In this Day of Remembrance address, Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein responds directly to Pope Leo, and says what the world needs to hear.

Yom HaZikaron is a day of remembrance. A day to mourn those who lost their lives, and to stand with the families who carry that loss.

It is also a day on which something must be said.

In a world of moral confusion, where religious leaders like Pope Leo fail to distinguish between the aggressor and the defender, silence is not an option.

When we call our fallen soldiers "Kedoshim Utehorim" - holy and pure - we are not only honouring them, but making a declaration: Israel's wars are just wars, and that those who gave their lives defending civilization itself are sacred.

We all have a sense of who we are. It feels obvious. Familiar.

But that picture is likely incomplete.

Where does the self begin, and where does it end?

In this week's parsha, we encounter the command: "Love your neighbour as yourself."

What is the "self" we are being asked to understand?

Drawing on the teachings of Pirkei Avot and the insights of our sages, including the profound perspective of Rabbi Shimon Shkop, the Torah opens a deeper question about identity, one that lies at the heart of how we relate to ourselves and to others.

It is a question that challenges some of our most basic assumptions about selfhood.

In this week's talk on Parshat Acharei-Kedoshim, Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein explores a question that reshapes how we think about identity, responsibility, and what it means to be human.

Key Questions

• Where does the self begin, and where does it end?

• Is self-love the opposite of selflessness? Or is it a part of it?

• What does it really mean to love your neighbour "as yourself"?

The way we speak feels simple. We describe what we see, respond to what happens, and share our thoughts with others. Words appear to express reality.

But the Torah presents a very different perspective.

In this week's talk on the Parsha of Tazria-Metzora, Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein explores a deeper understanding of how the way we speak shapes the world in which we live.

We are taught what to do when we encounter tzara'at, an experience that reveals the profound impact of speech and the way it shapes how people are seen and understood.

Words do not only express reality. They change how it is seen and influence the way we experience life.

Key Questions

• How do the stories we tell about others influence how we see them?

• What does Torah offer as the framework through which we understand reality?

• Do words simply describe reality, or do they shape it?