Pardes Live and Mini-Series

The Pardes community believes that the best way to answer tragedy is with kindness.  The 16th annual Yom Iyun shel Chesed in loving memory of Marla Bennett and Benjamin Blutstein, z”l who were murdered in the 2002 Hebrew University bombing during the Second Intifada began with a short memorial ceremony, followed by a moving lecture by former director, Rabbi Levi Lauer and food rescue with Leket Israel.  The ceremony is recorded here.

Rashi's name is an acronym for Rav Shlomo bar Yitzchak, but many also read it as Rabban Shel Yisrael - the teacher of all Israel. This class explores Rashi as exegete and educator, placing him both in his historical context and in his role as part of the eternal story of Israel.

The Sidney and Miriam Brettler Memorial Series 5779 Presents:

Israel & the Diaspora in Antiquity, Partnership, Dialogue, or Debate?

This podcast is the final lecture of four taking places at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. This podcast includes Professor Gafni's lecture.

Thursday January 30 – The Loyal Opposition? How Babylonia Became ‘Zion’ - Download the source sheet!

Register and learn more about the other lectures by visiting www.pardes.org.il/Brettler5779 or see the Pardes calendar of events.

Welcome to the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators podcast series: Hanukah, Pesach and Purim Walk into a Bar… Each episode Rabbi Zvi Hirschfield hosts guest educators who share one text that reveals the deeper meaning of that year cycle event.

In this podcast “Rosh Chodesh - Renewal of Self and Students,” Rabbi Zvi Hirschfield is joined by PCJE Director, Aviva Lauer Golbert and PCJE Faculty Sefi Kraut who share texts, insights and the occasional joke, as they explore what Rosh Chodesh means for us as Jews and educators.

The texts referenced in this podcast are on this Sefaria source sheet.

This recording is from the Pardes Winter Learning Intensive, that was held from January 6-10, 2019. The week was called Power, Privilege & Responsibility and Yiscah Smith is teaching on parshat Lekh Lekha.

The course itself was based on the verse in Bereishit – Genesis - 12:1: “God said to Avram, ‘Go to yourself, away from your land, from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.’” This verse demands that we heed the still small voice within - Even if it's queer!. It introduces to us the spiritual practice of Lekh Lekha --- moving away from one sense of self --- the finite self – the ego based self – the limited self, towards another sense of self --- the infinite self – the beyond ego self – the limitless self. But why would a person move away from the familiar to an unfamiliar and unknown destination?

You can download the source sheet here.

On Thursday, January 24, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies presented an evening of conversation on the topic of Jews and their various religious views. Join by Rabbi Dov Linzer, President & Rosh HaYeshiva of YCT, he tackled these differences with Rabbi Daniel Sperber and Pardes’s Rabbi Rahel Berkovits. This is the podcast recording of that evening. You can learn more about the evening itself by visiting the event page.

The Sidney and Miriam Brettler Memorial Series 5779 Presents:

Israel & the Diaspora in Antiquity, Partnership, Dialogue, or Debate?

This podcast is the third lecture of four taking places at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. This podcast includes Professor Gafni's lecture.

Thursday January 23 –Rethinking Diaspora in Post-Temple Jerusalem - The source sheet can be downloaded here.

Register and learn more about the other lectures by visiting www.pardes.org.il/Brettler5779 or see the Pardes calendar of events.

The power of identity is sometimes defined by that for which you are willing to die. This is a class on the Crusades and the role which martyrdom played in forming a particular Ashkenazi identity.

The first class of the spring semester opens with a review of the transition between the geonic period and that of the rishonim. Then we lay the groundwork for understanding the place of the Jew in feudal society and the beginning of the Crusades.

The Sidney and Miriam Brettler Memorial Series 5779 Presents:

Israel & the Diaspora in Antiquity, Partnership, Dialogue, or Debate?

This podcast is the second lecture of four taking places at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. This podcast includes Professor Gafni's lecture, as well as, questions and commentary from the audience in attendance this evening.

Thursday January 17 –Second Temple Judaea and the Diaspora: Equal Partners or Center-Periphery?

Register and learn more about the other lectures by visiting www.pardes.org.il/Brettler5779 or see the Pardes calendar of events.

You can download the source sheet from the evening lecture here.