Assassinations 

October 23, 2024 by  

Yes, of course, I was delighted to hear that Sinwar met the violent end that he deserved. Read more

The Festival of Succot

October 16, 2024 by  

From Serious to Joy

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Yom Kippur Eve

October 11, 2024 by  

Hope or Trust? Read more

Should God Atone too?

September 27, 2024 by  

We are approaching a period of atonement. And sometimes, I wonder who should be atoning. Read more

Shabbat Nitzavim & Vayeylech

September 26, 2024 by  

SECRETS Read more

Daniel Deronda: George Eliot and the Jews.

September 20, 2024 by  

In 1290, Jews were expelled from England. In 1656, Cromwell failed to persuade Parliament to welcome Jews back officially. Read more

Shabbat Ki Tavo

September 19, 2024 by  

Two Mountains

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Certainties

September 15, 2024 by  

We humans love certainties. We think we know, but more often than not, we stumble on. Read more

Shabbat Ki Teytzey

September 13, 2024 by  

Who deserves respect? Read more

Dangerous Apostates

September 6, 2024 by  

Jews hating Jews has a long history. Going as far back as the Bible. But medieval religions made a real art of it. Read more

Shabbat Shoftim

September 5, 2024 by  

Humans and Trees Read more

Douglas Murray

August 30, 2024 by  

I do not think that Israel has a better more articulate or fearless non -Jewish supporter of Israel than the British journalist, author and commentator Douglas Murray. Read more

Shabbat Re’eh

August 29, 2024 by  

Servitude & Dependency

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Robert Wistrich and Jew Hatred

August 25, 2024 by  

Many, many books have been written about the Holocaust and antisemitism. Read more

Shabbat Eykev Do as you would be done by

August 22, 2024 by  

The weekly reading of Eykev follows the pattern of the previous three weeks. Read more

Comfort Ye! Comfort Ye!

August 16, 2024 by  

The Shabbat after the fast of the Ninth of Av, is called Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Comfort. Its name comes from the 40th Chapter of the Biblical Prophet Isaiah and let us ignore the debate about how many Isaiahs there were. Read more

Shabbat Vaetchanan – The Shema

August 15, 2024 by  

Apart from the opening statements of the so-called Ten Commandments, there is very little that we would call theology in the Torah. Read more

The Ninth of Av: Fasting and Self-flagellation

August 9, 2024 by  

Both Christianity and Islam have long and controversial traditions of penance that involve flogging oneself with whips or scourges that inflict pain. Read more

Shabbat Devarim: What’s in a Name? 

August 8, 2024 by  

Why do we call this the fifth book of the Torah that we start this week, Devarim?  Read more

Who was Peter Bergson?

August 2, 2024 by  

The anniversary of Hillel Kook’s death was this week. A Jewish Walter Mitty and a colorful, complex, dual personality also known as Peter Bergson. Read more

Shabbat Mattot Massei Rosh Chodesh Av Tuesday – Conquering the Land

August 1, 2024 by  

This week, two sections of the Torah are read as we come to the end of the fourth Book of the Torah. Read more

Why did we go wrong?

July 26, 2024 by  

Why are we having difficulty coming to terms with this reality, the realization of how much we are hated ? Read more

Shabbat Pinchas: Zealots  

July 25, 2024 by  

The story of Pinchas, the grandson of High Priest Aaron is about zealotry, normally a bad quality, in the event of an emergency.

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Shabbat Balak – Listening to Magicians

July 18, 2024 by  

It seems strange that the whole part of the Torah we read this week should be named after a Midianite/Moabite King, Balak, and devoted to a non-Jewish magician Bilam. Read more

A murder during the British Mandate

July 12, 2024 by  

Alexander Rubowitz, a sixteen-year-old Jerusalemite, left his home on May 6, 1947, and never returned. Read more

Shabbat Chukat: The Unknowable

July 11, 2024 by  

There are various words for law in the Bible. Read more

Shabbat Korach – Rosh Chodesh: Miracles

July 4, 2024 by  

One of the amazing features of the Torah, over and above its significance as the foundation of Judaism, is the way it conveys human nature with all its greatness and pettiness, triumphs and failures. Read more

Shlomo Ben Yosef (1913-1937)

June 28, 2024 by  

Once again, we find ourselves torn between negotiation or warfare. Read more

Shabbat Shelach Lecha – Mental Fortitude

June 27, 2024 by  

The reading this week is mainly concerned with the 12 men sent by Moses to tour the land of Israel prior to the invasion. Read more

Frantz Fanon

June 21, 2024 by  

As a student I was a fan of Frantz Fanon, a black Frenchman born in Martinique. He was a psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary, and writer whose work was and remains influential in the fields of post-colonial studies, critical theory, and Marxism. Read more

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