23 March 2018

Liberal Judaism rabbis and officers have contributed to a unique project offering communities a human rights commentary on each weekly Torah parasha.

Put together by René Cassin – the human rights NGO that draws on Jewish experiences and values – the free resource offers 54 thoughts written by leaders and educators from across the Jewish spectrum.

Rabbis Alex Wright, Elli Tikvah Sarah, Lea Mühlstein, Richard Jacobi, Danny Rich and Janet Darley have all written commentaries for the book, as have other prominent Liberal Jews including Student Rabbi Gabriel Webber, Robin Moss, Sam Grant and Sam Alston.

Matching the stories of the Torah to the issues of today, topics covered include the extent of modern-day slavery, discrimination and the current global refugee crisis.

René Cassin director Mia Hasenson-Gross said: “This catalogue of short writings is accessible for all ages whilst being thought-provoking and covering a wide variety of subjects.

“Our ambition is that this pack will be used as tangible resource for rabbis, Jewish educators, youth movements and schools, to engage and inspire the Jewish community at large on a range of human rights topics.

“We hope that this greater level of discourse will manifest itself in a more mobilised and engaged Jewish community, that is ready to stand up and tackle the demanding human rights problems of today.”

Individual commentaries, or the whole book, can be downloaded by clicking here.