CHANUKAH POWER The festival of Chanukah commemorates the military victory of the Maccabees over the vastly superior Greek army as well as the miracle of the jug of oil in the Temple, with the seal of the High Priest, which miraculously lasted for eight days, instead of just one. The great Chassidic leader, Rabbi Levi...
DO YOU RECOGNISE YOURSELF? A key phrase in this week’s parasha, is used in two startlingly contrasting contexts. When Joseph’s brothers want to communicate to Jacob that Joseph is lost, they kill a goat, dip Joseph’s coat in the blood, send it to their father with the words, Haker na – “do you recognize this...
THE QUESTIONS ESAU ASKS US Occasionally, a biblical verse will leap off the page indicating that it has a relevance not merely to the time and place in which it was originally uttered, but for all generations. Such a passage occurs in this week’s parasha when Jacob sent his agents to bring gifts to Esau,...
DAYAN CHANOCH EHRENTREU זצ”ל – IN MEMORIAM Last week we received the sad news that Dayan Ehrentreu, Emeritus Head of the London Beth Din and the Beth Din of Europe, had passed away. Although he never recovered the power of speech, after his stroke more than two years ago, he was still able to greet...
DO JEWS COUNT? The Channel 4 film this week, Jews Don’t Count, made by David Baddiel, explored the double-standards that exist in society regarding antisemitism. The roots for differing attitudes to Jews on the part of their neighbours are describedin the Torah portions we are reading. Last week saw Abraham who was so admired by...
