Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on February 14, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media
Starting Tuesday, my fellow Pardes Educators will enter a variety of Jewish day school classrooms across the US as part of their student teaching experience. With an eye toward this opportunity, here are a few lessons/ideas from this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Terumah, regarding pedagogy: The parsha opens with an appeal for donations of the Continue Reading »
Posted on December 5, 2012 by Hannah Grossman
I have always loved exploring the connections between the Torah/Haftarah readings in respect to the holidays on which they are read. With Chanukah coming around the corner I saw an opportune time to delve into an analysis. Throughout Chanukah we read Bamidbar 7:1- 8:4, chronicling the gifts of the princes of the twelve tribes at 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 April 25, 2012 by Cheryl Stone
Last semester, I visited Shilo with the Pardes Social Justice Track. It was so cool! Its funny but we just don’t think of that as being the first holy site, or at least I don’t. The mishkan was there nearly 400 years! Click on the photos to enlarge them:
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 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
In last week’s podcast, Michael Hattin discusses the kiyyor, the washbasin, that was in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) Vayakhel-Pekudei 5772
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 »
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 May 29, 2011 by Avi Strausberg
i’m a bit embarrassed to say i’ve noticed an unsettling theme in my dvrei torah. i’m drawn to the characters and the storylines in which the israelities, moshe, aharon, whomever, is called upon to do the work of God and it just seems like its too much for them. it’s too scary, too dangerous, or Continue Reading »
