Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on May 23, 2014 by Deborah Renert
Every morning when we recite Birchat haTorah we say “Blessed are You, HaShem our G-d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us “la’asok b’divrei Torah.” It has always struck me that this blessing could have utilized clearer wording if it were meant to refer specifically to studying Continue Reading »
Posted on March 9, 2014 by Deborah Renert
People have asked me why I chose to attend the annual AIPAC conference in Washington, DC. After all, I live in Israel now. Also, I missed classes, and I really do not like missing Pardes classes. On one level, I am very interested in the relationship between Diaspora Jews and Jews living in Israel. Do Continue Reading »
Posted on February 6, 2014 by Deborah Renert
As I reflect on Rabbi Daniel Roth’s introduction to “Constructive Conflict ‘for the Sake of Heaven’…” I cannot help but also reflect on the Pew Study, and the Pew Survey program which took place here at Pardes this past December. The Pew Research Center published on October 1st 2013 findings that reflected that the intermarriage Continue Reading »
Posted on October 14, 2013 by Deborah Renert
There is a high supernal spiritual level to which various exalted Jewish spiritual personalities subscribe, such as Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav. The crux of the idea i think is–is that if all comes from G-d and emanates from His Oneness, then all must necessarily be good irregardless whether we experience joy or we experience pain. Continue Reading »
Posted on October 4, 2013 by Deborah Renert
Oprah: “I don’t need to tell you all that this is the interview of a lifetime….And G-d has insisted that Freud speak first.” Freud: I know that You are merely a projection of the human imagination, particularly those with a pathological need for an authority figure in the sky. G-d: What a reductionist you are Continue Reading »
Posted on September 18, 2013 by Deborah Renert
During the formative period of Rabbinic Judaism during the 2nd Temple period, Judaism was anything but homogeneous. The reality was that here were various groups of minim or sects–including the Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes, etc. Their beliefs and religious behavior was often radically different from each one’s fellow sects. Classically, they differed with respect to Continue Reading »
Posted on September 12, 2013 by Deborah Renert
A person has 5 senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching) and 3 additional faculties–the mental, the emotional, and spiritual. Hence, it seems that a person can experience both pleasure and engage in “averot” connected with each of these senses and other faculties. So it seems that perhaps the best way to do teshuva would Continue Reading »
