Parasha

The Most Remarkable Letter in the Hebrew Alphabet The most remarkable Hebrew letter would be the letter ו . ו is actually a word, spelled וָו. וָו means a hook. And indeed, a ו looks like a hook. ו also means “and” because it’s a conjunction. In the same way […]

This week on the streets of Golders Green, we witnessed a great Kiddush Hashem. What do I mean by this? In Parshat Emor, the Torah gives us the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem. It’s a precept to sanctify the name of God. “וְנִקְדַּשְׁתִּי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל” “I will be sanctified in […]

Learning From A Transformative Moment If you had the honour of an audience with a monarch, would it make sense that after your meeting, just before you leave the palace, you get changed into extra special clothes in order to emerge, back to your regular life? But isn’t that exactly […]

This Shabbat, on the eve of Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut, we will be reading the parshiyot of Tazria and Metzora. These two parshiyot have a very strong common theme. In the parsha of Metzora, we are introduced to the fascinating subject of צָרַעַת הַבַּיִת – leprosy of houses. The […]

After the events of last week, a special Pesach message from the Chief Rabbi: “A kippah and a Kiddush cup.” This was Keith Siegel’s request when he emerged from 484 days of unimaginable torture at the hands of Hamas in Gaza. His daughter, Shir, had gently asked him what he […]

Over Pesach we will be recalling great historic miracles. But did you know that miracles are actually happening for you every day? In Parshat Tzav, the Torah introduces us to the concept of the קָרְבַּן שְׁלָמִים, the peace offerings. These were offerings which were brought to thank Hashem for peace […]

Is it possible that the most humble person who ever lived actually had a touch of arrogance? I’m referring to Moshe Rabbeinu, the greatest of all rabbis and teachers. The Torah declares that Moshe was: “עָנָו מִכֹּל הָאָדָם”, “More humble than any person throughout all time.” And yet we see […]

At the outset, when you look at the book of Shemot, it seems to be a bit of a mishmash. It’s split into three different parts. The first tells us about the oppression of the Jews and our Exodus from Egypt. The second part tells us of what Hashem revealed […]

Why Would Hashem Want To Show His Back To Someone? It may sound like a ridiculous question, but this is exactly what happened in Parshat Ki Tisa.Moshe asked Hashem: “Can I see you, God?” And Hashem’s response was: ”וְרָאִיתָ אֶת־אֲחֹרָי” “You will see my back” And that is what Moshe […]

Have you ever thought about the origin of the printed name of Hashem being Yud Yud? That’s how we print Hashem’s name in siddurim and in machsurim. But where does it come from? It was a phenomenon introduced at the time when the printing press came about. There was a […]