RABBINIC PLATFORMING The late Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, (d. 2020) head of Yeshiva University (whose yahrzeit fell last week) used to remark that he knew of only one joke in the Mishna: the statement that “rabbinic scholars increase peace in the world!” Yet, the late Rav Kook (d. 1935) addressed this question. He said it was not so much the men, as their method. The Mishna’s statement about peace refers to the approach of Torah study. Peace is obtained not by suppression of contrary views but by allowing them to be expressed and then having an intense discussion about them....

JUBILEE AND COMMUNITY This weekend is all about numbers! Of course, the number 70 is on everyone’s mind as we celebrate Her Majesty’s magnificent milestone. But this Shabbat we begin to read the Book of Numbers, which opens with the numbering of the Jewish people in the desert. This will not be the first time when we acknowledge a royal Jubilee in the synagogue. I recall the occasion when we held a special service at St John’s Wood Synagogue to mark the Queen’s golden Jubilee. That event was graced by the presence of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. On...

COUNT DOWN OR COUNT UP? This Shabbat will be the 42nd day of the Omer. Six of the seven weeks from Pesach to Shavuot will have passed. The Sefer HaChinuch (Spain 13th cent.) poses an obvious question. If the Omer count represents the time that the Israelites, having left Egypt, anticipated receiving the Torah on Mt Sinai, why do we count up? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to count down? 40 days until Shavuot…39, 38, 37… Maimonides (d.1204) compares the count to two people, deeply in love, who have been parted. They are anxiously counting off the days to when...

INVISIBLE BARRIERS When one of my teachers wanted to emphasise that he disapproved of something, he would pound the table with his fist and exclaim: lo mit an oleph! The English equivalent would be, “No, with a capital N!” The origin of this Yiddish phrase is that the Hebrew word, lo, can imply either ‘No’ or ‘Yes.’ If it’s spelled lamed aleph, it means No! If it’s spelled lamed vav, it means ‘It is his!’ or ‘Yes!’ Our parasha this week describes the potential sale of property. It refers to “the house in the city” and goes on to say,...

A MEETING OF MOADIM Look carefully at the Sefer Torah when it is being lifted up in shul this Shabbat. You will see that the parchment is slightly more worn. Why? Because the scroll is being opened more frequently to this section. This week’s parasha contains the readings for the second day of Pesach and the first two days of Succot. The special times of the year, beginning with Shabbat and continuing with Pesach, Omer, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Succot and Shemini Atzeret, are listed and described. The key word used to introduce this section is Moed, which is...

SELF HELP Tzeddaka or Charity is a cornerstone of Judaism. But equally important, is how it is administered. In this week’s parasha we learn that when a farmer harvested his crop, he was obliged to leave a corner of the field (pe’ah) for the poor. When he came to reap the grain, if one or two stalks fell to the ground, they had to be were left for the poor. That was called leket. And stray sheaves that were forgotten and left in the field were also the property of the poor (shichecha.) In times when agriculture was the mainstay...