Parasha

In Parshat Lech Lecha we are told about the very first occasion on which a person was taken hostage, when Lot was captured. Abraham, his uncle, realised that he needed to be rescued and so the Torah tells us that Abraham mobilised every single person within his household – altogether […]

We should always try our best not to be like Noah. That is one of the key lessons of Parshat Noah. At the beginning of the parsha, the Torah tells us “va’tishachet ha’eretz lifnei ha’Elokim” – “and the earth was corrupted before God.” The Kotzker Rebbe brilliantly gives different punctuation […]

Right now on the Jewish calendar we are between Simchat Torah and Shabbat Bereishit. As we are all aware, on Simchat Torah we concluded the Torah, the concluding word of which is Yisrael – and therefore the last letter of the Torah is lamed. And on Shabbat, we will commence […]

Why the State of Israel is central to Jewish identity. By Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis It is said that Chaim Weizmann, who would later become the first president of the State of Israel, was once asked by a member of the House of Lords why Jews were so fixated on […]

D’var Torah for Shabbat Shuvah What is the correct title for this coming Shabbat, the Shabbat which takes place between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? Some people call it Shabbat Shuva, others call it Shabbat Teshuvah. Now actually both are fine, but which one is better? If you are going […]

Every coincidence issues a call to us. We learn this from a fascinating mitzvah in Parshat Ki Teitzei. “Ki yikareh katzipor l’fanecha”, if by chance you come across a bird’s nest and you want to take the eggs or the young, then “shaleach t’shalach et ha’eim”, you must surely send […]

For as long as a single hostage, alive or dead, remains in Gaza, the Jewish people will be incomplete. We learn this from the Parsha of Shoftim in which Hashem tells us “Tamim tihiyeh im Hashem elokecha”- you the Jewish people must be tamim, which translates as whole, complete, perfect […]

Parshat Re’eh commences “re’eh anochi noten lifnechem hayom bracha uklala” – “you (in the singular), must see that I’m placing before ‘you’ (in the plural), on this day, a blessing and a curse.” So, who is Hashem addressing? Is it me, or is it all of us? Fascinatingly, the commencement […]

D’var Torah for Eikev Who has an easier time, a singer or a Rabbi? I’ve noticed that when singers perform, the audience wants to hear the melodies and the songs that they’re familiar with. In fact, if a renowned singer were to miss out from a performance one of their […]

Why all the repetition? Time and again the Torah presents to us the same commandments and if not for this repetition, the Torah would be far shorter. A fine example of this is what we read in the first paragraph of the Shema which we will be reading for Parshat […]