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Acharei Mot 5784: A People Apart

How can the Jewish people maintain a sense of unity and connection as a nation despite geographical separation and divergent experiences between the Diaspora and Israel?

In this week’s episode, Rabba Shani Gross joins us from afar for a discussion on the Torah portion’s emphasis on centralized worship, linking it to the biblical story of the 2.5 tribes who settled outside the Land of Israel and built their own altar. Together, they explore the need for open dialogue in order to “witness” one another’s perspectives and find a path toward sustaining mutual understanding.

Credits
Rabba Shani Gross – Pardes North America Faculty and Senior Director of Education
Rabbi Zvi Hirschfield – Pardes Faculty and Host of Pardes from Jerusalem

Shani Gross

Rabba Shani Gross is Senior Director of Education at Pardes, where she is driven by the belief that Jewish texts can serve as a shared language connecting Jews to their tradition and to one another. Before joining Pardes, Shani was the Founding Director of the Silicon Valley Beit Midrash. She received rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva Maharat and earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Yeshiva University.

Shani is a Hillel International Fellow for Rabbinic Entrepreneurship, a Wexner Graduate Fellow/Davidson Scholar, and a fellow of Va’tichtov, a program dedicated to advancing Jewish women’s scholarship. She has studied at a number of batei midrash, including Migdal Oz, Drisha, and Pardes, and particularly enjoys teaching Tanakh, Talmud and Midrash. Shani lives in Berkeley, California with her husband Chaim and their three sons.