Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on December 15, 2016 by Seth Korelitz
Although we sometimes forget it, the Torah is not just a great religious text, it’s also a great literary text. For instance, the Torah often uses doubling — particularly of words or events — as a narrative technique. We’ll see probably the clearest example of this in the coming weeks, in the story of Joseph. Continue Reading »
Posted on November 14, 2013 by Dita Ribner Cooper
During a hike outside of Jerusalem on our first Pardes shabbaton I found myself walking behind two people that had just met. Like all first meetings go, they each introduced themselves, asked where the other was from, and where the other person was living during his/her year in Pardes. It was the beginning of what Continue Reading »
Posted on December 27, 2012 by Jenna King Brill
I gave over this dvar at night seder this week: This week’s parasha is Vayechi, in which, among other things, Jacob dies and we see a scene of apparent reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers. At first, this seems to be an intimate moment in which everyone comes to understand each other, and by the Continue Reading »
Posted on November 30, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
While this week’s parsha, VaYishlach, includes some of our tradition’s high-points (Jacob struggles with an angel and prevails! Jacob’s name is changed to Israel and he is blessed with land and progeny!) as well as some of its low-points (the rape of Dinah; Reuben sleeping with his father’s handmaid, Bilhah), my favorite verse in VaYishlach Continue Reading »
Posted on November 30, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
This week, Isaac Landes discusses Parashat VaYishlach in “Jacob’s Blessings.” Click here to listen. Shabbat shalom!
Posted on December 9, 2011 by Barer
This week Meesh discusses the troubling episode of the rape of Dina vayishlach 5772
Posted on December 8, 2011 by Barer
This week’s parsha has so much going on that it is hard to figure out one thing to talk about. I want to focus on something that occurs simply on the level of the text itself, without considering any commentators. Over the course of Bereishit so far, a number of people have had their names Continue Reading »
Posted on November 17, 2010 by Avi Strausberg
if in the past two parshas, there has been a severing of relationships and distancing between the members of yitzhak’s family, this week’s parsha, וישלח, tells of their coming together. previously, the rivalry and trickery involved in jacob’s maneuvering of the birthright and blessing from the rightful first-born esau, led to seeming devastion on both Continue Reading »
