Religion

Hashem’s ultimate justice

Feb 13, 2020 Go comment!

One of the heroes of the Torah is Moshe’s father-in-law, Yitro (Jethro). Even without the additional biography taught to us by our sages – he was an advisor to Pharaoh, who dared to challenge his wishes to persecute the Jewish people, and a seeker of truth, who tried every religion in the world before finding Hashem in Judaism – Yitro was a man of justice and goodness.
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Life’s most precious jewels

Feb 06, 2020 Go comment!

In this week’s portion, we read, “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him.” Before his death, Joseph made his brothers promise to bring back his mortal remains to the land of Israel. Now, at the time of the Exodus, this was uppermost on Moses’ mind.
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Rebbe’s army marches victorious

Jan 30, 2020 Go comment!

Seventy five years ago this week, Elka Ganot, prisoner number 12750, was liberated from Auschwitz. Her grandson, Barak, a major in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), marked the occasion last year as he marched with ten other soldiers from his elite army unit past the very barracks where his bubbeh (grandmother) suffered the tortures of Europe’s hatred for our people.
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The potential for greatness in everyone

Jan 23, 2020 Go comment!

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Apart from reminding me of my high-school education, Malvolio’s lines in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night are also appropriate for our weekly Torah portion.
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Who Am I?

Jan 16, 2020 Go comment!

Do you remember your first epiphany in life? Moses had his at the burning bush.
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Forgotten Chanukah heroine comes to light

Dec 26, 2019 Go comment!

(JTA) Chanukah season means latkes, menorahs, and the retelling of the classic story about Judah and the Maccabees. But there’s a woman from a few hundred years before Judah was around who is just as important to this story.
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Festival of light ignites faith

Dec 23, 2019 Go comment!

What I find fascinating about Chanukah is the way its story has been transformed by time.
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Bringing Chanukah home

Dec 12, 2019 Go comment!

Where is the centre of Jewish life? Is it the shul or Jewish school? Or the Jewish home? The teachings of a great Jewish hero can guide us. He lived during the events that led up to the miracles of Chanukah, and his teachings connect to the festival.
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True beauty not in the eye of the beholder

Dec 12, 2019 Go comment!

If Judaism disapproves of physical beauty, how can the Torah praise the beauty of countless women throughout Jewish history? How can we reconcile an appreciation of natural beauty with a culture that emphasises modesty and shuns externality?
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Donut worry, these doughnuts will sweeten your chag

Dec 12, 2019 1 Comment

No matter what dieting trend you follow, the fact is that even Professor Tim Noakes might agree that doughnuts are – and always will be – the exception. Few can resist the doughy goodness of this classic treat, and with Chanukah around the corner, no excuse is needed to indulge.
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Living in a time of miracles

Dec 12, 2019 Go comment!

One had to both amused and dismayed at the way world leaders took pot shots at the so-called “leader of the free world” during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit last week. Is this what leadership has come to?
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Winning the war, one candle at a time

Dec 12, 2019 2 Comments

I will always think of Chanukah as a winter chag. Going back to my years growing up in Europe, the associations with this holiday are always of super-early dusk, sitting cosily inside watching the gentle snowfall, while consuming way too many of my mother’s boiling hot latkes. By now, I have lived in the southern hemisphere longer than elsewhere in the world, but Chanukah and summer are still not synonymous in my mind.
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Chanukah more than just doughnuts and dreidels

Dec 12, 2019 Go comment!

Chanukah means latkes, doughnuts, and dreidels, right? Not necessarily. People around the world celebrate the chag in all kinds of interesting and unusual ways, honouring all aspects of this festival of light.
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Making Chanukah with children meaningful

Dec 12, 2019 Go comment!

(JTA) While Chanukah is traditionally not one of the most central holidays of the Jewish calendar, it can offer many opportunities for fun. Here are some suggestions how you can make this Chanukah memorable while staying true to the essential meaning of the holiday.
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A chance to kindle personal and public possibilities

Dec 12, 2019 Go comment!

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice,” said Martin Luther King Jr. In the mid-1950s in America with all the horrors of institutionalised racism, it took leadership, courage and spiritual attunement for King to trust that the eventual twists and turns of human forces in the tunnel of time tend towards justice. Yet, if we pause to consider it, King’s bold declaration isn’t dissimilar to the message of Chanukah.
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Deck the halls with chanukiahs!

Dec 12, 2019 Go comment!

With its turkey, tinsel, and trees, no Christian holiday seems to fascinate Jews more than Christmas. The promise of pudding and presents captures our imagination. With the commercialisation and proliferation of Christmas growing every year, bearded Santa Claus starts to look more like a rabbi to some, albeit sporting an unconventional red gaberdine.
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Finding the positive in negative space

Dec 12, 2019 Go comment!

Hey, do you know what negative space is? I’ve thrown out this question to people around me this week, and have received some interesting answers. “It’s when you find yourself in a polluted space where things are negative and uncomfortable.” “It’s a place which feels negative, physically – kind of like squishy and uncomfortable.” “It’s a frame of mind, emotionally or mentally, when things just look negative.” Well, who can argue – they are all correct descriptions.
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Light up your holiday with Judaism

Dec 12, 2019 Go comment!

The end of the year is upon us; and it’s finally time for a break. Relaxation from school lifts, appointments, and traffic. Maybe even some time off work. Whether you are going to Romania or going to “remain here”, I hope you will get some diversion from your daily routine.
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Be present for every Jew, everywhere

Dec 05, 2019 Go comment!

I recently returned from the annual Chabad-Lubavitch Shluchim Conference (aka the Kinus) in New York, where the culminating banquet expressed the idea of being present for every Jew, everywhere.
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How to bring blessing into your life

Nov 28, 2019 Go comment!

Man is a being with many needs. Not only materially but in many other areas – emotional, mental, social, biological, and spiritual. We are told that we must be “happy with our portion” (Pirkei Avot), yet we are created to be striving beings, seeking to increase and grow, and not stay as we are.
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