Loved this piece by Ruth Gledhill in the Church of England Newspaper.
This paper is kindly sent me weekly online by one of its leading contributors, George Conger:
http://geoconger.wordpress.com/
I e-mailed Ruth, asking for a link to her piece, and lo and behold, she had just reproduced it on her own blog!
http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2009/04/fun-at-the-british-press-awards.html#more
There's loads in her piece, especially on the renewed interest in religion by her paper, The Times, which won the Newspaper of the Year award. I think this was thoroughly deserved.
Just take today's edition, with its opinion piece on Israel written by Foreign Editor, Richard Beeston:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6024654.ece
Spot-on. It is quite sympathetic towards Israeli concerns, and yet puts the onus on President Obama.
Meanwhile, whilst writing this, I've just received information about the Blessing of the Sun from my neighbour in Haifa, Rabbi Professor David Hershkovitz.
No, this is not a new-age ritual originating in California, but a twenty-eight-yearly occurrence in the mainstream Jewish calendar. It usually takes place on April 8th every 28 years and is to do with the cycle of the sun. We actually had a very erudite lecture on it last Shabbat in shul after the normal service. This year the Jewish festival falls next Wednesday, just before Pesach starts:
http://www.chabad.org/holidays/sun/default_cdo/aid/817861/jewish/Birkat-Hachamah.htm
Nothing surprises me any more, so that when a friend in Haifa called to say that the genial rabbi, whose English is excellent, and whose shiurim are extremely erudite and user-friendly, had now been appointed the Minister for Science and Technology in the new Israeli government, I just took it as read:
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