21st June 2019 - Dr Harry Freedman - When the cloud rose from the tabernacle the Israelites would set out; and at the place where the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp. It’s well known that, as the Israelites journeyed through the ... Continue Reading ➨
Thoughts & Readers Contributions
This new section is introduced to enable the publication of contributions by those closely associated with the running of Friends as well as from our growing readership. We are keen to publish short articles (up to 1,000 words), the best of which will also be emailed to all subscribers. Please send your articles or suggestions to info@louisjacobs.org or you can use the form.
Dr Harry Freedman, who helped start Friends in 2006 and who has subsequently been advising and helping our growth will be a major contributor so it is fitting that we start this project with his contribution dealing with this week's parasha.
The Bible’s Property Laws- Aspiration not Legislation
24th May 2019 • Dr. Harry Freedman • The Torah does not recognise the idea of land ownership in the way that we do today. Indeed, its attitude to land is so idealised that it seems unlikely that the system it mandates was ever put into ... Continue Reading ➨
When Biblical Names Tell a Story.
17th May 2019 • Dr. Harry Freedman • The Bible frequently talks about the Children of Israel (or 'Israelites' as the old English translators would have it). In only two places does it refer to an 'Israeli'. The Book of Samuel (II Sam 17,25), speaks ... Continue Reading ➨
Be Ye Holy, for I the Lord your God am Holy.
10th May 2019 Kedoshim • Rev Dr Isaac Levy • Copy of a sermon from the early 1960's • Could any command affecting life and conduct be more puzzling than this? Surely the first question which comes to mind is how does one achieve this state of ... Continue Reading ➨
The House is On Fire.
3rd May 2019 • Simon Eder • I was struck last week by Greta Thunberg's address to the Houses of Parliament. The 16 year old climate change activist reminded us with a prophetic warning that environmental concern is the supreme issue of the day. "Our ... Continue Reading ➨
The Hagaddah and the Triumph of Hope.
18th April 2019 • Simon Eder • Steven Pinker's recent book, Enlightenment Now urges us to step back from the prophecies of doom and negative headlines plaguing the world and to a realisation that this is in fact the best time in human history to be ... Continue Reading ➨
The Hagaddah and Radical Inclusiveness.
18th April 2019 • Simon Eder • Much has been made in recent years of the intellectual and social bubbles that we construct in order to shelter us from the ideas that don't conform to our own points of view. We tend to gravitate toward the comfortable ... Continue Reading ➨
Noah’s quarantine. How biblical themes and motifs keep repeating.
12th April 2019 • Harry Freedman • Among the many inspirational passages in the Bible there are some, quite a few in fact, that seem to be exceedingly dull. Chapter 14 of Leviticus appears to be about as uninspiring as any. It deals with the ... Continue Reading ➨
A Spiritual Disease
5th April 2019 • Harry Freedman • The skin condition which is poorly translated as leprosy in English versions of the Bible is no ordinary disease. Sufferers from the disease are not only quarantined, as we might expect; they are also declared ... Continue Reading ➨
Aaron’s Sons- Evidence of an Ancient Folk Tradition?
29th March 2019 • Harry Freedman • One of the most difficult incidents to understand in the whole Bible is the death of Aaron’s two eldest sons, at the ceremony of dedication for the Tabernacle. It was supposed to be a joyous occasion. The portable ... Continue Reading ➨
Ideas That Lie Beneath the Surface
22nd March 2019 • Harry Freedman • The Book of Leviticus discussing sacrifices far more widely than any other section of the Bible. Most of us do not find the idea of sacrifices stimulating, indeed many people are repelled by the thought of them. ... Continue Reading ➨
God, the Megillah and the real message of Purim
15th March 2019 • Simon Eder • There is much to be said for the argument that the overarching theme of the Tanach is God’s relationship with Israel. So many books of the Hebrew Bible address their covenant. This begins of course in Exodus when God ... Continue Reading ➨
What Shall We Do With The Recalcitrant Witness?
14th March 2019 • Dr Harry Freedman • “And should a person offend when he hears a voice in adjuration, he being a witness, or has seen or known, if he does not tell, he shall bear his punishment” (Leviticus 5,1, Robert Alter translation). This is a ... Continue Reading ➨
Sparkling Fringes
13th February 2019 • Dr Harry Freedman • How Language Helps Us Make Connections We Might Otherwise Miss The High Priest in the Israelite Tabernacle, and later in the Jerusalem Temple, was told to wear an object, identified as a tzitz, on his ... Continue Reading ➨
Jethro’s profound, mundane message
1st February 2019 • Dr Harry Freedman • Chapter 18 of the book of Exodus feels a little like an anti-climax. The previous chapters have been high drama: the ten plagues, departure from Egypt, splitting of the Red Sea, the miraculous descent of the ... Continue Reading ➨
Simon Eder’s Summary and Response to Elie Jesner’s Opening Lecture in the Honest Theology Project
I remember vividly the late Rabbi Jacobs once paraphrasing GK Chesterton - "the good thing about being in hot water is that you stay clean". It was certainly in this spirit that "the Quest" - the initiative of The Friends of Louis Jacobs, was begun ... Continue Reading ➨