These and Those

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

Tag Archives: p’shat / pshat

What Sarah thinks Judaism Has to Say About….

Posted on October 7, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

From my blog: RELATIONSHIPS. Relationships with just anyone and relationships with Hashem. I’m hoping that if I sit down at the end of the day to try and process all of my thoughts and create a semi-coherent train of thought, it will help me to sort the things that I’ve learned and retain the information better. Continue Reading »

A Name for Us / A Name for You

Posted on October 6, 2013 by David Bogomolny

I presented this dvar at our Shabbaton yesterday: Parshat Noach contains one of my favorite Biblical stories: that of the Tower of Babel. Together with you, I’d like to tease a few details out of the p’shat (the simple reading of the text), explore two midrashim (early rabbinic exegesis), and suggest a metaphor for the Continue Reading »

Book Review: ‘Relics for the Present’

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Leah Kahn

When I read Relics for the Present, I am quickly enamored with the ancient wisdom of our tradition. Levi Cooper intricately and intelligently interlaces the p’shat of the text together with the interpretations of a variety of commentators, which results in meaningful interpretations that the Talmidei Chachamim may have actually wished to convey to future Continue Reading »

Bible Raps at Pardes

Posted on April 8, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

Before Purim, alum Matt Bar (Year ’07-’08, Fellow ’08-’09) of BIBLE RAPS fame visited us at Pardes (and he stayed for the Purim spiel)! We videotaped him rapping for us during community lunch: We also got to talk with him about why he tries to visit Pardes regularly, and got him to share some thoughts Continue Reading »

לך לך

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Barer

This week’s parsha contains many famous and thought-provoking stories, but I would like to focus on what I see as an emerging motif in the Rashbam, where he criticizes his grandfather’s reading of a verse before offering an alternate interpretation which he sees as sticking more closely to the pshat, the simple reading of the Continue Reading »

בראשית

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Barer

[Sorry for the delay; cross-posted from my blog] With the conclusion of Simchat Torah we are embarking upon reading the Torah from the beginning once again.  For my own study, I have moved ahead (or behind, depending on who you ask) two generations to study the commentary of the Rashbam on the Torah.  The Rashbam Continue Reading »

Professor Uriel Simon: Am I My Brother’s Keeper: An Anatomy of Fratricide

Posted on January 20, 2011 by The Director of Digital Media

Pardes is honored to have had Bar-Ilan Professor Uriel Simon lecture. Below are last year’s lectures from Professor Simon on “Am I My Brother’s Keeper: An Anatomy of Fratricide.” This is an example of what Pardes students and community benefit from. Professor Simon was the chair of the Bible Department at Bar-Ilan University. This is Continue Reading »

Professor Uriel Simon on the Expulsion from Eden

Posted on January 17, 2011 by The Director of Digital Media

Pardes is honored to have had Bar Ilan Professor Uriel Simon lecture. Below are last year’s lectures from Professor Simon on “Expulsion from Eden – Is Eve to be blamed for everything.” This is from the Annual Hershdorfer Kantrowitz Brettler Lecture Series at Pardes on February 2, 2010.

Bereishit – The Beginning of My Chumash Project

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Barer

Since I was inspired to undertake this project due in large part to being at Pardes, I thought I would post this here too. My ‘Chumash Project’: My plan is to tackle one commentary a year, Rashi this year, reading Chumash with that commentary in line with the weekly parsha.  Given certain circumstances largely out of my control, Continue Reading »