Newsletter - Liberal Jewish Synagogue

LJS News
THE NEWSLETTER
OF THE
L I B E R A L J E W I S H S Y N AG O G U E
Q: What will these nine
young people be doing
on 25th and 26th April?
A: Coming to the LJS to
celebrate their Kabbalat
Torah, to lead the
congregation in the Friday
night and Shabbat
morning services, and to
reflect on their years of
Jewish education.
Q: What are you doing
on 25th and 26th April?
A: Coming to celebrate
with them and offer them
your support? What a great
idea! (Note: the Saturday
service starts at 10.30.)
May
2014
Iyar-Sivan
5774
Come to our all-night
Shavuot celebrations
This year’s Tikkun Leyl Shavuot will take
place at West London Synagogue from
21.15 on Tuesday 3rd June until dawn
on Wednesday 4th June.
Join the congregation for our Erev
Shavuot service at 18.45 at the LJS,
followed by a chavurah supper and
cheesecake competition.
We will then join the congregation of
West London Synagogue at 21.15 at
33 Seymour Place, W1 for a programme
of special events and workshops entitled
‘Keep Taking the Tablets: Making
Mitzvot Meaningful’.
The evening will begin with a balloon
debate. The candidates will be each of
the Ten Commandments (impersonated
by members of the LJS and West
London Synagogue).
Workshops will continue through the
evening from 22.45 until dawn, and will
include Rabbis at Midnight, sessions on
music, alternative therapies, texts,
mysticism, the Book of Ruth – all with a
focus on how we make our Jewish lives
and the mitzvot we keep meaningful.
Cheesecake and other refreshments will
be served throughout the night.
The Liberal Jewish Synagogue
28 St John’s Wood Road
London NW8 7HA
Tel 020 7286 5181
Fax 020 7266 3591
linked to Typetalk
e-mail: ljs@ljs.org
Website: www.ljs.org
Senior Rabbi
Alexandra Wright
Rabbi
Neil Janes
Rabbi Emeritus
David J Goldberg OBE
Chairman of Council
Michael Hart
Head of Rimon Religion School
Dov Softi
Nursery Head Teacher
Caroline Villiers
Executive Director
Caroline Bach
Community Care Co-ordinator
Liz Crossick
The Rabbi writes
p4 The Learning Circle
p10
Lend a helping hand
p5 Community news
p13
What is this Drop-in? p6 Death and mourning p15
Social worker retires
The LJS social worker, Liz
Crossick, is retiring on 20th
May after 11 years with the
synagogue.
‘In that time she has developed
the job into the integral part of
the community that it now is,’
said the chair of the LJS
community care programme,
Jenny Nathan.
‘We are extremely grateful for
the immense amount of work
Liz has done. There will be an
opportunity to thank her at
the Shabbat service on
Saturday 17th May. I hope as
many members as possible will
be able to attend.’
■ Interview with Liz Crossick:
see pages 8-9
Welcome
Director of Music
Cathy Heller-Jones
to the following new members and friends:
Helen Bright
Kate Chesover Rebecca Fielding
Michael Ostheimer Rebecca Wills
Organist
Tim Farrell
Bereavements
In case of bereavement:
In office hours, ring 020 7432 1298
At other times, ring 020 8445 2797
(MM Broad)
LJS News Team
Editor
Peter Singer
Artwork
Davies Communications
Tel 020 7586 0850
Printing: Jigsaw
Unit 27 Bermondsey Trading Estate
Rotherhithe New Road London SE16 3LL
Tel 020 7394 2799 Fax 020 7394 2790
Copy dates
The next LJS News will be for June 2014.
Final copy date: 5th May 2014.
Copy should be sent to The Editors at
the LJS, or by email to ljs@ljs.org
© The Liberal Jewish Synagogue 2014
2
ON OTHER PAGES…
We extend our sympathy to those who mourn:
Anne Dekan
Peggy Goldhill, mother of Rachel Goldhill and Susan Morris
Rita Marcus, mother of Georgie Swabe and Stephen Marcus
Estelle Osband, mother of Richard, Janet, Peter and Alan, and
sister of Mildred Bolsom and Jack Mautner
Patricia Weitsman, sister of Deborah Ogawa
‫המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר האבלים‬
May God comfort you and all who mourn
Thank you
to Jo Kessler for her much appreciated donation to the taxi fund
To share news of your family’s births, bereavements,
special birthdays, engagements, anniversaries and
weddings with the rest of the community, please
email Alex Weiss at alex@weiss.co.uk
Friday evening services start at 18.45.
