Thoughts of the Week

CATCH 22? When Joseph Heller published his novel, Catch 22, in 1961, he hadn’t realized how quickly his title would...

AI AND THE MENORAH The scenario is the Tabernacle or Temple. The Kohanim are getting their instructions on how to...

RABBINIC PLATFORMING The late Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, (d. 2020) head of Yeshiva University (whose yahrzeit fell last week) used...

JUBILEE AND COMMUNITY This weekend is all about numbers! Of course, the number 70 is on everyone’s mind as we...

COUNT DOWN OR COUNT UP? This Shabbat will be the 42nd day of the Omer. Six of the seven weeks...

INVISIBLE BARRIERS When one of my teachers wanted to emphasise that he disapproved of something, he would pound the table...

A MEETING OF MOADIM Look carefully at the Sefer Torah when it is being lifted up in shul this Shabbat....

SELF HELP Tzeddaka or Charity is a cornerstone of Judaism. But equally important, is how it is administered. In this...

WEARING TWO HATS The high point of the year for the High Priest was Yom Kippur. On that day, he...

THOUGHTS ON THE HAGGADA “And G-d will pass over the opening” (Exodus 12:23) We are told in the Haggadah that...

WHY IS TODAY CALLED SHABBAT HAGADOL – ‘THE GREAT SHABBAT?’ The first reference to this name is found in Siddur...

KOSHER BACON? Probably the most famous – or infamous – non-kosher item is the pig. In Yiddish, if you wanted...

TEMPLE WASTE DISPOSAL A number of households in St John’s Wood have recently been given new food waste bins. We...

REMEMERING AMALEK President Zelensky has no need to be reminded this Shabbat of the cruelty of Amalek. The inhumane and...

TEMPLE VERSUS TABERNACLE Two houses for G-d: Temple and Tabernacle (Mishkan). This week’s parasha describes the completion of the Mishkan....

LUXURIES AND NECESSITIES Why is there so much detail relating to the building of the Mishkan (mobile Temple)? This is...

ARE YOU STIFF NECKED? Is being stubborn a good quality or a bad quality? In this week’s parasha, G-d says...

PURE LIGHTS This week’s parasha begins with the commandment to kindle the Menorah in the Temple and the Mishkan (mobile...

GOLDEN AGE, SILVER AGE, BRONZE AGE The building of the Sanctuary or Tabernacle forms the subject of our Torah reading...

GOING THROUGH THE DOOR There is a curious law described at the beginning of our parasha. A Hebrew slave who...

JETHRO’S JOURNEY In this week’s parasha, Jethro travels from Midian to the Sinai desert. But if we look carefully, we...

DID G-D GIVE PHARAOH CARDIAC DISEASE? Throughout the episode of the Ten Plagues, described in last week’s and this week’s...

FAMILY TREE The drama of the Exodus story has begun. Moses’ first meeting with Pharaoh has had its setback. G-d...

RIGHTEOUS GENTILES Persecution of the Jews begins, in history, in this week parasha. Pharaoh orders Hebrew baby boys to be...

THE RIGHT BLESSING Simchat Torah night in Czarist Russia was an occasion not only of great joy but also great...

PUBLIC HERO VERSUS PRIVATE HERO The interaction between Judah and Joseph at the beginning of the parasha, sets the scene...

PHARAOH IN DENIAL One of the major concerns posed by global warming is rising sea and river levels. Only this...

TORAH DREAMS This week, instead of telling you about someone who had dreams in the Torah, I am going to...

HEAVY LIFTING One of the most striking visual images in the Bible is found in the second portion of this...

DON’T BE A PHILISTINE To call someone a philistine today is to label them as indifferent to culture and the...

LIVING THE GOOD LIFE The first verse of our parasha seems unnecessarily repetitive in its use of the word,‘years’: “And...

JONATHAN SACKS’ LEGACY This coming week, on 20th Marcheshvan, is the first yahrzeit of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, z”l. At...

ABRAHAM AND SARAH’S DISCIPLES When Abram and Sarai came to the land of Canaan, they didn’t come by themselves. They...

AVERTING THE FLOOD At the end of this month the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, will be held in...

THE HOME WE BUILD TOGETHER Act One, Scene 1 – “In the beginning.” The drama of Bereishit, of creation, never...

BE YOURSELF When we want to emphasise something in Hebrew, we often repeat the word, rather than say ‘very’. Sometimes...

