SMELL THE COFFEE – IT’S SHAVUOT! A popular custom on Shavuot is to stay up all night studying Torah. How did this arise? The practice is not mentioned in the Mishna nor in the Talmud. It is not mentioned in Maimonides writings (12th century) nor in the Shulchan Aruch, the 16th century Code of Jewish Law. It is first referred to in the mystical work, the Zohar (on Vayikra 23) which says that a select group of individuals used to stay awake all night on Shavuot, so that the ‘bride’ (the Jewish people) would be adorned to meet the ‘King’...

LITERATE JEWS An exciting discovery was announced in Jerusalem this week. A 2,000-year old chalkstone with seven rows of writing has been uncovered. The text appears to be a merchant’s accounting record, which indicates a high level of literacy among ordinary people in Second Temple times. This week also saw the publication of PIRLS 21 – the international survey of reading and literacy skills. Surprisingly, Israel has slipped down many places in international rankings since the last survey in 2016, though England has managed to rise to fourth place! Since biblical times, literacy for the Children of Israel was not...

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...