Shabbat morning services start at 11.00 unless otherwise stated.
Shabbat and festival services
Shabbat and festival services: May/June
DATE
RABBI/SPEAKER
NOTES
Friday 25th April
Kabbalat Torah
class
The KT class will lead the service and
join together afterwards for a family
chavurah supper
Shabbat 26th April
Kedoshim
Kabbalat Torah
service
Nine young members of the LJS will lead
the service on the theme ‘Memories:
From Alef to Amsterdam’ and invite the
congregation to participate with them
in a special service
Sunday 27th April
Yom Ha-Shoah
Organised visit to Beth Shalom
Friday 2nd May
Alexandra Wright
Shabbat 3rd May
Emor
Neil Janes
Friday 9th May
Alexandra Wright
Co-led by Bar Mitzvah Noah Gershon
Shabbat 10th May
B’Har
Alexandra Wright
Bar Mitzvah Noah Gershon
Friday 16th May
Neil Janes
Chavurah supper for classes Zayin, Chet and KT1
and their families
Shabbat 17th May
B’chukkotai
Neil Janes
Please join us for a special kiddush to say farewell
to Liz Crossick, our Community Care Co-ordinator
Chavurah lunch and Shabbaton
Friday 23rd May
Alexandra Wright
Shabbat 24th May
B’Midbar
Alexandra Wright
The service will be preceded by a special
breakfast Nosh ‘n’ Drosh at 9.45 with Eilat
Negev and Yehuda Koren, authors of
Giants: the Dwarfs of Auschwitz
Friday 30th May
Neil Janes
Chavurah dinner for young adults: see page 12
Shabbat 31st May
Naso
Neil Janes
Naming and blessing of Noah Isenwater
Tuesday 3rd June
18.45
Neil Janes
Erev Shavuot
Our service will be followed by a chavurah
supper, cheesecake competition and joint Tikkun
Leyl Shavuot with West London Synagogue at
33 Seymour Place, London W1 from 21.15
Wednesday 4th June
11.00
Alexandra Wright
Festival morning service for Shavuot
Children’s activities with Caroline Hagard
N.B. The service
starts at 10.30
streamed live
Our Shabbat morning services are now
w a service on
follo
to
like
ld
wou
you
If
net.
inter
via the
p at the LJS:
Phili
e
phon
e
pleas
t,
table
your computer or
.
he will give you a user name and password
3
Let’s think
about how
we can be
radical and
relevant
What underpins
modern Liberal
Judaism? Maybe not
the ideas of Leviticus
for all of us, says
Rabbi Neil Janes.
But certainly
something that’s
meaningful and
world-changing
4
his month I will be attending the Liberal Judaism biennial
conference which has as its theme ‘Radical Roots, Relevant
Responses’. The conference is a chance for Liberal Jews from
around the country to gather together, celebrate and explore what
it means to be a Liberal Jew today and, importantly, what Liberal
Judaism might look like in the future. This year, in the Shabbat
morning service of the biennial, we will be reading the penultimate
portion of the book of Leviticus, parashat Behar.
Let us say, for argument’s sake, that the book of Leviticus, situated
centrally in the Torah, is a book which constructs a system of ritual
that has purity and impurity at its heart. The system may be symbolic
of a wider sense of identity – and one’s role in the world; with
kashrut, sacrifice and purity all pointing at ideas of sex, death, the
divine and the revelation of God. If this is the heart of the book of
Leviticus, we might argue that the purpose of the Bible is theology or
perhaps more specifically the relationship that Adonai (God) has with
one people, the Children of Israel. Now let us suppose that we could
narrow down the purpose of the rabbinic project (the first centuries
of the Common Era) to a dialogue with and response to the past. A
brilliant set of literary works that locate the Divine-Israel connection
in the understanding of a text and, as a result, understanding the
behaviour of a community. Legalism is not really the point, but
rather bridging the past to a vision of the future through interpretation of texts.
It is impossible to completely reduce the book of Leviticus or the
Bible, or rabbinic literature, to one idea. I admit I have been very
unfair in trying to describe a unifying theory for these ideas, literary
works and historical periods in our history. But now let me be even
more unrealistic, perhaps even foolhardy, in swimming against a
post-modern tide of multiplicity, contradiction and complexity.
