Insights, ideas and inspiration mined from the weekly Torah portion and the classic commentaries, and distilled by South African Chief Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein. Known as a "spiritual entrepreneur", Rabbi Goldstein has launched and led a number of initiatives that have changed the face not only of his own community, but of world Jewry. In the Language of Tomorrow, he explores the Torah's vision for creating a better society, and an inspired, meaningful life.
Developing Psychological Health | Parsha with the Chief: Noach
The psychological and emotional forces that shape a human being - what we call character traits - are incredibly powerful.
Left unrefined, they can undermine our relationships, our happiness and our ability to make good decisions.
But when directed properly, with awareness and intention, they can become a powerful source of growth and psychological health.
The parsha of Noach describes two societies that destroyed themselves: the generation of the Flood and the builders of the Tower of Babel. Read back to the beginning of the Torah and the pattern runs further, through the sin in the Garden of Eden and Cain's murder of Abel. Then, after the Flood, God says something that seems to contradict the "very good" of creation: the inclination of the heart of man is bad from his youth.
That verse is the source of the term yetzer hara, the evil inclination. But does a person really want to do evil? Drawing on Pirkei Avot, the Rambam, the Maharal and a remarkable insight from the Radak, the Chief Rabbi looks at what this inclination really is, and why the mind we trust to keep us on track is far weaker than we like to believe.
And as the Torah moves from Noach to Avraham, we meet a man whose clarity came from a place most of us would never think to look.
Key Questions
If God saw everything He made and called it "very good," how can the Torah say the inclination of the human heart is bad from youth?
Does any human being actually want to do evil?
When we see a situation clearly and still act against our own interests, what is really making the decision?
Why would the Vilna Gaon say that refining one's character is too important to be counted among the 613 commandments?
Why does Pirkei Avot remember Avraham, the man who discovered one God, for his character rather than his intellect?
8 Oct 2026
The Battle Has Changed. October 7, Three Years On
Three years after October 7, and at great sacrifice, Israel has, thank G-d, defeated its enemies on the battlefield. But they have not given up. Now they are using the blood libel of genocide in a relentless attempt to finish what Hamas started: the destruction of Israel.
This is a call to action for the Jewish world. Here is my speech delivered at the SAZF October 7 memorial service.
Our guest that evening was Chaya Hexter, who travelled from far to be with us, carrying the story of her son Yakir, of blessed memory, and his chavruta David, who fell for Am Yisrael.
Over these three years the Israeli people have shown a bravery that words cannot do justice to. A civilian army, serving on miluim for months on end. Tens of thousands of wounded whose lives will never be the same. Bereaved families who carry that ache and still continue. The Mishnah asks us to be gibor ka'ari, brave as a lion, and Israel has truly risen like a lion to defend itself. Its victories on seven fronts are a partnership between G-d and people.
This anniversary leaves no room for complacency. What our enemies could not achieve with missiles and knives, they are now trying to achieve politically, through the genocide libel. That changes who is being called on for courage.
Israel's soldiers rose like lions. The question now is whether Jewish communities around the world will do the same.
Pull Quotes
"As members of the South African Jewish community, we can only bow in silent humility at the awesome courage of the Israeli people."
"A true partnership between God and people."
"What our enemies could not achieve on the battlefields with guns and missiles and bullets and knives and savagery, they are now trying to do politically."
"Jewish communities around the world have to summon the courage to match the courage of our brothers and sisters in Israel, who fought like lions."
"We have to rise up like lions and not be afraid, and not cower. We are fighting because we are one people, like one people with one heart."
8 Oct 2026
The Art of Creating Yourself | Parsha with the Chief: Bereishit
Do you think of yourself as a creative person? We generally associate creativity with artists, with painting and music and writing. Yet in a fundamental sense, every one of us is a creator.
This week we begin the Torah again, with the parsha of Bereishit and its most radical statement about the human being: that we are created b'tzelem Elokim, in the image of God. The Rishonim understand this as our intellect and our moral freedom. Yet the very first thing the Torah reveals about God is that He creates. "In the beginning, God created heaven and earth." To be made in His image is to be a creator like Him.
Some of that creativity faces outward: medicine, architecture, technology, everything that makes the world a place where human beings can live. Looking at the parsha through the lens of Pirkei Avot, Chief Rabbi Goldstein helps us begin to understand another kind of creativity. One that is more personal and more foundational.
Key Questions
If creativity belongs to artists, what is the rest of us doing every day?
Why is the very first thing the Torah tells us about God that He creates?
What could it mean for a person to give birth to themselves?
If our nature, our parents and our circumstances are given to us, how much of who we become is still ours to make?
Why would an act of kindness require creativity?
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