AUGUST 18 • 2022 | 47

NEXT DOR

Rabbi Jeff Stombaugh featured three scenes from the show for participants 
to analyze and discuss.

O

n Wednesday, July 27, 
20 young adults gath-
ered at Bamboo Royal 
Oak for The Well’s event “The 
Torah of Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
Rabbi Jeff Stombaugh led 
the group discussion about the 
famous debates between Torah 
scholars Hillel and Shammai, 
who are not unlike the Light 
and Dark sides of the Star 
Wars universe. 
The group also learned 
about the Pardes method of 
analyzing Torah, a Hebrew 
acronym that prompts the 
reader to ask four questions: 

Peshat: What’s going on? 
Remez: What is this really 
getting at? Derash: What do 
you think? Sod: What is the 
lesson? 
With this perspective, the 
group watched three scenes 
from the new Obi-Wan 
Kenobi show on Disney Plus 
and evaluated them as historic 
Torah scholars would have. 
Everyone wrapped up the 
evening with a few playful 
fights with inflatable lightsa-
bers and raffled off some 
unique Star Wars merchan-
dise. 

The Torah of 
Obi-Wan Kenobi

PHOTOS AND STORY PROVIDED BY THE WELL

Participants Laura Rosen, Hallie Bernstein, Jen Rothstein, and 
Harrison Biederman representing the dark side.

Matthew Ungar, Katie Cassell, Steffany Ellenstein, Noah Dinkes 
and Stephanie Belsky came dressed for the occasion in Star Wars 
apparel.

A quick lightsaber duel in between text studies keeps them sharp!

Working in small groups, participants discuss a scene from the recent Obi-
Wan Kenobi show.

VOICE OF A 
NEW GENERATION