Irene Lancaster
Jews are under threat all over the world. But today on Purim, we make merry
Are Jews a blessing or a curse for society?
Banning circumcision would give Hitler a posthumous victory
To ban the practice would be to perpetrate a new Shoah all over again, and there is no doubt that the Jewish communities of Europe will resist any banning of this covenantal act, the key practice of our faith.
Spiritual lessons from Spring Cleaning: What we can learn from this historic practice
Through re-encountering and cleansing, you come to grips with your inner self, and rebuild your life incrementally from scratch
'An eye for an eye': Justice and mercy in the Old Testament
In the four weeks between the New Year for Trees and the carnival festival of Purim, the Bible lays out the ways in which the Jewish people can cope with each other when strife abounds.
Jewish New Year for Trees, and how the well rooted can help others with spiritual integrity
Just as today small Jewish children all over the world will take part in a ceremony that will hopefully help them grow into mentoring trees â adults planted well into the soil of their own being â so the enshrining of tree-planting in a Jewish religious festival is as important as the commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt which takes place exactly two months from now at Pesach, or the autumnal call to judge ourselves and be judged at Rosh Hashanah.
What does God mean when he says: 'Let my people go, that they may serve me'?
G-d asks Pharaoh to 'let My people go'. But what is 'letting go'? This week, on Shabbat, January 27, we commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz. January 27 coincides with the weekly biblical reading where Pharaoh is finally forced into letting the Jewish people go.
Bishop George Bell was a hero who saved Jewish children. It is time his reputation was restored
In our contemporary world of social media and soundbites, it is often the case that heroism is rapidly forgotten and reputations rapidly betrayed.
The Jewish people in adversity: The bush which never burns
In our biblical passage today, what G-d is telling Moses, the shepherd of the Jewish people (and in Hebrew shepherd also means beloved) is that the difficult Exodus from Egypt is necessary and fraught with danger. The Jewish people will nevertheless eventually arrive in their promised home of Israel, but...
What is forgiveness? The biblical and Jewish origins of this empowering concept
During the 8-day period of Chanukah, which Jesus celebrated, and which is often around Christmas and New Year, the Jewish community reads the Joseph stories in synagogue.
The 8 things you need to know about the 8 days of Chanukah
The moral of Chanukah is that, ironically, sometimes you have to be prepared to fight in order to obtain genuine peace.
'Next year in Jerusalem': What this city means to the Jewish people
As we await an announcement by President Trump regarding his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and of the Jewish people, let's consider the Jewish view of Jerusalem.
Wrestling Jacob: How a Genesis story speaks to Jews today
This is a seminal moment for the Jewish people. No longer will the Jewish people be known as 'Jacob' â meaning heel, outwitting, deceit. From now on, the Jewish people will be known as 'Israel'.
Tales of co-existence from Israel: how music is the food of love for Christians, Muslims and Jews
When I lived in Haifa and worked on translations, I often turned on the Israeli equivalent of Classic FM, because on Sundays it played nothing but Church music bearing in mind all those Christians in Israel who didn't work on a Sunday.
How the Bible story of Jacob's Ladder is relevant to us all today
As well as being of immediate physical significance, the site where Jacob will have his famous ladder dream is replete with psychological and spiritual significance.
How my visit to Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral showed the city's spirit of hope and love
Yesterday, I was invited as a guest of Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral to a 50th-anniversary performance performed by their own choir together with Westminster Cathedral Choir from London.
How the Bible story of Jacob and Esau shows we sometimes have to fight for survival
The synagogue reading for this Shabbat includes the story of Jacob and Esau. Jacob and Esau are twins with opposing tendencies: Jacob is studious while Esau espouses physicality, which his very name implies in Hebrew.