Rabbi Aaron Goldstein's blog



The Jewish Atheist is a part of the story

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., December 2, 2012

Vayishlach 5773

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When right is right and right is right

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., November 23, 2012

What a week this has been for all those living in Israel and Gaza. In a short space of time great destruction has been wrought and a ceasefire to end it has been brokered that does very little to change the status quo.

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Honouring AJEX During Operation Pillar of Defence

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., November 16, 2012

Wars are given names. The majority are so designated by the places that they were fought in, some by the nations that fought them and occasionally different names are given by the two more protagonists to reflect their narrative of the event at the time or retrospectively.

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Interfaith Dialogue: the progressive way forward

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., October 31, 2012

I am dismayed by so many items that are recorded on our news channels. The notion of an interview seems to have been ditched in favour of interrogation. It is like the ‘yes/no’ game children play when they try to tempt their friend into saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and so lose the game.

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Manchester Indie References in Wedding Address

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., October 22, 2012

When faced with a couple who love Mancs Indie you got to rise to the challenge. So I got in:

This Charming Man (The Smiths), the North Country Boy (The Charlatans), said to the My Beautiful Friend (The Charlatans) for She Comes in the Fall (Inspiral Carpets) let’s Come Together (Primal Scream) with Heart & Soul (Joy Division).

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Gophing about to fulfil the commandment & save the planet

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., October 20, 2012

I like the idea though that we do not know what this wood was. I like to actually think of it as extinct for this is harmonious with the theme of this sidrah, the story of Noah. Gopher wood was the material of God’s choice and provision by which the world as we know it would be saved.

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Heroes in Libya and Somalia The power of ideas

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., September 22, 2012

http://www.npls.org.uk/Sermons/New/Vayelech-5773.html

Bar Mitzvah of Saul Kaye
50th Wedding Anniversary of Alan and Adrienne Mansell
70th Birthday of Adrienne Mansell

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A Rosh Hashanah Sermon on Israel

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., September 17, 2012

Both the given Torah readings in our Mahzor for Rosh Hashanah provide us with deep and challenging episodes in the lives of our ancient ancestors. This morning’s reading of Isaac’s birth, Sarah’s wish to banish Hagar and Ishmael that receives support from God and action through a reluctant but compliant Abraham raises so many existential questions.

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I'm chilling before 4G turns the whole country into a hotspot

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., September 15, 2012

http://www.totallyjewish.com/the_jewish_news/view/c-18644/jewish-news-jn...

And if you can't easily access it in print or e form:

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Yamim Noraim - what I fear these days

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., September 15, 2012

I am writing these thoughts hurriedly this morning to replace the sermon that I had already written so please excuse the grammatical mistakes.

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God's will in our time

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., May 16, 2012

Barack Obama has been both praised and criticised this week after he became the first sitting US president to publicly support gay marriage.

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Why Bat Mitzvah is equal to Bar Mitzvah - Rabbi Hillel Athias-Robles

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., May 9, 2012

This week’s Torah portion, Emor, has all to do with priests, the cohanim: who they could marry, who they could bury (since they could not become defiled by interring those who weren’t first degree relatives), and who in general was fit to be a priest. Something that emerges clearly from the text is that priesthood was seemingly a completely male institution.

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Best Bat Mitzvah Dvar Torah I have ever heard

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., May 9, 2012

This Shabbat, April Miller read beautifully from Torah and gave this incredible Dvar Torah that wowed us all at NPLS. To have been involved in the thought process was to have been involved wtih a special mind that we hope to nurture.

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In praise of local councilors

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., May 9, 2012

Antigonus of Socho received Torah from Simeon the Righteous. He used to say: Do not be like servants who serve their employer in order to receive reward; rather be like servants who serve their employer without thought of reward. And let the fear of Heaven be upon you (Avot 1:3).

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Step by Step Sauwa Sauwa

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., May 2, 2012

I was honoured to be present at the inspiring performance of Step by Step Sauwa Sauwa, a magical performance of music and dance by Israeli Jewish and Arab children from the Leo Baeck Centre, Haifa and Ein Mahel, sponsored by Northwood & Pinner Liberal Synagogue, held at West London Synagogue.

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What consumed Nadav abd Abihu: a teaching for young and old

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., May 2, 2012

“On the Eight day Moses called Aaron and the elders of Israel (Lev 9:1)”

The MidrashTanhuma – thoughts of our ancient Rabbis – teaches: “Beloved are the elders, and if they are young their youth is secondary to them…God ages them [the youth] quickly.”

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Keeping the memory alive

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., April 19, 2012

Between 1941 and 1945 over 15,000 young children were sent to Terezin: only 100 survived. This June is the 70th year since the deportations began from Czech and Slovak villages, towns and cities; including those where our Synagogue's Torah Scrolls belonged - Kladno, Kolin, Plzen, Spisska Nova Ves, Trebon.

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Rabbi Hillel Athias-Robles on significance of 'blood' following Toulouse

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., March 25, 2012

Today we begin the book of Vayikra, or Leviticus, and it is a time we rabbis dread. It is almost all about sacrifices, not the biggest crowd-pleaser, so what in the world are we meant to talk about? Truth be told, however, that the sacrificial system in the Torah can tell us a lot about our nature.

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Rabbi Hillel Athias-Robles on a response to murder in Toulouse

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., March 25, 2012

Last weekend I was privileged to attend the Biennial Conference of the European Union of Progressive Judaism in Amsterdam, which saw over 300 participants gather from all over Europe- the best-attended conference to date. Choosing Amsterdam was of course of extreme historical significance.

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Support Campaign for Equal Marriage - not a Golden Calf

By Rabbi Aaron Gol..., March 10, 2012

Moses said to God: Show me, I beseech You, Your glory. (Ex 33:18)

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