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Personal introduction It’s good to be here with you all for this special event. I was ordained on July 9th 1989 by my tutor, Rabbi Lionel Blue, Zichrono Livrachah, alongside my classmate Rabbi Sheila Shulman, Zichronah Livrachah. May their memory be for blessing. Lionel and Sheila are both in my thoughts this evening. Given that […]
Sh’mini Atzeretthe ‘Eighth (day of)Closure’concludingthe sacred seasonthe days set apartfor repairing ourselvesour relationshipsour communitiesour worldand thenrejoicingin nature’s bounty.But this yearin IsraelSh’mini AtzeretAcheret‘another’kind of closureon that holy-daywhich was also Shabbatmonstrous desecrationas Hamas terroristshearts-sealed-shuthands wielding gunsknivesstopped heartsin their hundredsyoung peopledancingin the desertinto dawnmowed downbabieschildrenfamiliesas they woketo a new daytorturedmurdered mutilatedtheir homes set aflame.Meanwhilegirls and women rapeddozens of […]
Simchat Torah[1]the joy of Torah joyousrespitefor agile mindsforeverdivinginto the flowof wordsdecipheringand multiplyingtheir meanings the annual rejoicingstirring the heartand the feetto rapture.Eitz Chayyim hila-machazikim bah ‘She is a Tree of Life to those who grasp Her’the Torah claspedin loving embrace its ancient lettersdancingfrom pastto presentfrom endingto beginning whirlinginto new lifewith every step.Elli Tikvah Sarah Post-Biblical festival […]
Sh’mini Atzeretthe eighth day after Sukkot[1]that closesthe sacred seasonof the seventh month.[2]In ancient times the annual cycle ofpilgrimage to Jerusalem also concluded on that day. And sothe returning pilgrimsshut down for the bare months of winter shadowed by concern that the late harvest’sbountymight not lastuntil the spring Aviv the month of beginnings[3] when the full […]
Sukkot, chag ha-asif, ‘the feast of ingathering’, is the concluding autumn festival of the ‘three feet’ festivals (shalosh r’galim), when our ancestors would go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem with their offerings (Exodus 23:14-17, Deuteronomy 16:16). The first is Pesach, chag ha-matzot, ‘the feast of unleavened bread’, in the spring. The second is Shavuot/Weeks, yom ha-bikkurim, […]
Fifty yearssince the Yom Kippur Warbut no Jubileeto be soundedwith T’ki’ah G’dolahthe ‘Great Blast’at the end of the fast. After triumphin 1967 Israel caught unawaresin 1973on Yoma‘The Day’ when everything ceaseswhen even soldierslay down their armsmake confessionand seek forgivenessof the Onein whose imageevery human beinghas been created (even thosewe may consider to beour enemies). And […]
Rosh Ha-Shanah‘The head of the year’a ‘day of blasting’on the first dayof the seventh monthas we are taughtin the Torah. [1] Halfway throughthe cycle of monthsthe yearturnsa milestone momentfor us to pauseand turnour headsto our heartsbeatingto every shofar blastthe roar of ‘T’ki’ah’broken ‘Sh’varim’the rapid-fire of ‘T’ru’ah’ [2]wordless missivesfrombeyondcalling usto accountfor all we have doneand failed […]
A commentary on the Torah portion, Tazri’a-M’tzora LJ E-Bulletin, 04.23 Jewish practice, rooted in Jewish teaching, is visceral. It concerns what Jews do with our bodies from the kitchen to the bedroom, how we mark our homes, what we wear, and how we celebrate Shabbat and the festivals with food, rituals and song. The Book of […]
THE CHALLENGE OF YOM KIPPUR BEGINS AFTER THE SACRED DAY IS OVER Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement is the concluding day of the ten-day journey of t’shuvah, ‘return’; of repentance. But what is the point of our repentance? Repentance is not an end in itself. If it were, the journey would only be from […]
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