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...
VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE BARRIERS The first of the two sidrot for this Shabbat, discusses the sale of houses and how this is impacted by the Jubilee year and whether the house in located in a walled city. In the course of this presentation, there is an unusual feature in the Sefer Torah. It is what...
THREE KINDS OF HOLINESS This week’s parasha deals with the three different types of holiness we find in Judaism: holiness of the person, holiness in time, and holiness in space. The first two portions of the sidra outline the special responsibilities on the Cohen. Whom may he marry? Under what circumstances may he go to...
THREE KINDS OF HOLINESS This week’s parasha deals with the three different types of holiness we find in Judaism: holiness of the person, holiness in time, and holiness in space. The first two portions of the sidra outline the special responsibilities on the Cohen. Whom may he marry? Under what circumstances may he go to...
STAY HOME, SAVE A LIFE Time and again in this coronavirus pandemic, our political leaders have said that social distancing is vital so as ‘not to overwhelm the NHS.’ In plain terms, that means that we want to avoid the nightmare scenario when there are insufficient resources to meet the needs of those who require...
