Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on November 15, 2011 by Shibley
Throughout Jewish history, since the destruction of the Second Temple, up to the present day, Jews have longed for a return to Jerusalem. At weddings, in blessings after meals, in the t’fillot, in song, and in literature, the Jewish soul yearns for Jerusalem, the center of the Jewish universe. Two Shabbatot ago, I was in Continue Reading »
Posted on November 10, 2011 by Barer
This week’s parsha is chalk-full of troubling stories, from the Akieda, arguably the most challenging section of the Torah, to the destruction of Sdom and Amorah, to the episode of Lot and his daughters. What caught my attention while reading the parsha, though, was a subtler play on language related to rhetorical questions. There are Continue Reading »
Posted on November 6, 2011 by The Director of Digital Media
Posted on November 3, 2011 by Barer
This week’s parsha contains many famous and thought-provoking stories, but I would like to focus on what I see as an emerging motif in the Rashbam, where he criticizes his grandfather’s reading of a verse before offering an alternate interpretation which he sees as sticking more closely to the pshat, the simple reading of the Continue Reading »
Posted on October 31, 2011 by Barer
[This is a slightly emended version of the D’var Torah I gave to the Fellows last week:] “We have benedictions for all occasions…And on beholding a Jewish audience [of 600,000 or more] the Talmud [Berachot 58a] prescribes a special benediction: [“Baruch chacham harazim sh’ein da’atam dome zeh la’zeh v’ein partzufeihen domim zeh la’zeh”] Blessed is Continue Reading »
Posted on October 30, 2011 by Shibley
Sukkot has been over for a week and a half, but there is one more element that I observed and would like to share. The secular sukkah. It was not surprising to find sukkot in areas like the ultra-Orthodox Mea She’arim, or even in the more Modern Orthodox/Dati neighborhoods, like the one where I live. Continue Reading »
Posted on October 28, 2011 by Barer
The end of this week’s parsha, like last week’s, details the lineages leading to the main protagonists of Bereishit, mainly those of Noach’s children. Unsurprisingly, for those who know the story that comes next, the lineages rush through the generations in between Noach and Avram and then slow down just in time to talk about Continue Reading »
Posted on October 25, 2011 by Barer
[Sorry for the delay; cross-posted from my blog] With the conclusion of Simchat Torah we are embarking upon reading the Torah from the beginning once again. For my own study, I have moved ahead (or behind, depending on who you ask) two generations to study the commentary of the Rashbam on the Torah. The Rashbam Continue Reading »
Posted on October 24, 2011 by Shibley
I would venture a guess that the majority of jobs throughout the world have some sort of uniform. Whether said uniform is mandated by the employer, it is simply practical, or it becomes a matter of identity, the fact is that such a uniform exists in most cases. Israel is no different in this regard; Continue Reading »
Posted on October 23, 2011 by Shibley
In our efforts to try and find spirituality and deep connections in prayer often lead us to take t’fillah very seriously. Generally, that is a practice which I would commend, and even recommend, since it would theoretically allow us to block out distractions and concentrate solely on our relationship with Gd. Perhaps the best example Continue Reading »
