weekly insights

As Jewish communities prepare to celebrate the Passover festival, commencing at sundown on 12 April 2025, Light of Torah shares this...

As we open the Book of Leviticus, also known as ‘Vayikra’ (Hb: ‘And he called’), we find not a series of action-packed stories, but a...

Many Christians find it intimidating to read those parts of their Old Testament that are filled with repetitive ritual detail. The...

Given the frenetic and overwhelming pace of modern life, it might seem obvious to point out the importance of rest and ‘time-out’ for the...

The story of the rebellion at Mt Sinai, where the Israelites erect a golden calf (Exodus 32:1-6), raises an interesting question: Up...

This week’s Torah reflection raises sensitive issues, relating to G-d’s command to “utterly blot out the memory of Amalek” (Ex 17:14)....

At time of writing, the Bibas children, Ariel and Kfir, and their mother, Shiri, have been laid to rest in Israel. I want to speak about...

After the revelation at Sinai, the Book of Exodus turns its attention to the spiritual welfare of the Israelites during their desert trek...

“The Old Testament and the Jewish tradition must not be set against the New Testament in such a way that the former seems to constitute a...

This week we explore afresh a passage which is lodged in many minds as the ‘Ten Commandments’ (Exodus 20:1-17). Actually, the Hebrew word...

How well do you know the bible story of the ten plagues in the Book of Exodus? If you were asked, “Who is the main protagonist in the...

"Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh…" (Exodus 5:1). As we commence the Book of Exodus, our verse for close attention...

As our Torah portion opens, Jacob has been 17 years in Egypt. His longing for his homeland is unmistakable. His longings reflect not only...

'I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold to Egypt' (Genesis 45:4). With these words, Joseph reveals his true identity to his estranged...

"Let Pharaoh now select a man who is discerning and wise and set him over the land of Egypt…" (Genesis 41:33). The sages detect a curious...

In December both Christians and Jews hold candle-lighting rituals.  Christian families light the Advent wreath candles on the Sundays...

“Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human, and have prevailed” (Genesis 32:29)....

On this day, 6 December 2024, the anniversary of William Cooper's courageous protest in the wake of Kristallnacht in 1938, and as a...

Our Torah reflection this week, from Chapter 28 of Genesis, opens with Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, fleeing to Haran having just...

"She went to inquire of the L ORD , and the L ORD answered her…" (Gen 25:22-23, JPS). Pregnant with two sons who are already warring...