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Jan 27, 2020, 11:19 AM

A day to honour David Berger’s heartfelt wish

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis speaking during the annual Menorah Lighting Ceremony on Trafalgar Square (Photo credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)

You may never have heard of David Berger. Today I ask you to commit his name to memory. He was born nearly a hundred years ago, but his life would be relatable to many teenagers of today. He was involved with his local Zionist youth...

Apr 10, 2017, 4:46 PM

Chief Rabbi’s Pesach message: Our festival of questions

It is no exaggeration to say that questions are amongst the most potent tools at our disposal for improving ourselves, for educating others and for shaping and changing our world for the better. Our tradition considers it a sacred task to ask, probe and explore....

Dec 29, 2016, 2:50 PM

A part we can all play in creating a better world

In 1960, as campaigning began for a general election in Israel, the Mapai Party printed a series of full-page advertisements, using quotes from an interview with Ha’aretz by Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik zt’l, urging voters to abandon Mizrachi and to vote for it instead. The...

Oct 13, 2016, 12:39 PM

Let the day of rest work its unique magic on you

It’s one of those moments in life that you can never truly appreciate until you have experienced it for yourself. Like every other day in the week, you are juggling countless demands on your time. You have a hectic family life and a multitude of...

Apr 21, 2016, 12:28 PM

This year’s Yom HaShoah poses a challenge to us all

Perhaps surprisingly, this year, Yom HaShoah poses a great challenge to us. Last year I was enormously proud of British Jewry at the 2015 Yom HaShoah National commemoration. It brought together people from all parts of our community. Young and old, religious and unaffiliated – Jewish people...

Feb 3, 2016, 4:47 PM

I salute the bravery of sexual abuse victims who speak out

IT’S SEXUAL abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week across the UK – the first of its kind, aiming to generate a frank and necessary public conversation about a crime as old as the taboo that has, shamefully, protected it. It is a poor reflection on...

Nov 23, 2015, 4:52 PM

After Paris, the refugee crisis takes on yet another layer of complexity

Picture a young Muslim man, in his early 20s. Exhausted but determined, he arrives in Greece after a long and dangerous journey. He registers with the authorities and has his fingerprints taken. He could be one of many thousands of people. But in the sharp...

Oct 8, 2015, 4:52 PM

Are we the future our ancestors dreamed of?

In the well-known Michael J. Fox film, Back to the Future, 2015 was the year in which cars would fly, hover boards would roam the streets and robot drones would walk the dog. There is something quite fascinating about looking back at what men and...

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About Me

Ephraim Mirvis is the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth