Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz

Speech 20th Commemoration Rwandan Genocide  9th of March 2014  Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz  Almost 50 years ago, in March 1965, two modern-day prophets met and marched in Selma, Alabama in the Civil Rights movement: Dr Martin Luther King and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. Both were latter-day prophets who had experienced the consequences of genocide and racism in their own lives: the rabbi had fled Nazi Germany and the pastor rose to challenge the colour bar.  I would like to share some of their timeless wisdom: “Racism is man's gravest threat to man - the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason” (Heschel). “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” (King)  Their words ring as true today as they did 50 years ago. The Torah states ‘tzedek tzedek tirdof’ – ‘justice, justice you shall pursue’. We are gathered here today...

Parashat Vayikra  Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz  Calling on Controversy  Usually, when we finish a book of the Torah and close its final words with ‘chazak, chazak v’nitchazek’ (be strong, be strong and let us be strengthened!), there’s some excitement about the book ahead. The story of the family of Abraham in Genesis becomes the story of a people in Exodus. Crossing from Numbers into Deuteronomy means being uplifted by the moral words of the ‘Mishneh Torah’, the second Torah. We may feel less of a buzz when it comes to leaving Exodus behind for Leviticus.  There’s plenty in Leviticus to dread. It’s known as the ‘Torat Kohanim’ for its emphasis on the Priesthood, ritual purity and holiness and has its fair share of sacrifices. It behooves us as Progressive Jews to ask: ‘what do we do with all this stuff?’ It’s an important but also problematic question because at the heart of it lies discomfort with being uncomfortable. It is this discomfort with the unco...

Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz  Parashat Shemot,  December 2013  The Hebrew Midwives  What’s the oldest profession in the book? The answer is: midwifery. One thing we know for sure is that babies have always been born and mothers have always needed guidance through this momentous process. We can only imagine what midwifery must have looked like during the shadowy beginnings of civilization: a case of trial-and-error, where experience weighed heavier than empiricism. Women simply helped, held, comforted and assisted labouring women, during a moment in their lives fraught with death and danger as well as joy and triumph.  To be a midwife is to be a priestess of the body, guiding a process that is deeply mysterious and utterly mundane at once. Yet birth is never to be taken for granted as we search for words to speak about childbirth respectfully, sensitively and honestly. Like all existential matters, it is hard for a young rabbi like myself to find the...

Induction Sermon Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz  There’s Power in Numbers  There’s power in numbers. Numbers determine our lot. They shape our perception of the world. They guide our thinking about important issues. Numbers range from the abstractions of philosophy to the gritty reality of lives lived in their myriad ways.  There’s magic in numbers. Numbers are wrapped in symbol and metaphor, point to archetype and myth. Sometimes they occupy a space between the literal and figurative, between the creative and exact. Numbers cement our rationality or whip up our superstition. Numbers are the bearers of values and the makers of meaning. We Jews know that all too well.  The first prime number is also our most cardinal one: One. One for the One God our religious civilization bequeathed to humanity. One for the fundamental moral recognition that, as in the words of the prophet Malachi , ‘halo Av echad lechulanu, halo El echad baranu’ - ‘Have we not one Fa...

Sinai Chronicle October 2013  Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz  Circumcision of the Heart  Coming out of the High Holy Day season and back into ‘normal life as we know it’ seems like a tall order for my young family. Within the space of four months, my husband and I have gone through the last stages of my pregnancy, an Ordination, a rabbinic appointment, childbirth, young parenthood and an international move from Holland to Leeds. Any of these individually already marks an existential and potentially transformative experience and we feel blessed to have gone through all of them (although the ‘international move’ is less memorable and enjoyable than the others!)  Any of these experiences is worthy of its own commentary and reflection. Yet out of all these experiences, one of the most complex, challenging and beautiful things to reflect upon was our son’s Jonathan’s Brit Milah (circumcision). Few rituals in our tradition are as ancient, powerful and unsettling...

(This article was written for and published in the High Holy Day edition of the 'Sinai Chronicle', quarterly magazine of Sinai Synagogue, Leeds). Parents and Children At currently 36 weeks pregnant, parenting is ‘on the brain’. A kind member of Sinai Synagogue gave this inexperienced, first-time mother-to-be a wonderful book called ‘ Raising Boys ’ by Steve Biddulph . My husband Dave and I both very much enjoyed reading it as we anticipate the birth of our son in August, God willing. These are certainly interesting and wonderful times for our budding family.  I was honoured to celebrate my Ordination in early July and Dave and I are preparing to move to Leeds as I will take up my post as Assistant Rabbi in late Autumn or early Winter. It’s a period of profound personal transition. But the transition isn’t only personal – it also matches the Jewish calendar.  Today (at the time of writing) was Tisha b’Av, the 9th of the month of Av, in which we commemorate the many tragedies th...

D’rasja LJG Amsterdam: Begrenzing, bemoediging en vrijheid  Ik heb erg veel respect gekregen voor mijn man. Niet alleen heeft hij mij de afgelopen vijf jaar door dik en dun gesteund toen ik op de rabbijnenopleiding zat, maar hij heeft nu ook een begin gemaakt aan ‘de babykamer’. ‘De babykamer’ is een klus waar wij al enige tijd tegenop zagen. Naar de Prenatal – het glazuur springt van je tanden, zo zoet met al die hartjes en roze – om inkopen te doen, keurig met de lijst van kraamzorg in de hand (heb nooit geweten wat ‘hydrofiele luiers’ zijn. Het zijn dus geen luiers – zo leer je ook weer eens wat). En nu is mijn heldhaftige echtgenoot begonnen met het in elkaar zetten van de box voor ons kleine mannetje.  In de opvoedkundige wereld zijn er natuurlijk hele discussies over de zin of onzin van een box. Is het goed voor een baby om zo begrensd of beperkt te worden? Of biedt dat juist veiligheid en structuur aan een onoverzichtelijke en chaotische wereld waardoor een klein kindj...