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...

My parsha is about a set of rules that God has given us. Some rules are between us and God, like not making molten gods and rules about...

Accountability is a Jewish value The Yalkut Shmoni is a commentary on the Hebrew Bible, written probably in Germany in the 11th Century,...

VAYAKHEL You should really learn Hebrew. Translations can be so misleading... Take, for example, the title of this week's Torah portion,...

In Mishlei, the Book of Proverbs, we find a line that is often quoted: Tzedakah tatzil mimavet, which means "Charity saves from death."...

I remember a conversation with my teacher, Rabbi David Goldberg z"l, during my first year of Rabbinical College. For those who don't...

Z"L HY"D In these years, I have officiated several funerals and preached several times that, to honour those who are not with us anymore,...

JUSTICE WE DEMAND JUSTICE WE DEMAND There is a passage from the Book of Proverbs that is often included in Jewish funerals' liturgy: ...

See you on Wednesday I was - of course! - horrified by Donald Trump's press conference. He almost did not mention the hostages and...

Sermon for Yitro This weeks’ reading is titled Yitro – Jethro, named after Moses' father-in-law, an outsider but a supporter and advisor...

Mishpatim This part of the Book of Exodus is often called the “Covenant Code” ( Sefer ha-B’rit ). This follows straight on from the Ten...