Assassinations
October 23, 2024 by Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
Yom Kippur Eve
October 11, 2024 by Jeremy Rosen
Hope or Trust? Read more
Should God Atone too?
September 27, 2024 by Jeremy Rosen
We are approaching a period of atonement. And sometimes, I wonder who should be atoning. Read more
Shabbat Nitzavim & Vayeylech
September 26, 2024 by Jeremy Rosen
SECRETS Read more
Daniel Deronda: George Eliot and the Jews.
September 20, 2024 by Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
Two Mountains
Certainties
September 15, 2024 by Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
Who deserves respect? Read more
Dangerous Apostates
September 6, 2024 by Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
Humans and Trees Read more
Douglas Murray
August 30, 2024 by Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
Robert Wistrich and Jew Hatred
August 25, 2024 by Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
The weekly reading of Eykev follows the pattern of the previous three weeks. Read more
Comfort Ye! Comfort Ye!
August 16, 2024 by Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
Shabbat Balak – Listening to Magicians
July 18, 2024 by Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
There are various words for law in the Bible. Read more
Shabbat Korach – Rosh Chodesh: Miracles
July 4, 2024 by Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
Once again, we find ourselves torn between negotiation or warfare. Read more
Shabbat Shelach Lecha – Mental Fortitude
June 27, 2024 by Jeremy Rosen
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 Jeremy Rosen
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