Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on September 25, 2012 by Shanee Michaelson
In discussion with my chevrutah, we posited that the snake character of the narrative was rather puzzling. Why would a snake be in conversation with human beings? Moreover, why would a snake have such a pivotal role in גן עדן setting off a series of events and changing the course of humankind? We came to Continue Reading »
Posted on September 19, 2012 by Derek Kwait
Shabbat shalom. My dvar hangs on the verses from the Parsha, “Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath, but with those that stand here with us this day before the Lord our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day,” which means us, and “All Continue Reading »
Posted on September 19, 2012 by Eric Feldman
What would you do if you were greater than you are? In Judaism, hypothetical situations are occasionally used in order to put ourselvest in a certain mindset – for example, on Passover, we imagine what it would have been like to have been slaves in Egypt. And now, with these weeks of transformation upon us, Continue Reading »
Posted on September 18, 2012 by Laura Marder
In our busy daily lives we are programmed as adults to subdue some of our pure emotions in order to be socially acceptable. Sometimes if not addressed through meditation, prayer, alone time etc ..our pure self can be pushed so far below the surface that even we forget who it is we really are. On Continue Reading »
Posted on September 16, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media
When we arrive at Nitzavim, we know we are coming to the end of the Five Books of Moses. Only a few parshiot remain: Vayelech, Ha’azinu and V’zot Habrachah. Each of these is like the tone of a closing bell that announces the end of our wanderings b’midbar and the beginning of a new journey Continue Reading »
Posted on September 16, 2012 by Abayiss
Shabbat Shalom everyone, I hope you are all enjoying our first Shabbaton, communal weekend, so far, resting from the past week, and gathering energy for the next one. This week’s Torah Portion opens with the words “אתם ניצבים היום כולכם”, “Ye are standing this day, all of you” (דברים כ”ט, ט’, Deut. 29:9). All of Continue Reading »
Posted on September 16, 2012 by Shanee Michaelson
“Atem Nitzavim Hayom Kulchem.” You stand this day, all of you. All of us are standing together today in Jerusalem. From small towns, larger cities, from North America and from Europe. Having grown up in different Jewish denominations, or unaffiliated, whether Ashkenazic or Sephardic, Reform or Orthodox,We have come here together, to this unique country Continue Reading »
Posted on September 15, 2012 by Andrea Wiese
Since we’re in the season of teshuva, I wanted to share some a very wise and inspiring Rabbi (Michael Hattin) once wrote, “teshuva is…a gradual awakening of the mind and soul to God’s call, a measured but steady process of self-evaluation and reflection, a plodding and sometimes faltering series of steps that includes dead ends, 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 February 21, 2012 by David Bogomolny
Dear G-d, I’m going to write to You now to review our shared experience of the last hour. I preceded my hitbodidut discussion with a quiet meditation in the yard by my apartment. I meditated for twenty five minutes or so, and I was very pleased to find that my alarm signaled the end of Continue Reading »
