The Holiness of Doing Nothing
Parashat Behar opens with one of the Torah's most radical ideas. Every seventh year, the land of Israel must observe a shmita [sabbatical year]. No sowing, no pruning, no harvesting. The fields are simply left alone. Not because the land is broken, but because rest is not a reward for good work. Rest is a commandment.
We Will Not Hide
Again! I found myself staring at the news alerts yesterday, feeling that familiar, heavy tightening in my chest. Another attack. This time, a knife on the streets of Golders Green. The shock is instinctive, but if I am brutally honest with myself, the surprise is fading. And that fading surprise is perhaps the most terrifying part of all.
In the wake of such violence, the immediate instinct is to build higher fences. As several of my rabbinic colleagues and the Board of Deputies rightly highlighted today, securing our buildings is vital for our immediate physical safety. Yet, we must recognise a painful truth. If our only response to antisemitism is to retreat behind fortified walls, we are slowly yielding to our own erasure from public life.
Memory as a Sacred Obligation
The silence left behind by the stopped hostage clock is not the joyous quiet of a struggle won, but the heavy stillness of a cycle closed. In Parashat Beshallach, we read that Moses took the bones of Joseph with him out of Egypt. Even in a life or death escape, the leader of our people stopped to ensure no one was left behind. We do not leave our dead in the narrow places. This Shabbat, we hold space for the silence, honouring the persistence of a people who insist on the dignity of every soul and the sanctity of every name.
God is Not a Monster
How do we find a meaningful Jewish response to the Sydney terror attack? In this week's sermon on Parashat Mikeitz, Rabbi Adrian (Wimbledon Synagogue) challenges the idea that tragedy is part of a divine script. If we claim that everything happens for a reason, we risk portraying a "Puppeteer God" who is cruel. Instead, we explore why God is not a monster and how Jewish theology calls us to look for the Divine not in the tragedy itself, but in our absolute refusal to accept evil created by humans. This video explores the story of Joseph, the limits of human control, and how to maintain faith when the illusion of safety shatters.