Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on November 3, 2014 by Binyamin Cohen
Night Seder Chevrutas Binyamin Cohen and David Wallach join together to reflect on this week’s parshah. בְּרֵאשִׁית י”ב:א “וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-אַבְרָם, לֶךְ-לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ, אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ” ‘God said to Abram, “Go away from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.”’ (Gen. Continue Reading »
Posted on November 2, 2014 by David Curiel
One of my objectives this year is to set aside my (considerable) judgment surrounding the Israel/Palestine conflict and try to listen deeply to as many different voices within it. I also, with much humility, wish to take an active witness role in the vein of our teacher and rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who, with much Continue Reading »
Posted on October 31, 2014 by Jeremy Borovitz
And the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you” Bereishit 12:1 It all seems a little bit redundant, doesn’t it? Why couldn’t Abram have just been told to go forth, or go forth from his land, Continue Reading »
Posted on October 31, 2014 by Jenn Mager
From my blog: Last Wednesday a man drove a car into a crowd of people waiting at the Ammunition Hill light rail station, killing a three month old baby girl and wounding 8 others. A newspaper reported that evening “Israeli police shoot man in East Jerusalem”. I read that the family was on their way back Continue Reading »
Posted on October 30, 2014 by Geo Poor
(Spoiler Alert) I live 0.93 miles from the Green Line. For those who don’t know what that means, I live, in a perfectly normal suburban(ish) area that is less than a mile from an area that is called by some “occupied.” An area that looks just like this, and many other cities, and yet if Continue Reading »
Posted on October 24, 2014 by David Wallach
Night Seder Chevrutas Binyamin Cohen and David Wallach join together to reflect on this week’s parshah. אֵלֶּה, תּוֹלְדֹת נֹחַ–נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה, בְּדֹרֹתָיו: אֶת-הָאֱלֹהִים, הִתְהַלֶּךְ-נֹחַ (בְּרֵאשִׁית ו:ט) These are the generations of Noah. Noah was in his generations a man righteous and whole-hearted; Noah walked with God. (Gen. 6:9) Our parshah opens up with Continue Reading »
Posted on October 24, 2014 by David Curiel
Lichvod R’Judith Z. Abrams, ז”ל It was a sweet irony that during a break in my Gemara shiur yesterday, I found out that my first teacher of rabbinic texts, Reb Judith, as she was affectionately called, died suddenly of a heart attack the day before. She would have appreciated that, with a patented mischievous laugh Continue Reading »
Posted on October 24, 2014 by Anna Pomson
I’d like you for a minute to imagine the scenario. Hashem sent a message to the whole world that they were not acting right. How did he send the message? He killed all of them except one family and few animals. The heavens opened and it rained for forty days and forty nights. Just imagine Continue Reading »
Posted on October 21, 2014 by Samantha Vinokor
“It’s a mitzvah!” Over sukkot, I found myself in New York, running through Union Square to meet a friend. I was running late, laden down with packages (a necessity of every visit to Manhattan), when I was stopped by a man holding a lulav and etrog and asking every passerby who’d listen if they were Continue Reading »
Posted on October 20, 2014 by Binyamin Cohen
Night Seder Chevrutas Binyamin Cohen and David Wallach join together to reflect on this week’s parshah. בְּרֵאשִׁית ב:ט וַיַּצְמַח יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים, מִן-הָאֲדָמָה, כָּל-עֵץ נֶחְמָד לְמַרְאֶה, וְטוֹב לְמַאֲכָל וְעֵץ הַחַיִּים, בְּתוֹךְ הַגָּן, וְעֵץ, הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע “The Lord God made grow out of the ground every tree that is pleasant to look at and good to Continue Reading »
