Shoshana Cohen, at The Blogs

Oct 9, 2020, 2:03 AM

And finally... after an entire year, an entire cycle of reading the Torah, we come to VeZot HaBracha. The end. The final parsha, the Torah's final words. Unsurprisingly, the theme of finality is a thread which runs heavily through...

Sep 25, 2020, 9:51 PM

Parshat Ha’azinu: Of Mortal Man

This week’s parsha ends with some of G-d’s final instructions to Moshe: he is told to ascend Har Nevo, where “you can see the land (of Israel) from a distance but you will not enter there, the land that...

Sep 11, 2020, 6:14 PM

Parshat Netzavim-Vayelech: Within Your Reach

It is the last few days of Moshe’s life. His final speech to Bnei Yisrael before his death is drawing to a close. The people have been standing and listening to his final words of advice, rebuke and encouragement...

Sep 4, 2020, 4:40 PM

Parshat Ki Tavo: The Thought that Counts

In this week’s parsha, Moshe gives the Bnei Yisrael a series of blessings and curses they would receive depending on whether they followed the word of G-d or not. He outlines how, when the people cross the Jordan river,...

Aug 27, 2020, 6:06 PM

Parshat Ki Tetzei: What We Chase

Nestled in the middle of this week’s parsha, there is a group of commandments regulating the way that we treat others and impressing upon us the importance of providing for and supporting the poor. One such commandment is “when...

Aug 21, 2020, 6:15 PM

Parshat Shoftim: The Fruits of Your Labour

At the end of this week’s parsha, Moshe juxtaposes two strange and seemingly totally unconnected commandments. First Moshe tells the Jewish people that when they go out to war and destroy a city, “do not destroy its trees… you...

Aug 14, 2020, 2:10 PM

Parshat Re’ah: Singular and Plural

Deep into Moshe’s final speech to the Jewish people, Parshat Re’ah opens with the following statement: “see, today I am putting before you a blessing and a curse” (Devarim, 11:26). The pesukim go on to describe how Bnei Yisrael...

Jul 24, 2020, 7:36 AM

Parshat Devarim: Undergoing Transformation

And so we begin the fifth and final sefer of Torah – Sefer Devarim, the book of words. The sefer, and this week’s parsha, is named after it’s opening pasuk: “these are the words that Moshe spoke to all...

Jul 17, 2020, 2:27 PM

Parshat Matot-Masei: Backwards and Forwards

The last two parshiyot of Sefer Bamidbar are primarily concerned with summarising the forty-year journey of the Jewish people through the desert and with dividing up the land of Israel, allotting an inheritance to each family. These parshiyot look...

Jul 10, 2020, 5:11 PM

Parshat Pinchas: The Opposite of Sibling Rivalry

The words “and G-d spoke to Moshe saying” appear hundreds of times throughout Chumash, appearing as the Torah’s refrain. They convey a sense of the relationship Moshe had with Hashem, one of closeness and near-constant communication. They also indicate...

About Me

Born and raised in London, Shoshana spent a year studying at Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim (MMY) in Israel before moving to study English Literature at the University of Bristol, England.

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