Jeremy Rosen
ARTICLES BY: Jeremy Rosen
The Torah Tells Us That Faith Is Better Than Magic
This week, we have two very different Torah pashas combined into one. Yet despite their differences, there are some important themes running through them. The first...
Does Judaism Still Need Priests Today?
The earth opened up, fire came down from heaven, and sticks sprouted almond blossoms and nuts. What does it mean? Whether it is heaven, earth,...
The Talmud on a Desert Island
One of the longest-running radio program series on the BBC is "Desert Island Discs." It began in the year of my birth, 1942, and is...
Don’t Try to Be Happy; Try to Feel Joy and Gratitude
The American Constitution says that we have the right to happiness. What is happiness? Can the pursuit of happiness be a right, an experience, a...
What the Torah Told Us About Mob Rule — and How It Applies Today
This week, the Torah starts very optimistically, portraying the events that come at the end of the first year of the trek through the wilderness,...
Why I Loved the Coronation, and Support King Charles
Whatever one may think of monarchy, the coronation of King Charles was a magnificent pageant. It illustrates why the Talmud was so keen on going...
Shabbat Behar & Behukotai: Despite Challenges, We Must Look on the Bright Side of Life
The book of the Torah called Leviticus is also called the Book of Purity. It deals with the relationship between human beings and God, the...
Israel at 75
I recently read two great books -- “Israel’s Declaration of Independence: The History and Political Theory of the Nation’s Founding Moment” by Neil Rogachevsky and...
The Goal of Morality in the Torah Is to Treat Others Better
For many of us, reading the third Book of the Torah -- Leviticus -- is not a particularly inspiring or easy exercise. It deals with...
Holocaust Remembrance Days Really Do Matter
This week, we witnessed another impressive Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel, where the country came to a halt to remember the atrocities of the Holocaust....
Are You Sick? This Is How the Torah Wanted Us to Take Care of Our Souls
The chapters of the Torah that we are reading now are concerned with health, and what happens when our bodies do not function effectively or...
Would Ritual Sacrifices Be Acceptable Today?
At this time of the year, the Torah readings are all to do with sacrifices. I shall confess that the thought of killing animals does...
What Does God Look Like? Not What You Think
The dominant theme of the Torah this Shabbat is the episode of the Golden Calf. Moses was up on the mountain for 40 days and 40...
On Purim, Remembering Amalek Means Remembering the Holocaust and Confronting Hate
The Shabbat before Purim is always called Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat when we remember. What are we to remember? Exodus Chapter 17:14, and Deuteronomy Chapter...
