Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on September 6, 2011 by Avi Strausberg
parshat ki tetse brims with examples where the men make decisions that crucially impact the women, while their opinions are completely absent from the equation. in fact, their voices have been so successfully silenced, that often unless you were looking for them, you might not even notice they were missing in the first Continue Reading »
Posted on September 6, 2011 by Avi Strausberg
in this week’s parshat shoftim, moshe ensures the people that he will not be the last prophet to walk among them and speak the word of God. rather, God will raise up another prophet to serve as a guide for the people, placing His words in his mouth and acting through him. for forty years, Continue Reading »
Posted on September 6, 2011 by Avi Strausberg
this week’s parshat re’eh teaches a bit of the old mixed with some of the new. the old: don’t worship other gods. this is something pretty fundamental to our covenant with God that we’ve covered several times over in other places of the Torah. however, the bit of the new: don’t worship אלוהים אחרים אשר Continue Reading »
Posted on September 1, 2011 by Barer
This week’s parsha, Shoftim, contains the famous passage extolling justice. “Justice, justice you shall pursue, so that you shall live and inherit the land that Hashem your god has given you.” (16:20, emphasis mine). While this verse is so often quoted as if it contained only the first five words, it is important to note Continue Reading »
Posted on August 22, 2011 by Bookie
Cross-posted from PresenTense: Imagine a world without hunger. Imagine a world full of clean air and lush forests. Imagine a world where the words “water shortage” don’t have a ring of truth to them. All of this is possible through changes in lifestyle which are echoed by some of the Jewish values we hold dear. Continue Reading »
Posted on August 20, 2011 by Tamara Frankel
Dear Friends, Thank God I made it through my first full week in Chicago! Busy with staff training, learning the neighbourhood and tying up loose ends, I’m happy to report that things are starting to fall into place. I’m grateful for all the support in and outside Chicago – you know who you are! This week, Continue Reading »
Posted on August 19, 2011 by Avi Strausberg
there’s not so much new here in parshat ekev. moshe continues to reiteritate the people’s indebtedness to God and the importance of upholding “ומצותיו ,משפטיו ,חוקותיו: His commandments, laws, and rules” (devarim 8:11). but buried within moshe’s retelling of חטא העגל (sin of the golden calf), an interesting discrepancy arises. here’s the scene: moshe’s just Continue Reading »
Posted on August 19, 2011 by Shibley
I originally posted this on my blog on August 17: In Israel, one social role is occupied by the gever. The gever (literally, man), is a mythical man who exudes machismo and confidence. A man who wears sunglasses indoors and/or at night, who unbuttons at least two buttons on his shirt. A gever shows very Continue Reading »
Posted on August 19, 2011 by Shibley
I originally posted this on my blog on August 16: Later this afternoon and evening I will have the pleasure of travelling to Philadelphia where I will board a flight bound for Tel Aviv. In many ways I am going home, and in many ways I am leaving home. Since returning to the States from Continue Reading »
Posted on August 18, 2011 by Barer
This week’s parsha continues with a lot of the same themes as the preceding two, including the second paragraph of the Shma which talks about the agricultural importance of keeping the commandments, as if the Israelites fail to do so, the land that they have come to rely on (which is explicitly differentiated from Egypt Continue Reading »
