Your Favourite Outfit

In this week’s D’var Torah for Toldot, the Chief Rabbi asks what can be learnt from Eisav’s favourite outfit. What is your most favourite outfit of clothing? For what special occasion did you wear it? In Parashat Toldot we are told, “Vatikach Rivka Et Bigdei Eisav Bnah Hagadol Hachamudot – Rivka took her …

The Peace of Our Homes

Every time we walk into our homes, we’re reminded of the fact that the peace of our homes is built on compromise. Now why do I say this? In Parshat Shoftim, there is a famous commandment: ‘Tzedek, Tzedek tirdof’ – ‘justice, justice, you must pursue’. Many commentators throughout the millennia …

Thirsty for Torah

If people are thirsty, should we take water to them, or should we wait for them to come and ask for it? The prophet Isaiah in the Haftarah for Parshat Re’eh tells us ‘Hoy kol-tzame lechu lamayim’– let everyone who is thirsty come to the water. But elsewhere, Isaiah tells …

Words of encouragement

From the Parsha of Devarim we have wonderful words of encouragement for the Jewish people right now. Moshe declared ‘Hashem elohei avotechem yosef aleichem kachem elef pe’amim’. May the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase your numbers 1000 times over. The Midrash intriguingly, tells us that this is a …