The Choice in Front of Us

Parashat Re’eh begins with one of the most direct lines in the Torah: “See, I set before you today a blessing and a curse.” It sounds dramatic, almost too stark for modern ears. We tend to prefer softer language. We like nuance, complexity, context, and the reassuring...
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The Problem With Comfort

Parashat Eikev is, in many ways, about what happens after the crisis. The Israelites are close to entering the Land. The wilderness is almost behind them. The hunger, uncertainty, wandering, and fear are giving way to something more settled. Soon there will be houses,...
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Comfort After the Cracks

This week we read Parashat Vaetchanan, on Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of comfort after Tisha B’Av. After the heaviness of the fast, after remembering destruction, exile, and all the painful moments that have marked Jewish history, we hear the words from Isaiah:...
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Learning to Hear the Warning

This week we begin the book of Devarim, with Moshe standing before the Israelites and looking back over the journey they have taken. He does not offer a sentimental farewell. He does not soften the past to make everyone feel better. Instead, he speaks with painful...
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The Journey Does Not End There

Parashat Matot-Masei brings us to the closing chapters of Bamidbar. After all the wandering, complaints, battles, mistakes, grief, and moments of courage, the Israelites are finally standing near the edge of the Promised Land. They are not there yet, but they are...
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Careful With Fire

Parashat Pinchas is difficult, and it should be. It opens with Pinchas being rewarded after taking violent action in the middle of a national crisis. That is not the sort of passage we can read lightly, or turn into a simple moral lesson. The Torah praises Pinchas for...
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Blessing in the Places We Least Expect

This week we read the double parashah of Chukat-Balak, and together they offer a strikingly honest picture of human limitation. In Chukat, the people face death, thirst, frustration, and uncertainty. In Balak, a foreign king sees Israel approaching and immediately...
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Who Do You Think You Are?

This week’s parashah, Korach, is one of the most uncomfortable in the Torah because Korach does not present himself as wicked. He does not openly say that he wants power, status, or control. Instead, he speaks in the language of equality and holiness. “All the...
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When Fear Writes the Report

This week’s parashah, Sh’lach, tells one of the most frustrating stories in the Torah, and perhaps one of the most human. Moshe sends twelve spies to scout out the Land of Israel. They return with evidence of its beauty and abundance, carrying a cluster of grapes so...
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When the Light Is Not Enough

This week’s parashah, Beha’alotcha, opens with the lighting of the Menorah in the Mishkan. Aharon is instructed to raise the flames, ensuring that each lamp gives light. It is a beautiful image, but also a demanding one. Light does not appear by accident. It must be...
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D’var Torah – ‘Aharei Mot – Leviticus 16:1 – 18:30

by Nat Tidbury Today’s Parasha is Leviticus 16:1-17:7.  The second half of Parasha Aharei Mot is often read at Yom Kippur. This is a challenging passage to break down and understand – full of rules around sacrifice and instructions, most notably surrounding Aaron, the...
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Between Fire and Silence

Parashat Shemini opens on the 8th day of the inauguration of the Mishkan. After days of preparation, Aharon and his sons begin their sacred service. A moment of divine closeness unfolds: Hashem’s presence appears before the people, and a heavenly fire consumes the...
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What’s in a name?

by Simon Gottlieb-Cohen In the beginning of the second book of the Torah, we are told about the enslavement and affliction of the Children of Israel in the land of Egypt. The actual event of the exodus from bondage comes much later. Yet Exodus was the name given to...
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Surviving the Storms of the Soul

The story of Noach begins with this famous line: “Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generations.” G-d sees that the earth has become corrupt and filled with violence. He instructs Noach to build an ark to save himself, his family, and pairs of animal species....
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A world shaken yet unbroken

This week I learned that Talmud gives 3 reasons for building a Sukkah. The key one is explicit in the Torah: “You shall live in Sukkot for 7 days, so your generations know that children of Israel lived in Sukkot when I brought them out of Egypt”. Torah also commands...
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Take a census

7th June 2025 - Dr Puya Afshar ️  Parashat Summary Parashat Nasso is the longest Torah portion in the entire Torah. Congratulation for surviving it! Within this long Parasha are some short, powerful lessons. We get a mix of topics: the duties of the Levites,...
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Dvar Torah – 17th May 2025

Sacred Responsibility in a Time of Crisis: This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Emor, offers a detailed description of the festivals and sacred times in the Jewish calendar, but it ends with a more troubling episode: the case of the blasphemer, who speaks God's name in...
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Who We Are

Welcome to Kehillat Or Tzion! We are a vibrant and welcoming community of traditional, yet egalitarian, Zionist Jews, based in Manchester, England, dedicated to upholding the timeless values of Torah, the sanctity of Shabbat, and the importance of Halachah in today’s world.

At Kehillat Or Tzion, we believe that the teachings of the Torah are as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago. In our fast-paced, modern society, we strive to live with integrity, compassion, and faith, guided by the wisdom of our sacred texts. We hold steadfast to the observance of Halachah, recognising it as the path to a meaningful and spiritually fulfilling life.

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The Rabbinical Assembly

The Rabbinical Assembly is the international association of Conservative rabbis. Since its founding in 1901, the RA has been the creative force shaping the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. They are committed to building and strengthening the totality of Jewish life. The RA publishes learned texts, prayerbooks, and works of Jewish interest; and it administers the work of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards for the Conservative movement. It also serves the professional and personal needs of its membership through publications, conferences, and benefit programs, and it coordinates the Joint Placement Commission of the Conservative movement. Rabbis of the RA serve congregations throughout the world, and also work as educators, officers of communal service organisations, and college, hospital, and military chaplains.

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