TORAH FROM HEAVEN The revelation at Mount Sinai was not just a religious event. It was a political event of a unique kind. It was the birth of a nation. Throughout Genesis, the heirs of Abraham had been an extended family. At the beginning of Exodus we hear them for the first time described as...
HOW HIGH? The late Rabbi Dr. Louis Rabinowitz (1906-1984, Chief Rabbi of South Africa,) was once arriving in Israel and he saw them unload from the El Al plane two coffins that had been flown to Israel for burial. As the coffins were being carefully moved he later recalled: “At that moment I understood the...
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...
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...
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....
REMEMERING AMALEK This week, in addition to the sidra of Vayikra, we read a special portion from a second Sefer Torah – the Maftir of Parshat Zachor. We read the passage at the end of the sidra of Ki Teitzei, which describes how Amalek attacked the Israelites after they came out of Egypt. In three...
TEMPLE AND TABERNACLE The Tabernacle, which is completed and erected in this week’s portion, was essentially a simple structure. King Solomon’s Temple, built 480 years later was a much more lavish and ornate building. Which one was superior? One would expect that the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem should top the bill. Yet, on closer examination,...
