Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy is Director of the Year Program and Rosh Beit Midrash at Pardes, where she has taught since 1999. Originally from Washington, D.C., Meesh is a Pardes alumna herself, attending the Year Program in 1991-1992. Meesh holds degrees from Brandeis University and New York University, and received Orthodox ordination from Beit Midrash Har’el in 2015.
Meesh previously taught at NYU, Drisha, and Midreshet Lindenbaum. She has received multiple fellowships, including from ATID, the Memorial Foundation, and the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. Despite having written her doctoral dissertation about criminal punishment in the Talmudic period, Meesh is known by her husband and three children as a lover of mercy and kindness.
During a holiday where there is both darkness and light, where we retreat indoors and shine brightly from the windowsill, go on a journey with Pardes North America to find meaning in the discord within our tradition. Night 1 –…
Jewish Calendar, Chanukah
Parashat Tazria 5782: Selective Memory; Choosing Productive Narratives This podcast episode is sponsored by Pardes alum Graham Hoffman in honor of his parents, teachers, and role models Rabbi Richard and Rebbitzen Debra Zussman. Description: Why bring a sin offering after…
Jewish Calendar, Rosh Chodesh, Tanakh, Torah, Vayikra (Leviticus), Tazria
Parashat Shemot 5782 – The Power of Sisterly Love Description: Why isn’t Miriam named in this week’s parsha, despite the fact that her leadership is equated to that of Moshe and Aaron? She is teaching Moshe (and us) what brotherhood,…
Tanakh, Torah, Shemot (Exodus), Shemot
This was originally published in 2018. 9 days. 9 podcasts. Your Guide to Tisha B’Av with Pardes North America Dive deep with 9 days of curated Tisha B’Av themed podcast by Pardes North America from the Pardes archive. In memory…
Jewish Calendar, 17th of Tammuz, 9 days, The Three Weeks, Tisha B’av
Parashat Bamidbar is always read around Shavuot time. What is the connection? And what is the eternal message that emerges from the long census and mapping that fills our parasha? The answer is connected to the flags. Sources: Bamidbar 2:1-2…
Tanakh, Torah, Bamidbar (Numbers), Bamidbar, Jewish Calendar, Shavuot
The rabbis tended to focus on the communal daily Tamid sacrifice as a spiritual model for prayer, but Vayikra puts the individual voluntary sacrifices front and center. By doing so, the Torah emphasizes the importance of choice and volunteerism in…
Tanakh, Torah, Vayikra (Leviticus), Vayikra
Pardes Daily – Baal Tashchit: Consumption – the art of balance Episode 5 Sources: Ramban on Leviticus 19:2:2, Chagigah 12a:15, Kohelet Rabbah 7:13:1 Course Description: Because the Human is a Tree in the Field: Deuteronomy 20 prohibits the downing of…
Podcast Series, Pardes Daily
Pardes Daily – Baal Tashchit: Sacred Eating Episode 4 Sources: Sifrei Devarim 203:8-10, Shabbat 140b:9, Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 17:1 Course Description: Because the Human is a Tree in the Field: Deuteronomy 20 prohibits the downing of fruit-bearing trees in…
Podcast Series, Pardes Daily
Pardes Daily – Baal Tashchit: Expansions Episode 3 Sources: Bava Kamma 91b:10-11 Course Description: Because the Human is a Tree in the Field: Deuteronomy 20 prohibits the downing of fruit-bearing trees in times of war. We will explore the simple…
Podcast Series, Pardes Daily