As one nation after another in Africa and the Middle East engages in a fight for freedom, Passover, which begins this week, still has much to teach us about the nature of that fight. The Jewish festival of freedom is…
“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.” – Henry Thomas Buckle Recently the Daily Mail ran an article headlined “Gossip is good for you: Women who chat regularly are happier and healthier”. Scientists claim it…
This week’s Torah portion, Metsora, discusses the laws of various forms of Tumah [spiritual defilement] that result from certain discolorations on the body, clothing, or one’s home, as well as certain discharges. Removing the impurity is not always a simple…
This Shabbat is the fourth and final of the four special Shabbatot which help us prepare for the festivals of Purim and Pesach. The special maftir that is read is from Exodus 12 is called HaChodesh (“the month”). The passage…
Senior Kodesh Teacher at Hasmonean High School Mazal tov are the words we usually hear when we hear the joyful news of new baby who has entered our world. Yet the Torah appears to view the birth as a negative…
Do you remember the Iraqi information minister giving a news brief on April 7, 2003? He claimed that there were no American troops in Baghdad, and that the Americans were committing suicide by the hundreds at the city’s gates. At…
We live in a privileged generation. Whereas our grandparents found it hard to keep a kosher home, we are spoilt for choice. Kosher outlets and restaurants are opening across the country, food is being produced with flavours that were unheard of, and…
