Vayakhel Pekudei 5781 – The Altar of Sacrifice

5780 — VaEtchanan: Committing to Love: In this podcast we will look at Shema as the affirmation of commitment to a loving relationship with God contingent about a structure of ritual, practice and belief that will be accessible to all Jews at any time and in any place. by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

5780 — Ekev: Bribing God–Not Such a Great Idea?: We hope that the Divine is on our side, especially when circumstances are far from optimal. How do we go about making sure that the Lord is with us in all of our earthly endeavors? In this podcast, Rabbi Howard Markose looks at one possible angle in ... by Pardes from Jerusalem

15 min listen

5780 — Parshat Naso: Uncovering the Sotah: In this podcast we will read the Biblical text and compare it with the rabbinic text in the tractate Sotah in order to highlight some significant differences between the rabbinic interpretation and Torah portion. by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

5780 — Parshat Bamidbar: The Theme of Passage: The midbar is both the name of the parsha as well as the setting for most of the narratives of the book of Numbers. While the word is often translated as "desert", we will discover that it means something else entirely, by Pardes from Jerusalem

28 min listen

VaYeshev 5781: Yoseph & Yehudah – Healing a Rift Extending Across History and within the Individual Self: The conflict between Yoseph and Yehudah runs like a seam across the entire history of Israel. At times Yoseph gains the upper hand, and at times Yehudah prevails, but the schism always resurfaces. In Tractate Sukkah 52 a-b, by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

5780 — Chukat: Action vs. Intent: Human Domain vs. The Godly Realm: There is no Talmud on Tractate Parah, the Mishnah tractate which deals with the red heifer ceremony. What did the Babylonian rabbis learn from this temple ritual in the course of other discussions? In this podcast, by Pardes from Jerusalem

29 min listen

Vayakhel Pekudei 5781 – The Altar of Sacrifice: The exterior courtyard of the Mishkan/Tabernacle was dominated by a large bronze altar, used for animal sacrifice. In this podcast, we consider some of the altar's unusual features as we ponder the deeply symbolic ritual associated with it. by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

5781 — Ha’Azinu: Cultivating the Spiritual Practice of Remembering: Moving away from feeling distant from the Divine Presence - the Shechina - towards sensing closeness to Her. Why do we in fact feel distant, feel far, feel disconnected at times? And why do we sense closeness and connection at other times? by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

5780 — Matot-Masei: The Long Walk to Freedom: Parshiot Matot-Masei includes a long list of place names that trace the wanderings of the Children of Israel through the Sinai wilderness on their way to the Land of Israel. Is this simply a geographical-historical recording of the physical journey to ... by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

Download the New Pardes Daily App: Kickstart your Torah routine with Pardes Daily! For the month of Elul, traditionally a time when Jews prepare for the upcoming new year, Pardes Daily will be offering three Rosh Hashanah themed daily learning tracks featuring beloved Pardes Faculty. by Pardes from Jerusalem

1 min listen

5780 — Parshat Behar Bechukotai – Living with Compassion in a Competitive Society: Unemployed, and with a bleak economic forecast, many people we know have experienced a blow to their self-esteem, and a dampening of their ability to imagine how they will regain their financial and emotional footing. by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

5780 — Korach: The Blossoming Staff of Aharon: In parshat Korach, the leadership of Moshe and Aharon is seriously challenged by the rebellion of Korach. Although Korach and his followers are defeated, the discontent of the Israelites lingers until the sign of the blossoming staff. In this podcast, by Pardes from Jerusalem

19 min listen

5780 — Balak: How to Stop a Plague. And at what cost?: The end of parsha Balak presents three attempts to end a plague. The divergent approaches of Moses and Pinchas reflect different priorities, each essential for our consideration in modern times. Download the Source Sheet by Pardes from Jerusalem

24 min listen

5780 — Ki Tavo: Cultivating the spiritual practice of Walking In His Ways: Parashat Ki Tavo contains the command, found in Devarim 28:9: “And you shall walk in His ways.” The Rambam counts this as one of the 613 mitzvot, and explains that it charges us “to resemble Him according to our capacity. by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

5780 — BeHa’alotecha: Cultivating the Jewish spiritual practice of humility: What is humility? Why is it important? What is its power? Based on a teaching from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his article, "Humility," in Covenant and Conversation, Parshat BeHa'Alotecha, 5768/2008, where he compares Moshe Rabeinu's responses to two diffe... by Pardes from Jerusalem

29 min listen

5780 — Shoftim: Shoftim v’Shotrim: Go together like a Horse and Carriage?: The juxtaposition of judges and police officers in the Torah is deliberate. What does this juxtaposition teach us about the inevitability of force in law? What do the rabbis have to say about recent calls to defund the police? Download Source Sheet by Pardes from Jerusalem

