Dear Friends,
How time flies! I took the opportunity in my last blog post to wish you all a purim sameach. Now pesach is upon us!
That time, fortunately, has been well spent. We’ve been uploading dozens of new articles on a weekly basis, including several reviews written by and about Rabbi Louis Jacobs. In light of our progress, we decided that the “Thoughts of Rabbi Louis Jacobs” section in the “Articles and Reviews” thumbnail had become redundant, and transferred all its contents to the “Articles” section. For the sake of inspiration, I thought it fitting to recommend the following two pieces which discuss, respectively, one of the deeper aspects of pesach, and general laws relating to the festival. I found the first of these two pieces in the “Thoughts” section, whereas the second was added to the website last week!
We’ve also had two study sessions this past month. The first one, entitled “Judaism: A Truth or The Truth?” was led by Simon Eder in Ivor’s house, and covered different approaches in Jewish sources to the tension between particularism and universalism. The session was recorded, and can be viewed on the website! Two weeks later, last Sunday, Elie Jesner delivered the fourth lecture of his Honest Theology Project at the Hampstead Garden Suburb Central Square minyan hall. In this session, Elie discussed the impact of Zionism on contemporary Jewish practice and belief, focusing particularly on the rise of a distinct and dangerous fundamentalist messianic fervour among certain groups of religious Jews. The recording is already available on the website in case you missed the event!
The most exciting piece of news, however, lies further ahead. The Friends of Louis Jacobs will be hosting several major events over this summer, including the 10th Louis Jacobs Annual Memorial Lecture on 11th July, delivered by Rabbi Jeremy Rosen, and special Shabbatot at the New London and New North London Synagogues commemorating the yahrzeit of Rabbi Jacobs. Full details to be sent out shortly, so keep an eye on your inboxes!
Wishing all our friends a pesach kasher ve’sameach!
Ezra
