THREE LEVELS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS When Noah is described at the beginning of this week’s parasha as “a righteous man, perfect in his generation”, Rashi famously comments that there were those who sought to qualify this accolade. Yes, in his generation he was regarded as righteous, but had he been living at the same time as...
THE FOURTEENTH PRINCIPLE OF FAITH Moses Maimonides, the great Jewish leader and teacher of the 12th century, enumerated for us thirteen principles of the Jewish faith. They are included in our siddur in two forms: the Ani Maamin (“I believe with perfect faith that…”) an optional extra included at the end of the morning Shacharit...
BE A BLESSING In the section on the verses of blessing in this week’s parasha there is a phrase with an unusual syntax: Yetzav Hashem Itcha Et Habracha “the L-d will command His blessing with you in your granaries and in all your undertakings.” (Devarim 28:8). Normally we refer to G-d ‘granting’ a blessing or...
REHABILITATION The early release of prisoners from England’s jails has started this week. While some prisoners are happy to be out, others are saying that they are not ready and expect to reoffend and be back in jail before long. A lot will depend on the resources they can access to help them restart. The...
KOSHER MEAT I am currently reading Prof. Tim Spector’s book, Food for Life. It is a fascinating and deeply informative account of all aspects of the food we eat and its impact on our health and our planet. In his chapter on meat and poultry, Specter alerts us to the potential risks associated with consuming...
