TO LEAD AND TO SERVE King Charles’ Coronation has been a rich feast of symbolism, some of it drawn from biblical sources. Last week, we referred to the Jewish roots of the anointing of a monarch. For thousands of years, we have crowned kings in a ceremony to mark their investiture. The Book of Chronicles (II Chronicles 23:21) describes the Coronation of the boy king, Yoash, by the High Priest, Yehoyada. “They brought out the King’s son [Yoash], set the crown on his head and the regalia (ha’edut) upon him, and declared him king. Yehoyada and his sons anointed him...

G-D SAVE THE KING It has clearly been a matter of great importance to King Charles that the Chief Rabbi can attend his Coronation even though it was going to be on Shabbat. Extensive arrangements have been provided for the Chief Rabbi to accommodate his Shabbat needs. He and Valerie will spend Friday night at St James’ Palace as King Charles’ guests so that he can walk to the Coronation. Perhaps of even greater significance is that the core of the Coronation, the Anointing Ceremony, can be traced back directly to the Hebrew Bible. When the late Queen was crowned...

BIODIVERSITY An incoming EU law plans to ban the sale of products made or based on land that was deforested. Whilst this law wouldn’t apply to the UK, because of Brexit, it shows how seriously many governments are taking the challenge of biodiversity loss. Hundreds of thousands of different species of animals and plants are facing extinction because of human activity. Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history — and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world now more likely. The appreciation of the importance of biodiversity can be seen...

WORDS AT THE WALL This Shabbat is Rosh Chodesh Iyar. During the course of this month, we will celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary of independence and Jerusalem’s 56th anniversary of reunification. As well as being momentous occasions of celebration and thanksgiving, these days have given rise to wonderful Jewish music. A prime example is the song, Hakotel. It was composed by Yossi Gamzu when the Western Wall was once again in Israeli hands. Its haunting melody and lyrics capturethe essence of thousands of years of Jewish emotion: Yesh anashim im lev shel even, yesh avanim im lev adam “There are people...

THE EIGHTH DAY Our parasha this week, Shemini, “the eighth day”, describes a stark scene. A community enjoying the simcha of the dedication of the Tabernacle, is suddenly plunged into tragedy with the death of Aaron’s elder two sons, Nadav and Avihu. Our Jewish world, likewise, in the midst of its Pesach celebration has been plunged into tragedy. The brutal murder of Maia and Rina Dee, together with their mother, Lucy, despite heroic efforts from doctors to rescue her from her injuries sustained in the terrorist attack. In paying tribute to his murdered wife and children, Rabbi Leo Dee went...

PESACH THOUGHTS “And G-d will pass over the opening” (Exodus 12:23) We are told in the Haggadah that in every generation we should try and picture ourselves as if we are leaving Egypt. The Chassidic writers point out that this is not simply an exercise in imagination.  We too, can benefit, in some ways, from the blessings of the Exodus, in the same way as our ancestors did. According to the Midrash, the Jews of the Exodus were not especially spiritual. Indeed, some of them were as involved in worshipping idols as their Egyptian hosts! Yet, G-d took them out...