Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on January 13, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
When Avi Strausberg (Year ’10-’11) studied at Pardes, she began the ‘Haiku Torah Project‘, and wrote a haiku for every parasha of the Torah. This project was then continued by Ben Barer (Fellows ’11-’12), and he continues to write weekly ‘Torah Haikus’ on his blog. Since leaving Pardes, Avi began her rabbinical studies at Hebrew Continue Reading »
Posted on October 18, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
rained upon earth forty days and forty nights ark upon water
Posted on May 18, 2012 by Barer
This week’s parsha closes out the middle book of the Torah, ויקרא, Leviticus, with a number of further details relating to the priesthood. One specific word caught my eye though: “These are the statutes and the laws and the Torot that Hashem has given between Him and the children of Israel at mount Sinai by Continue Reading »
Posted on May 11, 2012 by Barer
This week’s parsha is one of the shortest in the Torah, only including 57 psukim (verses). One of the main themes discussed in the parsha is that of yovel, the Jubilee Year. Every fiftieth year, all land would return to its original owner. This included slaves, and the rabbis of the Talmud were eager to Continue Reading »
Posted on May 4, 2012 by Barer
In this week’s parsha, all the holidays are described in order (starting with Pesach). Immediately afterwards, the text details the rituals associated with the objects within the קודש, the Holy on the Mishkan and later the Temple. Mussaf Rashi, a compilation of scattered commentary attributed to Rashi, notes that this is a hint to the Continue Reading »
Posted on April 27, 2012 by Barer
This week’s double parsha contains many portions central to Jewish life today, and they are widely discussed, both this week and year-round. I want to focus, instead, of an issue of form I noticed. Early in the week’s reading, there are a number of laws laid out – e.g. laws related to human and non-human animal Continue Reading »
Posted on April 20, 2012 by Barer
This week’s double parsha is some of the densest and hardest-to-apply material in the Torah, in dealing with seemingly endless details of various bodily ailments and skin maladies. In trying to find a window into some of the meaning that these chapters might hold for us today, I think it might be helpful to consider Continue Reading »
Posted on March 30, 2012 by Barer
This week’s parsha continues to detail the different sacrifices, this time focusing on who can and cannot eat them. The second half of the parsha (ch. 8) moves from commandment to narrative (or sorts) as the text describes the actual anointing of Aharon and his sons as active priests. While the text is repetitive and Continue Reading »
Posted on March 23, 2012 by Barer
It is always hard exegetically to transition from Bereishit and Shmot to Vayikra (from Genesis and Exodus to Leviticus). However tough it might be to draw a message from repeated details about building the Mishkan (Tabernacle), it is nothing compared to the density of chapter after chapter detailing how much blood – from non-human animals Continue Reading »
Posted on March 19, 2012 by Barer
This week’s parsha details – again – the various vessels that were built for the Mishkan (Tablernacle). While the question of why such repetition is in the Torah is a good one, I want to focus instead on the short narrative section of the parsha. After repeating a few of the central laws to the people, Continue Reading »