I would like to ask: looking back from another generation, what will
be the central defining feature(s) of our Liberal Judaism today and
tomorrow?
As Liberal Jews we no longer regard the Levitical systems of sin, purity
and impurity as particularly relevant. We have a vexed relationship
with the text – such that the notion of revelation is not really the
same as the rabbinic world view. Our universalism frequently, and
often rightly, takes precedence over the particularism of ‘the People of
Israel’. Theologically we stand once again at the edge of the great
questions with the advance of science, philosophy and history.
It seems to me that the ‘God, Torah, Israel’ triangle is no longer
compelling for many of us – the old particularisms that make the
‘Jewish’ part of our identity as human beings do not stand centre
stage. Or to put it another way, the 20th century sociological notions
of identity considered around the ideas of belief, behaviour and
T
in the lives of Jewish individuals, families
and communities today, and equally
makes its contribution to the betterment
of society.
Liberal Judaism confronts the challenges
of our time, welcomes gladly all advances
in human knowledge, and responds
constructively to changing circumstances.
Liberal Judaism values truth above
tradition, sincerity above conformity and
human needs above legal technicalities.
Liberal Judaism is always willing to engage
in dialogue with other streams of Judaism,
or with other religions, or with secularism.
It is always ready to reconsider, modify and
innovate.
Liberal Judaism is the Judaism of the past in
the process of becoming the Judaism of the
future.
The Liberal Judaism biennial is subtitled ‘Radical
Roots, Relevant Responses’. This is our potential
– to be radical and relevant, but I’m wondering
what might underpin that for us today. We can
say for sure it is not the world of Leviticus or
inerrant literary revelation. But can we say for
sure what it is? For me it must be compelling
for the next generation, meaningful, countercultural and positively world-changing and it
must answer the question – why it remains
important to be Jewish.
Show the way as a shammash
What does a shammash do?
The shammashim arrive about
an hour before the service, and
ensure that the sanctuary is fully
prepared (ner tamid alight,
Yahrzeit list and service menu
on the reading desk, enough
chairs on the bimah); check that
there is a copy of the Yahrzeit
list on the notice board; and are
ready to hand out siddurim and
service menus to congregants.
The shammashim assist people
taking part in the service by
going through procedures
with anyone unsure of what to
do, and rehearse if necessary.
LEND A
HELPING HAND
If no ark openers have been
invited in advance, it’s the job
of the shammashim to invite
someone to carry out this
mitzvah.
The Rabbi writes
belonging, are not persuasive to many of us. So,
nu – how will our Judaism be defined, how will
we weave the threads together?
Will the social justice message championed by
progressive Judaism for decades emerge as the
main communally compelling idea for Liberal
Judaism? Will we be known for radical individualism – we do things because we feel good/
right about it? Even to the extent that our long
standing ethical and intellectual striving is
ignored? Of course the radical individualism is a
coin with two sides – feel-good ritualism is one
side of the coin. But the other side of the coin,
pushing the creative edge of our thinking, is the
un-boundaried Judaism in which we as
communities and rabbis no longer ‘control’
the definition of Judaism. Will our primary task
become to respond to how individuals
personally define ‘being’ Jewish irrespective of
the ‘old’ ways.
Or is there something else? What is it that we
want our Judaism to be known for? How do
our Liberal Jewish affirmations still ring true –
introduced as follows:
Liberal Judaism is the dynamic, cutting edge of
modern Judaism. Liberal Judaism reverences
Jewish tradition, and seeks to preserve the
values of the Judaism of the past while giving
them contemporary force. It aspires to a
Judaism that is always an active force for good
Our team, who always work in
pairs, know how important it
is that this job is carried out
sympathetically, to make
people feel at home and a part
of the congregation, at the
same time making sure that
the rabbis are supported and
the service can run smoothly.
■ We would be delighted to
have more people joining us.
If you are interested in joining
our team, please email
anthony604@btinternet.com
5
The LJS Drop-in for asylum seekers:
your questions answered
Plans for the LJS Drop-in for asylum seekers are now well advanced and the first
session is scheduled for Sunday 29th June. What is the Drop-in? How will it work?
What is the Drop-in?