GROWING WITH OUR CHILDREN Jewish parenting. What could an event in the bible that took place every seven years have...

THE FOURTEENTH PRINCIPLE OF FAITH During 2020, I lost not only my dear friend Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, but also,...

SERVING G-D WITH JOY Shalom This coming Monday is the Matzeivah, the tombstone consecration of Rabbi Lord Sacks of blessed...

Being the King in one’s Palace  The name of the parsha means ‘judges,’ and the theme of the parsha is...

“See I have placed before you today blessing and curses. The blessing is when you listen to the commandments of...

STRANGERS IN OUR MIDST One of the core commandments of Jewish Ethics is expressed in the verse in this week’s...

HUMILITY Both Richard Branson in his Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos in his Blue Shepherd have commented on the awesome...

REACHING OUT This coming Motzaei Shabbat, Saturday night, is Tisha B’Av, the fast of the 9th Av. After the Maariv...

ACHIEVING OUR GOALS The outstanding performance of England in their semi-final match against Denmark displayed a team that won the...

SETTING GOALS AND SCORING GOALS At the time of writing, England is still in the Euros and the quarterfinal match...

BALAK’S OWN GOAL With England through to the next round of the Euros, due to play Germany, next Tuesday, I...

FINDING YOUR VOICE Twice in the bible, we are told that the Children of Israel sang a song (to G-d.)...

TURNING JUDAISM OUTWARDS This coming Sunday, 3rd Tammuz, marks the yahrzeit of one the greatest Torah teachers and leaders of...

BRINGING OUT THE BEST IN OTHERS In this week’s parasha we read of the mission to spy out the land...

CAN OUR CHILDREN HEAR THIS? This week’s sidra, parashat Naso, is the longest in the book. Why? Because for twelve...

CAN OUR CHILDREN HEAR THIS? This week’s sidra, parashat Naso, is the longest in the book. Why? Because for twelve...

STARS, SOIL AND SAND Shalom friends At the time I am writing this message, Israel is being bombarded with rockets....

AM YISRAEL CHAI In the 1960s, Jews in the Western world had become aware of the struggle faced by Jewish...

CREATING HOLINESS This week’s parasha deals with the three different types of holiness we find in Judaism: holiness of the...

THE RIGHT PLACE FOR A LECHAYIM! Nadav and Avihu, the two older sons of Aaron, tragically lose their lives in...

WHY IS TODAY CALLED SHABBAT HAGADOL – ‘THE GREAT SHABBAT?’ The first reference to this name is found in Siddur...

PRECIOUS METALS Last Friday night, at the end of the shul service, we had a magical moment. Two boys, Benjy...

HEAVY LIFTING When Rachie and I were first married, we lived in Jerusalem while I was studying at the Mir...

FOUR FACES OF LEADERSHIP What does it take to lead under Covid times – or indeed at any times? What...

WHOLE AND BROKEN Former Prime Minister, Tony Blair spoke very movingly at one of the memorial events for the late...

GOING THROUGH THE DOOR There is a curious law that is described at the beginning of our parasha. A Hebrew...

CALL UP THE FROG(S) The second of the ten plagues, frogs, commences in this week’s parasha with the words: Vata’al...

EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL EGYPTIANS 13th century BCE: Moses leaves the comfort of the royal palace and goes out for himself...

FOOD FOR THOUGHT One of our most important responsibilities as intelligent human beings is to identify the cause and effect...

LIFE’S CHALLENGE – A LESSON FROM RABBI LORD SACKS At the end of the sidra we read how Joseph found...

This coming Sunday marks the Shloshim of Rabbi Lord Sacks, Moreh Morenu HaRav, R. Ya’akov Zvi ben R. David Arieh,...

CREATING HOLINESS One lesser known facet of Rabbi Lord Sacks z”l was his extensive knowledge of music, both classical and...

LETTING THEM KNOW THAT WE LOVE THEM The sidra begins by telling us that Isaac and Rebecca were childless and...

SWEETS FROM THE CHIEF RABBI Last Sunday morning, I had the honour to represent Chief Rabbi Mirvis at the Cenotaph....

ABRAHAM’S PATH TO G-D Jewish history begins with G-d’s call to Abraham at the beginning of this week’s sidra, telling...

