Parashat Vayigash 5779 Meir Sendor This week Yaffa Batya DaCosta, the founder of the Israeli organization Ezra L’Anousim came to meet with me, prompted by last week’s blog post that featured the story of a woman from Brazil who discovered…
Stand Up and Be Counted
Stand Up and Be Counted Parashat Hayye Sarah 5779 We participated this week in our first elections in Israel, a municipal election for mayor and the city council, and it was a moving experience to be part of the democratic…
Outside Looking In
Parashat Lekh Lekha 5779 Meir Sendor The hot topic in Tzfat these days is the upcoming municipal elections in two weeks. It’s a five year term for mayor and there’s a lot at stake. Tzfat is far from the hi-tech…
Standing Together
Parashat Ha’azinu 5779 Meir Sendor Israel mourns the martyrdom of Ari Fuld, zekher kadosh livrakhah, murdered by a terrorist this week in Gush Etzion. He was a heroic figure in the Gush and far beyond, much admired for his strong,…
True Confessions
Shabbat Shuvah 5779 Parashat Vayelekh – Yom Kippur Meir Sendor We’re spending the ten days of repentance and Yom Kippur in Melbourne, and enjoying getting to know the Jewish community. The members of our son’s congregation, Blake Street Hebrew Congregation,…
Up Close and Personal
Parashat Re’eh 5778 Meir Sendor Our eldest granddaughter is visiting us from the States. After meeting with a cousin for a lively lunch in Tel Aviv, we were traveling back north to Tzfat along the coast and thought to stop…
Smoke Signals
Parashat Devarim – Tisha B’Av 5778 Meir Sendor The yahrzeit of Rabbi Yitzhak Luria, the Ari z”l, is the 5th of Menachem Av, and people gathered this week from all over Israel to visit his gravesite in the holy cemetery…
For my image, so they say, is immortal
Parashat Pinchas 5778 Meir Sendor This week’s parashah opens with a stark contradiction flagged by many Torah commentators. Pinchas is rewarded by HaShem with a “covenant of peace” for his violent act at the end of last week’s parashah: he…
Moveable Gifts
Parashat Hukkat 5778 Meir Sendor When Rabbi Yitzhak Luria arrived in Tzfat in 1570 his profound understanding of Kabbalah together with his personal spiritual skills electrified the resident scholarly community. His insights into the most recondite passages of the Zohar…
Making Space
Parashat Korah 5778 Meir Sendor The local Moroccan Beit HaKnesset we go to here in Tzfat has a delightful spirit. Though we have found most kehillot open and welcoming, there’s a different style to Moroccan custom. Everyone prays the liturgy…
