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The Book of Haggai

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Background of Haggai Time: 520BCE (Persian Period) Place: Yehud Kings:  None. Ruled by High Priest + Governor   Political Backdrop: ·        We’re back from exile! Step 1: Assyrians are the Big Bad: Northern Kingdom falls (722BCE) Step 2: Babylonians take over as the Big Bad: Southern Kingdom goes into exile (586BCE)             Exile period… 539BCE: Neo-Babylonian Empire falls to Cyrus the Great (Perisan Empire) Step 3: The Persian Empire sends us home! (538BCE) Primary Themes of Haggai: ·        The necessity to rebuild the Temple! ·        ‘On that day’ no longer refers to returning from exile   ·        Haggai speaks to the leadership – more like the historical prophets than the literary prophets! Structure of Haggai Content Verses Section 1: Accusation! Chapter 1 Superscript – so many details! 1:1 Why haven’t you built the House? 1:2-11 T
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Tazria: Staying Outside the Temple Gates

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  Staying Outside the Temple Gates This week, I have spent time with two women whose thoughts and ideas are permeating my experience of our Torah portion. The first, Kerry, has been my best friend since before we can remember. Kerry is now Doctor Kerry, and her field of medicine is paediatrics. She spends her days (and often nights) in the NICU - the neonatal (or newborn) intensive care unit. Kerry’s babies are often just a couple of pounds, dwarfed in comparison to full-term newborns, and facing the fight for their lives. The second of these women is Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers, my guest in the Salon last week. Rabbi Debbie joined us to talk about the Wellspring Project, the building of a centre of wellbeing with mikveh - waters for ritual immersion - at its heart. Mikveh is not commonly used outside of the orthodox world anymore, with the exception of conversion to Judaism. The reasons for this are varied, but are mostly related to two things: off-putting experiences in orthodox mikva’
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The Pagan Instinct - Shabbat Hol haMoed Sukkot 5778

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Today is the first day of H ol haMo’ed Sukkot , of the intermediate days of Sukkot. And though it is called ‘the time of our rejoicing’, I have to admit to you today that I have always found Sukkot one of the most challenging holidays in our calendar. I find Sukkot so challenging precisely because it is ‘the time of our rejoicing’, and it comes a scant few days after Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is the most solemn and humbling day of our calendar. Yom Kippur demands that we confront mortality, that we let go of our pride, and that we engage seriously with our wrongdoings. And then comes joyful and beautiful Sukkot, with almost no room to breathe between the two. In truth, I am never quite ready to be joyful at the beginning of Sukkot. I am still in the headspace of Yom Kippur, feeling off-kilter and overwhelmed by the intensity of celebration on Sukkot. Sukkot is also a highly physical holiday. Like most other holidays, we eat and drink and rejoice. And unlike any other holiday, w
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