Rabbi Claude's Scribbles

  בראשית א ׳: (א) בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹקִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (ב) וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹקִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃   Genesis 1: (1) In the beginning, Gd created the heaven and the earth. (2) Now the earth was unformed and void and darkness (was) over the surface of the deep and the spirit of Gd hovered over the face of the waters. When I think about our lives and what has transpired over the last six months, the words 'unformed', 'void' and 'darkness' do not seem out of place. How many of us have had to check our calendars to remind us of which day of the week we have been living through? How many of us listen to the news and try to make sense of the 'void' of Covid-19 that has overtaken our little blue planet? How many of us feel as though we are living in 'darkness'? In the beginning, there was nothing. The spirit of Gd may have ho

  Deuteronomy 31: (9) Moses wrote down this Torah and gave it to the priests, sons of Levi, who carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, and to all the elders of Israel. (10) And Moses commanded them as follows: At the end of seven years, at the time of the Sabbatical Year (i.e. Shmittah) during the Sukkot Festival, (11) when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord, your Gd in the place that He will choose, you shall read this Torah aloud in the presence of all Israel. (Rashi and Rambam explain that the king stood on a wooden platform in the Temple and read from a Torah scroll starting with the first verse of the Book of Devarim until the end of the first paragraph of the Shema, the second paragraph and the majority of chapters 14 to 28, including the Tochecha/warning). (12) Gather (Hakhel) together the people—men, women, children, and the strangers in your cities—that they may hear and so that they may learn and they will fear the Lord your Gd and to observe faithfully ever

Jean-Dominique Bauby and Sarah Ezekiel. These two names might be unfamiliar to most of us but each of these respective individuals has managed an incredible feat. Jean-Dominique was a French journalist and author who was a former editor of the French fashion magazine, 'Elle'. Sarah is a British artist whose works have been exhibited internationally. There are many talented writers and artists in the world, however very few can claim to have created their output without the use of their hands. Or feet (remember Christy Brown of 'My Left Foot' fame?). Or virtually any other limb in their body. Apart from their eyes. In 1995, at the young age of 43, Jean-Dominique suffered a major stroke.   He woke up in hospital unable to speak, completely paralysed aside from the use of his left eye, which still had the ability to blink.   He was diagnosed with 'locked-in' syndrome (LIS), which is also known as 'Pseudocoma'. Sarah was diagnosed with Moto