Ben Hecht & Yom Hashoah

The Holocaust Day, Yom HaShoah, that the Jewish world commemorates is on the 27^thof Nisan which fell this year on Thursday, May 2nd. Read more

Why to ask is good

The Haggadah that we read on Pesach was a response to the tragic loss of the Temple and Jewish political autonomy some two thousand years ago. Its composers wanted to pay tribute to the past, the Temple and all it stood for. And to find new ways of going forward that focused on study, prayer and education. Read more

State and Religion in Israel on Pesach

The return of a rightwing government, heavily reliant on religious parties in Israel, is a matter of some concern because of the increasing encroachment of religious compulsion in Israeli life (as much as I fear the opposite). Read more

The Seder

For some of us, every minute of the two Seder nights is an absolute delight. Even the preparation and the cleaning – the anticipation. There is no other occasion in the festive year quite like it. Read more

Adapting the Law

The Bible emerged in, and out of, a world that was predominantly agricultural. A world where seasons and produce determined how societies flourished or perished Read more

The Yabloner Rebbe

Usually, I write my own material. This time I am taking it from Pini Dunner, another British rabbi now living in the USA. His hobby is collecting Judaica and researching Jewish history. Read more

Blood libels

On March 22^nd1144, in Norwich, England, Jews were first accused of killing a Christian child because it was claimed, they needed its blood for the Four Cups of Wine at the Passover Seder. Read more

Masks

In Biblical Hebrew, there is no word for face. The Bible uses the word Panim, which literally means, faces. Read more

Martina Navratilova and transgender

In my younger days, Martina Navratilova was considered one of the very best female tennis players. Read more

Kahane

To me, the name Meir Kahane conjures up an aspect of the Jewish people that I deplore. Read more

Abortion

New York’s Reproductive Health Act was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Jan. 22, to a standing ovation and acclaim by State Legislators. This new law allows abortion on the basis of “reasonable and good faith professional judgment based on the facts of the patient’s case” — “the patient is within twenty-four weeks from the commencement of pregnancy, or there is an absence of fetal viability, or the abortion is necessary to protect the patient’s life or health.” Read more

Jewish Political Theory

It is often said that neither the Bible nor Judaism has a theory of politics or, indeed, of political systems. Neither is true.  Read more

Unfair to women

We live in interesting times where men may be women and women, men, and combinations of both and transitions in and out of the other. Read more

Sorry

You are walking down a crowded New York street minding your own business, careful to avoid bumping into anyone else. Read more

When the Law is Petty

Halacha is often translated as Jewish Law. But that is inadequate and misleading. Nowadays we usually use the word law, as in, say, Roman Law, American Law or Civil Law to mean Jurisprudence. Read more

Oaths

Anyone who has attended a Kol Nidrei service will know that there are seven terms in Hebrew and Aramaic for vows and oaths…writes Jeremy Rosen. Read more

Apologetics

We live nowadays in a world where, more than ever before, our ideas and values have come under scrutiny and assault…writes Jeremy Rosen. Read more

None So Blind

“There is none so blind as he who will not see.” That, I think, applies nowadays to very many people…writes Jeremy Rosen. Read more

Kurds

The Kurds have been treated disgustingly. Like Israel, they are both a religious and secular ethnic group which stands outside the official Christian or Muslim world…writes Jeremy Rosen. Read more

Shame

When I do or say something I regret, I feel shame…writes Jeremy Rosen. Read more

Ulysses

Judaism has engaged and locked horns with Greek culture for thousands of years. Alexander the Great was welcomed in 332 BCE…writes Jeremy Rosen. Read more

Boycott Hanukah

Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott was a protestant land agent in Ireland in the second half of the eighteenth century.
Read more

Blame the Jews

Every year when we come around to reading about Joseph and his brothers, I am reminded of a part of the Yom Kippur Ashkenazi service. In particular, the poem Eyleh Ezkera…writes Jeremy Rosen. Read more

Lost Jews…writes Jeremy Rosen

Israelites, Hebrews, Jews, whatever you call them, have been scattered and settled all over the place for thousands of years. Read more

Midterms

Everyone seems to agree that these midterm elections in the USA have been particularly bitter and antagonistic…writes Jeremy Rosen. Read more

Hagar

Since I wrote about Abraham last week, it seems only right in this era of #MeToo, that I should write about a woman, Hagar. She too is far more complex and multi-faceted than a surface reading of the text would suggest…writes Jeremy Rosen. Read more

Death in Pittsburgh

The massacre of eleven Jews in a synagogue in Pittsburgh is not just about current antisemitism…writes Jeremy Rosen. Read more

Abraham: A Man for all Seasons

Abraham is revered by the major monotheistic religions. In Judaism, what he went through is constantly being re-examined to provide us with an example we should follow. Ma’aseh Avot Siman LeBanim…writes Jeremy Rosen. Read more

Billy Rose

Who was Billy Rose? If you have visited the museum complex in Jerusalem, not far from the Knesset, you will be familiar with the Billy Rose sculpture garden…writes Jeremy Rosen. Read more

Bible stories

At this time of the year, we re-read the early chapters of Genesis with their fantastic tales of creation and early humanity struggling to cope with life and divine Authority. Read more

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