LESSONS OF LISTENING It is often assumed that talking therapies are new, having developed from the work of Freud and others. In fact, “healing through words” is known in a number of ancient cultures, not least in our Jewish tradition. The Talmud (Yoma 75a) interprets the verse in the Book of Proverbs (12:25) “if one...
TRANSFORMATIONS One of England’s transformational personalities is choirmaster, Gareth Malone. Whether it is Military Wives or Hospital Staff or simply individuals stuck at home during lockdown, Gareth manages to draw song and harmony out of people, who never knew they had it. He releases a musical and emotional energy that breaks barriers and builds lives....
LIFE AND QUALITY OF LIFE We have three daily services: Morning, Afternoon, and Evening, or Shacharit, Mincha and Ma’ariv. The name Shacharit is connected to the word Shachar, which means dawn. The name Ma’ariv comes from the word Erev, which means evening. So what would you expect Mincha to mean? Well, in the Torah it...
HEALING FROM THE SERPENT AND COVID The first of this week’s parashot describes how the Israelites are punished by G-d with an attack of fiery snakes. They had complained about their bread and water. In the plague that followed, the serpents “bit the people and many of the Israelites died” (Numbers 21:6). The cure G-d...
TURNING JUDAISM OUTWARDS Earlier this week, was the yahrzeit of one the greatest Torah teacher and leader of the twentieth century: Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitche Rebbe, who died in 1994. He espoused a Judaism that saw the good in every human being and inspired his followers to reach out to all parts...
JOURNEYING FROM LOCKDOWN On the face of it, the episode of the spies was a tragedy. The Children of Israel were on the threshold of the land of Israel. They had asked for reconnaissance about the land, which G-d and Moses agreed to give them. Twelve distinguished representatives set off on their expedition. The negative...
A JEWISH WHISTLE BLOWER’S CHARTER Hardly a week goes by without the news media broadcasting or publishing a story about untoward practices. It is the stuff that sells newspapers and increases viewer ratings. Journalists will justify their revelations on the basis that it is “in the public interest.” Are there Jewish criteria for whistle blowing?...
TRAGEDY AND HOPE Two deaths deeply affected me this week The first was the brutal death of George Floyd. The second was the tragic passing of Rabbi Dr Norman Lamm, former President of Yeshiva University, New York. The way George Floyd was killed demonstrated the dehumanisation that racism brings about, that is at large in...
Thoughts on Shavuot 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...
MISSION ALERT Earlier this week, was the tenth yahrzeit of Lady Amelie Jakobovits or Lady J as she was affectionally called. Those who remember this remarkable personality would surely agree that she would have brought her unique perspective to bear in dealing with coronavirus pandemic! Her father was the distinguished Rabbi Elie Munk of Paris...
