Sadness and Joy
August 4, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
Tisha B’Av, the 9th day of Av, reminds us of the greatest catastrophes in our history. Read more
Messianism and the 9th of Av
July 28, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
Regardless of how well or poorly Jews have integrated into their host societies, in each generation, they have fasted over the two destructions of Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BCE and 70 CE. Read more
Shabbat VaEtchanan: Law or Lore
July 27, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
The reading from the Torah this week is remarkable in that it combines the two most important texts in the Torah. Read more
Shabbat Devarim: The books of the bible
July 21, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
Why do we call the fifth book of the Torah that we start this week Devarim but non-Jews ( and some Jews) call it Deuteronomy? Read more
Utopia
July 21, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
In 1551 the English diplomat and scholar Sir Thomas More, living in the reign of King Henry 8th, wrote a book called Utopia. Read more
Constantine or Licinius
July 16, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
Of all the Roman emperors, I would say that Constantine, more than any other, was responsible indirectly for the two thousand years of Christian oppression of the Jews. Read more
Shabbat Mattot & Massei: Where should you live?
July 13, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
As the children of Israel approach the land of Israel, they had to pass through what is now Transjordan. The domains of Sihon the Emorite and Og of Bashan. Read more
Fast of Tammuz
July 7, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
We have just had the Fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz. It commemorates the Roman siege of Jerusalem and the moment at which the Romans destroyed the walls and a prelude to the destruction of the Second Temple. Read more
Shabbat Pinchas: Succession
July 6, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
Pinchas was the grandson of Aharon, the zealot who took the law into his own hands. Read more
Blasphemy and Brian
July 2, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
In 1997 “The Life of Brian” by Monty Python comedians was a tremendous hit in Britain and a scandal. Read more
Shabbat Chukat Balak: Faith or magic
June 29, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
This week we have two very different weekly readings of the Torah combined into one. Read more
Charter Schools and Isidore of Seville
June 23, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
I have always been a fan of Charter Schools (naturally, there are poor ones too). Read more
Shabbat Korach: Quakes, Fires, and Almonds
June 22, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
The earth opened up, fire from heaven, and sticks sprouted almond blossoms and nuts. Read more
Talmud on a desert island
June 16, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
One of the longest-running radio program series on the BBC is Desert Island Discs. Read more
Shabbat Lech Lecha: All About Spirit
June 15, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
This week’s Torah reading is dominated by the story of the 12 men sent by Moses to scout out the Land of Canaan. There’s a dispute as to whether they went to tour, to undermine, or to spy. The Torah uses all three words. Read more
Happiness
June 9, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
The American constitution says that Americans have the right to happiness. What is happiness? Can the pursuit of happiness be a right, an experience, a state of mind, or an aspiration? Read more
Shabbat Bha’alotecha: Arguments
June 8, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
The Torah this week starts very optimistically with the events that come at the end of the first year when they are within sight of the Promised Land. Read more
Divorce
June 2, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
Both in the Torah and in the Talmud, marital difficulties are the topic du semaine. Read more
Shabbat Naso: Wine and Women
June 1, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
The case of the Sotah, the woman suspected of adultery, is a very difficult issue to understand. Read more
Shavuot and the Culture Wars
May 25, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
As far as the Bible was concerned, the festival of Shavuot ( Pentecost) that we celebrate this weekend was no more than a harvest festival. Read more
The Coronation
May 19, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
Whatever one may or may not think of monarchy, the coronation of King Charles was a magnificent pageant. Read more
Shabbat B’Midbar: War and Conscription
May 18, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
Evolving Judaism
May 12, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
Many people think that Judaism is so conservative that it simply doesn’t change, and we are still rooted in a tradition that is 3000 years old.
Shabbat Behar & Behukotai – The Good the Bad and the Ugly
May 11, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
The book of the Torah called Vayikra or Leviticus, is also called the Book of Purity. Read more
Hypocrites
May 5, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
We Jews have always been outliers. Now it seems everyone else wants to catch up with us and claim victimhood, discrimination, abuse, and alienation and the only way to cope is to be mean to everyone else. We are admired and despised, and we are our own worst enemies. Read more
Shabbat Emor: Mourning
May 4, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
The Torah contains no specific rules about death and mourning for ordinary people. Read more
Israel at 75
April 28, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
I have recently read two great books. “Israel’s Declaration of Independence: The History and Political Theory of the Nation’s Founding Moment” by Neil Rogachevsky and Dov Ziegler (Cambridge University Press). Just published. And the 2019 “A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion” by Tom Segev (Picador). Read more
Shabbat Acharei Mot & Kedoshim: Morality
April 27, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
For many of us reading the third Book of the Torah, Leviticus( Vayikra), is not a particularly inspiring or easy exercise. Read more
Memorials to the Holocaust
April 21, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
This week we witnessed another impressive Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel when the country came to halt to remember. As well as the return of the annual March of the Living pilgrimage to Auschwitz. Elsewhere? Hardly anyone noticed. Read more
Shabbat Tazria & Metzorah: Healthy in body and mind
April 20, 2023 by Jeremy Rosen
The chapters of the Torah that we are reading now are concerned with health and what happens when our bodies do not function effectively or normally. Read more