Rabbi Claude's Scribbles

 I can't recall if the following took place on a Boeing 737 or 757, but it was your typical charter flight-type of airplane.  I don't sit next to the window as I'm not particularly fond of heights (which is strange granted that I've been blessed to fly to numerous destinations) and I hadn't managed to secure the aisle seat.  I was therefore squashed in the middle of my row.  The one to the left of the single aisle that ran down the centre of the plane. All was fine if I didn't need to stretch my legs or use the facilities.   Cruising at an altitude of 37,000 feet allows you to relax whilst praying that you don't have a child directly behind you kicking your seat for the entire journey.   If you've had that one answered, the next is the hope that it isn't a screaming baby instead. Nestled relatively comfortably in my seat, my attention was drawn to the stewardess who asked me if I had requested a Kosher meal.   I answered in the affirmative and sh

 The first few verses in this week's Parasha always strike me as being some of the most poignant in the entire Torah. Moshe Rabbeinu knows that he will not fulfil his lifelong dream of entering the Land of Israel. He says: At that time, I pleaded with the Lord: “O Lord, Gd.   You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand.   What forces in heaven or earth can do deeds and mighty acts like Yours?   Please let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and the Lebanon.” I don't know of anybody who would not find these words so poignant as to be heart-breaking in many different ways.   Thinking back to everything Moshe had achieved for our nation.   All the 'tzarot' he'd had to endure from our ancestors and then some. Now, in a plaintive voice, he is begging Gd to change His mind. Gd's response seems surprisingly harsh:   But the Lord was enraged with me because of You, and would no

I think that I speak for virtually every English person in this country and abroad (unless you're also German) in expressing my delight at the breathtaking and historic achievement that took place on Sunday at Wembley Stadium.   A huge mazel tov to the Lionesses as a result of becoming the football champions of Europe.   The ‘Beautiful Game’ has finally come home! The ladies have faced an uphill struggle to gain recognition for Women’s Football, having overcome enormous challenges to reach this point.  I am certain that this will be the springboard to an exciting future for the sport across the country. As Jews, we understand what it means to achieve something significant after negotiating barriers that seemed insurmountable.  Often, we constructed obstacles ourselves because of the short-term and thoughtless decisions our ancestors made.  Something that seemed right at that moment led us into unchartered waters, that changed the course of our history.  When we should have take