but we can act upon and have gratitude for what we do know
10. For the land to which you are coming to possess is not like the land of Egypt, out of which you came, where you sowed your seed and which you watered by foot, like a vegetable garden.
11. But the land, to which you pass to possess, is a land of mountains and valleys and absorbs water from the rains of heaven.
I was particularly moved by the classes on Cultivating the Spiritual Practice of Self Confidence and Walking with Your Inner Spirit with Yiscah Smith. I was inspired with the idea of having the courage to find the divine in yourself. From the teaching of Bnei Machshava Tova, Entry 8 – The Piaseczner Rebbe – Rav Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira,
“For Every feeling that is connected to something of “this world” opens a spark of our soul, but with this our soul becomes revealed a little bit. Let us then consciously draw her out even more. Let us endear ourselves to her, greeting her with words of love, awe and pure God directed mindfulness.”
Participating in this Pardes Learning Seminar has helped to affirm my interest in continuing to study Torah. I am excited to have embarked on my journey and look forward to what lies ahead. I am thankful for having been recommended to study with Pardes, a learning environment that is open to students of all levels and backgrounds. The seminar was well run and the teachers and staff were very accessible and knowledgeable. All I can say is thank you and see you next year in Jerusalem!
Justin Callis (he/him), our Cantorial Intern, is a fourth-year student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. He is the recipient of the Reuben Peretz Abelson Prize for dedication to Yiddish Song, the Temple Israel of Boston Cantorial Prize, and the Lee Gura Memorial Prize for Aptitude in Synagogue Choral Music.
Known for his sweet and “sumptuous” (New York Times) tone, American-born Doori Na took up violin at the age of four and began his studies with Li Lin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He quickly made his first performance with orchestra at age seven with the Peninsula Youth Symphony as the first prize winner of the concerto competition. Thereafter Mr. Na went on to win top prizes in The Sound of Music Festival, The Korea Times Youth Music Competition, the Chinese Music Teacher’s Association, The Menuhin Dowling Young Artist Competition, The Junior Bach Festival, VOCE of the Music Teacher’s Association of California, and The Pacific Musical Society. Receiving full scholarships to private high school Crossroads School of Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, he moved to Los Angeles to study with renown violin teacher, Robert Lipsett, at The Colburn Music School. There he appeared as soloist with the Palisades Symphony, Brentwood Symphony, and Torrance Symphony. During that time, the summer of 2004 was Mr. Na’s first time at the Perlman Music Program where his expression and musical identity were greatly influenced. He has been a part of the program ever since and participated in many of their special residencies in Florida, Vermont, New York, and Israel.
Violinist Michael Roth is a native of Scarsdale, NY and received his early musical training with Frances Magnes at the Hoff-Barthelson Music School. He attended Oberlin College and Conservatory, continuing his studies with Marilyn McDonald. At Oberlin, he won the Kaufman Prize for violin and First Prize in the Ohio String Teacher’s Association Competition. He completed his Master of Music degree at the University of Massachusetts where he worked with the distinguished American violinist and pedagogue Charles Treger and was a recipient of the Julian Olevsky Award. Mr. Roth is currently associate concertmaster of the New York City Ballet Orchestra and has appeared in chamber music and as a soloist with the company, most recently in the debut of “Slice Too Sharp”, a ballet of Biber and Vivaldi violin concerti, and “After the Rain”, violin music of Arvo Part. In addition he is a member of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Principal 2nd violin of the Westchester Philharmonic, the American Composers Orchestra and the New York Pops. He was concertmaster of the Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra for many years and often appeared as soloist there, as well as at the Caramoor and Bard Music Festivals. He has played and toured internationally with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the New York Chamber Soloists.
Sarah Adams, viola, performs locally with the New York Chamber Ensemble, the Claring Chamber Players, the Sherman Chamber Ensemble, the Friends of Mozart, and the Saratoga Chamber Players.
Praised by the New York Times as “irresistible in both music and performance.” flutist, 
Rabbi Mira Weller (she/her) received her ordination at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles in May 2022. She studied Culture and Politics at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and received her Master’s in Jewish Education at the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC-JIR. She is the proud recipient of awards for her studies in rabbinic literature, her work in Jewish education, and she was granted the Myrtle Lorch Pfaelzer-Monroe Pfaelzer Award for an Outstanding Female Rabbinical School Student (2022). Rabbi Mira speaks Hebrew and Spanish (so please practice with her!). She has a passion for uncovering new possibilities in the great wealth of our tradition and for making music inspired by Judaism’s many cultures. Her guilty pleasures include cupcakes, classical music, and philosophy.
Based in New York since 2001, South African-born pianist, composer and producer has performed on four continents in leading venues such as Carnegie Hall, had her original music performed in venues such as New York’s Lincoln Center, appeared on a host of recordings of classical, world music and multi-genre recordings and produced numerous recordings and inter-disciplinary programs from Cape Town to Los Angeles. She has created her own unique language at the piano, made up of techniques she developed and experimented with to expand the piano into a full electro – acoustic orchestra.
