Okay, let’s break down PaRDeS (פרד”ס).

What it is:

PaRDeS is an acronym representing four traditional levels or methods of interpreting Jewish sacred texts, primarily the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible). It’s a framework used to understand the multiple layers of meaning embedded within the text.

The word “Pardes” itself means “orchard” or “garden” in Hebrew (it’s the root of the English word “paradise”). This imagery relates to a famous story in the Talmud (Chagigah 14b) about four sages who entered the mystical “orchard” of deep Torah knowledge, suggesting the richness, depth, and sometimes perilous nature of delving into these layers of meaning.

The Four Levels:

The acronym PaRDeS stands for:

1. P – Peshat (פְּשָׁט):
   • Meaning: Simple, plain, literal, or contextual meaning.
   • Focus: Understanding the text according to its straightforward language, grammar, historical context, and narrative flow. What does the text literally say?
   • Example: When the Torah says “God created the heavens and the earth,” the Peshat interpretation is that this describes the act of creation.
3. R – Remez (רֶמֶז):
   • Meaning: Hint, allusion, or allegorical meaning.
   • Focus: Looking for deeper, symbolic meanings hinted at by the text beyond the literal sense. This can involve finding philosophical or ethical implications suggested by specific word choices, phrases, or apparent inconsistencies. Sometimes numerical values of letters (Gematria) are explored at this level.
   • Example: A specific word used in one story might subtly hint at or connect to another story or concept elsewhere in the Torah, suggesting a deeper thematic link.
5. D – Derash (דְּרַשׁ): (also Drash)
   • Meaning: Interpretive, comparative, or homiletical meaning (from the root meaning “to seek” or “to inquire”).
   • Focus: This level involves drawing ethical, legal, or practical lessons from the text, often using rabbinic interpretive rules (Middot). It frequently involves comparing different verses, exploring wordplay, or expanding on narratives to derive moral or legal principles. Much of the Midrash (rabbinic literature interpreting scripture) operates at this level.
   • Example: Interpreting the story of Abraham welcoming guests to derive principles of hospitality (Hachnasat Orchim). Using seemingly extra words in a verse to support a particular Jewish law (Halakha).
7. S – Sod (סוֹד):
   • Meaning: Secret, hidden, esoteric, or mystical meaning.
   • Focus: Exploring the deepest, hidden meanings of the text, often related to metaphysical concepts, the nature of God, the structure of the universe, and divine secrets. This level is strongly associated with Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism).
   • Example: Interpreting the letters of God’s name, the structure of the Tabernacle, or biblical narratives as symbols representing divine attributes (Sefirot) or cosmic processes.

Significance:

• Depth of Torah: PaRDeS highlights the traditional Jewish belief that the Torah is infinitely deep and contains multiple valid layers of meaning, accessible through different interpretive approaches.
• Holistic Understanding: It encourages a multi-faceted engagement with the text, suggesting that a full understanding requires appreciating all levels, from the literal foundation to the mystical heights.
• Framework for Study: It provides a systematic way to approach textual study, moving from the surface meaning to progressively deeper insights.
• Connection to Tradition: It represents a long-standing method of Jewish learning and exegesis developed over centuries.

In essence, PaRDeS is a key concept in Jewish hermeneutics (the theory of interpretation), illustrating the richness and complexity inherent in the study of its foundational texts.

Defining PARDES

PARDES is a protective mileau that we each construct around us. 

PARDES is a virtual shield

PARDES begins with acknowledging that we live in a technological universe – googling is midrash.

• Survey of pardes initiatives
  • Criteria is a searchable entity
  • Distinction is whether a mileau, trade or offering variation on PaRDES.

PARDES calls us to response-ability in our own unique lives.

1. Variations on the four who entered
   • What does it take to be akiba?
2. Contributions to shaping pardes
   • Shaping a Jewish spiritual cyber pardes
     • Dror, alexenberg, bisk, agam
   • Shaping Judaism as Ethnotherapy
     • Frankl, Lewin, Maslow, Perls
   • Structuring 21st Century Judaism
     • Rivkin
     • Reines
     • Toffler 
     • Fuller
   • Four factors framing our personal PARDES.

PARDES as Splitrock Thinking 

Multiple approaches to

The Smartphone and Pardes

We must develop an artistic kollel-bet midrash wherein students express, argue and create visual midrash – dynamic, tangible, artistic commentaries on their Jewishness.