24th of December 2021 Shabbat Shalom and a blessed Christmas to everyone. In our strange, surreal circumstances brought about by a virulent virus I think all of us have lost touch of time passing. Yes it is almost the end of 2021 and our hopes are for a kinder 2022, one in which we can…

17th December 2021 Shabbat Shalom everyone! Just one week to Christmas and the Old City of Jerusalem, especially the Christian Quarter, and Nazareth are ablaze with coloured lights and Christmas trees! The main road to Bethlehem, actually called Hebron Road, has Christmas decorations and lighting and the general feeling is one of hope that the…

10th December 2021 6th Tevet 5782 Shabbat Shalom! Just 14 days, a fortnight, until Christmas Eve! Where has this year gone? I was looking at this week’s Torah reading and am convinced that every family should read it and interpret its message for our own family and friends. We all know about Joseph’s jealous brothers…

3rd December 2021 Gosh I can’t believe it’s already December tonight is the 6th Candle of Chanuka and it’s only 21 days to Christmas! Where has the time gone? This morning, thanks to a crossword clue that I couldn’t answer, I discovered that the word Omicron is a strange choice for the newest variant of…

26th November 2021 Shabbat Shalom everyone! How are you? I looked at today’s date and I couldn’t help but wonder where the year has gone! It strikes me that this time last year we had no concept that Covid would still be running our lives! 29th of November 1947 was one of the most important,…

19th November 2021 Shabbat Shalom dear friends. I hope this missive finds you well and that your country is coming out the other side of this horrible pandemic. “Discipline your son while there is hope, but do not set your heart on his destruction” The deep wisdom of this quote from Proverbs has implications that…

12th November 2021 Shabbat Shalom! Did you notice today’s date? Should I say that if you are not American, did you notice today’s date…. 12/11/21. Don’t ask me why I like it, I love numbers, dates and times which “rhyme”, which is really strange for someone who is as far from a mathematician as possible!…

4th of November 2021 Shabbat Shalom! How are you? I hope you are well and that the cooler, kinder weather is making life so much easier. The trees are turning to a million shades of red and orange and yellow and………… autumn. Today’s date makes me sad. The fourth of November 1995 was the day…

211028 28th October 2021 Shabbat Shalom! Hopefully a Shabbat without too many ghosties, Ghoulies and things that go bump in the night as All Hallows Eve becomes an international celebration of the noble Pumpkin!! Israel has survived many trials and tribulations since her birth but none so traumatic as the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzchak…

22nd October 2021 Shabbat Shalom! I’m home after a truly magnificent 10 days in New York City – but more of that later. English speakers in Israel spend every journey along the roads and highways of Israel in a state of permanent “cringe” at the spelling of the road signs and names of towns and…