Recent Writings
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How can we remember on Shabbat Zachor?
Read more →: How can we remember on Shabbat Zachor?Chaverim,I have always been intrigued by the commandment ‘you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget it’ (Deuteronomy 25:19). Simultaneously we…
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Shabbat Teruma: Make Me a sanctuary
Read more →: Shabbat Teruma: Make Me a sanctuaryChaverim,Last week, I shared with you the sad news of the passing of Michael Brookstone, a member of our Introduction to Judaism programme. Many of you met this…
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A place of hope and unity
Read more →: A place of hope and unityChaverim,There are a number of Shabbatot throughout the Jewish calendar that have special names. The most familiar of these is probably Shabbat Shuva, the Shabbat of Return, which takes…
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Parashat Yitro: Who am I and who is my neighbour?
Read more →: Parashat Yitro: Who am I and who is my neighbour?Chaverim,The first Mishna in the tractate Rosh Hashana informs us of various ‘new years’. These are times of the year that are considered the beginning of the annual…
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Parashat Beshalach: We don’t need miracles
Read more →: Parashat Beshalach: We don’t need miraclesChaverim,The story of the liberation from Egypt is the cornerstone of Jewish existence. Or is it? Read the Torah portion again, and you will find that what is…
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Parashat Bo: Ask questions and grow
Read more →: Parashat Bo: Ask questions and growChaverim,It is a wonderful coincidence that our Torah reading, parshat Bo, the section that deals with the culminating plagues and the exodus, turns three times to the subject…
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Parashat Va’eira: Each person has a name.
Read more →: Parashat Va’eira: Each person has a name.Each person has a name.We each have a name given by God and given by our father and mother.We each have a name given by our stature and…
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Let us not allow “collective forgetting”
Read more →: Let us not allow “collective forgetting”One of the most haunting and alarming verses in the Torah comes at the beginning of this week’s portion of Sh’mot: “A new king arose in Egypt who…
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Let us not allow “collective forgetting”
Read more →: Let us not allow “collective forgetting”One of the most haunting and alarming verses in the Torah comes at the beginning of this week’s portion of Sh’mot: “A new king arose in Egypt who…
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Parashat Miketz: Jew by choice should feel pride and be viewed as courageous
Read more →: Parashat Miketz: Jew by choice should feel pride and be viewed as courageousIn this week’s portion, Miketz, Joseph moves from being falsely imprisoned to becoming second in command in Egypt. As Joseph settles into his new life, he is given a new…