ABRAHAM WAS SITTING Our sidra begins by telling us the G-d appeared to Abraham who was sitting at the entrance...

DOVE TALES ON SHABBAT Whilst many of the Zemirot (Shabbat-table songs) were composed to be sung throughout the year, others...

AM I MY BROTHER’S KEEPER? G-d’s dialogue with Cain reverberates across the generations. When Cain has killed his brother, G-d...

THE BELOVED ONES “Of Benjamin he said: May G-d’s beloved dwell securely by Him” (Deuteronomy 33:12) The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni)...

TAKING THE ARBA MINIM The Arba Minim are taken every day of Succot, except on Shabbat. When bound together, they...

THE SONG OF HISTORY “May my teaching drop like the rain.” (Devarim 32:2) The song of Ha’azinu is Moses’ peroration...

FROM THE INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW KOREN MACHZOR The ten days that begin on Rosh HaShanah and culminate in Yom...

THE FOURTEENTH PRINCIPLE OF FAITH The thirteen principles of the Jewish faith were enumerated by Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) in his...

BE HAPPY! In 1998, the author, Denis Prager, wrote a perceptive work, Happiness is a Serious Problem. He describes a...

RUNNING-MATES “You shall not plough with an ox and a donkey together.” [Devarim22:10] Whilst this commandment forms one of the...

TWO KINDS OF BLINDNESS “Do not accept a bribe for the bribe will blind the eyes of the wise and...

FOR ONE AND FOR ALL “Behold I am setting before you this day a blessing and a curse” [Devarim 11:26]...

ISRAEL’S EMBASSIES This week’s portion includes the passage well-known to us from the siddur: the second paragraph of the Shema....

IS IT SAFE TO COME TO SHUL ON SHABBAT? We have been back at shul for a few weeks now,...

LESSONS OF LISTENING It is often assumed that talking therapies are new, having developed from the work of Freud and...

TRANSFORMATIONS One of England’s transformational personalities is choirmaster, Gareth Malone. Whether it is Military Wives or Hospital Staff or simply...

LIFE AND QUALITY OF LIFE We have three daily services: Morning, Afternoon, and Evening, or Shacharit, Mincha and Ma’ariv. The...

HEALING FROM THE SERPENT AND COVID The first of this week’s parashot describes how the Israelites are punished by G-d...

TURNING JUDAISM OUTWARDS Earlier this week, was the yahrzeit of one the greatest Torah teacher and leader of the twentieth...

JOURNEYING FROM LOCKDOWN On the face of it, the episode of the spies was a tragedy. The Children of Israel...

A JEWISH WHISTLE BLOWER’S CHARTER Hardly a week goes by without the news media broadcasting or publishing a story about...

TRAGEDY AND HOPE Two deaths deeply affected me this week The first was the brutal death of George Floyd. The...

Thoughts on Shavuot Torah from Heaven The revelation at Mount Sinai was not just a religious event. It was a...

MISSION ALERT Earlier this week, was the tenth yahrzeit of Lady Amelie Jakobovits or Lady J as she was affectionally...

VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE BARRIERS The first of the two sidrot for this Shabbat, discusses the sale of houses and how...

THREE KINDS OF HOLINESS This week’s parasha deals with the three different types of holiness we find in Judaism: holiness...

THREE KINDS OF HOLINESS This week’s parasha deals with the three different types of holiness we find in Judaism: holiness...

STAY HOME, SAVE A LIFE Time and again in this coronavirus pandemic, our political leaders have said that social distancing...

PRAYING FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNWELL The Torah goes into great detail in this week’s portion describing an affliction knows...

THE RIGHT PLACE FOR A LECHAYIM! One stark contrast between our Seder nights and our currently home-based synagogue services is...

ACCEPTING A CALLING And He called to Moses…. [Vayika 1:1] On only three occasions does the Torah speak of a...

MIND THE GAP! Margaret MacMillan, in her book History’s People, contrasts the role some individuals can play in shaping history...

A ST. JOHN’S WOOD CHEVRA KADISHA The week in which this parsha of Tetzaveh is read normally coincides with the...

ACCESSING THE TABERNACLE AND ACCESSING THE SYNAGOGUE The sidrot from now till the end of Shemot, deal with the Mishkan...

OUR INTERCONNECTED WORLD The laws of charity are introduced in this week’s portion. The rabbis in the Midrash make use...

