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Rabbi Gideon Sylvester

Rabbi Gideon Sylvester

Latest from Rabbi Gideon Sylvester

The sacred duty of bringing a body home

There is a longstanding biblical tradition of retrieving the body of a fallen soldier

3 min read

An IDF guard of honour stands watch over the bodies of hostages recently returned from Gaza (photo: IDF)

Israeli Opposition leader Menachem Begin addressing a protest in Tel Aviv agraints German reparations (National Photo Collection of Israel)

Blood money or vital aid? How rabbis wrestled with German reparations

3 min read

Emily Damari, right, and her mother Mandy embrace near kibbutz Reim, after Emily's release from Hamas captivity last month (Israeli Army via AP)

Did Jacob cry when he saw Joseph again?

3 min read

The giant menorah in Trafalgar Square during Chanukah 2023 (Photo: Eleventh Hour Photography/Alamy Live News)

Why the Lubavitcher Rebbe launched public menorah lightings

3 min read

A little guilt can go a long way but too much is destructive

The High Holy Days offer us a way to grapple positively with our shortcomings

5 min read

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September 29, 2024 10:58

Getty images

If we want peace, we first need to be truly strong

Creating a just and compassionate world sometimes requires us to fight the enemy

3 min read

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May 24, 2024 09:39

The 36th March of the Living at Auschwitz on 6 May (Photo by Omar Marques/Getty Images)

The Religious Zionist party is neither religious nor Zionist

These politicians have identified genuine problems, but their solutions are wrong

3 min read

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November 20, 2022 11:32

(L to R) Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israeli far-right lawmaker and leader of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish power) party, and Bezalel Smotrich, Israeli far-right lawmaker and leader of the Religious Zionist Party, attend a rally with supporters in the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 26, 2022. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP) (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Religious Zionists are now a force in Israel

The country's first kippah-wearing premier is sign of growing influence

3 min read

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July 30, 2021 12:03

Religious Zionists are now a force in Israel

The new street minyanim have led to a dilemma for davening

Outdoor prayer groups in Israel have raised several halachic questions

3 min read

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July 29, 2021 12:00

A group of Orthodox Jewish men wearing protective face masks and keeping a safe distance from each other, hold a noon prayer in a street in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, on October 22, 2020. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

When it's ok to be part of cancel culture

On Purim we drown out the name of Haman

3 min read

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February 24, 2021 17:29

When it's ok to be part of cancel culture

The moral vision that made Lord Sacks a great leader

He was able to translate the timeless values of Torah into language that could reach secular society

3 min read

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November 17, 2020 11:55

The moral vision that made Lord Sacks a great leader

Even talmudic rabbis could struggle to resist temptation

It is right to deal with rabbinic scandals discreetly

3 min read

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April 1, 2019 10:48

Even talmudic rabbis could struggle to resist temptation

What rabbis should be doing to counter obesity

The proliferation of sweet and fatty foods make it harder than ever to keep to a healthy diet

3 min read

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January 11, 2019 12:26

What rabbis should be doing to counter obesity

Rabbi Sacks was right to help Mike Pence write his speech

We should applaud, rather than criticise, our rabbis when politicians seek their counsel

3 min read

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February 19, 2018 11:08

Rabbi Sacks was right to help Mike Pence write his speech

The courage of Holocaust saviours

According to our tradition, we should not stand by when a neighbour's life is threatened. But would we live up to it?

3 min read

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January 19, 2018 13:29

The courage of Holocaust saviours

The best of Orthodoxy

Rabbi Dr Abraham Levy’s memoir, A Rocky Road, illustrates his rabbinical journey

1 min read

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November 24, 2017 14:26

The best of Orthodoxy

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