Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz

(This is a reworking of a midrash as a children's story written for 'Shabbatots', Sinai Synagogue's Early Years Education)  Throwing the Moon a Party – a Short Story Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz  Long, long ago, when God created the Sun and the Moon on the fourth day of Creation, God made them both very, very beautiful. Both were very round, very bright and very, very large. The Sun and Moon lived in the sky and they worked together very well and were best friends.  The Sun worked hard to shine on the earth by day. Because of him, plants and crops could grow so people could eat and the Earth was bright and warm. People loved the sun. Who doesn’t love a warm summer day? (Especially in Winter!)  The Moon also worked very hard to shine on the Earth by night. Because of her, people could find their way in the dark to go home to sleep. No-one bumped into each other and no-one got lost in the middle of the night! People felt safe. The night is a special...

Parashat Mattot  Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz  Holding onto Humanity   I knew that this day would come: the day that I would have to give a sermon that I dread giving. A sermon that is uncomfortable, difficult, confrontational. And not just in a theoretical but in a very real way, through polarizing opinion and lived experience.  It would be tempting to hide from the stuff that provokes strong emotions: anger, hopeless, judgment, helplessness, revenge, nihilism, perhaps even hate. It certainly is tempting to focus on the innocuous parts of this week’s reading, or go straight to the Haftarah. Just like it is tempting to switch off the TV and the computer and to bin the newspaper.  Although that would be the safe choice, it may not be the appropriate one. Sometimes we have to dive into the painful conversations. When the world around us is in turmoil, silence fails to show the moral courage that our tradition demands of us.  I came home Thursd...

Often I get questions from both Jews and non-Jews on reading recommendations. Of course, for a rabbi (who by definition is a bibliophile), this is an extremely hard question to answer because the options seem endless. What do you want to learn about? At what level is your current learning? Are you looking for an 'academic' or a 'spiritual' approach etc. Even so, I'm attempting to create a reading list and will strive to update this on a somewhat regular basis. The current list I'm linking to is the list provided by the ' Miller Introduction to Judaism Program '. This American programme is hosted by the American Jewish University in Los Angeles and is one of the most cutting-edge conversion programmes in the non-Orthodox Jewish world. The caveat with sharing their list is that it is centred on the American Jewish experience although their book recommendations are fantastic. A note on the (Jewish) Internet: Individuals are - of course - at the...

photo: Esther Hugenholtz, 2011 Jerusalem – An Eternal Story (talk given at the Leeds Yom Yerushalaim celebration) Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz  For a Jerusalem summer it was unseasonably hot, the mercury of the thermometer pushing past 45 degrees and it was the thick of Ramadan. I wove my way through the Arab sector of the Old City after having visited the Kotel with a friend of mine where we had offered Mincha prayers. Out of respect for the fasting – and probably very thirsty - Muslim population, I discreetly hid my water bottle. We walked past an entrepreneurial Muslim vendor who was selling limonana – the refreshing mint lemonade – to eager tourists, despite the fast. My friend decided to buy some and after friendly ‘salaams’, the vendor offered me a plastic cup for free.  It was a simple and friendly in a city where despite her sweeping and at times difficult history, hospitality remains a core value. Despite the force of history, a Jew and a Muslim met over ...

Limmud Leeds May 18th 2014 Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz ‘Equal Citizens of the Halakhic Nation – women, men, rights and obligations’ This session will look at the tension between being a religious Jew and a Feminist. What do our ancient rabbinic texts say about the roles of women in prayer and leadership through the timebound commandments (ie tallit)? Is egalitarianism contradictory to Judaism or perhaps quite the opposite: a vision of being created in the Divine Image? By studying and discussing both rabbinic texts and contemporary experiences, we will make these important questions come alive in our own lives and communities and look at creating a more equal and inclusive Judaism. Issues to consider: -       Why are women exempted from timebound commandments? -       Does this exemption make sense within the halakhic system? -       Are tallit/tefillin ‘male’ garments? -...

screenshot of 'The Big Questions' On Sunday the 27th of April, I was honoured to be a guest on the BBC's 'The Big Questions'. All I knew is that it would be my UK television debut and my television debut in rabbinic capacity... and addressing a controversial topic ('Is Islam a threat to the West?') to boot.  The discussion was spirited with a broad panel of disparate opinions ranging from Muslim activists to a member of a Sharia watchdog organisation. My role, as far as I was concerned, was to be a reasonable voice for Progressive religion.  I wanted to show that the majority of people of all faiths (and no faith) in the world desire peace and that moderate religion should fulfil a crucial role in building those roads to peace. If religion is a force for evil in the world, than surely it can be a force for good. I also set myself the goal of trying to speak on the importance of gender equality and gay rights in religious traditions, citing Progr...

Sermon Parashat Kedoshim  Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz  'Lifnei Iver' - A Life with Visual Impairment “V’lifnei iver lo titen michshal…” – “Do not place a stumbling block before the blind” (Lev. 19:14). This is, of course, one of the famous ethical commands that lies embedded in the middle of the ritual heart of Vayikra (Leviticus). Wedged in between chapters 18 and 20 that deal with ritual, sexual and cultic prohibitions (the so-called ‘arayot’, ‘nakedness’), chapter 19 of parashat Kedoshim brims with compelling ethical instruction. We are taught to love the stranger, not curse the deaf, pay a worker’s wages on time, not favour the rich or the poor, use equal weights and measures, to not hate our fellow in our heart.  It would be easy then to explore the ethical commandments of Kedoshim in this sermon. It would be easy to tie it in with a particularly relevant or timely theme: after all, there are plenty of moral quandaries in today’s world that need addressin...