Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
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 »
Posted on October 23, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
Sarah Mulhern (Year Program ’09, Fellows ’10) shares her dvar Torah for Parashat Lech Lecha with These&Those. This commentary is provided by special arrangement with American Jewish World Service. To learn more, visit www.ajws.org. Lech Lecha One of the things I find most inspiring about studying Torah is that the biblical characters are human. They Continue Reading »
Posted on October 18, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
In memory/honor of Leibka Feiga bat Chanoch A”H (Laura Faye Topper) This week marks the 9th anniversary of my mother-in-law’s passing. Laura suffered most of her adult life from Multiple Sclerosis, a disease that slows down or blocks messages between the brain and the body and causes – amongst other symptoms – visual disturbances, muscle Continue Reading »
Posted on September 10, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
by Rabbi Alex Israel Cross-posted from his blog Thinking Israel On the one hand, the cycle of the Jewish year is predictable and familiar: The solemnity of Yom Kippur, the smells and feel of the Sukka and the 4 species, the warmth and intimacy of Hannuka, Purim’s raucous frivolity, the tunes and tastes of Seder Continue Reading »
Posted on August 26, 2012 by Derek Kwait
This week was my last back at my shul Young People’s Synagogue, which last year, raised around $7,000 to send me to Pardes for a year. Yesterday, I delivered this speech to let them know how their investment turned out. So, how have you all been? For those who don’t know, from September through the Continue Reading »
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 March 20, 2012 by Daniel Weinreb
“Kids these days. They don’t learn like before. They have all the information at their fingertips. Confronted with a problem, they need only to glance over to a different page and lo and behold their questions are answered. Learning used to be a social process, with emphasis on learning from someone else, or better yet, Continue Reading »
Posted on February 24, 2012 by Barer
This week’s parsha is chalk-full of measurement details for the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), which leaves little room for inspirational lessons. Fortunately for me, the Rashbam took this opportunity to answer one of my long-standing questions – when does the Rashbam feel it necessary to add his own commentary and when is he happy Continue Reading »
Posted on January 20, 2012 by Barer
This week’s parsha documents the well-known story of Moshe and Aharon repeatedly coming before Pharoah asking to go worship Hashem, only to be repeatedly rebuffed, even in the fact of nasty plagues (this week’s parsha has the first eight). There are so many points of focus to pick from when you are dealing with the Continue Reading »
Posted on December 16, 2011 by Barer
This week’s parsha is full of the narrative action we have become familiar with in Bereishit, with this parsha in particular being so great as to be turned into a Broadway musical (Joseph and the Amazing Coat of Many Colours). However, a less-known fact is that the Rashbam chooses the beginning of this parsha to Continue Reading »
