Post List

‘Impulse’ – Parashat Pinchas

How many of you remember the advert for the deodorant ‘Impulse’? It showed a young lady doing her ablutions and then spraying on this deodorant and then going out. As she passes a young man, he gets a whiff of this and then runs off, finds a flower shop, buys some flowers and runs back to find her to give her the flowers, which she takes whilst blushing. And the…

Parashat Balak

God is on my side… whose side? Balak King of the Moabites is honoured with this portion named after him, so again there is a key truth to learn from him as a role model. He looked at Israel and realised the writing was on the wall, destruction was assured due to our might and power, so he tried to get a little extra help against us. On comes Balaam…

Parashat Chukat

Are we nearly there yet? How many parents get tired of hearing that one?! The 40 years ‎of wandering are soon to be over, the camp of Israel is close to ‎the borders of the Promised Land, they are almost there and so ‎what happens? Throw a party to celebrate this achievement? ‎No,they grumble and complain, murmur against G-d and attack ‎Moshe and Aharon! ‎ In Numbers (B’midbar) 20:4-5 we…

Parashat Korach

Humility! “Is it a small thing to you that the G-d of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the L-RD, and to stand before the congregation to serve them; “and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking…

Parashat Sh’lach L’kha

Parashat Shelach (Send) – the sending out of the 12 spies to spy out the land and plan for its capture and settlement. The resultant report upon their return led the people of Israel into a 40 year diversion, one year for every day of faithlessness. However, God’s plans are never thwarted or diverted; in this case, Israel was settled but by a different generation. The passage begins with ‘sh’lach…

Parashat Beha’alotcha

Moving on and holding back Welcome back to the season in Torah that highlights our complaining in the desert! ‘Give me meat!’ I know what’s good for me and it’s not this! With these words the events of the next few Shabbat portions unfold with an almost inevitable consequential development. We find Israel a year into the journey, having spent 1 year at Sinai and now setting off, but already…

Parashat Nasso

Blessings In the film Fiddler on the Roof, the old Rabbi is asked a question…. Lebisch: Rabbi! May I ask you a question? Rabbi: Certainly, Lebisch! Lebisch: Is there a proper blessing… for the Tsar? Rabbi: A blessing for the Tsar? Of course! May G-d bless and keep the Tsar… far away from us! In this week’s Parasha we see what is known as the Birchat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing) יברכך…

Parashat Bamidbar

The portion begins with ‘in the wilderness or desert’. One year ‎after receiving the Torah at Sinai we begin to move on into the ‎next 39 years of wandering through a barren land. We had come ‎out of Egypt (a metaphor for the world’s system) and headed to ‎decision day, our meeting with G-d at Sinai, where we chose to ‎follow (or as the early responses to G-d revealed- rebel…

Parashat Behar-Bechukotai

When was the last time you looked in to the mirror? Can you remember what you saw? What did you look like? Or have you forgotten already? Ya’akov (James) 1: 222 – 24 says, “Don’t deceive yourselves by only hearing what the Word says, but do it! For whoever hears the Word but doesn’t do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror, who…

Parashat Emor

Making Time for G-d In Vayikra (Lev) 21:8 we are told that it is G-d alone who makes us holy. He then wants us to BE holy in our walk with Him and before the world. G-d moves us from the camp of the unholy to the camp of the holy, and only He can do that. But once you’ve come into that camp you have to live out what…

Weekly Drash