MA TOVU: FINDING THE BLESSING IN THE CURSE There is a two-word phrase in this week’s parsha that is as famous as it is puzzling: Ma Tovu — “How good are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel!” (Bemidbar 24:5) These stirring words are traditionally recited every morning upon entering the synagogue. But their...
WHEN DEATH IS CHANTED, AND NO ONE STOPS THE MUSIC At Glastonbury last week, the punk band Bob Vylan lead singer led the crowd in chanting “Death, death, to the IDF.” Even more shocking: the BBC, broadcasting live, let the chant run for a full 20 seconds before cutting it and left it available on...
FROM DARKNESS TO DIGNITY: ELI SHARABI AND THE LESSON OF PARASHAT KORACH A packed shul, barely an empty seat. A quiet buzz of expectancy filled the air, but this wasn’t Yom Kippur. It was last Monday night when over 1400 people from across the community crowded into St. John’s Wood to hear Eli Sharabi in...
FAITH UNDER FIRE Many of us are familiar with the story of the cow and the chicken who pass by a restaurant with a sign: “Today’s special – steak and eggs.” The chicken remarks to the cow, “Look, we’re both on the menu!” The cow responds: “True — but we’re not the same. For you,...
THE SOUND OF MUSIC One striking difference between the service in the Temple and our prayer services today is the absence of instrumental music. In Temple times, the Levites accompanied the sacrificial service with a full orchestra: lyres, flutes, trumpets, harps, and cymbals. So essential was the music to the atmosphere of the service that...
