Michael Rainsbury's blog



A tribute to Arieh Handler

By Michael Rainsbury, May 20, 2011

Bnei Akiva might not have been the large and successful movement it is today if it were not for Arieh Handler. He was sent as a Shaliach from Israel to increase Religious Zionist youth activities and to encourage people to make Aliyah.

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Halachot for the Royal Wedding 2011

By Michael Rainsbury, April 27, 2011

Have you been wondering how to celebrate the Royal Wedding in a Kosher way?

This is the authorised order of the day, as laid out by the Chief Rabbi of Canterbury, Rav H.R. Williams.

Section A: Tefilla

1. One should dress in one's finest clothes fitting to meet the Queen.

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Geographical Politics

By Michael Rainsbury, March 21, 2010

From reading the extensive coverage of the Israeli-Arab conflict in the JC, it seems like the majority view amongst British politicians, Anglo-Jewish leaders and members of the community is that a two state solution is the only way forward to solving the intractable problem of Palestinian statehood. But before that paragraph is parachuted into the 'What the blogs are saying' section...

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Purim - The Real Story

By Michael Rainsbury, February 7, 2010

There is a strange halacha that one should become drunk on Purim so much so as not to know the difference between ‘Blessed is Mordechai’ and ‘Cursed is Haman’. However it is widely known – and experienced - that this level of drunkenness is fairly extreme. Furthermore, we are also expected to pray the ma’ariv service after the Purim meal and how can we do this if we are 'commanded' to be so drunk?

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Sephardim & Ashkenazim

By Michael Rainsbury, January 23, 2010

We (the Ashkenazim) often think we define the Anglo-Jewish community. There are so many of us and the Anglo-Jewish culture is based on Ashkenazi life. The Chief Rabbi is chosen by the United Synagogue, thus assuring Ashkenazi supremacy over the community.

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Simchat What?

By Michael Rainsbury, October 11, 2009

I have just returned home from shul on Simchat Torah.

When I was younger, this day was the pinnacle of the year. As teenagers, we had so much fun dancing around the Torah and ensuring it never returned back to the Ark! We were happy to let the dancing continue, ignoring the more serious people who wanted to get on with the service. We formed a joke choir, danced almost in the streets and dressed up the Chatan Torah & Bereshit in rather amusing costumes.

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A blog unto the nations

By Michael Rainsbury, August 11, 2009

The concept of blogging is fascinating. It has opened up the sphere of literature to the common man. Whereas previously, publishing was limited to the rich or famous, the internet allows every person to make their views known to the world.

However there are disadvantages to this new reality. The average reader has to trawl through many more pages of irrelevant material before finding something worth reading. The decision to filter out bad material has moved from the domain of the publisher to that of the reader.

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