…a kind of counterpoint between speaking and listening. But communal prayer often involves more speaking than listening. The lockdown meant that we could listen more to the poetry and passion of the prayers themselves. And prayer is about listening, not just speaking. In one of his essays in Beit Yaakov, Rabbi Yaakov Leiner, son of the Ishbitzer Rebbe (Rabbi Mordechai…
…the Temple. I Kings, chapter five. Can you see what it says? [I Kings 5:27-30] King Solomon conscripted labourers from all Israel, 30,000 men. He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of 10,000 a month. So they spent one month in Lebanon, two months at home… Solomon had 70,000 carriers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hills, as well as…
…father . . . so the Lord brought us out.” A covenant is more than a myth of origin – like the Roman story of Romulus and Remus or the English story of King Arthur and his knights. Unlike a myth, which merely claims to say what happened, a covenant always contains a specific set of undertakings that bind its citizens…
…there to serve you. KI TEITSE: Never be in too much of a rush to stop and come to the aid of someone in need of help. KI TAVO: Make sure the story you tell is one that speaks to your highest aspirations, and tell it regularly. NITZAVIM: Don’t wait for the world to get better. Take the initiative yourself….
…Masei Devarim (Deuteronomy) With the book of Deuteronomy, Devarim, the entire biblical project becomes lucid and reaches its culmination. Deuteronomy is the last act of the Jewish people’s drama before becoming a nation in its own land, and it forms the context of all that follows. Devarim Va’etchanan Eikev Re’eh Shoftim Ki Teitse Ki Tavo Nitzavim Vayelech Ha’azinu Vezot Habracha…
…Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings and Wars, 2:6 The most famous buildings in the ancient world were the Mesopotamian ziggurats and Egyptian pyramids. These were more than just buildings. They were statements in stone of a hierarchical social order. They were wide at the base and narrow at the top. At the top was the king or pharaoh –…
Koren Publishers have launched a new Magerman edition of the Koren Tanach featuring, for the first time, the complete translation of Chumash by Rabbi Sacks zt”l. You can order your copy here and view the opening pages below. Peek Inside…
…different kind of society, says God through Moses, where slavery is more limited, where everyone is free one day a week, where the poor do not go hungry, and the powerless are not denied justice. The second, most notably in the book of Bamidbar, is the juxtaposition of narrative and law, as if to say, the law is best understood…
…to Chagigah 3a), or “caused God to declare” (Judah Halevi, cited by Ibn Ezra. Among Christian translations, the King James Version has, “Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God”. The New International Version reads: “You have declared this day that the Lord is your God”. The Contemporary English Version has: “In response, you have agreed that the Lord will be your God”….