HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 2023 Like every year, we meet again, in this place, around the Memorial, on Holocaust Remembrance Day. Twenty years have passed since the institution of the recurrence. The purpose was, and I am quoting from the HMT website, to “bear witness for those who endured genocide, and honour the survivors and…

We Jews, me and you, belong to the best Book Club in the world. There are other clubs and associations out there, all great and good. But our Book Club is the real thing. As you know, because you’re here, our Book Club meets every Saturday morning. During our meetings…

And.. she did it again. Whoopi Goldberg, the non-Jewisn actress who changed her family name at the beginning of her career -many years ago- into a Jewish-sounding one. She never said why, but we often hear that a Jewish family name helps you find a job in the movie industry…

We do not sing the entire Ma’oz tzur in this synagogue. Like many other Jews, we sing only the first stanza. But Ma’oz tzur is considerably longer; it has five stanzas. Let us have a look at the last one. p. 378 in our Prayerbook. When the Greeks were gathered…

So everything is ready for Chanukah. Before Chanukah begins, I would like you to consider another holiday. I know more than one month has passed, so perhaps you’ve forgotten. Let me help you; the last holiday we celebrated was Sukkot. …

You should learn Hebrew. In a moment, I will tell you the reason why. Before that, let me remind you where we are in the Torah reading cycle. Warning. It is, I have to say, one of the most distressing moments of the Biblical narrative. Isaac is on his deathbed…

A DIFFICULT TORAH PORTION This is a difficult Torah portion. If you aim to craft a Judaism palatable for the chattering classes, if you love to talk about “difficult questions” -whose answers can be found in the column of the Guardian- you most want to skip Chaye Sarah, the Torah…

There are many jokes about Jewish lawyers (not all appropriate for a synagogue, so don’t expect me to tell one!). And this is because there are many Jewish lawyers for many reasons. …

The Smurfs are Jewish. Or at least some of them are. The Smurfette, for sure, is undoubtedly a Jewish Princess (please accept my apologies for evoking a stereotype). Another recognisably Jewish character is Brainy Smurf, with his glasses and love for talking. Brainy Smurf is certainly one of the smarter…