Stop Creating Monsters
Rabbi Adrian Schell welcomes Secretary of State Steve Reed to Wimbledon Synagogue for Shabbat Vayishlach. This sermon explores the spiritual antidote to populism by connecting it to Jacob’s wrestling with Esau. In this crucial discussion of faith and politics, the Rabbi challenges us all to see the humanity in the 'other'—the refugee, the opponent, or the stranger—and reject the language that builds monsters. A call for social justice and progressive ethics in a divided world.
What Makes Us Whole?
In Parashat Emor, we find one of the Torah’s more difficult passages — a section that limits which kohanim, which priests, can serve at the altar. A priest with a visible difference — blind, lame, injured, or with a disfigurement — is instructed not to offer the sacred sacrifices.To modern ears, this can feel jarring. It brushes up against our values of equality, inclusion, and dignity. But maybe we can approach this not as a closed door but as a doorway into deeper conversation.