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Shabbat Beha’alotcha

Moving on and holding back Welcome back to the season in Torah that highlights our complaining in the desert! ‘Give me meat!’ I know what’s good for me and it’s not this! With these words the events of the next few Shabbat portions unfold with an almost inevitable consequential development. We find Israel a year into the journey, having spent 1 year at Sinai and now setting off, but already…

Parashat Nasso

Blessings In the film Fiddler on the Roof, the old Rabbi is asked a question…. Lebisch: Rabbi! May I ask you a question? Rabbi: Certainly, Lebisch! Lebisch: Is there a proper blessing… for the Tsar? Rabbi: A blessing for the Tsar? Of course! May G-d bless and keep the Tsar… far away from us! In this week’s Parasha we see what is known as the Birchat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing) יברכך…

Parashat B’midbar

In 30 CE the Roman Empire was at the height of its opulence and power. Its legions were unmatched and its territories stretched across most of the known world. At its head was a single man – the Emperor Tiberius. Whether in love or in hate it is an indisputable fact that the eyes of the whole world were fixed upon him. Indeed, for Romans at least, he was a god. …

Parashat Behar-Bechukotai

When was the last time you looked in to the mirror? Can you remember what you saw? What did you look like? Or have you forgotten already? Ya’akov (James) 1: 222 – 24 says, “Don’t deceive yourselves by only hearing what the Word says, but do it! For whoever hears the Word but doesn’t do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror, who…

Becoming Truly Spiritual

Parashat Emor states the broad design for God’s people: “Be ye holy as I am holy”. Indeed we learn a profound lesson – repeated for us twice here in Leviticus 21:8 and 22:32-33 – that it is God Himself who makes us holy. He is intimately involved in the process and status of our sanctity; as with so many areas of our faith, we discover that everything comes from Him,…

Acharei Mot

In Parashat Acharei Mot we read all about the regulations pertaining to Yom Kippur. This was a day of high drama for the Jewish people, not least because the life of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) and, indeed, the whole community hung in the balance. Would the Kohen Gadol emerge unscathed from the Holy of Holies? Would the people’s sins be forgiven? Every one waited with baited breath as the…

I did it my way!

We have a fundamental choice in life: doing things G-d’s way or our own. The whole purpose of this portion is to show us that we need to do everything His way, not what seems good to us or as we think it ought to be done. The fire that descended from Heaven to the altar to consume the offerings brought in obedience to the commandments only did so because…

Parashat Tzav

Va’ah Yeshua ki heshiv b’khakh’mah v’amar lo: “eyn’kha rakhoq mimal’khut ha’Eloheim,” v’ish lo he’ez od lish’ol oto shum davar. When Yeshua saw that he responded sensibly, he said to him, you are not far from the Kingdom of G-d. And after that, no one dared put to him another sh’eilah. The question answered, no-one dared question Him again! Yeshua was in the courts of the Beit Mikdash teaching in the…

Parashat Vayikra

The bloody path of returning to G-d Jewish children of five years old begin their Torah study with this book, otherwise known as the Torat Cohanim, the Torah for the Priests. How ghastly to start with something as horrific and bloodthirsty as animal sacrifices! Surely we should begin with the Creation, or the building of the Mishkan, something visual and hands on. But no, it begins with sacrifices. And don’t…

Parashat Ki Tisa

“I’m sorry everyone, I’ve got a load of things to do today and I’m in a hurry so I need to rush through this.” Hmm, have you noticed we are always in a hurry? This has to be done, that has to be done. Even in our work, pressure is on us to meet deadlines etc… This week’s Sidra tells us that Moshe was still on the mountain with the…

Weekly Drash