THE GREAT SHABBAT Why is this Shabbat called Shabbat HaGadol – ‘the Great Shabbat?’ The first reference to this name is found in Siddur of Rashi, our great medieval commentator (p.171.) He makes the calculation, based on our Sages, that the Exodus took place on a Thursday. Hence, the 10th Nisan that year would have...
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES Earlier this week, New Zealand’s Maori king announced that whales will be recognized as ‘legal persons’ and he hopes that governments will enforce this proposal. While lawyers will ponder over the fascinating legal implications of such a declaration, the king is right to highlight the interdependence we have with the natural world,...
ECLIPSE AND REBIRTH Next Monday, a total eclipse of the sun will be visible in North America. On Monday evening, as the month of Nisan begins, a partial eclipse will be visible over parts of the UK. The coincidence of an eclipse with Rosh Chodesh or the New Moon is obvious. Every month, the moon...
HOPE I had the pleasure and privilege this week of hearing the Rt Hon Gordon Brown deliver the first Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Memorial Lecture to a packed auditorium at Kings College London. The 400 plus audience listened spellbound as Brown proceeded to deliver a powerful, eloquent, and often witty lecture on the importance of...
THE SOUND OF SILENCE There is a lot of complex information packed into the 1,673 words in this week’s parasha – more words than in any other parasha in the entire book of Vayikra. Even more significantly, the text is divided up into as many as 18 paragraphs, more than one would expect. Rashi, quoting...
