The Day Today: Pool Supervisor

In a way I could have included this in the Videos I Like rather than the Videos of Me section. It’s the second part of the Swimming Pool documentary we did. Watching Steve Coogan first improvise this character was one of the funniest, bladder-challenging experiences of my life (so far). The “in 1978 no-one died” went on even longer than it did in the final version and was achingly hysterical. It’s probably my favourite Day Today character.

Rabbi David Schneider’s Weekly Words of Wisdom 10: Vayikra

(Leviticus 1 – 5)

It’s no surprise that, traditionally, little Jewish children begin their study of the Torah with this parsha, which details the different types of animal sacrifice. Boys would enjoy hearing how the priest used his long fingernail to separate the head of a bird from its body then wrenched off its throat, squeezed out its blood and set fire to it, whilst girls might like to colour in a picture or something.

It’s important for children to learn about sacrifices such as sin offerings and guilt offerings and crippling school fees that don’t even take into account uniform and ski trips and sports gear, (more…)

Rabbi David Schneider’s Weekly Words of Wisdom 11: Tsav

(Leviticus 6 – 8 )

In this week’s parsha, we read how it was the priest’s job to remove the ashes that had built up overnight from the altar. It seems like a menial task but the priests, the loftiest members of the Israelite community still did it. Imagine Lord Winston in yellow rubber gloves taking out a bin bag which is leaking a bit so he has to hold it away from him and therefore ends up mincing slightly. That’s exactly the image this parsha’s trying to convey. It reminds us that a lord isn’t necessarily better than a dustbin man, that a Rabbi isn’t necessarily better than a caretaker. Though mostly he is. (more…)