Matot-Massei 5783: The Boundary Lines of the Jewish People

In this week’s episode, Zvi is joined by Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy for an exploration of Matot and Massei, discussing the challenging tale of the tribes who chose not to settle in the land of Israel.

Meesh offers us different interpretations for the motivation guiding the tribes’ decision to not cross the Jordan and helps us in understanding Moshe’s response. With these interpretations in mind, we look to modern Jewish life, discussing how it is possible for Jews who have chosen to live in Israel and those who have not to find a shared framework in building a modern Jewish identity.

Read this week’s parsha here.

Credits: Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy and Rabbi Zvi Hirschfield – Pardes Faculty

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.

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