Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on December 9, 2010 by Michael
I think there is a general misunderstanding about the difference between physicality and sensuality. The physical world is extremely holy. The elements fire, water, air, earth are absolutely mysterious in Origin, as they come directly from the creation of Gd’s word. It is the improper orientation towards physicality that is sensuality, in other words being Continue Reading »
Posted on December 1, 2010 by Spirit Wolf
The greatest gifts you will ever receive are love and life. And love of life, even when times are difficult, is an unstoppable force. Never forget that ๐ย Chanukkah Sameakh! ————————————————————— The Foggy Road Fog descends before me. The way ahead, a foggy mist, The path behind, a distant memory. To fight the damp, swirling Continue Reading »
Posted on November 17, 2010 by Michael
I gave this as a speech to the Social Justice Track a few days ago. People seemed to like it, so I thought I’d post it for everyone to read… The 29th section of the Tao te Ching: Do you want to improve the world? I don’t think it can be done. The world is Continue Reading »
Posted on November 11, 2010 by Avi Strausberg
in this weekโs parsha, ืืืฆื (vayetze), jacob sets out to bethuel, the house of his motherโs father, to find himself a wife, and perhaps some countless offspring in the progress.ย he succeeds in landing himself not one, but count them, two wives:ย leah, the unloved, and rachel, the loved.ย jacob favors rachel to such an Continue Reading »
Posted on November 10, 2010 by Jean
When God began to create… darkness was over the surface of the deep… God said ‘Let there be light…’ God separated light from darkness. (Genesis 1:1) Rav Meir suggested that water and darkness are realms of the Divine. They were contracted to make a place where humans could thrive. The darkness is “an entity to Continue Reading »
Posted on November 2, 2010 by Eryn
Reading the beginning of Parshat Lech-Lecha, I was struck by its opening words. God’s command to Avraham to leave his home, his family, his country and move to a place that God will saw him is quite incredible! But it seems that God is demanding from Avraham more than the physical and emotional separation from Continue Reading »
Posted on November 2, 2010 by Eryn
2:7 ืืจืืฉืืช ืืืืฆืจ ืืงืืง ืืืงืื ืืชโืืืื ืขืคืจ ืืโืืืืื, ืืืคื ืืืคืื, ื ืฉืืช ืืืื; ืืืื ืืืื, ืื ืคืฉ ืืื “God, Lord, formed man, Dust from the earth. He Exhaled into his nose, living breath. Thus for man was a living soul.” Ha, my neshama breathes. Should it be any surprise the soul of pure music emanates from your Continue Reading »
Posted on November 2, 2010 by Eryn
After learning ืคืจืฉืช ืืจืืฉืืช I began to see a lot of parallels between the stories of this chapter and the world we are living in today. If we look at the stories of ืืจืืฉืืช we see the beginning of man and at the same time the downfall of man. Starting with the story of ืืื Continue Reading »
Posted on November 2, 2010 by Eryn
on the flood a kick in the sand the castle lies at my feet to begin again on babel handfuls of feathers brought near to the lips of God scattered by his breath May we come together after the scattering. By Avi Strausberg
Posted on November 2, 2010 by Eryn
vayera, ืืืจื Huge, life-changing events happen in this weekโs parsha. ย A city is annihilated, the smoke and ashes of its people filling the land, ย an entire people are made barren and then healed by God and, the long-awaited child of Sarah and Avraham, Yitzhak, comes within in seconds of a young death, nearly sacrificed to Continue Reading »
