Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on May 25, 2011 by Avi Strausberg
i was scared to begin the book of vayikra. for that matter, others were scared for me. sefer vayikra, which primarily deals with laws surrounding ritual purity, sacrificial offerings, as well as other priestly business, is often written-off as that dry middle section of the Torah necessary to skim through in order to get back on Continue Reading »
Posted on May 5, 2011 by Tamara Frankel
Dear Friends, I’d like to start today’s dvar Torah with a bit of a provocative riddle: What do a prostitute, Shabbat and a nazir (religious ascetic or monk) have in common? [I knew that would get your attention that way….. Now follow along with me and I’ll help you solve the riddle.] This week we Continue Reading »
Posted on April 30, 2011 by Avi Strausberg
in parshat kedoshim, God opens by instructing us we’ve got to be holy because we’ve got a holy God. and in case you weren’t sure how one goes about behaving in a holy manner, we’re presented with a pretty length lists of do’s and don’ts. do honor your mother and father. don’t commit adultery. do Continue Reading »
Posted on March 1, 2011 by Avi Strausberg
in this week’s parsha, פקודי, the משכן is finally built. thanks to the work of bezalel and his team of craftsmen, the tabernacle, the priestly clothing, and all of their accoutrements are constructed exactly as God commanded through moshe. God then instructs moshe to set up the משכן on the 1st of the 1st month, Continue Reading »
Posted on February 13, 2011 by Tamara Frankel
Dear Friends, I hope this email finds you well. Last week was quite the jam-packed, rainy and nearly sleepless week! My dad was visiting last week so we were busy with Torah study at Pardes, touring the country, shopping (of course) and visiting with family and friends. We had a great time!! But like my Continue Reading »
Posted on January 9, 2011 by Tamara Frankel
Dear Friends, As I sit to write a dvar Torah this week, I find myself overwhelmed with ideas to share. Thank God, I had the privilege of preparing and learning a lot of Torah from my peers this past week, as we (in the Pardes Educators Program) planned a day of text-study and hands-on learning Continue Reading »
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 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 17, 2010 by Shibley
Transitional moments within davening are generally opportunities to keep the t’fillot at hand moving along without delays that would cause a lapse in concentration or disrupt the atmosphere of holiness. As an aside, halacha takes into consideration this fact, and prohibits the burdening of the congregation. I learned last year at Yeshivat Hadar, that sometimes Continue Reading »
Posted on November 2, 2010 by Eryn
2:24 בראשית ’על–כן, יעזב–איש, את–אביו, ואת–אמו; ודבק באשתו, והיו לבשר אחד’ “For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and he will cling to his wife and they will be for one flesh.” How does one acquire a friend? Two boys may enjoy playing sports together. The basketball court becomes their sacred place. With each dribble they speak out Continue Reading »