32 min listen

5781 — Lech Lecha: Why is Avraham Really Chosen?: Avraham is both the Idol Smasher and the Harbinger of Justice and Righteousness. The Torah tells us explicitly why Avraham was chosen in Genesis 18:18-19, and the rabbis tell a story intended to explain what qualified him for the job. by Pardes from Jerusalem

32 min listen

5780 — Nitzavim-VaYelech: Living for “Today!”: Nitzavim sees the Nation of Israel renew their covenant with God. One word - "Hayom - Today!" - repeats itself throughout the parsha. We offer four different meanings of this word, with some inspirational messages for the New Year and the period of Rep... by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

5780 — Devarim: What is in a name?: This week we begin a new book of the Torah, one which seems somehow different from the others. Devarim is also known a 'Mishne Torah,' meaning a repetition or retelling of what has come before. In this podcast, by Pardes from Jerusalem

24 min listen

5781 — Bereishit: From Creation to Destruction: Bereishit opens with the hope of a new world. But ends with God's decision to destroy his world. What happened. This shiur offers two readings of the final verses of Bereishit, verses that depict the moral descent towards the Deluge. by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

5780 — Shavuot: From Sefirat HaOmer to Revelation: How the Rabbis Read Biblical Texts: What part do human beings play in the revelation of Torah in the world? How do the Rabbis see their role as interpreters of Biblical text? The Torah says to count the omer from the day after the Shabbat yet the Rabbis rule that we count from the day af... by Pardes from Jerusalem

19 min listen

5780 — Pinchas: From Pinchas to the Police: What Does it Mean to Truly “Keep the Peace?”: What does it mean to "keep the peace" in society? Is it about enforcing the law and order of society in order to ensure against anarchy or is it about balancing between conflicting perspectives and needs of various members and groups of society, by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

5781 — Sukkot: The Ritual of Lulav; To Rejoice for Seven Days Before the Divine: Our practice today of shaking the lulav every day of Sukkot is based on a decree that R. Yohanan b. Zakai made post Temple destruction. From where did he get the daring to institute that we would continue to perform the ritual as it had been done in th... by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

Behar Bechukotai 5781 – Cultivating Tranquility and Calmness of the Heart: What is the connection between the three mitzvot of Shmittah, Yovel and Reebeet in Parashat Behar and tranquility of the heart? How important is letting go, relaxing one's grip and releasing in cultivating this sought after and yearned for the inner st... by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

5780 — Re’eh: Was there ever an Ir Nidahat or Subverted City?: In this podcast we will look at the moral complexity behind the command to utterly annihilate an Israelite city proven to be idolatrous. The debate around the practical application of this passage results in some interesting textual comparisons to othe... by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

5781 — Simhat Torah: Maimonides on How to Celebrate the Festivals: This podcast was first published in 2009, for Simhat Torah 5770. We hope you enjoy this replay. In this podcast, Rabbi Daniel Landes discusses Maimonides' teachings (Mishneh Torah, Rest on a Holiday 1) on how to properly celebrate the festivals. - by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

5780 — Shelach: Tzitzit–A Model for a Rabbinic Sexual Ethic: The mitzvah of tzitzit commands the Jewish people not to lust after our hearts and eyes and to be holy. Through a Rabbinic story concerning a man, whose tzitzit smack some sense into him as he is about to bed a prostitute, by Pardes from Jerusalem

30 min listen

Miketz 5781: Human Effort and Faith in God. A Contradiction in Terms?: In a challenging comment at the end of last week's Torah reading, the Midrash condemns Joseph for putting his faith in human assistance rather than turning directly to God. We pose the question: Does faith entail an abandonment of human initiative? by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

5781 — Toldot: The Blessings of Putting On and Taking Off Disguises: Sometimes we need to shed our disguises in order to discover who we really are. At other times we need to dress up in disguises to remind us of who we want to be. The story of Jacob and Esau and their rabbinic commentaries help us to understand the com... by Pardes from Jerusalem

31 min listen

5781 — Rosh Hashana: A Very Narrow Bridge: Getting to the Other Side: This Rosh Hashanah podcast is sponsored by Ricki and David Bernstein in memory of Ricki’s parents, Beatrice and Murray Kirschblat, each a sole survivor of large families which perished in the Shoah. This podcast compares the popular song "Kol Ha'olam ... by Pardes from Jerusalem

20 min listen

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Vayakhel Pekudei 5781 – The Altar of Sacrifice

Vayakhel Pekudei 5781 – The Altar of Sacrifice

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