Rabbis’ and Cantor’s Thoughts and Writings

Rabbi Mark's sermon for Pekudei begins with the impossibility of ever finding the ideal Rabbi - but asserts that it would not be difficult to find the ideal Reform Jew! And they might be very similar to the ideal Liberal Jew.

Yuval Manor, pictured left with her Leo Baeck High School Haifa school freind Mika Mizrachi, returned to EHRS for Shabbat Ci Tisa and gave this moving sermon, based on the reality of living as a teenager today in Israel.

This sermon for the HIAS-JCore Refugee Shabbat was given by EHRS member Emma Brand. Emma is Co-Director of the Babylon Migrants Project.

Rabbi Mark's sermon asks how we now ensure our Synagogues are able to do great work. Our Torah portions this week gives us two visions, in Terumah it is the 'willing hearted' who contributed, on Shabbat Shekalim everyone is asked to contribute equally. Can today's Judaism encourage us to do both?

The Torah portion Shemot introduces Moses, whose life will frame the rest of our Torah - but this week we concentrate on the two other named people in the portion, Shifrah and Puah, two brave women.

Rabbi Mark's sermon for this Shabbat is his induction address to Cantor Tamara Wolfson, beginning with a Midrash based on Jacob's last moments with his children.

Judah in our portion had to summon up the courage to approach Pharaoh's viceroy who turns out to be Joseph. Rabbi Mark has just returned from Israel on the EHRS and Ark Synagogue trip. This sermon addresses how it was to approach Israel at the end of 2024.

In this portion Jacob has a vision of a ladder reaching up to heaven. After his vision he says 'God was in this place and I, I did not know it.' Rabbi Mark asks if you can be a Jew without any relationship with God.