Emor: Time for new bridges
Chaverim, The point of being Jewish is to have a relationship with God. Yet, a relationship implies a certain give and take, and there is precious little in the Torah that talks about what we have that God could possibly…
Rabbi Adrian Michael Schell
Proudly Jewish - Proudly Progressive
Rabbi Adrian Michael Schell
Proudly Jewish - Proudly Progressive
RabbiAdrian
Kedoshim: When the world seems to lose its own compass
Chaverim, Once again we are mourning and raging after an anti-Semitic attack on a synagogue over the weekend. I have been and remain determined not to give any anti-Semite the victory they want in any way. Whenever they want to…
Omer—Counting
Beginning with the second night of Pesach we count the Omer until we arrive in our calendar at Shavuot. To help you with the counting, we have prepared a leaflet for you with a calendar, the blessings and the numbers (download link below and available in the Shul).
Mark the Omer time in a significant way
Many of us know that Passover takes place during the Hebrew month of Nisan. In contrast, most of us do not know that the month of Nisan also includes another observance which begins on the second day of Passover. In…
Metzorah: Only one month to go, and election day is here.
25 years after the first democratic election. Many things have changed since then, and still much more needs to change, bringing more healing and more equality to our country. Therefore, it is no wonder that campaigning has returned to South…
Tazria: There is always the possibility of Teshuva
The portions of Tazria and Metzora are perhaps, for many of you, very uncomfortable portions of the Torah, dealing with all kinds of issues related to ritual purity and impurity. Ritual impurity, or tumah, has nothing to do with hygiene.…
Shabbat Parah Adumah ?!
Shabbart Parah Adumah ?! The Shabbatot surrounding holidays are often permeated with the holiday themes, creating the mood for an upcoming festival, reflecting or enhancing festival themes, or easing the transition from a holiday back into the weekly flow of Shabbat.…
A joy that has no bounce
Each month in the Jewish calendar symbolises many things, one of which is the general energy for that month. The energy of the month fills through every aspect of our lives, if we pay attention. The month of Adar, the…
Shabbat Zachor: God’s outcry
It is an interesting co-incidence that on this Shabbat we commemorate all the violent and destructive attacks on the Jewish people in the past while we also begin with the reading of the third book of our Torah—Leviticus, Vayikra in…
Vayakhel: I feel blessed to work with these wonderful women
The Torah portion Vayakhel presents Moses’ speech to the Israelite community at one of the many special gatherings during their wanderings in the desert. The speech opens with a brief restatement of the commandment to keep the Sabbath. However, the…