Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on August 14, 2011 by Avi Strausberg
in this week’s parshat va’etchanan, moshe attempts to perform the greatest magic trick of all time: to convince an entire nation, to truly make them believe, that they were all somewhere where they were not. the ideas of forgetting and remembering dominate this parsha in which once again moshe details all the laws and decrees Continue Reading »
Posted on April 15, 2011 by Joel D.
A great Rabbi once spoke of his relationship with the Jewish people and its Law. Of the People he spoke of love, but of Law he spoke of submission. This I found to be gravely unappetizing. For to speak of submission is to speak of burden, not of loving embrace. To recognize Jewish Law as Continue Reading »
Posted on March 24, 2011 by Pious Antic
In my halakha (Jewish Law) class last semester, we looked at a piece of gemara in which one rabbi asserts that an averah (sin) which is done for the sake of heaven (lishmah) is superior to a mitzvah (a good deed) that is done not for the sake of heaven. It is then countered that Continue Reading »
Posted on January 27, 2011 by Avi Strausberg
this week’s parsha entitled mishpatim translates to law in english. and this parsha is aptly titled as the bulk of the parsha is a long, long list of rules that it is quite easy to get lost in. topics covered include but are not limited to goring oxes, tunneling thieves, uncovered pits, and virgin-seducers. but, Continue Reading »
Posted on November 6, 2010 by Joel D.
One in a series of more than one to guide and goad the confused and curious in matters never before seen as relevant, and perhaps never to be seen again. Learn, laugh and kasher along with us.
Posted on November 5, 2010 by Barer
What value does tradition have? What is added to an action, ritual, or practice from it being something that has been done for 500 years as opposed to 50 years or 5 years, or compared to starting a new ‘tradition’ altogether? As anyone who has watched Fiddler on the Roof knows – and judging by Continue Reading »
Posted on October 28, 2010 by Pious Antic
I’ve started doing series of posts called “What I learned at Pardes This Week” on my blog (1, 2), and I thought I’d cross-post the latest one (3) here… enjoy! — One of the strangest and yet most everyday of mitzvot (commandments) is that of laying tefilin. Every day Jewish men (and in some liberal Continue Reading »
