Shabbat Eykev Do as you would be done by

The weekly reading of Eykev follows the pattern of the previous three weeks. Read more

Shabbat Balak – Listening to Magicians

It seems strange that the whole part of the Torah we read this week should be named after a Midianite/Moabite King, Balak, and devoted to a non-Jewish magician Bilam. Read more

Shabbat Behukotai: What am I worth?

As we reach the end of the book of Leviticus, we’ve run through a series of laws, ethical and ritual, that relate to other human beings, the Land, and God. Read more

Shabbat Metzora – Shabbat HaGadol:  Elijah

“Behold I will send you Elijah (Eliyahu) the prophet before the great awesome Day of God and he will reconcile fathers to children and children to fathers” (Malachi 3:24). Read more

Shabbat Shmini: You are what you eat

After dealing with the sacrificial system and with the roles that priests play within it, the Torah turns to the laws of kashrut. Read more

Shabbat Bo: Lessons from the Exodus

There are two themes amongst the many in this week’s Torah that stand out as being particularly relevant at this moment in time. Read more

Shabbat Vaeyra: Persuasion

This week, we read about the process through which Moses and Aaron try to persuade the pharaoh that he should let the children of Israel go. Read more

Shabbat Vayehi – Fear not

As we complete the book of Bereishit, Genesis, this week, Jacob has died, and the brothers now turn to Joseph and say, “Our father asked us to beg you to forgive us for what we did to you”( Genesis 50:15-21 ). Read more

Shabbat Vayigash: Diplomacy

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Shabbat Re’eh: Adding or Subtracting

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Shabbat Mattot & Massei: Where should you live?

As the children of Israel approach the land of Israel, they had to pass through what is now Transjordan. The domains of Sihon the Emorite and Og of Bashan. Read more

Shabbat Vayehiy: Favouritism

As we come to the end of the Book of Bereishit (Genesis), we can look back and see a thread in the narrative of human beings grappling with the moral and spiritual challenges that we all face. Read more

Shabbat Vayigash: Negotiations

Is there a set formula for negotiations? We see two examples in this week’s reading from the Torah. Read more

Shabbat Vayeytzey: Dreams and Fears

Jacob flees his parents’ home because he fears that Esau will kill him for taking the blessing from Isaac. Read more

Shabbat Ki Tavo: Rewards and punishment

The Torah this week contains blessings and warnings. Read more

Shabbat Eykev: Bread is not enough

It is a strange sentence. “I provided you with the Manah so that you should know that a person does not live on bread alone.” And then, the Torah goes on to extoll the physical richness of the land the Israelites are coming to and how it will provide all the food they could want. Read more

Shabbat Vayigash: Failed priests

When Pharaoh accepted Yosef’s interpretation of his dreams and his advice to Pharaoh on how to prepare for it, he was given the opportunity to prepare for the approaching catastrophe. Read more

Shabbat Ki Tavo

Why do we do things in life? Is it to get some kind of reward? Read more