We Will Not Hide Our Light
Rabbi Adrian M. Schell addresses the Wimbledon Synagogue community following the horrific knife attack on the streets of Golders Green. The fading surprise at such violence is perhaps the most terrifying reality of all. Our response cannot simply be to retreat behind higher fences.
Exploring Parashat Emor and its demand for "one standard for stranger and citizen alike" (Leviticus 24:22), Rabbi Schell confronts the normalisation of antisemitism in the UK. He unpacks the "canary in the coal mine" metaphor, reflects on the Home Secretary's recent statements, and highlights the vital need for a society that tackles hatred through education and the full force of the law. A Progressive Jewish response is not to shrink, but to act with spiritual defiance. We are still here, and we will not hide our light.
The Weight of Witnessing: Why Your Heart Feels Heavy for Others
Looking at the 10 plagues at the beginning of the Exodus narrative, I think they not only strike Egypt but also pass through the Israelite houses as sound, fear, and memory. The Israelites may be spared some of the blows, but they still live with the cries in the night and the knowledge of what is happening next door. Their identity is shaped not only by their own suffering, but by what they have witnessed in others.