Donate
Search

Va’era 5779 – Let My People Go: From Victim and Object to Subject

Introduction

While chapters 7-9 of parsha Va’era tell a miraculous tale of Divine redemption, chapter 6 highlights the Children of Israel’s role in their own enslavement and redemption. In doing so, it forces us to reexamine the binary between strong and weak, wicked and good, subject and object, victim and perpetrator, and even between slavery and freedom.

Please let us know your comments and thoughts about the podcast, write us at: elmad@pardes.org.il.

For more information about Pardes, visit our website,
www.pardes.org.il

Credits
Larry Kluger – Creative Consultant
Arlene Harel – Production Coordinator

This podcast is sponsored by Dr. Jonah R. Schrag, in honor of his daughter Sarah’s birthday. Sarah attended the Year Program in 2014-2015 and was a social justice fellow learning and working closely with her beloved teacher, Meesh.

Meesh Hammer-Kossoy

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.

Learn More From This Author
Learn
Community
About
Support
Resources
Connect