August 2nd, 2026
The gift of free will with which the sidra opens sounds so wonderful: “everything is up to you,” it proclaims.
“You have two choices, life and death, blessing and curse – the choice is yours!”
If only it worked like that.
We do not ask to be born, nor do we generally have control over our death. These are not matters of choice at all. They are imposed upon us.
Other things are foisted upon us too – our genetic inheritance and often our cultural milieu too.
We almost feel like echoing Omar Khayyam: “The moving finger writes – and having writ moved on”.
Is this free will concept some cruel joke?
Is it that we have free will in theory but no free will in actual fact?
That cannot be what the Torah has in mind.
The theologians offer countless answers. The most straightforward is probably that of Maimonides in the Eight Chapters on Ethics.
He says that physical facts like when we are born and whether we will be tall or short are beyond our control.
What is, however, up to us is our moral life. God determines whether we will be tall; we decide whether we will be good.
The quantity of our life is up to God: its quality is up to us.
Posted by oztorah | 
Parashah Insights, Re'eh | 
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August 2nd, 2026
Chapter 12 of D’varim tells us to clear out the sites where idolaters worshipped their gods.
We also have to cut down the graven images of their gods and destroy their names… but the chapter adds, “You shall not do so to the Lord your God” (Deut. 12:1-4).
Rashi explains this proviso as a prohibition of destroying the Name of God or removing a stone from the altar or the forecourt.
The circumstances of modern Jewish life give this Rashi a special pertinence.
So often it happened that in the interests of appearing “with it” we allow the name of God to be pushed into a back corner of the synagogue.
“Come to shule to meet your friends,” we tell people – but what we prefer not to say too loudly is, “Come to shule to meet your God!”
We make it easier for people by downgrading the cornerstones of the Jewish sanctuary – “Don’t worry too much about being kosher… in food, in deed, in business, in public life, in human relationships!”
We should be making more demands, setting some standards, insisting on criteria.
By cheapening, trivialising and vulgarising Jewish life we give away our dignity and sell our heritage for a mass of pottage.
Posted by oztorah | Parashah Insights, Re'eh | Permalink
August 2nd, 2026
Q. Can a rabbi be “unfrocked”?
A. There are two aspects to the question:
1. Can a rabbi be removed from his congregational post?
The answer depends on the terms of his appointment. In Jewish law the rabbi has a chazzakah, which means that unless there are contractual provisions which he has signed, or he has been guilty of gross misconduct, he retains tenure.
2. Can a rabbinical diploma be revoked?
In one sense his diploma is like a university degree; once having earned a degree a student retains the right to it. However, an ordaining authority may stipulate that in given circumstances the diploma loses validity.
Posted by oztorah | Ask The Rabbi, Rabbis | Permalink
August 2nd, 2026
Q. There are dots and dashes around the words in the Chumash. Are these musical instructions?
A. Yes. Known as neginot, te’amim or trop, they indicate how to chant the text.
There are several systems of chanting – the notation is found, for example, for the Chumash, the Haftarot, and the Megillah, but each has a different melody.
To complicate the matter, there are also differences between Ashkenazi and Sephardi cantillation, and differences within each. The tradition at the Great Synagogue, Sydney, is that of western Ashkenazim.
The notes also show (with exceptions) on which syllable the accent falls, and how to group the words; they hint at the meaning of the words; and they illustrate the drama of a story with its ups and downs.
Posted by oztorah | Ask The Rabbi, Bible/Tanach | Permalink
August 2nd, 2026
Q. What is the derivation of pareve (“neutral” – neither milchig nor fleishig)?
A. Among the theories are the following:
1. The word comes from the Latin for “small” and denotes food which lacks the “major” quality of either milk or meat.
2. It comes from the Polish para, which denotes vapour or steam derived from water, and hence neither milk nor meat.
3. It may be connected with Parvah, a Persian who secretly built a chamber in the Temple court in order to watch the ritual (Middot 5:3). As this room was not built at God’s command it had inferior status.
Posted by oztorah | Ask The Rabbi, Food & Kashrut | Permalink
The gift of free will with which the sidra opens sounds so wonderful: “everything is up to you,” it proclaims.