It’s an opportunity for destitute asylum seekers
and their children to get a hot meal and, once
a month, the chance to relax in the welcoming
surroundings of the LJS. They will get a food
voucher, a bag of groceries, be offered some
‘nearly new’ clothes and directions to sources
of medical and legal help.
Who are these asylum seekers?
They are people who have fled their own
countries and formally applied for asylum in
the UK – but whose applications have not yet
been granted. They are only classed as
refugees if their claims for asylum have been
accepted. Until then, they are not allowed to
work; many of them subsist on £36 a week;
some of them are homeless. The LJS Drop-in
will only cater for families of asylum seekers,
not single people.
live in extreme poverty and, in many cases, in
fear. For a fuller explanation, read the report
of Rabbi Alexandra Wright‘s sermon in the
March issue and her article in the April issue of
LJS News (available online from www.ljs.org/
news/newsletter/)
How will the drop-in be staffed?
Entirely by volunteers from our community.
We already have a growing list of members
who have offered to spend two hours on a
Sunday afternoon once a month to help run
the Drop-in. If you would like to join them,
please call the rabbis’ PA on 020 7286 5181
or email asylumproject@ljs.org
What will the volunteers do?
There are a wide variety of jobs to do from
secretarial to sweeping up, greeting our
guests and interviewing them, listening to
their stories and pointing them towards
sources of help; from sorting clothes and
shopping to making up food parcels; from
looking after children to cooking and serving
food. Training is being offered to volunteers so
that they will be able to understand some of
the many problems confronting destitute
asylum seekers.
How will the project be financed?
Photo: Ewa Hearfield/iStock
Why are we starting this project?
Because we believe we have an obligation to
extend a hand of friendship and support to
this ‘invisible’ group in our midst, people who
6
Some of our members have already made
generous donations to get the scheme off the
ground, but more funds will be needed to pay
for the food parcels, the meals and £5 travel
vouchers. If you would like to donate, please
send us a cheque, payable to the LJS, together
with the form opposite. Be sure to write
‘Asylum Drop-in’ on the back of your cheque
and the outside of the envelope.
Drop-in donation form
I enclose a donation of £
to the LJS Drop-in for asylum seekers.
Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I wish this and any future donations
to the LJS to be treated as Gift Aid
donations.
................................
Name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Address: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Email . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.............................
Please make your cheque payable to the LJS and write Signature: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
‘Asylum Drop-in’ on the back. Send it with this form to: Date: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Asylum Drop-in, The LJS, 28 St Johns Wood Road,
Registered Charity No 235668
London NW8 7HA
✂
Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you sign this Gift Aid declaration, we
can recover any UK income tax or capital
gains tax you have paid on your donation.
‘I’m not Jewish, but my partner is…’
“I’ve married into a Jewish family…”
‘I need to know a bit more about what it means to be Jewish’
“I’m not Jewish but I’m bringing up a Jewish family”
The Talmud tells the story of someone who wanted to know more about Judaism
‘while standing on one leg’. Shammai sent him away with a builder’s block, but Hillel
was a little more patient and boiled down centuries of Jewish teaching into one
commandment: What is hateful to you, don’t do to your neighbour.
We’ll boil it down to one evening’s lecture and discussion on
Monday 12th May from 19.30-21.00
You may be interested in exploring conversion, but this is really for those who don’t
intend to convert, but who are connected with our community through their Jewish family
or in other ways. And we won’t make you stand on one leg for the lecture!
If you are interested, please contact Rabbi Alexandra Wright at a.wright@ljs.org
7
‘Things have got so much more difficult in the last ten years… people are living
longer, the resources are decreasing, and there’s so much social isolation…’
I
n 2003 the LJS appointed its first ever
social worker. This month Liz Crossick
is retiring after 11 years in this vital
role, supporting the rabbis’ pastoral work,
helping members in need of support and
co-ordinating the synagogue’s pioneering
Community Care programme which is
staffed by a team of volunteers.
‘A decade ago it was quite unusual for a
synagogue to have its own social worker,’
says Liz, ‘and it still is. What’s more, some
people are surprised the LJS needs one at
all, as it’s located in what is considered
one of London’s most desirable areas.’
Yet there are real challenges within the
community, whose members are drawn
not only from the neighbourhood but
from across London and beyond. Liz has
mainly addressed the needs of the older
members which she says ‘are
considerable and often complicated, in
particular those who don’t have enough
money to buy the care they need or
don’t have families to support them.’
