We have only just finished the first out of 5 services. (And instead of going home you now have my sermon too!) One of the opportunities Yom Kippur offers us is to do Teshuvah, to turn or return to our true and best selves. But sometimes we go through the motion of familiar and lovedRead More
I was 16 when my childhood Rabbi first suggested I think about following in her footsteps. I rejected the idea extremely strongly. I was an assistant teacher at the cheder, involved in RSY, my dad was chair of the synagogue, and we were there an awful lot. I had even picked Religious Studies as oneRead More
Last year I was asked to organise the EHRS trip to Poland. I don’t know why: maybe my face looks Eastern-European. Or maybe it is my accent that gives me away? Organising the second part of the trip (time in Krakow and a day trip to Auschwitz) proved quite difficult for me because IRead More
Yesterday we closed a difficult and for some of us a traumatic year as Jewish people: October 7th touched most of our hearts and lives and at times in a very different way – depending on where you are on the Israeli-Palestinian spectrum you are. Many of us have been concerned or even scared byRead More
For a long time, the only information I got from my children about their school day was what they had for lunch. Reviews were mixed. But somewhere around year 2 or 3, there were a small number of instances of meanness at school that we couldn’t leave unaddressed, and the response of the teacher blewRead More
We are on the home straight, the end of the year is in sight, the end of the building works is tantalisingly close, and we have nearly finished another cycle of the Torah. Moses has been delivering his final speech for some weeks of torah readings now, and this week we begin his final farewell.Read More
Start with a long Shofar blast. We are called by the voice of the Shofar. This week the month of Ellul began and the Shofar will be blown every day around the Jewish world (except, traditionally, on Shabbat, but here we are!) The Shofar blast is a call to action, an alarm bell, intended, accordingRead More
It has been a bit of a week. Lots of serious illness, and several close deaths. One of those was of Rabbi Israel Elia, the rabbi that performed our wedding nearly 19 years ago. Rabbi Elia was a Tunisian Jew who trained here in the UK as a young man, and served the Spanish andRead More
I am really glad we have so much joy and love to celebrate in our service this morning; the love of couples, and the love of Judaism, particularly because in Jewish terms we are in the very saddest part of the year, and because as British citizens, the last week has been pretty torrid. OnRead More
Shabbat Chukkat – Interfaith Service Questions are a bit of a professional hazard in our line of work. This week I had the unparalleled pleasure of being questioned by the year 4 and year 6 pupils at Kenilworth Primary School in Borehamwood, whose inspiring RE teacher, Mrs Alam, is here with us today. I wasRead More
Do you believe in democracy? I am not sure whether I do anymore. But I do believe in a notion of it. As Winston Churchill remarked in 1947: “No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise.”[1] Now, facing yet another election on July 4th makes me reflect on the nature of our democracy and whether we/I canRead More
It doesn’t seem to matter who I ask. The only thing anyone wants to tell me about Shavuot is cheesecake. Shavuot is one of the most important festivals of the year. But Cheesecake is all anyone knows. So this year, I’m just going to embrace it. We are going to take one minute to turnRead More