THE EIGHTH DAY Our parasha this week, Shemini, “the eighth day”, describes a stark scene. A community enjoying the simcha of the dedication of the Tabernacle, is suddenly plunged into tragedy with the death of Aaron’s elder two sons, Nadav and Avihu. Our Jewish world, likewise, in the midst of its Pesach celebration has been...
PESACH THOUGHTS “And G-d will pass over the opening” (Exodus 12:23) We are told in the Haggadah that in every generation we should try and picture ourselves as if we are leaving Egypt. The Chassidic writers point out that this is not simply an exercise in imagination. We too, can benefit, in some ways, from...
ETERNAL FIRE It was the vision of a Burning Bush that did not go out that first drew Moses to the mountain. G-d gave him his mission to ignite a flame in the Jewish people and take them out of slavery. Now, many months later, the people are assembled at the mountain and, in this...
SAVING THE WORLD Is there any connection between the report on climate change issued this week by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Google’s launch of its own Chatbot, Bard? I think there is. The challenges of climate change are enormous. The UN report warns us that unless we take urgent action, we...
REHEARSING THE CORONATION With the coronation just weeks away, extensive preparations are in full swing. There are even reports that a replica of parts of Westminster Abbey has been built inside Buckingham Palace so that the King and Queen can rehearse key parts of the ceremony. Rehearsals are part of this week’s parasha. We are...
SHOULDERING THE LOAD In Rembrandt’s famous painting of Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law, hanging in the Berlin Art Gallery, the prophet is depicted as holding the tablets above his head about to smash them to the ground. Moses does this intentionally as he does not want to present the tablets to the nation...