Almost one in eight of the synagogue’s
2,000 members are more than 80 years
old. ‘Like the country’s ageing
population as a whole, their numbers
are growing,’ says Liz. ‘Things have got
so much more difficult in the last ten
years, even in the last year. There are
three factors: people are living longer,
the resources are decreasing, and there’s
so much social isolation.’
She has dealt with a wide variety of
pastoral issues ranging from advising
members looking after a relative with
dementia, to liaising with the health and
social services, to helping get residential
or nursing care for a congregant.
Liz believes there are many things she
8
As she approaches retirement, LJS social worker Liz Crossick
reflects on the contribution she has been able to
make – with the support of trained volunteers – to the
welfare of people facing critical turning points in their lives
and the synagogue’s trained volunteers
have been able to do which the statutory
agencies cannot. She emphasises that
timely intervention can do a lot to relieve
the stress on families when they are
under pressure – not just for the elderly
but for their families and carers too.
‘We are not a crisis service, so when a
crisis occurs we bring in the statutory
services. Someone like me who can act
professionally can offer continuing
support which other professionals don’t
have the time to give.’
The synagogue has various groups under
its Community Care umbrella such as
Bereavement Support, the Keep in Touch
Group – which connects volunteers with
the housebound, frail, elderly and
lonely – and Restaurant Tuesday, a
monthly luncheon club for elderly
members. The LJS also opens its doors to
the wider community, with nondenominational clubs and activities for
non-members.
‘We’re very lucky at the LJS with our
various groups,’ says Liz. ‘So what we’re
trying to do is stop the crises happening
by keeping in touch with people and
going in before anything goes too far.’
Alexandra Wright, the LJS Senior Rabbi,
says: ‘Liz Crossick’s work at the LJS has
made an immense difference to the
support the congregation can offer its
members. In particular, it means that the
rabbis can focus on offering spiritual
support following a bereavement or at a
time of illness or other critical times in
people’s lives.
‘We have been very fortunate to have Liz
working with people to resolve the
complicated issues of growing older, of
becoming more forgetful and more frail.
Families and individuals need an
embracing support from their
synagogues which is crucial in this age
of severe welfare cuts.’
Jenny Nathan, chair of the synagogue’s
Community Care programme, said,
‘Before Liz joined us, the rabbis were
getting increasing numbers of calls from
congregants needing their help, usually
with regard to elderly parents moving
from home or hospital to residential or
nursing care.
‘Rabbis are not trained social workers
and they found themselves spending an
enormous amount of time trying to
weave their way through the maze of
social services when what was needed
was a trained professional who could
work in partnership with the rabbis and
volunteers.
’Liz was the ideal person and, as we
predicted, the work has increased
considerably, partly because of the
increasing numbers of older congregants
and also because people know her and
have trust in her ability to help.
‘We are very grateful for all Liz has done
over the years. We have learned a lot
from her and the lessons will prove
invaluable to the community in the
future.’
These are some of the
activities run by the
volunteers of the LJS
Community Care Group:
■ Individual advice and
support for individuals and
families in navigating
statutory and non-statutory
care and advice agencies.
■ Bereavement Support.
■ The Keep In Touch Group
connects volunteers with
more than 75 frail, elderly and
lonely individuals and couples.
■ Restaurant Tuesday, a
monthly luncheon club for up
to 50 elderly LJS members.
■ Phone a member: regular
telephone calls by volunteers
to members over the age of
85 to check how they are
coping and if they have any
problems. Sixty people are
contacted regularly.
■ Tea and Video, a monthly
club which provides a social
opportunity for older
members and non-members
to get out and meet friends.
■ Out and About Club, a
non-denominational club for
around 35 elderly and
disabled residents in
Westminster which meets
twice a month at the LJS,
led by volunteers (supported
by the Community Care Coordinator).
■ Singing for the Brain,
a non-denominational project
organised jointly with the
Alzheimer’s Society.
9
at the
LJS
Classes in Judaism and Hebrew
Shavuot term 5774/2014
TUESDAY 11.15-12.30
Tuesday Texts
29th April – 22nd July
Half-term: 3rd June
Tutors: Rabbis Alexandra Wright and Neil Janes, and Dr Dov Softi
This friendly group is led by our Rabbis as we study biblical texts and commentaries such as
John Rayner’s Principles of Jewish Ethics. Our discussions are lively and relevant to contemporary
issues. This term we are studying the Talmud and some of our material relates to the observance
of Pesach and the seder. New members are most welcome. Biscuits are provided.
