The General Assembly of the United Nations in New York was one of the most talked about in recent years as the Palestinian Authority attempted to receive statehood recognition. Speaking there was President Barack Obama in a speech widely hailed as his most pro Israel rhetoric. “Israel, a small country of less than eight million people, look out at a […]

Shalom Uvrocha. It is indeed true, I admit it! I never do anything the normal way… it always has to be that little bit different, more interesting perhaps, make life that little bit more exciting. So, when after 5 months of hiding my illness and chemotherapy I decided to “come out of the closet” with it, rest assured I didn’t just come […]

(Based on the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe) The Middle Eastern Conflict has proved one of the most intractable in modern times. For over 100 years there has been so much disinformation and dishonesty promoted by the Arab world and marketed by most of the world’s media that so many people – including many Jews – have lost sight of […]

When it comes to conversion issues in Judaism it is important to bear in mind that Judaism does not solicit converts. The reason for this is that in Judaism, (unlike in other religions) non Jews (‘Gentiles’) do not need to convert in order to receive “salvation.” Whoever keeps the Noachide Code – the Seven Commands of Noah (see below) is […]

From King David’s lilting harp to the rapturous music of the Biblical Prophets, from the joyous singing and instrumentals of the Levites in the holy Temple to the ecstatic Hassidic “nigunim” (melodies) – music has always been at the forefront of Jewish living. But what of todays “popular music?” Can Jews listen and enjoy such music? Why not, I hear […]

Imagine driving down the road and seeing a bumper sticker on the car in front reading “I have a TV-free home: I want slim kids!” That could foreseeably happen in the wake of a new scientific study on the effects of TV. Many of you might have heard the media stories that researchers at New Zealand’s University of Otago looked […]

“Star Wars”, “War of the Worlds”, “Fantastic Four”…the movie industry is full of exploits – and no doubt many loud explosions – focusing on man’s passion for the ‘unknown’ and the ‘unbelievable’ from outer space. Nu, so what’s the ‘Jewish view’ I hear you ask? If everything is in the Torah, surely there must be an opinion or two here.

In light of the recent miraculous rescue of the two miners in Beaconsfield, Tasmania and the failure of (Jewish) illusionist David Blaine’s latest daredevil act “Drowned Alive” attempting to beat the world record for holding one’s breath underwater, a reasonable question can be asked: are these kinds of activities actually permitted, since we see they involve significant danger to life […]

Muslims and martyrdom is a topic no-one can get away from these days. The abominable bombings in London last June has literally brought the “Israel suicide scene” right onto the streets of Bloomsbury…and the TV sets of suburbia. So what does Judaism say about this. Certainly there is a concept of martyrdom in Jewish literature but it’s radically different from […]

Following the shooting of the police woman Sharon Beshenivsky in Bradford on November 18th 2005, the former Metropolitan Police Chief , Lord Stevens has said the death penalty should be reinstated for people who kill police officers. What is the Jewish view with regard to capital punishment? Judaism does believe in the death penalty in certain extreme cases, The Torah […]