DID JETHRO MISUNDERSTAND? The advice that Jethro gave to Moses about how to delegate and administer justice is famous and...

CLEAR VISION One of the key parts of the magnificent Song of the Sea that we sing this Shabbat, is...

DID G-D GIVE PHARAOH HEART DISEASE?! Throughout the episode of the Ten Plagues, described in last week’s sidra and this...

ENLISTED The drama of the Exodus story has begun. Moses’ initial meeting with Pharaoh has had its setback. G-d promises...

RIGHTEOUS GENTILES We are introduced, in this week portion, to the first large-scale persecutor of the Jews in Pharaoh’s extermination...

JOSEPH’S FINAL ALIYA The sidra of Vayechi and the book of Bereishit conclude with Joseph making his brothers promise that...

REVERED OR REVILED The blurb on Niall Ferguson’s biography of Henry Kissinger (Volume I: The Idealist, 1923-1968) reads: No American statesman...

CHANUKAH POWER The festival of Chanukah recalls the military victory of the Maccabees over the vastly superior Greek army as...

DO YOU RECOGNISE YOURSELF? A key phrase in this week’s portion, is used in two startlingly contrasting contexts. When Joseph’s...

THE QUESTIONS ESAU ASKS US Occasionally, a biblical passage will leap off the page indicating that it has a relevance...

CREATING HOLINESS When Jacob wakes up, after dreaming of a stairway to heaven with angels ascending and descending, he exclaims:...

DON’T BE A PHILISTINE To call someone a philistine is to label them as indifferent to culture and the arts....

LIVING THE GOOD LIFE The first verse of our parsha seems unnecessarily repetitive in its use of the word, ‎‎‎‘years.’:...

THE UPRIGHT WAY Abraham is the pioneer of Judaism. He challenged a world of idolatry, proclaiming the belief in one...

ABRAHAM AND HIS DISCIPLES When Abram and Sarai come to the land of Canaan, they didn’t come by themselves. They...

AVERTING THE FLOOD What lead to the decay of society that brought about the flood in the time of Noah?...

WHAT’S IN A NAME? The names that Adam and Eve give to their first children are powerfully symbolic of contrasting...

THOUGHTS ON VEZOT HABERACHAH MOSES’ HANDOVER “Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses...

THOUGHTS ON SUKKOT SUKKOT – THE DUAL FESTIVAL More than any other festival, Sukkot represents the dual character of Jewish...

WHAT CHAPTER WILL WE WRITE IN THE BOOK OF LIFE? Judaism takes the simple things of life and makes them...

FROM THE INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW KOREN MACHZOR The ten days that begin on Rosh HaShana and culminate in Yom...

THE FOURTEENTH PRINCIPLE OF FAITH The thirteen principles of the Jewish faith were enumerated by Moses Maimonides. They are probably...

RUNNING-MATES “You shall not plough with an ox and a donkey together.” [Devarim22:10] Whilst this commandment forms one of the...

A FAIR TRIAL “By the testimony of two or three witnesses shall the condemned person be put to death; he...

SHECHITA “You may slaughter from your cattle and sheep…as I have commanded you.” (Devarim 12:21) Shechita is the Jewish religious,...

ISRAEL’S EMBASSIES This week’s portion includes the passage well-known to us from the siddur: the second paragraph of the Shema....

TAKING RISKS The temptation to get that perfect selfie can have tragic consequences. More than 250 people have lost their...

FATHER OF MERCY This Shabbat we will be reciting an extra prayer before Ashrei called Av Harachamim “Father of Mercy.”...

FLATTERY The recent announcement that the US Justice Department is reinstating the death penalty after a sixteen-year break has reopened...

JOSEPH’S GIFT Rachie and I recently returned from a visit to Israel where we had a chance to visit some...

CAN A DONKEY SIN? The episode of the talking donkey in this week’s portion reads more like an excerpt from...

SPARE THE ROD In the fortieth year of their wandering in the desert, the Israelites arrive at Kadesh. They have...

WHO IS HOLY? When Korach makes a bid to be leader of the Jewish people, he doesn’t assert that he...

CATCH 22? The recent TV adaptation of Catch 22 is receiving good reviews. Joseph Heller, in his original 1961 novel,...

THE SEVEN BOOKS OF MOSES This week, we are into Beha’alotcha, the third sidra of the fourth book of the...

