Bemidbar – Making Census of the S&P
ב שְׂאוּ, אֶת-רֹאשׁ כָּל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, The rabbinic name for Sefer Bemidbar is the same as its English name, ‘Numbers.’ The rabbis called it Sefer Hapikudim, ‘The Book of Countings,’ as […]
Category Archives: Musings
Things I Think About That You Might Find Interesting
Sephardic Women: The Heroes of the S&P
In the 19th century five remarkable Sephardic women laboured to preserve Jewish life. They defended it from threats of conversion, assimilation and change, and they did so with the pen. […]
Shofetim – Cutting Down Trees, People, and Monuments
Monuments mean something. They remind us of people and history. Sometimes they recall movements that are meaningful to some whilst not to others. Other times, they celebrate dictators or regimes. More […]
Sephardic Jews and the American Revolution
The American Revolution pitted British subjects against one another. Patriots vs. Loyalists, Englishmen vs. Americans, brother vs. brother, and Jew vs. Jew. At that time there were only Sephardic congregations […]
Vayhi – The S&P and Ashkenazim
Narratives are important. The same series of events can take on a completely different meaning depending on how they are told. A prime example of this is the story of Yosef and […]
Vayigash -Goshen and the S&P
Jewish convention has it that when setting up a new Jewish community the first priority is to acquire a Jewish burial ground, then to establish a place of worship, and then […]
Starting Year Two – Consolidating and Expanding
I’m now into the beginning of my second year as rabbi of Bevis Marks Synagogue. The significance of my post hit me during my second Kippur service. I picked up […]
Hughenden Manor – How Jewish Was Benjamin Disraeli?
Since my arrival at Bevis Marks Synagogue I’ve felt conflicted about Benjamin Disraeli’s place within the S&P narrative. Disraeli was born a Jew in 1804, was a member of Bevis Marks, and is […]
Andalusia, Spain – Preserving ‘Sepharad’
Throughout much of history the Iberian Peninsula was divided amongst numerous kingdoms. In a sense, even today Spain remains not one but many different countries. I’ve previously visited Spain’s Catalonia […]
Jews and the Great Fire of London
In all of the recent fanfare surrounding the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London (2-5 September), I didn’t hear any mention of Jews. That’s for good reason. Jews […]
