Jeremy Rosen
ARTICLES BY: Jeremy Rosen
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...
Shabbat Terumah: The Lost Ark and Why Objects Don’t Connect Us to God
The Tabernacle was the House of God, symbolizing the Divine Presence. It was the center of religious ceremonies. The Mishkan, as it was called, was the...
God Can’t Answer the Question of ‘Why’
Innocent worshipers were shot outside a synagogue in Israel. Children were mowed down intentionally at a bus stop in Jerusalem. Eleven people were shot in...
Is Israel Becoming a ‘Theocracy’? Hardly.
In the political polemic of our times, language is often a victim, as people use words loosely, inaccurately, and without thinking of their significance or...
How the Exodus Narrative Is a Cry for Femininity
Rashi, commenting on this week’s amazing events at the Red Sea, quotes the Midrash (Mechilta 15:22), saying that at the Red Sea, God was seen...
We Have a Mezuzah to Tell the World We Are Jews
This week, we read about the preparation of the Israelites to leave Egypt. They were told to prepare a lamb for each household to eat...
