Shemini Atseret – How to Stay Inspired – 5775 You thought it was all over. An entire month waking up an hour earlier for Selihot, two days of lengthened services on Rosh Hashana, a complete day of fasting and worship in the synagogue on Yom Kippur and seven days…

Wembley Rosh HaShanah Message 5775 As well as looking ahead for a new year, Rosh Hashanah is a time of reflection on the previous year. In Jewish law there are two distinct types of synagogues, the Beth Knesset and Beth Midrash. A Beth Knesset means a house of gathering…

Shemini Atseret – How To Stay Inspired – 5776 You thought it was all over. An entire month waking up an hour earlier for Selihot, two days of lengthened services on Rosh Hashana, a complete day of fasting and worship in the synagogue on Yom Kippur and seven days…

A Fresh Start – 5776 Rosh HaShanah begins a New Year, the opportunity for a fresh start. The hope embedded in a fresh start is the hope of doing better. Exactly how we do better is deeply personal. For some people, it means saying sorry to people around us….

Seeing is Believing – 5776 The central Torah reading of Rosh Hashanah is Akedat Yitzhak, the Binding of Isaac. It demonstrates Avraham’s complete submission to G-d; his willingness to even sacrifice his beloved son Yitzhak. Within the narrative, however, there is a peculiar exchange between Avraham and Yitzhak. Yitzhak…

The True Judgement of the High Holy Days 5776 – By Rabbi Danny Kada Elul is the time of the year when our children come home from school with all sorts of designs and pictures of scales depicting the upcoming judgement of the High Holy Days. The one whose…

Rosh Hodesh and Ladies – Parashat Pinehas Parshart Pinchas is an eventful parsha, where at the beginning Moshe and Elazar conduct a census of Bnei Yisrael and at the end Hashem instructs Moshe about the different holidays. Let us try to understand the connection between these two themes. The…

The Happiness of the Month of Av – 5775 If there’s one thing Jews are notorious for, it’s not being able to agree.  As the satirical saying goes ‘two Jews and three opinions! Yet, if you were to take a group of 100 educated Jews and ask them the…

Shavuot 5775 In 1851, Queen Victoria hosted an international exhibition to celebrate the contributions of over 40 nations. The emphasis was on natural resources— India showed the magnificent Koh-i-Noor diamond—and on the latest machinery—a Jacquard loom, daguerreotype photography, the prototype Colt Navy revolver, even a barometer that employed leeches….

Pesah: G-d’s Symphony אם נא מצאתי חן בעיניך הודעני נא את דרכך ואדעך למען אמצא חן בעיניך שמות לג:יג “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favour with you.” Shemot 33:13 Moses moulded Pesah. An Egyptian prince…