“Re-digging the Wells of Isaac: A Journey towards Rehovot”   In Genesis 26 we find one of the most profound episodes of the Torah: the story of Isaac and the wells. After a famine forces Isaac and his household to settle in the region of Gerar, the Torah tells us that Isaac reopens the wells that his father Abraham had originally dug, wells that the Philistines had blocked up after Abraham’s death. Isaac clears them, gives them the same names his father had given them, and th

THE ILLUSION OF SAFETY It is a deeply human instinct to deny or downplay danger. Most of us have done it at some point. Even when confronted with antisemitism, our first reaction is often to reassure ourselves - to question our perception in the hope of convincing ourselves that things aren’t really that bad. It is therefore hardly surprising that as many have noted on social media, even when the majority of our community feel that things are getting worse, there are still vo

LEARNING FROM THE RAINBOW This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Noach , is one of the richest in symbols and meaning. It tells two stories of humanity - one drowned, one divided - and between them stands the rainbow, keshet ba’anan , the sign of God’s covenant with the world. After the Flood, when the waters receded, God placed a rainbow in the sky and said to Noah: אֶת־קַשְׁתִּי נָתַתִּי בֶּעָנָן וְהָיְתָה לְאוֹת בְּרִית בֵּינִי וּבֵין הָאָרֶץ. “I have set My bow in the cloud,

On Sukkot and Antisemitism Tomorrow, we remain in the in-between of Yom Kippur and Sukkot — and on Monday evening we will usher in the...

WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE WRONG In just a few moments, some of you may be tempted to slip out for a coffee break, even if it is Yom Kippur....

"WITH THOSE WHO HAVE SINNED" Tonight is Kol Nidre. And before we even turn inward, we must acknowledge the world outside. It is not an...

Yom Teruah — The day of the sound of the Shofar Rosh haShana in the Torah is called Yom Teruah and Zichron Teruah — a day of...

A PRAYER FOR A NEW BEGINNING Ribbono shel Olam — Master of the Universe Avinu Malkeinu — our Father, our King: On this night of...

Sermon for Shoftim With Rabbi always taking his summer holiday at this time of year and myself always being around this month, I found...

Sermon for Eikev The theme of my dracha is leadership. While this is not an original area to hang some learning on this and many other...

What We Do on Tisha b’Av and How and Why   On Tisha b’Av, we commemorate the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70...

The Broken Vav Last week's Torah portion ended on a cliffhanger. A plague swept through the Israelites' encampment, God's punishment for...