WRITINGS

This week’s Torah portion, Vaetchanan, includes both the Shema and the Ten Commandments. As your mind inevitably wanders off at some...

“Let him have it!” I don’t watch television these days, but my childhood was haunted by the flickering black and white television that...

Jewish men have long had a Shikse problem. That is to say, the allure of a non-Jewish woman is nothing new to our times. In the Torah the...

Our sages hasten to remind us that all of the 613 Mitzvot found in the Torah are equally important. This helps us not to neglect ones...

If you ask yourselves, what is the defining “ism” of our age, it may well not be capitalism and thank God it is not Corbynism. And yet,...

Theodor Herzl passed away in Europe at the young age of 44 in 1904. Known as the Father of the State of Israel, it would take another...

If you looked into the sky last night you would have seen the new moon of Adar Sheni – the leap month – the thirteenth month that...

Vayakhel reminds us that while everyone is invited to donate and contribute to the building of the tabernacle, the construction itself...

My late mother was no doubt not the only parent who impressed upon her children, “cleanliness is second only to godliness”. As with much...

With this week’s parasha, Vayehi, we complete the reading of the book of Genesis and bring the story of the family of Jacob to a close....

The Torah portion that we will be reading this morning is Genesis 22.1-19, the story of the binding of Isaac (Akedat Yitzhak). God tests...

Shana tova! It’s great to be here and to celebrate the Jewish New Year together. & for those of you who are with us for the first time –...

In January last year I made my first visit to Mumbai, India. It’s a colourful city, from the washing lines of Dhoby Ghaut and Slumdog...

Annabelle, you have identified a very important theme in Shofetim, in this week’s torah portion, namely that of JUSTICE. You’ve reminded...

It’s been 115 years since the publication of the remarkable work, “A Vision of Vegetarianism and Peace”. The author was Abraham Isaac...

Shabbat Nachamu – the Sabbath of Comfort – is the first Shabbat after Tisha B’Av, the blackest day of the Jewish calendar. On this...

It is perhaps quite fitting that Philip Roth (zichrono livracha – may his memory be a blessing) passed away this week, and that his...

This Shabbat we remember Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Memorial Day. When I was a child we used to go up to London to lay a wreath at the...

What makes up someone’s Jewish identity? And is this location-specific? Is there a Singaporean Jewish identity – what does it mean to be...

I hope that you all had a good winter break. As some of you know, I was back in London for several days. Last Sunday we visited the...