Exploring why Am Yisrael as a whole and the Cohanim specifically, are expected to achieve high standards in their lives (HaRav HaGaon Rav Yaakov Sasson Shlit”a, a grandson of Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef ztvk”l)(translated by our dear friend Rav Daniel Levy Shlit”a, Leeds, United Kingdom) Parashat Emor This Shabbat we shall read the mitzvah that the Cohanim may not become ritually impure through contact with the dead (meaning, it is forbidden for a cohen to touch a cadaver,

by Ram ben Ze’ev A Nation of Promises, A People Alone Another day. Another knife. Another Jew bleeding on a London pavement—this time in Golders Green. Two Jewish men, walking, doing nothing more provocative than existing, were targeted by a man already known to police, already marked by violence, already allowed to remain within a system that endlessly promises vigilance and delivers nothing of substance. And so the cycle repeats. Statements are issued. Condemnations are rea

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Cost of Living Is Not the Cost of Fuel — It Is the Cost of the State People are in the streets of London protesting the cost of fuel, and they are right to be angry—but they are aiming at the symptom, not the cause. The narrative being pushed is familiar: global instability, tensions in the Middle East, supply pressures. These are convenient explanations. They shift blame outward. But the uncomfortable truth is far closer to home. The underlying cost of f

Spiritual growth and holiness are not automatic and there is no quick-fix for them, rather they are achieved through tenacity and prayer (From the teachings of Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef ztvk”l)(written by his grandson HaRav Yaakov Sasson Shlit”a)(translated by our dear friend Rav Daniel Levy Shlit”a, Leeds United Kingdom) Painting by Raphael Perez (Flickr)—not connected to the dvar Torah, but a beautiful work nonetheless It states in Parashat Kedoshim, “You shall be holy, s

by Elisheva bas Chana Art by Brachi Horen Yom HaShoah, we remember — not to understand and not even to memorialise the victims, but what we do about it. Through pain and despair, we raised a new generation committed to and proud of their heritage. Yom Hazikaron, we remember the chayalim killed in action to defend Eretz Yisroel, as well as many of our people who were killed in terrorist attacks. When the siren begins, everyone stops whatever they are doing and commemorates tog

Based on the words of Maran zt”l on Yom Ha’atzmaut, 5733 (1973) Israeli Independence Day (“Yom Ha’atzmaut”) The prophet Yeshaya states: “I greatly rejoice in Hashem, my whole being exults in my G-d; for He has clothed me in garments of triumph, wrapped me in a robe of victory, like a groom adorned with a turban, like a bride bedecked with her finery.” We must analyze this verse which likens the way the Jewish nation will one day rejoice in Hashem to the way a groom wears fine

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Price of Misalignment: Memory, War, and the Illusion of Strength Today, Israel stands still. At the sound of the siren, the nation pauses in collective remembrance for those who were killed—soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces whose lives ended in battle. The numbers are heavy: 25,644 since 1860, leaving behind tens of thousands of bereaved families. Yet numbers, as vast as they are, do not capture truth. Words do. We say “fallen soldiers,” as though the

by Ram ben Ze’ev Amen Is Not a Courtesy: Guarding the Sanctity of Blessing in the Age of Social Media In an age where every thought is published and every emotion is broadcast, sacred language has become cheap. Words that once emerged only in moments of אמת (emet – truth) and יראה (yirah – awe) are now scattered across comment sections and timelines without weight, without intent, and without understanding. One sees it constantly: “our prayers are with…”, “amen”, “pray to god

The Severity of the Sin of Lashon Hara and the danger of being a journalist (From the teachings of Maran Rabbenu Ovadia Yosef ztvk”l)(written by his grandson HaRav Yaakov Sasson Shlit”a) (translated by our dear friend Rav Daniel Levy Shlit”a, Leeds United Kingdom) From Christina Mattison Ebert’s D’rash Designs series In the Parashah, our Holy Torah speaks at length about the leper. Our Chachamim in the Gemara (Erachin 17a) say, why does the leper deserve such a punishment? Du