These and Those

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

Tag Archives: light

My PEP Graduation Dvar Torah

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Esther DuBow

By Esther DuBow, PEP ’12 Daniel Weinreb, you are truly a scholar and a gentleman and having you as a colleague these past two years has been wonderful. I want that “sugya” you wrote for closing lunch. In return, I’ll give you a copy of our spiel, (PAUSE) assuming there are some left that weren’t Continue Reading »

Hanukkah in Jerusalem 2011

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Cheryl Stone

Poland V

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart

(The fifth in a series of 5 posts detailing my heritage trip to Poland… originally posted on my blog) ___________________ Righteous Among the Nations   “Whoever saves one life, saves the entire world”- Talmud In a world where morality no longer existed, where any action could lead to one’s death, there were people who stood out Continue Reading »

בא

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Barer

In this week’s parsha, the story of the ten plagues ends, and Bnei Yisrael (the Children of Israel) finally leave Egypt.  One source of potential moral consternation is the collecting of all sorts of goods on the part of the Israelites from their (former) Egyptian slave-masters.  Hashem gives the instructions for the fulfillment of a Continue Reading »

[Pardes From Jerusalem Podcast] Miketz and Chanukah 5772

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Barer

On this week’s podcast, James Jacobson-Maisels discusses Miketz and Chanukah through the eyes of the Eish Kodesh Miketz/Chanukah

Mikketz, Chanukah, the Holocaust, and Dreams: a D’var Torah from 2009

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Derek Kwait

At my shul back home, Young People’s Synagogue, members take turns giving the d’var Torah each Saturday morning. This is one I gave for Parashat Mikketz/Shabbat Chanukah on December 19, 2009 about the parsha, Chanukah, and the Holocaust. For what it’s worth, these themes repeated themselves again this year when we began learning about the Continue Reading »

מצרע, metsora

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Avi Strausberg

in this week’s parshat metsora, we continue to delve in-depth into the procedure of ridding a leprous person of his eruptive affections.  after reading pages and pages of how to determine whether a person is unclean and therefore off-limits to society, i was bewildered when i arrived to the conundrum of how to detect a Continue Reading »

בא, bo

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Avi Strausberg

this is the parsha where it all happens.  the full wrath of God, manifested in swarming locusts and complete darkness, falls not only pharoah but on the egyptian people, while the israelites watch protected on the sidelines.  when God sent thunder and hail and fire raining down on all of egypt, which struck every man Continue Reading »

Morning Revelation

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Shibley

Among the other brachot offered during the shacharit (morning t’fillah) we find one that is about the creation of light and darkness. The text reads “Blessed are You God Master [king] of the universe, who forms light and creates darkness, makes peace, and creates all.” I have long been confused as to the placement of Continue Reading »

בראשית לשמות, beresheit to shmot

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Avi Strausberg

on the closing of beresheit, the first book, and the opening of shmot, the second, i wanted to put side-by-side two haikus.  the one through which i opened beresheit and one to reflect on the story of what’s been told.  we’ve come along way in a few months.  from the darkness and the divisions of Continue Reading »