Parashat VaYetze 5780 by Meir Sendor This week’s parashah begins with Yaakov Avinu on the run from his brother Esav. He takes shelter with his uncle Lavan and family, his mother’s brother, in Haran, an ancient commercial center near the…
To Serve and to Protect
Parashat Toldot 5780 by Meir Sendor Rights – territorial rights, political rights, personal rights – are often cited as the bone of contention between Israelis and Palestinians. Framed in this way, it seems like an all or nothing struggle. This…
Waiting Room
Parashat Vayera 5780 by Meir Sendor This week Israel preemptively assassinated the leader of Islamic Jihad in Gaza who had been planning a series of attacks, and the terror organization is responding with barrages of rockets against civilians in southern…
Moving on Up
Parashat Lekh Lekha 5780 The tension in the Middle East keeps ratcheting up, and the multiple threats against Israel are compounded by our chaotic political situation – the unresolved election that has left our government in limbo for months, with…
Hear to Heart
Parashat Noach 5780 by Meir Sendor I’m grateful to have permission to relate the following story in accurate but sufficiently vague terms to protect confidentiality. A friend was hospitalized recently for several days of observation for a heart condition that…
Waterworks
Chol HaMoed Sukkot 5780 Meir Sendor Israel’s second round of elections remains inconclusive, as Knesset members continue to wrangle over whether and how to form a unity government. Most Israelis I speak with, from a wide range of political persuasions,…
How Are You Doing?
Yom Kippur 5780 by Meir Sendor We’ve been very impressed with the Blake Street Kehillah of Melbourne, and the Melbourne Jewish community in general. We’ve found the members to be warm and caring, with a sincere modesty, a strong Jewish…
Your Brother’s Donkey
We’re going back to Melbourne next week! Information about classes at the Blake Street Hebrew Congregation can be found here on our Classes and Events page. Parashat Ki Teze 5779 by Meir Sendor Among the endearing features of Israeli street…
Mobile Home
Parashat Masei 5779 by Meir Sendor We often find that when friends come to visit, as two couples did a few days ago, it’s an opportunity to tour the Land from a fresh perspective. Tel Hazor, an archeological site not…
Family
Parashat Hukkat 5779 by Meir Sendor Israel is convulsed by the death of Solomon Tekah, alav ha-Shalom, a nineteen year-old Israeli of the Ethiopian community in the greater Haifa area, shot by an off-duty policeman. The details of the incident…
