STRONG HOUSES Continuing uncertainty over Brexit arrangements have led to stagnations in Britain’s property market. In biblical times, over and above economic conditions, there were Torah restrictions in buying and selling land and houses in perpetuity. In summary: Land should not be sold unless there is dire need. Land sold may be redeemed after two...
A MEETING OF MOADIM Much of this week’s portion is familiar to us as Parshat HaMoadim, the festival leining for the second of Pesach and the first two days of Succot. The special times, beginning with Shabbat and continuing with Pesach, Omer, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Succot and Shemini Atzeret are listed and described....
BIODIVERSITY This week, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) issued an alarming report. Hundreds of thousands of different species of animals and plants are facing extinction because of human activity. Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history — and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on...
WHAT MAKES AN ITEM SPECIAL? This week witnessed the beginning of the enthronement of Naruhito as the new Emperor of Japan. What was striking was the simplicity of the ritual. In contrast to the coronation of a British Sovereign where fabulous jewels are part of the pomp and ceremony, unadorned wrapped boxes, containing a wooden...
THOUGHTS ON THE HAGGADA “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...
PRAYING FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNWELL The Torah goes into great detail in last week’s and this week’s portion describing an affliction knows as tzara’at. This came upon a person as a result of transgressions such as slander. The practical application of these laws with the different kinds of sores and scabs and burns have...
QUITE WHITE? The intricate details of the laws of tzaraat that are described in this week’s sidrot are understood by our commentators to refer to diseases that are brought on by spiritual pathology rather than physical malignancy. The symbolic significance of the symptoms and treatment of the metzora are therefore legitimate areas for moral lessons...
There is a very sweet story told in the Reader’s Digest. A lady is doing her shopping and was in the process of unloading a full trolley to pay. Once the shop assistant tallied up the groceries, the total bill came to £12 over what she had on her. The lady began to remove items...
ETERNAL FIRE In this sidra we are introduced to the mitzvah that the fire on the altar was kept alight at all times. It was forbidden to put it out. “A continuous fire shall burn upon the altar; it shall not go out.” (Vayikra 6:6) Wood was added to the pyre every morning and evening....
SHABBAT AND THE TABERNACLE This week, Jews around the UK are celebrating Shabbat UK. Our weekly portion lends itself very readily to this occasion as it is one of the four places in the Torah where Shabbat is mentioned in the context of the Tabernacle. (Bonus question: Can you find the other three?) Why do...
