WRITINGS

“I want you all to know that among progressives, it’s become clear that you cannot claim to hold progressive values, yet back Israel’s...

One of the highlights of this past year has been my work in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, where until the summer I was travelling...

During his first service leading the community, the new rabbi noticed one of his new congregants walk over to the synagogue president and...

Good evening everyone and Shana tova! It’s wonderful to be here tonight and to start the new year together. If you’re a member of FSF...

The days of Elul are falling away and Rosh Hashanah will soon be upon us. On the streets of Jerusalem the pomegranates redden on the...

I grew up in a poor family; we owned few treasured possessions beyond our books. Every wall was covered with them, the accumulation of...

There are four new years: the first of Elul is the new year for animals.[1] Sheep conceive in Nisan and give birth in Elul, and so it is...

Published at: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/rock-the-casbah-algerias-deep-jewish-connection/ Like many Jews, I like visiting old...

Published at: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/should-a-chess-club-keep-shabbat/ Should a chess club open on Saturdays? When the club in...

Published at: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/first-bat-mitzvahs-from-bali-to-vilna/ Judith Kaplan’s Bat Mitzvah took place 100 years...

Published at: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/fight-or-flight-from-odessa/ The key which used to open the door to her home in Odessa is...

I have a life-long love of learning languages. At school I spent my lunch-hours learning Greek and took after-school classes in Biblical...

This year I have had the privilege to dream up and lead the Baalei Tefillah Europe 2021 programme, which taught participants about...

I adapted a popular holiday song for this year's festival - in the long tradition of Jewish protest liturgy... יום טוב לנו, חג שמח ילדים,...

Today I was sad to learn of the death of one of my teachers, Dr. Neil Hopkinson, earlier this year, and wanted to write a few words as my...

I have kept kosher all my life. It means - for better or worse - that I’ve never tasted seafood, or pork or ham. I’ve never enjoyed the...

Fifteen years have passed since I last moved to Jerusalem, and in 2020 we find ourselves living in the German Colony a few hundred metres...

Shmulik woke up one Saturday morning in a bad mood. When he came down to breakfast, his mum told him, “Hurry up, you’re going to be late...

The Aleinu prayer is a constant in our services, driving us forward to the conclusion of our prayers. We know how to chant it, we know...

“One of the great tasks of Jewish education is to deliberately create an atmosphere of rebellion among its students. Rebellion, after...