SHULA JACOBS,
NEW and BRILLIANT Upload!Originally published in Ahad Ha'am (1856-1927): The Philosopher of Cultural Zionism, Issued on the Occasion of his Fortieth Yahrzeit (1967), pp. 57-60. Ahad Ha’am was fascinated by the British empiricists and moral philosophers. He was ... Continue Reading ➨
He Used to Say
Sermon originally delivered at the New London Synagogue, 23 May 1964. That little gem of a book ‘Ethics of the Fathers’ contains, as everyone knows, the sayings of the great teachers of Judaism down to the beginning of the third century. The ... Continue Reading ➨
Personal remarks upon the start of the New London Synagogue
Sermon delivered upon the start of the New London Synagogue, 1964. May I begin with a few personal remarks? First I want to say how much the loyalty of my friends and supporters has meant to me. In particular I refer to the deposed Board of ... Continue Reading ➨
Show Us Thy Way
Sermon preached at the New London Synagogue on Rosh Hashanah 5726 (27 September 1965). ‘Teach me Thy way, O Lord; And lead me in an even path.’ (Psalm 27: 11). Last Rosh Ha-Shanah, when our congregation met in a building bearing many of the ... Continue Reading ➨
Rosh Hashanah sermon
Sermon delivered in synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, probably no later than 1953. “And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not look upon the death of the child: and she sat over ... Continue Reading ➨
Sermon on the Occasion of the Dedication and Laying of the Foundation-Stone of the Herbert Samuel Hall
Sermon originally delivered on 3 November 1957 at the New West End Synagogue; subsequently published in Venture 2.3 (March 1958), pp. 2-4. Then Samuel took a stone, and set it up . . . and called the name of it Eben-ezer (Helpstone), saying ... Continue Reading ➨
The Question of Supervision for Pesach Foods
From a leaflet distributed to members of Masorti in 1980. Cakes, biscuits and, of course, matzot should not be eaten on Pesach unless their manufacture has been supervised by a competent Rabbinic authority which testifies, by the kosher le-Pesach ... Continue Reading ➨
Passover Reflections
Originally published in Venture 1.1 (April 1956), pp. 3-4. A significant omission Search the Passover Haggadah from beginning to end and you will nowhere find the name of Moses. The one man responsible for the Exodus is apparently overlooked ... Continue Reading ➨
Induction Sermon at the New West End Synagogue
Sermon delivered by Rabbi Dr Louis Jacobs on the occasion of his induction as Minister of the New West End Synagogue, on Sabbath, 13 February 1954 (10 Adar Rishon 5714). “O my Creator, give me understanding that I may transmit thine inheritance; ... Continue Reading ➨
Zeit haben, to have time
Sermon delivered probably in New London Synagogue, c. 1964. My times are in Thy hand (Psalm 31: 16). Someone has described the Biblical record as eternity expressing itself in time, it is certainly true that the Biblical authors were profoundly ... Continue Reading ➨
The Torah
Originally published in Reconciliation Quarterly: Sacred Books of the World, September 1979, pp. 16-20. The root of the Hebrew word torah is yarah, meaning ‘to shoot’ or ‘to throw’. Why this root should come to mean, in the word torah, a teaching ... Continue Reading ➨
Sabbath of Consolation
Sermon originally delivered c. 1956. The Talmud relates how four old, worn out teachers of Judaism were walking in ancient Palestine soon after the land had been laid in waste by the barbaric hordes of Roman invaders. The Temple lay in ruins, the ... Continue Reading ➨
Tribute to Louis Jacobs by Elliot Cosgrove
Originally published on 22 May 2004. For reasons which will become evident momentarily, this morning I would like to give a different sort of drasha. Today I want to introduce you to an underappreciated Jewish scholar of our time—a Rabbi by the ... Continue Reading ➨
Personal memories and tribute to an unforgettable man – John Cosgrove
Originally published in The Edinburgh Star, 55 (September 2006), pp. 32-3. Towards the end of the last year the Jewish Chronicle conducted a poll amongst its readers to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the return of the Jews to England in 1656 ... Continue Reading ➨
Leo Baeck Remembered
Originally published by Leo Baeck College in Leo Baeck Remembered: Centenary Celebrations, 23 May 1973. Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen: We read in the book of Ecclesiastes the list of times: A time to laugh and a time to weep, a time to ... Continue Reading ➨
‘In Defence of Tradition’ by Rabbi Jeffrey M. Cohen
Originally published in 1965 by Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue. It is because of the reception it has received and the possible adverse effect that the opinions expounded therein might have upon the less informed, that it is necessary that the ... Continue Reading ➨
Rabbi Meir Simhah of Dvinsk
Text of the Second Annual Rabbi Dr. Georg Salzberger Memorial Lecture, delivered on 10 December 1978 at the Belsize Square Synagogue. Rabbi Louis Jacobs, B.A., Ph.D., is one of the outstanding thinkers and writers in Anglo-Jewry today. Born in ... Continue Reading ➨
Conscription of Women – The Halachic Background
Originally published in The Jewish Review, 6 (162) (1952), p. 3. In view of the recent controversy in Israel over the conscription of women it may be of interest to examine the Halachic background to this involved question. The writer would ... Continue Reading ➨
Israel Revives Hakhel
Originally published in The Jewish Review, 6 (159) (1952), pp. 5-6. The introduction of new ideas and novel methods of strengthening our religious life is to be commended, if for no other reason, because of the freshness and vitality such ideas ... Continue Reading ➨
Come forward and learn!
Dear Friends, This month’s blog comes a bit earlier than usual, in order to offer you some food for thought in preparation for Seder night. Our website is full of material than can help you engage in a thought-provoking and exciting journey from ... Continue Reading ➨