RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES Earlier this week, New Zealand’s Maori king announced that whales will be recognized as ‘legal persons’ and he hopes that governments will enforce this proposal. While lawyers will ponder over the fascinating legal implications of such a declaration, the king is right to highlight the interdependence we have with the natural world, and that the largest mammals on the planet deserve to be respected. The Torah is also aware of our place in the scheme of creation. According to the Sages, it challenges us as to whether we have the right to automatically assume that we are...

 ECLIPSE AND REBIRTH Next Monday, a total eclipse of the sun will be visible in North America. On Monday evening, as the month of Nisan begins, a partial eclipse will be visible over parts of the UK. The coincidence of an eclipse with Rosh Chodesh or the New Moon is obvious. Every month, the moon passes between the earth and the sun. Because the moon’s orbit is 5 degrees from the sun-earth plane, although the moon becomes invisible, the sun can still be seen. On the infrequent occasions when the three bodies are aligned, a total or partial eclipse will...

HOPE I had the pleasure and privilege this week of hearing the Rt Hon Gordon Brown deliver the first Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Memorial Lecture to a packed auditorium at Kings College London. The 400 plus audience listened spellbound as Brown proceeded to deliver a powerful, eloquent, and often witty lecture on the importance of hope in society and the challenges and opportunities we face to alleviate poverty – especially child poverty in this country. What was especially impressive was that Brown spoke for over an hour without a single note! Gordon Brown drew heavily on Jonathan Sack’s teachings. Sacks...

THE SOUND OF SILENCE There is a lot of complex information packed into the 1,673 words in this week’s parasha – more words than in any other parasha in the entire book of Vayikra. Even more significantly, the text is divided up into as many as 18 paragraphs, more than one would expect. Rashi, quoting the Midrash, explains that the text is broken into so many small sections to indicate that Moses needed to reflect on what G-d had said in one section before moving on to the next section. The Midrash adds: “And if this was necessary for Moses,...

THIS IS THE HOUSE THAT ISRAEL BUILT More verses are devoted to the description of the instructions and construction of the Mishkan than any other project in the entire Bible. After no less than five parashot of detail, the project finally comes to an end in this week’s parasha. We are told: “So, all the work on the Mishkan, the Tent of Meeting was completed. The Israelites did everything exactly as the L-d had commanded Moses.” (Exodus 39:32) Although the senior architect, Betzalel, and his assistant, Oholiav, were responsible for key components of construction, in the final description of the...