From Sunday evening until last night, Tuesday evening, 11:00 p.m., I did not read De Telegraaf or RD, did not listen to the radio, and did not touch my laptop because of Shavuot. And what happened? A cabinet crisis! Could my presence, I almost asked myself, have prevented the fall of the cabinet? And if
Diary of the chief Rabbi, June 4, 2025 I will never be silent and never bow down! Read More »
Day of Judaism On Sunday, 26 January, the annual Day of Judaism was organised by the Resonance Group. The Resonance Group aims to bring Catholics and Jews closer together in order to increase mutual understanding and knowledge about each other. We were warmly welcomed at the Redemptoris Mater seminary on Blankenberg in Cadier en Keer
Communal Events, Marina (Rivkah) Hillen Read More »
The past year has been extraordinary for our wonderful community, full of promising developments and meaningful progress. A highlight for me was the unforgettable celebration of our Chupah together with many of you. At moments like these, I see the warmth and connection that makes our Kehila so special. Throughout the past year, I have
Our Kehilla: Challenges and Possibilities, Julio Levit Koldorf Read More »
The last newsletter was on 1 October 2024, just before Rosh Hashanah. This was the first newsletter in the new style, together with the Israeli community. Four months have now passed and it is time for an update. All the high holidays and Hanukkah are long behind us. We celebrated Hanukkah twice this year, in
Column of the Chairman, Ernst Yehuda de Reus Read More »
Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, is approaching (2 and 3 June), but… for some it will pass almost unnoticed. That is a great pity, because it is the festival on which we commemorate that 3337 years ago, the Jewish people stood at Mount Sinai, 49 days after the Exodus from Egypt, and there they saw
Created with one mouth! Read More »
Are we now, eighty years after the catastrophes of previous centuries, getting to the point where the Jewish people, the Christian churches and the Islamic umma, are becoming religious communities in which the commandment of love and peace among men, as part of the Covenant that the Creator made with all mankind, becomes central? Given
A Reflection on the concept of Convenant, Ehud Postumus Read More »
From the Torah we learn: ‘For man is like a tree of the field’ (Deuteronomy 32:19). This fundamental truth is known even to young children and has even become the subject of a popular song. But what really connects man and tree? When we go out into the field on Tu Bishvat and sit in
The Nuclear Potential, Rabbi Avraham Cohen Read More »
It is not inconceivable that you could be given the wrong medication. At three o’clock on Tuesday afternoon, I arrived in Budapest to finish a job that I had flown in for several times. Once again, it became clear to me that (almost) every problem can be solved if both parties essentially respect each other
Diary of the Chief Rabbi, May 25, 2025 Read More »
More than 30 years ago, Sophia and I often waited together for our children after their Jewish lessons. With his friendly jokes, Ronald greeted us as new members of the Jewish community at the beautiful doors of the Maastricht synagogue. Now, because the synagogue doors are always closed due to circumstances, Ronald still welcomes me
A CONVERSATION WITH SOPHIA AND RONALD VAN BUUREN (PART 1) Olga Firssova Read More »
The Jewish speaker Sjabbos Kestenbaum who is very influential in the US, gave a presentation last Tuesday evening at a hidden location about the Israelian-Palestinian conflict and about his vision of the position of the Jews in the public opinion. The university banned the presentation on its premises. Kestenbaum (25) does not have a good
Kestenbaum: “Letschert not fit for leading Maastricht University” Read More »
When I contacted André Rieu for an interview, his response was immediately very enthusiastic: ‘I would be happy to answer all your questions. It sounds like a wonderful project you are working on!’ His warm response laid the foundation for what promised to be a fascinating conversation. Maastricht is known for its rich history, vibrant
MUSIC & MEMORIES IN MAASTRICHT, A CONVERSATION WITH ANDRÉ RIEU- Eliyahu Sapir Read More »
In the 1930s, Maastricht became a haven for Jews from Germany. One of them was Yitzhak Nir, born in 1927 in Kraków. He suffered a severe hip infection as a child, and his parents moved to Germany for better medical care. He underwent treatments in Essen, but after Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, life
Fugitive in Maastricht, Amanda Kluveld Read More »