These and Those

Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem

Tag Archives: Kabbalah and/or mysticism

[PCJE Dvar Torah] Jeff Amshalem — Circles and Lines: the Maor vaShamesh on Parshat Beshalach

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Jeff Amshalem

An abridged version of a teaching from R. Kalonymus Kalpan Halevi Epstein, the Maor vaShamesh. וַתִּקַּח מִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן אֶת הַתֹּף בְּיָדָהּ וַתֵּצֶאןָ כָל הַנָּשִׁים אַחֲרֶיהָ בְּתֻפִּים וּבִמְחֹלֹת: וַתַּעַן לָהֶם מִרְיָם שִׁירוּ לַי־הֹוָ־ה כִּי גָאֹה גָּאָה סוּס וְרֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם                 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, Continue Reading »

[Alumni Guest Post] Lecha Dodi – Man in the Mirror (Pitch Perfect feat. Cup Game Kabbalah)

Posted on November 19, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

Who would have thunk it – a perfect mashup of Michael Jackson and Lecha Dodi! At the Weber School in Atlanta, pop culture expert Joey Heyman (PEP ’08-’10) and director of student life/creative guru Ori Salzberg have teamed up with Joey’s students to create an amazing mosaic of the first two chapters of Bereishit, classical Continue Reading »

Learning Zohar with Daniel Matt

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Jeff Amshalem

This week the Talmud Hey and Kollel classes had the real honor to learn Zohar with possibly the world’s leading Zohar scholar, Dr. Daniel Matt. Dr. Matt has spent the last fifteen years working full time on a translation of the Zohar. In a couple years he hopes to be done. It’s hard to exaggerate Continue Reading »

[PCJE Dvar Torah] Jeff Amshalem — Go for yourself

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Jeff Amshalem

The Hasidic master R. Menahem Nahum of Chernobyl, also known by the title of his book Meor Einayim, has this to say on our parsha, Lech lecha: Rashi comments that God tells Avram that the command to go forth is “for your own good.” This is difficult to understand, since God calls Avram “my lover” because he served Continue Reading »

Tzimtzum Poems

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Annie Matan Gilbert

I have been prompted twice this year so far to share these poems – once inspired by Rav Landes Shabbat Shuva Shiur and then after I read them at Salon Pardes. I wrote these as part of my final project for an Aleph Rabbinical School class exploring the concept of tzimtzum in Jewish texts.  My Continue Reading »

Dvar Torah from Salon Pardes

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Derek Kwait

Last night I held the first-ever Salon Pardes in my living room. The Salon provides a safe, supportive environment for Pardes students to share their creative endeavors with other students and receive constructive criticism and feedback. The event was a rousing success, with more than 10 students presenting their art, poetry, photography, music, singing, writing, Continue Reading »

My Spiritual High at Zorba

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Laura Marder

Do you ever feel like there is a cage around you? Like you can carry it around but sometimes it gets heavy and tires you down. Perhaps it restrains you from moving in a comfortable way or running to what you really desire. I hadn’t really thought of myself in a cage at all before Continue Reading »

Posted on November 7, 2010 by Zahara

best new music I’ve heard recently. ch-ch-ch-check it, folks. c/o my friendsandfriends