Category: Rabbis blog

Bamidbar - Thought for the Day  We always read Parshat Bamidbar right before Shavuot. The connection is simple. The Torah was given in the dessert on Mt Sinai. A dessert was chosen as the location for Divine revelation to teach us that the Torah is not limited by a specific time or place.  A dessert is a place of isolation away from life and society. Interestingly in our Shavuot Liturgy we call Shavuot, "Zeman Matan Torateinu" -The Time of the Giving of the Torah. The focus is on the giving not the receiving. In contrast in Ethics of the fathers it opens with the phrase "Moshe Kibel Torah Misinai" - Moshe received the Torah from Sinai. There is a profound difference between the two concepts of giving and receiving. When we think about the experience at the Giving of the Torah we become overwhelmed. We are reminded of the verses describing the revelation: "It came to pass on the third day when it was morning, that there were thunder claps and lightning flashes, and...

Behar- Bechukotai  Below is my "thought for the week" soon to be published in the Blackpool Hospital Chaplaincy Forum "As an Orthodox Rabbi (like all faith leaders) these past few weeks have been challenging. The Synagogue doors are closed. No services. It is often only when you stop your religious routine that you realise just how much inspiration and support you gained from it. Even without the religious aspects of the service there is a unique bond between worshippers who gather on a regular basis. A gaping hole has been created in my life and that of my community as is the case across the globe. For Orthodox Jews the recital of key liturgical passages requires a quorum of ten. It has been particularly painful that many Orthodox Jews that have died have not been able to have the Kaddish recited (Prayer for the deceased) due to restrictions at cemeteries. Yet at the same time this has been a strangely uplifting time for me. To...

Emor At the moment we are right in the middle of the Omer Count. Its Source this weeks Parsha: You shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbat, from the day on which you bring the Omer offering; seven complete weeks they shall be . . . (23:15) Rabbi DovBer, the Maggid of Mezeritch has a fascnating explation of what the purpose of this counting is based on the Hebrew word Sefirah. The word sefirah, “counting,” also means “illumination.” On each of the forty-nine days of Sefirat HaOmer (the “Counting of the Omer”), we refine, develop and illuminate another of the forty-nine traits of our soul. Seen in this context counting the Omer is not just about anticipating the receiving of the Torah but about building our personalities so that we can actually absorb the teachings of the Torah. The purpose of the torah is to draw down Godliness into the world, but this is only possible if the human heart is open to the divine. The...

Shabbat Hagadol This year many of us will be at home alone for the Seder night when we would usually be with family/friends or a communal Seder. I read a story relating to this which I think is very pertinent to our situation and can help inspire us this Pesach and Seder Night. See link below. https://www.algemeiner.com/2020/03/30/when-the-lubavitcher-rebbe-self-quarantined-for-seder/ In the Haggadah we recite a Mishna (the basic repository of the Oral tradition; its laws and spiritual wisdom) "In every generation a person is obligated to see themselves as if he/she had come out of Egypt" Egypt in Hebrew Mitzraim comes from the word Meitzar meaning narrow straits. For example, in the Hallel service we recite "Min Hameitzar Karati Yah Anani Bamerchav Yah"- which means From the straits I called God; God answered me with a vast expanse. This year as we sit at our Seder Tables we may be physically, emotionally and even psychologically in a "Narrow place". We may be isolated physically from our family, friends and community. We are limited. It...

Vayikra  It has been a very trying week for all of us. I am so proud of how our community has come together at this time. We are dealing with a thing that we can’t see or feel or perceive and yet it has turned the whole world upside down. We live in a scientific world that seeks to understand nature and this is a great blessing as through accumulating knowledge we can deal logically with this virus and overcome it. Yet at the same time there has been increased awareness at how little we know about our Universe. As Jews we believe that Hashem is ultimately in control. We cannot fathom His ways for "Your thoughts are not my thoughts and Your ways are not my ways" (Isaiah). And so the Jewish religious response has always been twofold (Of course we also follow the advice of the Drs and experts) On the one hand to humble ourselves before God's awesome power and at the same...

This week as well as reading the "Parsha of the week"- Ki Tissa we also read Parshat Parah which comes from Bamidbar 19:1-22 (which is read later in the year as the start of Parshat Chukat) This is one of the 4 special Parashiyot we read between Purim and Pesach: Parshat Shekalim - This Shabbat takes place on the Shabbat before the 1st of the Hebrew calendar month of Adar, or on the 1st of Adar itself if it falls on Shabbat. This section details the giving of the half Shekel to the Tabernacle and later on in Temple times for communal funds. The Beis Din would announce that Jews bring the half Shekel at the start of Adar. Parshat Zachor- Read the Shabbat prior to Purim that reminds us to never forget what Amalek did to the Jewish people when we came out of Egypt. This connects to Purim as Haman the archenemy of the Jews descends from Amalek. Shabbat Parah ("Sabbath [of the] red heifer" שבת...

Venahafochu Venahafochu is a key word in the Purim story. It literally translates as  "and it upturned upside down" In the Megillah story everything was pitted against the Jewish people. The 13th of Adar had been decreed by Royal edict as a day of death and destruction of the Jewish nation in its entirety "From young to old, children and women"- the first recorded attempted Genocide. This decree was made in the month of Nissan and hung over the Jewish people for almost a year. But then by strange coincidence the situation turned around 180 degrees. Esther reveals her identity to Achashverosh and the plot to destroy her people. Haman is hung on the very gallows he designed for Mordechai his arch-enemy! The signet ring given to Haman is transferred to Mordechai as well as Haman's palace, transferring power from the ultimate anti-Semite to the great prophet Mordechai! Haman's ten sons are also hung and the Jewish nation successfully defend themselves against the anti-Semites. The Megillah really represents the ongoing and unfolding...

Cleanliness of Godliness - the long read At this week’s Bagel Shiur a question was raised as to whether the ritual of Netilat Yadayim is merely an act of cleanliness prior to eating or something else entirely. Are Jews obsessed with cleanliness? What is all this hand washing about? First thing in the morning as soon as we have awoken and said Modeh Ani (Acknowledging Hashem) we wash our hands ritually with a special vessel 3 times on each hand alternately (this article will not address this form of hand washing) And again prior to eating bread (considered by the sages a mainstay food for man) we wash our hands this time two (some wash  three) times on each hand but not alternately (i.e. two times on the right and two times on the left) The blessing we make on both forms of washing is "Al Netilat Yadayim" which means "on the lifting the hands which is strange as we would expect the phrase to be on the washing of hands...