[PCJE Dvar Torah] From Desert to Dessert: a Shavuot Reflection – by Tani Cohen-Fraade

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Tani Cohen-Fraade

In Rabbi Meir Schewiger’s Parashat ha-Shavuah (weekly Torah Portion) class, while learning Sefer Shemot (Book of Exodus), we spoke about the desert as a place where one goes to prepare for Torah study. When B’nei Yisrael (Children of Israel) leave Egypt, they flee through the desert and are on the run until they get to Yam Suf (Red Sea) and cross to safety. Even after getting to Har Sinai (Mt. Sinai) and receiving the Torah, they still spend another 40 years in the desert wandering and preparing to enter into the Land. On the festival of Shavuot, we celebrate Zman Matan Torateinu (our receiving of the Torah at Sinai). We have just finished counting the Omer, the period of time from Pesach up to Shavuot and while we have now received the Torah and have celebrated this by a long night of learning and Torah study, B’nei Yisrael is still in the desert. For the rest of this year, leading up to the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe) and Simchat Torah, we will continue to follow them as they travel through the wilderness in preparation for their entry into Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel). I liked the idea of the desert as a place for preparation and when I thought back over the last few years of my life I began to like it even more.

In the fall of 2010, I had been living and working at home in Connecticut, teaching in the Jewish community for a year after graduating college and I was ready for a change. I volunteered with the Kibbutz Program Center and after consulting with friends of friends, was placed on Kibbutz Yahel in the very south of Israel, about a 40 minutes north of Eilat in a region called the Arrava. Arrava means wilderness and this was exactly what I found when I got there. This was the absolute middle of Continue reading →

[Alumni Guest Post] Ready!

Posted on May 12, 2013 by admin

Sarah Margles (Year '02, PEP '04) reflects upon preparing
for Shavuot... what does "readiness" mean?

I remember when I first started at Pardes, I would spend much of Fridays getting ready for Shabbat – shopping, cooking, cleaning. When the siren went to light candles, my roommate would inevitably yell out, while running from the bathroom in a towel, “But I’m not ready!!” When we speak of Jewish holidays, we often say things like, “The holidays are so early this year,” or “I love it when Pesach is late.” There is something about readiness that seems integral to our Jewish experience.

Shavuot has a lot to teach about readiness. In Shmot 19:11, as the people are getting ready to receive Torah, God tells Moses to tell the people to go prepare for God will arrive on the third day. But Continue reading →

I’m compact!

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Avi Benson-Goldberg

From my blog:

abg

i shaved this face and it was actually really difficult. electrical razor, you are not my friend.

Thanks to MASA Israel, I’ve had the chance to confirm for myself, in excruciating and extensive detail that Israel is a pretty small country. Like, really small. Usually we mean that the landmass of Israel is teeny (smaller if you, like me, are disinclined to include the west bank as Israel; but that’s a really troublesome issue so LET’S NOT GET BOGGED DOWN!); or that there is a very small populace.

The population of Israel is pretty small. With a population of 8.018 million as of last Tuesday (it’s only in Hebrew, sorry!), I hear a lot of stories about running into a friend of a friend anywhere. A college friend’s father served side-by-side with our Hebrew professor’s late brother, z”l.

But that’s not what I want to talk about! We’ll get to Israel, nation of bulbul, at a later date. Today, I want to just quickly tell the story of how I got an electric razor and a scale and a wicked discount.

Continue reading →

[PCJE Dvar Torah] A Bridge Between – by Avi Spodek

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Avi Spodek

Over these past few weeks I have been reading Steven R. Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People as part of my coursework in Jewish educational leadership. Covey’s message and delivery are inspiring, and I highly recommend to this book to anyone and everyone. Its main premise is that leaders are most effective when they are, first and foremost, committed to and guided by principles of a universal and eternal character ethic. These principles enable them to prioritize their goals and forge authentic relationships with their colleagues in a way that cultivates their talents and spurs them toward greatness. Ostensibly intended for a business management audience, The Seven Habits has implications for every individual. Continue reading →

49 Steps

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Jeff Amshalem

From my blog:

Marc Chagall’s “Wedding”

Excerpts from R. Ze’ev Wolf of Zhitomir’s teachings on Counting the Omer, from Or haMeir.

וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת מִיּוֹם הֲבִיאֲכֶם אֶת עֹמֶר הַתְּנוּפָה שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת

Count for yourselves, from the morrow of the rest day from the day you bring the omer as a wave offering, seven weeks. Leviticus 23:16

The essence of the Counting of the Omer between Pesach and Shavuot is to mend the seven attributes (1), to bring to them a holy awareness. When you have done this, making yourself into a complete image of the divine in all of your ways, in holiness and purity, then the Shekhinah, in whose image you are made, is also mended. Then we are fit to be God’s, and God to be ours, like a bride ready to enter the wedding canopy… Continue reading →

Experiencing the Omer

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Soffer

Originally posted at my blog:

What an exciting time it is in the Jewish calendar! In the span of just three weeks Jews throughout the globe have reaffirmed our freedom with the holiday of Pesah, we have celebrated renewal Rosh Hodesh Iyar, and we danced through the streets of Yerushalayim on Yom Haaztmaut, as we marked 64 years of Jewish sovereignty in Eretz Yisroel. Simultaneously, however, we revisited nightmares of the Holocaust on Yom Shoah, and recalled the soliders lost defending this country on Yom Hazikaron. These are, without a doubt, two of the most depressing and trying moments of the Jewish year. There is a tension, an uncomfortable coexistence of two seemingly divergent depictions of the collective Jewish reality; are we amidst a time of unparalleled bereavement or are realizing the reinvigoration of a once hidden joy?

On the one hand we mourn the 24,000 talmidim (students) of Rabbi Akiva, killed for a failure to respect each other. On the other hand, we bear witness a wave of blue and white flags flood the streets of Yerushalayim, marking 45 years since our capital’s liberation. The omer, it seems, is a confused and complex time.

Really, however, it is a period of managing these dichotomies in our life. It is an opportunity to reflect, and to challenge ourselves to live life to its fullest, embracing both Continue reading →

[PEP Student] Sanctify within the Permitted

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Tamara

Dear Friends,

I’d like to start today’s dvar Torah with a bit of a provocative riddle: What do a prostitute, Shabbat and a nazir (religious ascetic or monk) have in common?

[I knew that would get your attention that way..... Now follow along with me and I'll help you solve the riddle.]

This week we return to the regular schedule of Torah readings, picking up in the middle of the book of Leviticus, reading Parshat Kedoshim. Truth to be told, I think the first chapter, and especially the first two verses, of this parsha have had a very heavy influence on my Jewish identity and practice. I hope to share with you how and why this text has made such an indelible impact on me.

Parshat Kedoshim begins with the following commandment:

א) וַיְדַבֵּר ה’, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר

1) And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:

ב) דַּבֵּר אֶל-כָּל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם–קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ: כִּי קָדוֹשׁ, אֲנִי ה’ אֱלֹקיכֶם

2) Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: You shall be kadosh [holy]; for I the LORD your God am kadosh [holy]. (Leviticus 19:1-2)

But how does one fulfill the obligation to “be kadosh“? (I prefer to use the Hebrew term kadosh because I think it has a particular connotation which is unique, and different from its common English translation as “holy”.)

In previous Torah readings, especially within Leviticus, God has demanded that the people live as a “holy nation” or that they “sanctify themselves”. But often these pronouncements are made in relation to the offerings of sacrifices or other profound revelatory experiences. Here, in our parsha, the Torah continues to list a series of mitzvot that are to guide our human behaviour– how we treat one another– after being commanded to be kadosh.

This deepens our question of what it means to “be kadosh“. How is one to act in order to reach this status of kadosh? Is there something one must do or refrain from to achieve this designation? Is it dependent on elevating one’s relationship with people or becoming more pious and spiritually connected to the Almighty?

Nachmanides (1194-1270), one of the greatest Spanish Torah scholars as well as a doctor and staunch Zionist, interprets this command to be kadosh as follows:

“A person who is lustful finds an opportunity to sleep with his/her spouse a lot, and to be among the drunkards and gluttons, and who speak of all kinds of inappropriate acts, that are not mentioned as prohibitions in the Torah, then s/he will be a scoundrel within the domain of the Torah…

Therefore, the Torah writes, after it details the prohibitions that it explicitly forbids, and commands in a general sense to be distant from that which is permitted.”

(NOTE: This is my translation of Nachmanides’ commentary, but reading his words in the original is more authentic and much more poetic.)

Nachmanides suggests an interpretation of this text which seems counterintuitive upon first glance. After all, why is the Torah forbidding us from actions we are permitted to do?! For example, why must one distance one’s self from drinking kosher wine and kosher meat? Where is the harm in that?!

I think Nachmanides is suggesting one must be careful not to ‘take advantage of the system’ and abuse what the Torah grants us permission to enjoy in the world. To be kadosh, we are called upon to sanctify ourselves through that which is within our reach (according to Jewish law) and not just to follow these codes of conduct in their most literal meanings.

So even though one is allowed to eat kosher food endlessly, Nachmanides argues that one must approach an all-you-can-eat Kosher buffet with caution and restraint. This is what it means to be kadosh: to show self-discipline and live in moderation according to the Torah; to sanctify within the permitted. In a moment of temptation, if one is able to self monitor one’s desires and manage them carefully, one has performed the mitzvah of being kadosh.

