What is Jewish about Jewish music? This is a question that has been debated by makers of Jewish music from time immemorial. Music and song have always been a major part of Jewish religious life. It was obvious that songs that were sung in the Synagogue and Temple as part…
Corrupt and Hypocritical Religious Leaders
Corruption, sin and hypocrisy are unfortunate facts of life and to give up on religion because of hypocritical and corrupt religious leaders is to throw out the baby with the bathwater No wonder people are getting fed up with religion when things like this happen. Just last week one…
Rabbis and Politics: Are They Compatible
A religious leader commenting on a hot political issue will need to set aside any personal political bias and give an opinion based on an honest and objective interpretation of Biblical law viewed through the prism of thousands of years of tradition. In response to my article about politics some…
US Jews, reconsider support for left
Jews must be constantly on guard to oppose anti-Semitism wherever is rears its ugly head, even in places where we least expect to see it In an attempt to explain why most Jewish Americans are liberal and vote Democrat, a friend of mine sent me Philip Roth’s award-winning book entitled…
The Future of British Jewry
A Synagogue in Glasgow was daubed Whilst most people in Britain are not prejudiced towards Jews, anti-Semitism is not taken seriously It is not surprising to me that just this week London’s Mayor Ken Livingstone won his High Court appeal against a finding that he brought his office into disrepute…
Katsav and Shameless Behaviour by Politicians
The number of prominent politicians who have stepped forward to insinuate that the President is guilty before he has been given a fair trial is therefore particularly disturbing. The accusations against the President of the State of Israel are extremely serious and if they are proven true by a court…
Praying for North Korea and Iran
How often do we pass up a win-win situation and go for the lose-lose option on account of our ego? We often see this happening on a micro scale – in the lives of those around us – and it has occurred on the world stage time and again…
More than a home
What, however, should the role of a synagogue be in the life of a Jew? How often have you heard people say, “I am a Jew at heart although I do not go to the synagogue much?” Somehow during the High Holidays Jews seem to flock to the synagogue in much…
Rosh Hashanah: a time for renewal
This weekend celebrates the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. According to the Hebrew Bible, this day was also the sixth day of creation, the day God created humans. A birthday should be more than just a celebration of age; it should be a day for introspection. On a birthday, one…
9/11 and Biblical Genocide: No Moral Equivalent
The question is stark. Surely the commandment to kill the Amolekites equates with Nazism, Bin Laden and the evil perpetrators of the September 11 attack! This week selebrates the anniversary of a reprehensible act of mass murder. The September 11th 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre, Washington and…