WEARING TWO HATS The high point of the year for the High Priest was Yom Kippur. On that day, he would perform the entire Temple service. In fact, he would change, no less than five times, from his elaborate gold garments to simple white garments made from linen. Why? Rav Hisda in the Talmud (Rosh...
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...
WHY IS TODAY CALLED SHABBAT HAGADOL – ‘THE GREAT SHABBAT?’ The first reference to this name is found in Siddur Rashi (p.171.) The calculation is made that the Exodus took place on a Thursday. Hence, the 10th Nisan that year would have been a Shabbat. This was the time that the Israelites were commanded to...
KOSHER BACON? Probably the most famous – or infamous – non-kosher item is the pig. In Yiddish, if you wanted to call something completely non-kosher you would say it is chazer-treif – “as non-kosher as a pig!” On the list of the kosher and non-kosher animals in this week’s parasha, the pig is mentioned as...
TEMPLE WASTE DISPOSAL A number of households in St John’s Wood have recently been given new food waste bins. We are now required to separate food waste, mixed recycling and regular household rubbish for the weekly collection. Disposal of waste was a matter of practical concern in the Temple and Tabernacle. Every evening, offerings were...
REMEMERING AMALEK President Zelensky has no need to be reminded this Shabbat of the cruelty of Amalek. The inhumane and indiscriminate attacks made by Russia on civilians, even a children’s hospital, graphically conjures up the attack by Amalek on the most vulnerable section of the Israelite camp. We recall that brutality in this week’s special...
TEMPLE VERSUS TABERNACLE Two houses for G-d: Temple and Tabernacle (Mishkan). This week’s parasha describes the completion of the Mishkan. This week’s haftarah describes the completion of King Solomon’s Temple, 480 years later. The Mishkan was essentially a simple structure. The Temple was much more lavish and ornate. Which one, would you think, was superior?...
LUXURIES AND NECESSITIES Why is there so much detail relating to the building of the Mishkan (mobile Temple)? This is the fourth week that we are reading about it! Ramban (d. 1270) explains that actually there were two commandments to build a Mishkan. The original commandment occurred before the Israelites made the golden calf. The...
ARE YOU STIFF NECKED? Is being stubborn a good quality or a bad quality? In this week’s parasha, G-d says to Moses that he is going to punish the Jewish nation after they had sinned with the golden calf, VeHinei Am Keshei Oref Hu, “behold this is a stiff-necked people.” (Shemot 32:9) Yet, when Moses...
PURE LIGHTS This week’s parasha begins with the commandment to kindle the Menorah in the Temple and the Mishkan (mobile Temple): “Command the Israelites to bring you pure olive oil, pressed for illumination, to kindle the lamp every night.” (Shemot 27:20) We all kindle Shabbat lights and Chanukah lights. Some of us will use candles...