Alan Goodis is a touring Jewish musician playing over 150 events a year. Born and raised in Toronto, Alan is a proud product of URJ Goldman Union Camp Institute. Noted for his dedication to building relationships and community through music, Alan tours throughout the US to serve as an Artist-In-Residence and performer at Temples, Youth Conventions and Jewish summer camps.
Julie Silver is one of the most celebrated and beloved performers in the world of contemporary Jewish music today. She tours throughout the world, and has been engaging audiences with her gorgeous compositions and liturgical settings, her lyrical guitar playing, her dynamic stage presence, and her megawatt smile for over 25 years.
Dan is a product of the URJ Jewish camping movement. He has toured Jewish summer camps across North America for the last 15 years. A classically trained singer, Dan received his Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance at the University of North Carolina. In 1995, realizing the potential of music to make powerful connections with Jewish youth, Dan established the Jewish rock band Eighteen. Since that time, Dan and Eighteen have released 13 albums. Songs like, L’takein, B’tzelem Elo-him, Kehillah Kedoshah, Chazak, Sweet As Honey, and Asher Yatzar have become Jewish communal anthems throughout North America.
Naomi Less is an internationally celebrated singer/songwriter, ritualist and educator. Beloved for her warm smile and inviting presence, communities celebrate her imagination and innovation, tenderness and pizzazz! Her original music is sung in worship communities worldwide. Naomi serves as Co-Founder, Ritual Leader and Associate Director of Lab/Shul and is a leader in amplifying women’s voices through her work at Songleader Boot Camp and her Jewish Women Rock show on Jewish Rock Radio. Naomiadvocates for people struggling with fertility journeys as a performance artist and speaker for Uprooted: A Jewish Response to Fertility Challenges. Fun fact: Naomi and her husband wrote the song shine/Yivarech’cha, a Friday night blessing, specifically composed for URJ Crane Lake Camp, sung every Friday night in the dining hall.
Her destiny became obvious to Joanie Leeds’ parents when, at the tender age of 2, Joanie grabbed the performer’s mic at a party and belted out the entire song“Tomorrow” from Annie. Jaws dropped! No one could remember ever hearing a big voice like that coming from one so tiny and certainly no one would have thought she would one day earn a GRAMMY® Award for her original music.
A composer, multi-instrumentalist, and prayer leader, Elana Arian is one of the leading voices in contemporary Jewish music. Elana’s music is part of Jewish life across the globe, and her compositions are sung in spiritual communities, summer camps, and synagogues from Louisville to London, from Chicago to the CzechRepublic, and everywhere in between. Elana just released her fourth album of original music, The Other Side of Fear, and her compositions have been published in countless Transcontinental Music collections. Elana serves proudly on the faculty of Hava Nashira (Oconomowoc, WI), the Wexner Heritage Foundation (Aspen, CO), Shirei Chagiga (London, England), and as an instructor at the Hebrew Union College in New York, where she teaches in the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. Elana has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, and perhaps most memorably, five separate appearances at the (Obama) White House. She lives in New York with her wife, Julia, and their two daughters, Maya and Acadia.
Known for his unique, engaging, and deeply soulful approach, Noah Aronson is considered one of the most sought after Jewish musicians in North America, making over 65 community appearances each year.
There is a reason why Time Magazine has listed Michelle in their Top Ten list of Jewish rock stars.
Kol B’Seder has been composing and performing contemporary Jewish music since the early1970s. Rabbi Dan Freelander and Cantor Jeff Klepper met as college students; over the past 50years they have released numerous CDs and songbooks. With Debbie Friedman (z”l) and others, they forged a new musical sound for American Jewish camps, schools and synagogues. Their songs, such as “Shalom Rav,” “Modeh Ani,” and “Lo Alecha,” have become traditionalJewish melodies around the world. They are delighted to be inaugurating their fiftieth anniversary celebration by appearing in support of URJ camps, where they first composed and incubated many of their early songs.
New York bassist Roger Wagner enjoys a long and diverse career. As soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral bassist, Mr. Wagner has appeared on many of the world’s great concert stages.
Margaret Kampmeier, 
Leonard Bernstein described 
Sarah Adams 
Michael Roth
Our initiative for young children and their grown-ups provides a slate of offerings including Shabbat and holiday celebrations, music, classroom readiness programs, and new parent experiences. During the pandemic, we have leaned on $1m of seed funding for Sholom Sprouts established through this campaign as we offer age-appropriate virtual programs for our families with young children, who are the future of our community. We look forward to welcoming our littlest members and their grown-ups back to our new fifth floor, as well as hiring a Program Assistant to increase the capacity of Sholom Sprouts to grow. This program provides a crucial entry-point to the congregation and membership for young families.