TUESDAY 19.00-20.00
29th April – 8th July
Half-term: 27th May
Hebrew Classes
1) Beginners with Susannah Alexander
(Terms 1, 2 and 3)
This class is designed for beginners who want to learn to read and decipher the prayer book.
2) Biblical Hebrew with Rabbi Alexandra Wright
(Term 2: January – April)
You don’t have to be a fast reader, but simply be able to identify your letters and vowels. The
class studies some of the more interesting and challenging stories of the Torah and learns some
grammar and vocabulary and has an interesting discussion around the texts.
TUESDAY 20.00-21.00
29th April – 8th July
Half-term: 27th May
Exploring Judaism
Tutor: Rabbi Neil Janes
Exploring Judaism is for people who wish they knew more about Judaism or had paid attention
in class as a child! It is for family members who are not Jewish but would like to understand more
about Judaism. It is also an essential programme for those choosing Judaism by conversion.
Class members are encouraged to read materials which will be made available online. The course
is designed to offer knowledge about aspects of Judaism, to encourage practical experiences of
Liberal Judaism and to allow space for personal reflection within the group.
10
Scriptural Reasoning
Study Groups take place at the LJS, St John’s Wood Church and at the Mosque in
Regent’s Park. Please contact the synagogue for more details.
Scriptural Reasoning is the communal practice of reading sacred scriptures together, in
small groups. Normally the passages of scripture chosen are Jewish, Christian and
Muslim and are linked by a particular issue, theme, story or image. When read together
in this way participants – or ‘reasoners’ – have found that astonishing, powerful and, at
times, quite surprising, new conversations and relationships may open up.
SHABBAT 9.45-10.45
The Learning Circle
WEDNESDAY 18.30
26th April – 5th July
Half-term: 24th and 31st May
Learning from Texts
with Bernie Bulkin
In the fifth year of this class, we continue our study of 20th century Jewish thought. Among
those whose work we will be reading and discussing are Emil Fackenheim, Michael Rosenak,
Aaron David Gordon, Theodore Herzl, Ahad Ha-am, Abraham Isaac (Rav) Kook, and Yeshayahu
Leibowitz. There is usually a brief discussion of the parashah at the start of the class. No prior
knowledge required, and new members are always welcome.
SHABBAT 9.45-10.45
26th April – 5th July
Half-term: 24th and 31st May
Beginners’ Hebrew with Gary Lane
Intermediate Hebrew with Ariella Eshed
Using Rabbi Jonathan Romain’s tried and tested Hebrew primer, Signs and Wonders, Gary Lane is
a precise, gentle and understanding teacher who will get you de-coding your Hebrew alphabet in
no time at all. New additions to the class warmly welcome.
MONDAY/TUESDAY/THURSDAY
6th May – 15th July
Hebrew and Yiddish lessons from the Spiro Ark
A variety of Hebrew and Yiddish classes are run at the LJS by the
educational organisation Spiro Ark on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Levels range from ‘Beginners’ and ‘Not quite beginners’ to (in the case of
Yiddish) ‘Intermediate/Advanced’. For details of lesson times and charges,
please visit www.spiroark.org/classes or phone 020 7289 6321.
11
Chance to share Shabbat with other young adults
Join us for a chavurah dinner
after the Friday night service
on 30th May to share Shabbat
with other young adult
members of the community.
If you can’t make the service
but just want to join us for
dinner at 19.45 you will be
more than welcome.
The evening is being organised
by a group of young
professionals in the community
to spend time together and
share Shabbat on a monthly
basis. Please do join us and
bring a non-meat dish to
share.
Let Rabbi Neil know you would
like to join us by emailing
n.janes@ljs.org (and also get
onto the mailing list).
Dr Toby Simpson of the
Wiener Library (left)
spoke about
commemorations of the
First World War at the
chauvurah supper on
4th April
The LJS
Annual General
Meeting will be held
at 19.30
on Thursday
19th June in the
Montefiore Hall.
For more details,
see the LJS website
and noticeboards in
the synagogue.
