For the first time since their departure from Egypt, the Israelites do something together. They sing.
“Then sang Moses and the children of Israel.”
R. Nehemiah in the Talmud Sotah …
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks zt"l
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2/1/23
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Sometimes others know us better than we know ourselves. In the year 2000, a British Jewish research institute came up with a proposal that Jews in Britain be redefined as an ethnic group and not as a …
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks
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1/25/23
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The Torah sometimes says something of fundamental importance in what seems like a minor and incidental comment. There is a fine example of this near the beginning of this parsha.
In last …
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks
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1/18/23
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This week’s parsha, Shemos, could be entitled “The Birth of a Leader.” We see Moses, adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter, growing up as a prince of Egypt. We see him as a young man, …
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks zt"l
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1/11/23
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In his introduction to the Rabbinical Council of America’s version of the ArtScroll Siddur, Rabbi Saul Berman has a lovely essay on the opening word of this week’s sedra, Vayigash, …
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks
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12/28/22
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Something extraordinary happens between last week’s parsha, Vayeshev, and this week’s, Miketz. It is almost as if the pause of a week between them were itself part of the story.
Recall …
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By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt'l
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12/21/22
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In his Hilchot Teshuvah, Maimonides makes one of the most empowering statements in religious literature. Having explained that we, and the world, are judged by the majority of our deeds, he …
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks zt"l
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12/14/22
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It is one of the most enigmatic episodes in the Torah, but also one of the most important, because it was the moment that gave the Jewish people its name: Israel, one who “wrestles with G-d and …
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks
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12/7/22
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Why Jacob? That is the question we find ourselves asking repeatedly as we read the narratives of Genesis.
Jacob is not what Noah was: righteous, perfect in his generations, one who walked with …
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks zt"l
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12/1/22
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In this week’s sedra, Toldos, we see Isaac as the parent of two very different sons.
The boys grew up. Esau became a skilful hunter, a man of the outdoors; but Jacob was a mild man who …
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By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l
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11/23/22
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