Dr. Salomon Amar of Touro’s New York Medical College applies classic Jewish interpretive framework to a contemporary audience
Dr. Salomon Amar, the vice president for Research at New York Medical College (NYMC), has built a career that spans medicine, dentistry, and academic leadership. In his new book Pardes Shlomo, Dr. Amar brings that same breadth of experience to the weekly Torah portion, drawing on a classical Jewish framework to make traditional learning accessible to a contemporary audience.
Dr. Amar, who also serves as senior vice president at Touro University, is known for his work in molecular immunology, dentistry, and microbiology, as well as his leadership in medical and dental education. Yet alongside decades of academic research and teaching, Torah learning has remained a constant presence in his life.
Balancing Torah and professional life
A central influence on Dr. Amar is the integration of Torah learning with engagement in the broader world—a worldview he traces to his upbringing and to the teachings of the Rambam, or Maimonides. Raised in a family deeply committed to both professional excellence and serious Torah study, Dr. Amar internalized the idea that religious life and secular achievement are not competing values, but complementary ones.
“You need to demonstrate that you can be highly involved in secular life,” he said, “and yet be able to get up and give a complete drashah from beginning to end.”
That philosophy mirrors Dr. Amar’s own career trajectory. He has authored more than 250 original research manuscripts, continues to lead an active research lab at NYMC, and holds senior leadership roles across Touro’s academic and research enterprises. Writing Pardes Shlomo, he said, was not a departure from that work, but an extension of it.
“What’s important in the book is to bring out a theme of the parsha and clarify what the avodah is for each Jew today,” Dr. Amar said.
Pardes Shlomo is aimed not only at advanced students of Jewish texts, but at readers seeking a deeper, more meaningful connection to the weekly Torah reading. For Dr. Amar, the book represents both a personal project and a broader statement about the harmony between faith, intellectual pursuits, and professional life.
Born out of the pandemic
The idea for Pardes Shlomo emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Dr. Amar began delivering weekly parshah talks to a small group via WhatsApp. After receiving consistent feedback about the clarity and impact of those talks, he decided to commit them to writing, with the goal of reaching a broader, primarily English-speaking audience.
The book is structured around the weekly parsha and is built on the concept of Pardes, a traditional Jewish method of interpretation whose name is an acronym for four approaches to learning Torah: p’shat (the straightforward meaning of the text), remez (allusion), drash (interpretive teaching), and sod (a hidden or mystical dimension). Rather than separating these elements into discrete sections, Dr. Amar weaves them together organically, allowing each layer to flow naturally into the next.
By presenting the parsha through multiple interpretive lenses while remaining accessible to a broad readership, Pardes Shlomo models how serious Torah learning can coexist with—and enrich—a life immersed in the sciences and the broader world. It is a message Dr. Amar hopes will resonate with readers seeking a meaningful way to connect learning, work, and faith.
“You cannot just be learning constantly, and you cannot just be working constantly,” Dr. Amar said. “You need to be proficient in both.”
“Pardes Shlomo” is available in Judaica stores throughout the region and by contacting the author at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