12
THE CARDINAL
BEA LECTURE
(organised by the Sion Centre for Dialogue and
Encounter, Sisters of Our Lady of Sion)
will take place at
18.30 on Thursday 22nd May
at 34 Chepstow Villas, London
W11 2QZ.
Clifford Longley and
Rabbi Alexandra Wright
will speak about the figure of Jesus and
his place in Judaism and Christianity
The Sion Centre provides a safe place where people
of different faiths can meet together to learn,
exchange and grow in understanding of each other.
Ann and Bob Kirk came and told us about their
wonderful afternoon at a Buckingham Palace
garden party. They had been invited because of
the immense amount of work they had done
talking to schools and other organisations
about the work of the Holocaust Memorial Trust
and their own story as children who had come
to England through the kindertransport.
To reserve your comfortable chair so that
you can enjoy your lunch and have a good
chat, please telephone the synagogue office
on 020 7286 5181 leaving your name and
contact number. If you are a regular, please
let us know if you are not coming.
Our Community
A right royal evening at the Out and About club
[\
BRIDGE CLUB
meets on Mondays from 14.00-17.00 in
the Assembly Hall upstairs at the LJS.
[\
TEA PLUS VIDEO
Our film afternoon is Wednesday. Soup is
served from 13.00 and the film starts at about
13.45 or 14.00. Tea is served after the film. The
suggested donation for refreshments is £2.
28th May: Meet Me in St Louis
25th June: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
We also heard from Tony Douglas about his
investiture at Buckingham Palace (above) when
he was awarded an MBE for services to music in
London. Tony has organised the Morley College
big band for the past 35 years and they have
several times given performances for the Out
and About club at the LJS.
[\
RESTAURANT TUESDAY
Our March lunch was generously donated by
Norman Lazarus’s daughter Janet Mills to mark
his 85th birthday. Diners enjoyed a three course
home cooked lunch and we thank Janet for her
generosity. We invite you to join us on the third
Tuesday of every month for a delicious, freshly
cooked meal, prepared by our delightful team
of cooks. (There is always a vegetarian option.)
Lunch costs £3.50.
The next two lunches will be at 13.00 on
Tuesday 20th May and Tuesday 17th June.
[\
KIDDUSH CELEBRATIONS
If you are celebrating a special birthday or
another landmark, have you thought about
contributing to the weekly kiddush following
our Shabbat morning service? If you would like
to take part in the service to mark a special
occasion – birthday, anniversary, baby
blessing, Bar/Bat Mitzvah or another special
day – please contact Joanne Caplan on 020
7432 1283 or email rabbispa@ljs.org
[\
ART EXHIBITION
The Elliott Art Group will present their 18th
annual exhibition in the Montefiore Hall at the
LJS from 15th May to 10th June.
[\
The Jewish News now has a page devoted to
articles by progressive rabbis and congregants.
13
Young LJS
We wish these young
members of the LJS a
very happy birthday in
May:
Rachel Kahn
Judy Benichou
Nora Bielawski
Nina Bluestone
Lily Carr
Edie Cohen
Charlotte Cohen
Jamie Delew
Oliver Delew
Clementine Ebel
Dalia Gelfer
Zara Goldstone
Grace Hannam
Ella Jackson-Drexler
Leo Mendelsohn
Jonas Morgan
Samuel Nash
Maxwell Roth
Eva Ruiz-Daum
Eleanor Sanderson
Joseph
Tedeschini-Rigal
Marcus Walford
‘Holy Moses!
It’s the Promised Land at the end of Seatscape…!'
Our tapestry seating project is on its last lap. If you
would like to seize this final opportunity to stitch part
of a canvas and make a permanent contribution to the
Sanctuary, please contact Jane Finestone or Rita Adler:
email seatscape@ljs.org or phone 020 7286 5181.
TINY TOTS
at the LJS
Do you have
little ones aged
between 0 and 4?
© Dawn Hudson/Fotolia.com
Please bring them to the LJS on Shabbat morning
3rd May • 10th May
17th May • 7th June
for a delightful session of songs, stories, drawing and kiddush.
Activities for tiny ones with their parents, grandparents and carers.
