A city close to 3,000 years old, capital of its modern counterpart, a walled old city surrounded by…
Ponderings from Provence: A French Revolution
As we travelled through France we did manage to visit one other country, a 15-minute drive from…
Ponderings from Provence: Nice is Nice
Nice, like many other places of Jewish settlement, first attracted Jews who were fleeing other…
Balak: Religious Wars
This week's d'var Torah is sponsored by Golda Brown in honour of the yahrzeit…
Ponderings from Provence: Papal Territory
Narbonne, Lunel, Arles, Perpignan, Posquières, Montpellier are some of the great medieval centres…
Ponderings from Provence: One Tradition, Many Paths
I have often noted that one of most beautiful aspects of the Torah in Motion Journeys through…
Ponderings from Provence: An Introduction
Provence, where Torah in Motion’s inaugural trip to France is centred, is situated in the south of…
Korach: Finding Holiness
The survival of the Jewish people in the desert was a direct result and only possible because of…
Shelach Lecha: What is Your Name
Names play a crucial role in our tradition. We have names that describe our origins, Adam – "from…
Beha'alotcha: Time to Complain
One of the causes for disappointment with the generation that left Egypt was their constant…
Naso: I Made a Mistake
Sefer Bamidbar is a book of missed opportunities. Mistake after mistake – by the people and the…
Shavuot: A Gift of the Omer
“And you shall count from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that you brought the [barley]…
Bamidbar: Between Yom Yerushalayim and Shavuot
We tend to associate the holiday of Shavuot with that of Pesach. One can cogently argue that…
Behar: Faith is Hard
It was not until the 8th century that the first list was compiled of the 613 mitzvot, opening up a…
Emor: Law and Justice
Sefer Vayikra has but two stories, that of the tragic deaths of Nadav and Avihu and the tragic…
Kedoshim: A Healthy Heart
Judaism is a religion of action. There is so much to do to improve oneself, one’s community and the…
Shemini: Counting to Eight
"And it was on the eighth day" (Vayikra 9:1). While this verse is the beginning of a new …
Yizkor Thoughts: Good or Comfortable
Seemingly, one of the more depressing debates in rabbinic literature is one that the houses of…