22nd October 2026
Rabbi Scott’s latest blog
This week’s Torah portion has an interesting echo of laughter back to Rosh Hashanah. You may recall that on Rosh Hashanah we read the story of Issac’s birth. In that story we read that Abraham names his second son Isaac and the reason that is implied is that Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” The biblical Hebrew word for laughter, tzachake, is the biblical root word for Yitzak, or Isaac in English. The presumption is then made that Isaac is inspired by Sarah’s laughter of happiness at being a mother at such an advanced age. Actually though, the reason for Issac’s name comes not from Sarah’s laughter but from this week’s Torah portion, Lech L’cha.
This week we read that when it was clear that there would be no children coming from the marriage of Abraham and Sarah, Sarah gives her maidservant Hagar to Abraham so that he will be able to procreate and have a child that will fulfil G-d’s promise to make a great nation from his descendants. G-d reiterates to Abraham after Ishmael’s birth that a great nation will come from Abraham, and it will be exceedingly abundant and possess the land of Canaan. (G-d also tells Abraham at this point that among the commandments needing to be kept is circumcision of 8-day old infant boys, but that particular commandment is a discussion for another day.)
G-d then tells Abraham regarding Sarah that “I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she shall give rise to nations; rulers of peoples shall issue from her.” Abraham’s response is – wait for it – laughter! The text says, “Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed, as he said to himself, ‘Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old, or can Sarah bear a child at ninety?’”
Abraham then says to G-d words to the effect of “excuse me, but you mean Ishmael, don’t you? He’s the one who would inherit the land and start the great nation?” G-d hears this laughter and tells Abraham, “Nevertheless, Sarah, your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac; and I will maintain My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring to come.” So, Isaac is named before he is even conceived, and he is named by G-d and not Abraham!
Of course, laughter is heard again just a few chapters later when the angels that are sent to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah stop at Abraham’s tent and reiterate G-d’s promise of a child for Abraham and Sarah. Sarah hears this and now she is the one who laughs in disbelief. G-d hears her and confronts her asking why she laughed. Sarah lies and says she didn’t, but G-d reiterates that she did, and we know where the story goes from there. So, what are the takeaways from this series of events?
Well, first, G-d clearly has a keen sense of hearing. That is a core understanding of G-d in Jewish tradition, and we call on G-d to hear our prayers throughout our liturgy. Second, G-d has a sense of humour. If we believe that G-d is omniscient and truly knows what we will do before we do it as the biblical tradition tells us, then G-d picking Isaac as the name of Abraham’s second son when he knows that both Abraham and Sarah will find that funny is no coincidence. G-d is in on the joke too.
Finally, we can take away the reminder that all biblical names have secondary meanings and when we read the Hebrew bible, especially the Torah, we get a different nuance of understanding if we parse out the meanings behind the names.
So, as we read through the book of Genesis over the next few weeks, pay attention to the names of the people in the story and ask what is really behind them.
Could be something happy or something sad, but I guarantee it won’t be something boring.
23rd July 2026, Tisha B’Av
Rabbi Scott’s thoughts on his and Donni’s first week in Manchester
This week is my first week on the job as the rabbi of Manchester Reform Synagogue and I’m just figuring out to use the Bee Network, learn what things like Toad in the Hole and Spotted Dick are, and being asked on which I stand of the dividing line between Red and Blue. My wife Donni is experiencing similar ah-ha moments, and we anticipate so many more as we acclimate to Manchester. It has not been lost on me that in the midst of us trying to integrate into Manchester and meeting so many welcoming and friendly people along the way we are also encountering Tisha B’Av (the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av) on Thursday, June 23rd.
Tisha B’Av historically marks the days of destruction of both the First and Second Temples, but our ancestors used it as a catch-all date for mourning and remembrance. Many historic tragedies happened around this date or season including the expulsion of Jews from England in 1290. We have historically marked this day with fasting and the reading of the biblical book of Lamentations which is an epic poem of loss and blame and anguish regarding the destruction of the First Temple and the expulsion of the Jews from Israel as part of the Babylonian Exile. Today many still mark the holiday through fasting, abstaining from pleasurable activities – Jewish summer camps in the United States will close their swimming pools for the day, for example – and the communal reading of Lamentations while sitting on the ground rather than furniture similar to what a mourner at a traditional shiva might do.
Our Sages proposed many reasons why G-d allowed the Temples to be destroyed on this day in history, but the most well-known reason they say is because of sin’nat chinam, senseless hatred. We as a community were so divided even back then over issues such as politics, observance, rabbinic authority and other issues (sound familiar?) that we could not see past what divided us to the common humanity amongst all of us. If we were going to treat each other so adversarial and inhumane, then G-d was not going to remain with us in The Temple. G-d withdrew from the Temples, so we are told, and let our enemies destroy those sacred places as punishment for our wretched treatment of each other, all of whom were (and are) made in G-d’s image.
My wife Donni and I have been so warmly welcomed here in Manchester this past week and people have done some wonderful things to help us get settled. The possibility of the local community engaging in sin’nat chinam seems remote to us. But at the same time, Tisha B’Av arrives to remind us that we all have the capacity to think and act negatively in ways that can cause real pain and destruction to others be they strangers or loved ones. This Tisha B’Av, don’t let the day go by without doing or saying something positive to someone. Family or friend or stranger, let someone know that you see them, that they matter, and that you believe in a world not dominated by senseless hatred but by ahavat rabbah, abundant love.