Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
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 30, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart
From my blog: Last week was Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day. This day had special significance this year because of my recent trip to Poland. I had the honor and privilege of speaking at Pardes on behalf of the group of students who went on the trip. I shared an excerpt from this blog, 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 April 19, 2012 by Barer
Andrew Lustig’s latest poem, performed in Pardes in honor of Yom HaShoah
Posted on April 17, 2012 by Reka Eszter
Dear All, Coming from a country and family shocked by the Holocaust for all time, I thought that I would share with you one of the poems that was most emotional for me on this topic. János Pilinszky was one of the greatest poets of 20th century Hungarian literature. He was born in 1921 and Continue Reading »
Posted on March 31, 2012 by Shanee Michaelson
last night twenty shekel flew out of my pocket I reached inside. there were only scrabble pieces, enough to spell out my name shin-nun-yud someone called out for me. I turned, a strange girl wore my face meow another wandering Yerushalmi
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 »