WAGON WISDOM With the race now on to see who will become the next leader of the Conservative Part and...

TORAH FROM HEAVEN The revelation at Mount Sinai was not just a religious event. It was a political event of...

HOW HIGH? The late Rabbi Dr. Louis Rabinowitz (1906-1984, Chief Rabbi of South Africa,) was once arriving in Israel and...

STRONG HOUSES Continuing uncertainty over Brexit arrangements have led to stagnations in Britain’s property market. In biblical times, over and...

A MEETING OF MOADIM Much of this week’s portion is familiar to us as Parshat HaMoadim, the festival leining for...

BIODIVERSITY This week, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) issued an alarming report. Hundreds of thousands of...

WHAT MAKES AN ITEM SPECIAL? This week witnessed the beginning of the enthronement of Naruhito as the new Emperor of...

PRAYING FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNWELL The Torah goes into great detail in last week’s and this week’s portion describing...

ETERNAL FIRE In this sidra we are introduced to the mitzvah that the fire on the altar was kept alight...

REMEMERING AMALEK This week, in addition to the sidra of Vayikra, we read a special portion from a second Sefer...

TEMPLE AND TABERNACLE The Tabernacle, which is completed and erected in this week’s portion, was essentially a simple structure.  King...

SHABBAT AND THE TABERNACLE This week, Jews around the UK are celebrating Shabbat UK. Our weekly portion lends itself very...

AROMA THERAPY Pierre Wertheimer and Estee Lauder are two Jews that made names for themselves in the fragrance industry in...

FOUR FACETS OF LEADERSHIP Moses enjoyed a privilege above all other prophets and sages in our history: G-d spoke directly...

GOLDEN AGE, SILVER AGE, BRONZE AGE The building of the Mishkan or Tabernacle that forms the subject of our Torah...

COMBATTING LONELINESS “It was on the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before...

Some trees only grow in warm climates like the Mediterranean; the olive tree is one of them. Scientists and archeologists...

DIVINE DETOUR According to Google Maps to walk from Cairo to Jerusalem today would take less than 150 hours. As...

DID G-D GIVE PHARAOH CARDIAC DISEASE? Throughout the episode of the Ten Plagues, described in last week’s sidra and this...

HAVDALAH IN EGYPT Before G-d strikes Egypt with the fourth plague, he has Moses declare to Pharaoh: “I will make...

WHERE THERE IS NO MAN, STRIVE TO BE A MAN When Moses leaves the comfort of the royal palace and...

LIVING FOR OTHERS “And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for seventeen years” [Genesis 47:28] Last week’s sidra concluded...

REVERED OR REVILED The blurb on Niall Ferguson’s biography of Henry Kissinger (Volume I: The Idealist, 1923-1968) reads: “No American statesman...

CHANUKAH POWER The festival of Chanukah recalls the military victory of the Maccabees over the vastly superior Greek army as...

PLAN B Our parsha this week begins with the words, Veyeshev Yakov Be’eretz Megurei Aviv, Be’eretz Keba’an. “Jacob dwelt in...

THE MEANING OF YISRAEL When Jacob wrestles with the angel, his name became changed from Jacob to Israel ki sarita...

CREATING HOLINESS When Jacob wakes up, after dreaming of a stairway to heaven with angels ascending and descending, he exclaims:...

THE PERFUME OF PARADISE When Jacob came before his father to receive the blessing, he brought the goat meat that...

PARSHA PALINDROME Rashi comments at the beginning of the sidra that Sarah’s age on death, expressed as one hundred years...

ABRAHAM WAS SITTING Our sidra begins by telling us the G-d appeared to Abraham who was sitting at the entrance...

ABRAHAM’S PATH TO G-D Jewish history begins with G-d’s call to Abraham at the beginning of this week’s sidra, telling...

DOVE TALES ON SHABBAT Whilst many of the Zemirot (Shabbat-table songs) were composed to be sung throughout the year, others...

WHAT ADAM LACKED When challenged by G-d as to how he could have eaten of the forbidden fruit, Adam replies,...

The month of September seems to be totally overwhelming! Kids back to School, a new academic year at JFS, the...

WHAT CHAPTER WILL WE WRITE IN THE BOOK OF LIFE? Judaism takes the simple things of life and makes them...

THE WATERS OF NOAH Today, we read two Haftarot: the one for Ki Teitze, preceded by the one for Re’eh,...