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Many consider the end of this week’s parsha, the longest in the Pentateuch, to be boring and repetitive. Truth be told, of the portion’s 176 verses,...
“And they came to the Sinai Desert, and they encamped in the wilderness, and there Israel camped before the mountain.” The festival of Shavuot celebrates receiving...
Bechukotai starts with a famous invitation from Hashem, “If you will walk in my laws…” after which He lists the many blessings that we will receive...
Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest footballer of our generation. Although he may be in the twilight of his career, upon his transfer to Paris Saint-Germain...
This week’s Torah portion, Emor, begins, “And G-d spoke to Moses, ‘Emor – say to the kohanim priests, the sons of Aharon, ve’amarta (and tell them).’”...
So, Israel is 74 years old. Well, actually we’re 3 000 years old, but whether it’s our modern state or our ancient people, the incredible truth...
The Book of Leviticus covers a lot of territories – from the Yom Kippur offerings to banning adultery, from the most universal ethical aspirations to the...
Pesach is an interesting and stressful time of the Jewish year. There are so many unique mitzvot that have to be performed, so much food that...
What would you expect would lie at the centre of the five books of the Torah? Something pretty central to Torah values? Perhaps the paragraph of...
“My family watched the Zoom with your rabbi in Ukraine, and my daughter got her whole class at Herzlia to write letters to the kids there....
A rabbi was walking down the road and couldn’t help noticing how one of his prominent congregants entered a non-kosher restaurant. He couldn’t believe it! So,...
This week’s Haftorah (Jeremiah Chapter 7 & 9) concludes with the powerful verse: “Thus says the Lord: let not the wise man praise and boast of...
This Shabbos, we take out two Torah scrolls. From the second, we read, “Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt,...
The distressing events unfolding in Ukraine have captured our hearts and minds. We have been praying for the innocent who have been under attack over the...
Parshat Vayakhel is a detailed account of the construction of the vessels for the Mishkan and the building of the Mishkan itself. The Torah often withholds...
I was sad when I read Howard Feldman’s column in last week’s SA Jewish Report (10 February 2022) advocating for shorter shul services. He writes beautifully,...
This week’s Torah portion, Tetzaveh, conveys that each person has a role in perfecting this world, and should be allowed to perform in the areas in...
In this week’s parsha, Hashem tells us of the building materials that were required to create the beautiful Mishkan, the tabernacle – opening with gold, silver,...
Living in South Africa, we see how bribery and corruption result in the decay of our social institutions and unless checked, can lead to the breakdown...
This week we read the portion of Yisro, which contains one the most famous passages of the Torah – the Ten Commandments. We read of the...
They say adapt or die. But must we jettison the old to embrace the new? Is the choice limited to modern or antiquated, or can one...
I’m writing this only hours after watching the online kindling of the Menorah at the Kotel on the second night of Chanukah, which was dedicated in...
This month can certainly use some light. Our community has experienced the emotional toll of terrible losses in the past days and weeks. It almost feels...
The shocking incident of Dinah’s abduction by Shechem and his father, Chamor, is one of the themes of this week’s parsha. They thought they could take...
In Vayeitzei, we once again experience Yaakov’s wonderful dream of the ladder reaching up to heaven, on which angels ascend and descend whilst Hashem promises protection...
Theories abound about the Tembisa 10. Something seems not quite kosher about the birth of those decuplets. And, there was something not so kosher about the...
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks said, “The name of our parsha seems to embody a paradox. It’s called ‘Chayei Sarah’ [The Life of Sarah], but it begins...
Our sages teach of the obligation of every Jew to ask, “When will my actions reach those of our illustrious patriarchs and matriarchs?” We see the...
In this week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha, we read about the first Jew, Avraham, who resisted the tide of paganism, idolatry, and immorality. Society had moved...
The world loves a hero. Every season, Hollywood invents new superheroes to fill the box-office coffers. Today, we even have a Jewish girl as the latest...
“As an eagle that stirs up its nest, hovering over its young” Rashi, one of our greatest commentators, explains that Hashem is compared to an eagle...
This week’s fundraising campaign for Community Security Organisation Medical in Cape Town and Hatzolah in Johannesburg beautifully replaces our obsession with daily infection statistics, hospital occupancies,...
There is a three-word phrase in our formal prayers that conveys the essence of Judaism. Being such a powerful phrase, it features appropriately in every formal...
An easy, albeit shallow, approach to understanding suffering in this world is to suggest that Hashem is just letting things happen, that it’s just nature taking...
The great historian, Paul Johnson, in his introduction to A History of the Jews, lists several key concepts and institutions which originated completely within the Torah...
“You shall observe the festival of Sukkot seven days after you have gathered in your grain and your wine; and you shall rejoice in your festival,...
“If you do obey these rules…” This is the opening line of the Torah portion this week. More accurately, the Torah states, “If you eikev obey...
And Charlton Heston came down from Mount Sinai and gave us the ten commandments. Oops! Sorry, make that Moses. And he was carrying the tablets with...
Devarim is the parsha associated with Tisha B’Av, the Jewish national day of mourning. After Shabbos, we will recall the destruction of our holy temple nearly...
In parshas Massei, the Torah traces our journey in the desert by listing all 42 camps that we passed through. This is a forerunner for Jewish...
