OF SERPENTS AND SOCIAL MEDIA As we start the drama of Creation, it is always worth remembering that the Torah speaks to us and about us. Let us set the scene: Eve and the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Did the serpent lie? In the account in the parasha, the serpent cunningly says to...
The Broken Etrog – by Rabbi Mendel Cohen It had been a difficult year. Poor weather, dangerous travel conditions and high tariffs had made it almost impossible for the Jews of Ukraine to import etrogim (citrons) for the holiday of Sukkot. The etrogim—waved together with the lulav bundle every Sukkot after the recitation of special blessings—were...
PARENT AND TEACHER The Times reported this week that more than 700,000 people have fled Russia, to avoid the military draft. This calls to my mind an earlier era of refuseniks – Jews who were denied permission to leave the Soviet Union for Israel. Under communism, it was forbidden to teach Torah. An underground network...
GO FOR GROWTH In my Rosh HaShana sermon I quoted the well-known story of the Chassidic Master, Zusha of Hanipol (1718-1800), who said that he was not worried that on the Day of Judgement they will ask him: “Zusha, why weren’t you like Moses? Zusha, why weren’t you like King David?” “I will reply: ‘I’m...
ROYAL CHOICES The pageantry of the Queen’s funeral was a once-in-a-lifetime event, watched by billions of people, across the world. But perhaps, even more impressive was the respect and affection shown to the Queen by hundreds of thousands of people from the time she died. The crowds outside the palaces. The queues to file past...
Welcome Message at the Memorial Service for Queen Elizabeth II Over the past few days, we have heard an outpouring of reflections on the personal impact Her Majesty had on so many people’s lives. This, in addition to the extraordinary volume of her public duties. The question that reverberates is how did she do it?...
IN LIZ WE TRUSS Our new Prime Minister has chosen her Cabinet. Unsurprisingly, it is made up of individuals who expressed support for her during her campaign. The challenge facing the Prime Minister – indeed, any leader, is how to balance supporters who will reinforce your vision, with those who will confront you to consider...
In this week’s parasha we read: “You may slaughter from your cattle and sheep…as I have commanded you.” (Devarim 12:21) Shechita is the Jewish religious, humane method of slaughtering permitted animals and birdsfor food. It is mandated in the Torah – the source of all Jewish Law. It is the only method of producing kosher...
FOOD GOING TO WAIST Obesity is one of the UK Government’s health priorities. Almost two-thirds (63%) of adults in England are overweight or living with obesity – and one in three children leaves primary school overweight or obese David Robson, in his recent book, The Expectation Effect, argues that apart from what we eat, the...
OUR VALUES, OUR CHILDREN’S VALUES This week, the Office for National Statistics released a new set of figures. For the very first time, more than half of all births in England & Wales are now to unmarried parents. In 2021, 51.3% of births were to unmarried parents compared to 49.0% in 2020. While covid clearly had some...
