I love writing ‘To Do’ lists. Some might say I like them too much, as when I sat down to write these words I discovered I have over 130 To Do lists on my Notes app, going back to 2016, not to mention countless notebooks and scraps of paper. For me at least, this time […]
Category: Words from the Rabbi
Words from the Rabbi – Pride 5783
I’m delighted to be celebrating our 4th Pride Shabbat here in New Stoke Newington Shul. A huge thank you to Jack Gilbert, who suggested it back in 2020 and who helped bring it to life in our community. I’m so glad it’s become part of our calendar! Before I begin, a disclaimer – I’m discussing […]
Words from the Rabbi – Shavuot 5783
“With great power, comes great responsibility” -Spider-man by Stan Lee Stan Lee was not the first to understand the connection between power and responsibility, but his formulation, first expressed as narration in 1962’s Amazing Fantasy #15, has become the most well-known, and has become known as the ‘Peter Parker Principle’. In many ways, this Principle […]
Words from the Rabbi – Pesach 5783
We do some very strange things over Pesach. One of the strangest things, in my mind at least, is the Pre-Pesach ritual of Bedikat Chametz, searching for leaven. After we’ve cleaned the house for Pesach and removed all the crumbs and bread, we then deliberately hide 10 pieces of bread around the house (hopefully wrapped […]
Words from the Rabbi – Purim 5783
8] Then Mordecai prayed to God, calling to remembrance all the works of God… 17] “Hear my prayer and have mercy upon your inheritance; turn our mourning into feasting that we may live and sing praise to your name, O God; do not destroy the lips of those who praise you.” If you know the […]
Words from the Rabbi – Tu Bishvat 5783
The sun is shining on the trees as I write these words, but it’s a cold light. Winter is still upon us but the first taste of spring is in the air. As I write, it’s Tu Bishvat, the New Year for trees, the time when the sap begins to rise inside the plants preparing […]
Words from the Rabbi – Chanukah 5783
On Sunday, we celebrated a wonderful pre-Chanukah event inspired by Chocolate. It was wonderful to see so many children crafting their own chocolate treats, making dreidels, and learning about the Jewish history of chocolate. For the adults, learning from Michael Leventhal about Jewish involvement in cocoa and chocolate through the centuries was deeply fascinating (not […]
Words from the Rabbi – High Holy Days 5783
When her majesty the Queen passed away last week, I was more upset than I had expected to be. I had thought that I knew it was inevitable, I thought that it wasn’t something I felt particularly close to – yet when the time came I experienced a real sense of loss. When I tried […]
Words from the Rabbi – Tisha B’Av 5782
Two years ago, it seemed very strange to me that I had learned almost nothing about the Flu epidemic of 1918-19 at school. The second deadliest epidemic of all time, second only to the Black Death of the 14th Century, seemed to have been erased from our collective consciousness, reduced to foot notes in volumes […]
Words from the Rabbi – Shavuot 5782
Every Friday, we light Betty’s candlesticks. My grandma Daisy passed away when I was twelve and a year or so later, we adopted an honorary grandma into our family – her name was Betty, and just as we needed a grandmother around, she needed some grandchildren. Her own granddaughter was living far away in Japan and […]