Rabbi Eli's Blog

In celebration of 400 years since the passing of Chief Rabbi of Prague Judah Loew ben Bezalel known as the Maharal, the Chabad Society had the honour of hosting Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the UK His Excellency Michael Zantovsky, who is also former Czech Ambassador to Israel and the United States.

The subject of his talk was Czech and Israel Relations and over a traditional Shabbat dinner for about seventy students he explained the history of Jews in Czech Republic and thereby explaining one of the reasons for the strong support of the State of Israel.

Jews in the Czech Republic are predominantly Ashkenazic Jews, and the current Jewish population is only a fraction of the First republic's Jewish population. As of … Read More »

The Oxford Chabad Society has launched a Klezmer band made up of seven musicians, directed by St John’s graduate student Melissa Friedman.

The band consists of two violinists, a clarinettist, two guitarists, a cellist and a drummer.

They have a whole repertoire of traditional Klezmer and Jewish music and have already played at events hosting the former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Sir Nicholas Winton and other prominent personalities visiting Oxford.

The Klezmer band is part of the Oxford Klezmer Society that has 160 members and enthusiasts and stands out as one of largest amongst no less than fifty one other music societies in Oxford.

With music societies with names like ‘Are You Down With Zuby?&r… Read More »

The greatest threat facing the Jewish people today is assimilation and lack of Jewish education.

The killing of one’s neighbour is the unfortunate history of the world. The first person who killed in the Torah was Cain who killed his brother Abel in the Book of Genesis. He was jealous of his brother that the sacrifice of Abel was accepted by G-d and not his own so he arose and killed his brother while out in the field. Cain was cursed by G-d.

Then there was Esau who wanted to kill his brother Jacob for stealing the blessing that their father Isaac had wanted to bless Esau. Isaac requested Esau to bring him his favourite dish and promised to bless him. Instead, Jacob prepared the food first and when he brought the dis… Read More »

Chabad on Campus UK is delighted to announce the opening of a new Chabad House serving Jewish students at Liverpool universities.

In the next academic term, Rabbi Shmuly Brown, originally from Manchester, together with his wife Tzivia, originally from Israel, will open their home as a ‘home away from home’ for Jewish students from all backgrounds, as well as offering a full programme of exciting events, including weekly Friday night Shabbat dinners, educational classes and social programmes.

Jewish life at Liverpool University has grown in recent years and there are currently an estimated 250 Jewish students out of 21,000.

This is partly due to major investments by Liverpool University in recent y… Read More »