The nursery is available every Shabbat for children to play or read
Please email education@ljs.org to be added to the Tiny Tots circulation list
14
Next booking: the dwarfs who were giants
At a Nosh ’n’ Drosh lunch on
29th March, Bob and Ann Kirk
talked about their early lives
and their escape from Nazi
Germany.
led by outstanding speakers
(while we enjoy drinks and
bagels after the service) include:
They described their families’
comfortable lives in Germany,
the shock of kristallnacht, their
parents’ attempts to emigrate,
their success in getting on the
Kindertransport list to leave,
with just one small suitcase of
belongings; of tearful partings,
their arrival in London, to a
strange land and foster homes,
of censored messages from
their parents and, eventually,
how they met at the LJS.
■ Shabbat 24th May (this
meeting at 9.45, before the
service) with Israeli writers Eilat
Negev and Yehuda Koren, who
will address the problems of
adopting a critical approach in
researching a Holocaust story.
Their recent book Giants: The
Dwarfs of Auschwitz recounts
the incredible story of the 12
members of the Ovitz family
from Romania who survived
the experiments of Dr Josef
Mengele at Auschwitz and
eventually settled in Israel.
Future dates for Nosh ‘n’ Drosh,
our Shabbat discussion group
■ Shabbat 28th June with
Rabbi Marc Saperstein, who
will compare the World War I
sermons of Rabbi Israel
Mattuck and Rabbi Abraham
Cohen.
■ Shabbat 22nd November
Professor Adrian Lister,
Research Leader in
Palaeontology at the Natural
History Museum and a
progressive Jew, will discuss
‘Evolution, Creation, and
Creationism’. Is creationism
actually as hostile to science as
it is to the theories of Darwin,
Russell Wallace and their
modern devotees?
Grateful thanks to Martin
Slowe with whom the idea
originated and who provides
the food and wine.
Death and Mourning for the Liberal Jew
– an LJS shabbaton
10.00-17.30 on Saturday 17th May
Please join us for this important shabbaton where together as a community we consider
what death and mourning mean to us as Liberal Jews.
Having listened to how death is engaged with in Midrash and Talmud in a shiur before the
Shabbat morning service, we will kick off the afternoon by watching a reading of ‘Shiver’ by
our very own playright Daniel Kanaber; attend various workshops ranging from the
possibilities of the mourning cycle, to what might go into preparing for death, to learning
about the history of Kaddish and how to say the prayer; and opportunities to share our own
experiences of loss.
There will be spaces for quiet reflection and even for jokes and humour.
Children will be well catered for. They will have a fun outing to Regents Park for ‘Play in the
Park’ led by LJNetzer and later, if they wish – together with parents and grandparents – they
can take part in the preparation of memory books in honour of lost relatives and pets (please
bring photos or copies of photos).
Please contact Joanne Caplan on 020 7432 1283 if you want to attend, and please bring nomeat and no-nut contributions for the chavurah lunch.
15
New Community
Care Co-ordinator
appointed at LJS
Aviva Shafritz (left) has been appointed as
the new LJS Community Care Co-ordinator in
succession to Liz Crossick, who retires on
20th May.
Aviva is a qualified social worker and
probation officer. She has extensive
experience both within and outside the
Jewish community.
For the past 12 years she has worked as a
social worker for CAFCASS (the Children and
Families Courts Advisory and Support
Service) working mainly with children and
families in the family courts.
Aviva said: ‘I know the LJS has a very large
group of volunteers and I’m looking forward
to getting to know everyone
and working with them.
‘My late husband was a rabbi,
so I have a sense of all the
issues that can come up in a
synagogue.’
(The distinguished gentleman
a personal journey to the Krakow
in the background of the
photo is Leo Thom, Aviva’s
and Tarnow regions of Poland
great-grandfather, who lived
in Lemberg, and was an early
adherent of Reform Judaism.)
Refreshments at 19.00, talk at 19.45
In the footsteps
of my father:
Thursday 29th May
LJS member Joan Salter was born Fanny Zimetbaum in Belgium in
February 1940. Her parents were Polish Jews but they had lived in
Paris most of their adult lives.
In 2005 Joan travelled to Krakow and Tarnow for the first time,
retracing her father’s footsteps. She has since returned many times
to take part in commemoration events in that region of Poland.
Her talk, which includes a slide-show of the Kazimierz district of
Krakow and of the Tarnow region and beyond, gives a brief
introduction to the rich tapestry of cultural and political lives of the
Jews of the region pre-WWII and to the ways this lost community is
being commemorated.
16