Therefore, this week’s parsha contains within it a critical call to action: each of us must think of an area in our lives where we struggle to feel in control, like the way we speak with others or the kind and/or amount of food we consume. Inspired by Nachmanides, we are urged to take the reins of those fragile impulses and assume the throne (royal wedding reference) as masters of our actions.

I hope each of us is able to take on this challenge, especially as we prepare ourselves spiritually and physically during the period of the Counting of the Omer. Even if you have not been counting along until now, it is never too late to come on board and change for the better.

So, let’s take the plunge and find the “messy spots” in our interpersonal/ritual observance that we care deeply about, but that also need “cleaning up”. (Maybe our speech, business matters, prayer, respect for parents/teachers, Shabbat observance, eating habits, giving tzedakah and the like are possible areas of improvements.) Once we’ve zeroed in on ONE of these areas, let’s work toward infusing it with self-discipline, so that you can fulfill the mission to be kadosh!

Shabbat Shalom,
Tamara

P.S. Solution to the riddle: each of these words (nazir, zonah and Shabbat) are described as kadosh in some way. Why do you think this is so? Consider that the root of kadosh in Hebrew often means “separate or distant”.

[PEP Student] Ascent After Exodus

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Tamara

Dear Friends,

Moadim l’simcha! (This is a special greeting for the interim days-chol hamoed-between the Yom Tov at the beginning and end of Pesach, or Sukkot.) I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the crunchy taste of matzah this Passover. I was fortunate to spend the Seder with my friends and my sister in Jerusalem this year, which was truly an amazing experience. I’ve never spent Seder with guests who weren’t my relatives, let alone who came with diverse exposure to and experiences of the Seder night. I learned a tremendous amount not only from those around the table, but became increasingly aware and grateful of the Jewish education and love of my parents, and my extended family as well. They have truly enabled and empowered me to be literate and engaged in Jewish learning, especially at the Seder table!

Reading through the Torah reading for this Shabbat, I am puzzled. This Shabbat we read from Exodus 33:12-34:26 and Numbers 28:19-25. The first section from Exodus makes indirect reference to the sin of the Golden Calf. The second section refers to the seasonal offerings which were once brought to the Temple.

It seems reasonable to read about the seasonal offerings this Shabbat. But, why do we disrupt the regular weekly Torah portions and read a section about the aftermath of the sin of the Golden Calf?

On the outset, it seems like the Torah starts to read with an indirect reference to sin of Golden Calf, so as not to be “Debbie Downer” after the miraculous Exodus from event and formation of Jewish People as a nation with common purpose. Nevertheless, the Torah does describe Moses’ plea to spare the nation and maintain the covenant between God and the People.

But more than that, I think that we read this section after the beginning of Pesach because the Torah wants us to remember that there is certainly a good chance, maybe even a likelihood, that we will slip and fall on our journey as a nation. We will stray from divine command and act immorally despite our revelatory experiences of liberation from the largest superpower in the world or the supernatural splitting of the Sea of Reeds. And yet, somehow, while knowing that the Jewish People will err, this week’s Torah reading gives us hope.

It reminds us that even after one, if not the, most catastrophic blunder of the Jewish People, (the sin of the Golden Calf), God and Moses were able to negotiate a manageable ‘rules of engagement’ (known as the 13 Attributes of Mercy, see Exodus 34:4-7) to maintain and strengthen the covenantal relationship between God and the nation. I think this is very reminiscent of the Counting of the Omer which begins on the second night of Passover.

There are many reasons to explain the significance of the Counting of the Omer, but one of them describes this enumeration of days between Pesach and Shavuot as a spiritual “count up”. Right away, we are challenged to take on a new seasonal commandment to count 50 days until the anniversary of receiving the Torah at Sinai. In this process, we are asked to evaluate our spiritual wellness and ensure that we are prepared to actualize and embody the ethical charges to be given at Mount Sinai.

An analogy (which I can relate to after my recent travels around the globe!): in order for a plane to travel from one destination to another, two things must happen. The plane must leave the gate of departure and secure a significant runway to rev up its engines and take off. If the runway is not long enough, the plane will never gain enough momentum to take flight. This is what is referred to as “thrust” in aerodynamics. But an extensive runway alone is not sufficient for the plane to become airborne. Once the plane reaches the end of the runway, it must combine the appropriate “thrust” with the weight of the aircraft in order to ascend above ground. This is called “lift”.

(see http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/airplane1.htm)

So too, during this interim time between the pivotal events of the Exodus on Pesach and the commemoration of Revelation at Sinai on Shavuot, we must emphasize the power of the “thrust” of the Exodus and combine it with the “lift” of the Counting of the Omer in order to attain spiritual heights.

As such, I encourage all of us to use the Counting of the Omer has an incredible opportunity to reflect and refurbish our spiritual (and physical) health.