The Return of the Final Hostage When I was growing up in the British Jewish community of the late 1980s, Ron Arad was a name that we were all familiar with. He was the Israeli helicopter pilot who had been shot down over Lebanon and who had been captured by terrorists. After initial reports that Continue Reading »
George Burns famously said: “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family … in another city.” As someone who lives far away from his family I couldn’t possibly comment, but I am curious whether he was using our Biblical ancestors as his source material. The family dynamics in our first book of Torah, the Continue Reading »
Endings and Beginnings (edited from the text that was delivered) At this time of year in the Jewish calendar it is inevitable that we think about beginnings and endings. Rosh Hashanah marks simultaneously the end of one year and the beginning of a New Year. It also marks the start of our Ten Days Continue Reading »
On the 13th April 1888 Alfred Nobel awoke to discover that he had died. Or at least that is what one French newspaper was reporting, as it carried an obituary for the inventor. More shocking than seeing his name on the page was the description he found. The obituary stated: “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became Continue Reading »
60 years ago today the Jewish religion and America’s national religion – baseball – came into direct conflict with one another. The MLB scheduling had decreed that Game One of the World Series would coincide with Yom Kippur. This timing challenge became an even bigger issue when the Los Angeles Dodgers progressed to the big Continue Reading »
Reflections on Returning to Israel Before embarking on my trip to Israel I could tell that our daughter Gabby was more concerned than usual. She was not just anxious about me going away, she was worried about my safety while in Israel. The card she put in my luggage, left me in little doubt Continue Reading »
