Musings from students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted in Uncategorized on Jan 27th, 2012
In this week’s parsha, the story of the ten plagues ends, and Bnei Yisrael (the Children of Israel) finally leave Egypt. One source of potential moral consternation is the collecting of all sorts of goods on the part of the Israelites from their (former) Egyptian slave-masters. Hashem gives the instructions for the fulfillment of a [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 14th, 2011
Too often the shades of our life are drawn and God’s magnificent colors are missed. I am taking on this project as a means to stop and enjoy God’s brilliance. For the month of November, each day I will document the evening sunset from the Pardes Beit Midrash. I hope you will stop and notice [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jan 6th, 2011
this is the parsha where it all happens. the full wrath of God, manifested in swarming locusts and complete darkness, falls not only pharoah but on the egyptian people, while the israelites watch protected on the sidelines. when God sent thunder and hail and fire raining down on all of egypt, which struck every man [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jan 5th, 2011
Last week I had the opportunity to visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Museum with fellow Pardes students. I had never been to Yad Vashem at night before, but I was surprised to find that the lack of natural light emphasized the murder of the Shoah. As I worked my way through the permanent exhibit, I [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Dec 16th, 2010
on the closing of beresheit, the first book, and the opening of shmot, the second, i wanted to put side-by-side two haikus. the one through which i opened beresheit and one to reflect on the story of what’s been told. we’ve come along way in a few months. from the darkness and the divisions of [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 10th, 2010
When God began to create… darkness was over the surface of the deep… God said ‘Let there be light…’ God separated light from darkness. (Genesis 1:1) Rav Meir suggested that water and darkness are realms of the Divine. They were contracted to make a place where humans could thrive. The darkness is “an entity to [...]
