Category: Rabbinic Thoughts
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Walking with Zuversicht towards the High Holy Days
As we enter the last seven weeks before Rosh HaShanah, our hearts naturally turn towards reflection and preparation. This period is an invitation to pause and consider our past year, our deeds, and our relationships. Yet, beyond introspection, it is also a time to embrace a profound sense of Zuversicht—a German word that encapsulates optimism,…
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Finding Meaning in Tisha B’Av in a World of Change and Turmoil
In our fast-paced, ever-changing world, it can be challenging to find moments for reflection and introspection. Yet, the Jewish calendar offers us profound opportunities to pause and contemplate, one of which is Tisha B’Av. This solemn day commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, serving as a time to remember and…
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Journey and Rest: A Torah Thought on Parashat Matot-Masei
As we delve into Parashat Matot-Masei, we encounter a detailed account of the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness, highlighting their encampments and the stages of their travels. The Torah meticulously lists each place where they stopped, underscoring not just the movement but also the moments of rest. This detailed itinerary is more than a historical…
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Reflection on D-Day, war and the weekly Torah portion B’midbar
Thursday morning, I watched some of the live coverage of the D-Day commemoration I still can feel the shivers that were running down my spine when a close up of the war memorial revealed the thousands of names engraved in the white stone …
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Our Pain – Sermon for Shabbat Atzma’ut
To be part of a family means that the joys and tribulations of our relationships become our own. To a Jew, the barbarism of October 7th is all too real.
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Today is September 11 – 9/11
20 years ago, today, we woke up thinking it would be just another day, but 20 years ago, today, the world changed. 20 years ago, today, the world changed for almost 3,000 people murdered on planes, at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, for their families and communities. 20 years ago, today, the world…
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On Pesach …
I had the pleasure to be David Yehuda’s guest for the Progressively Jewish Podcast last week, where we had a conversation about Pesach, Slavery and my first months in London.
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The last Shabbat of 5780
Chaverim Shalom, This Shabbat is a time of endings and new beginnings: It is the last Shabbat of 5780, opening the gateway to Rosh HaShanah We are bidding farewell to the past, and moving forward into something new. Like the ancient Israelites we are poised to enter what is metaphorically a new land; our new…
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On Rosh Hashanah we affirm that we can change.
Friends, This is an incredibly special time of the year. In a few weeks we will celebrate, separated but still together, the High Holy Days; Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, then Sukkot and Simchat Torah. With all the uncertainties that surround us these days, the High Holy Days will be very different this year. But what…
