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
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April
2013
Nisan-Iyar
5773
The many puzzling faces of Purim…
Why were we all dressed up? What’s so funny about a political assassination?
Was that the Rabbi? Where did he get that French accent? Who killed Haman?
For the answers to these and other baffling questions, turn to page 14.
Elsewhere in this issue…
Shabbat and festival services
The legacy of Lily Montagu
Singing a new song
p3 Come and celebrate Shavuot
p9
p5 The Learning Circle
p10-12
p9 Famous names in the LJS cemetery p16
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
President
Bob Kirk
Chairman of Council
Michael Hart
Head of Religion School
Dov Softi
Nursery Head Teacher
Caroline Villiers
Executive Director
Caroline Bach
Community Care Co-ordinator
Liz Crossick
Director of Music
Cathy Heller-Jones
Organist
Tim Farrell
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 7483 0843
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 May
2013. Copy date: 5th April 2013.
Copy should be sent to The Editors at
the LJS, or by email to ljs@ljs.org
© The Liberal Jewish Synagogue 2013
2
Thanks to:
The Bull family for their
donation on the occasion of
Lotte’s Bat Mitzvah
Sue Aron and Malcolm
Brown for their donations to
the library
Scott Steinberg for his
donation to the upkeep of the
LJS cemetery in memory of his
parents and brother
The synagogue was very
grateful to receive a legacy
from the estate of the late
Denise Franklin and also
from the estate of the late
Hilda Drucker
Congratulations
to Geraldine Van Bueren on
being made an honorary QC
Welcome to new
members and friends:
Rebecca and Oded Asherie
and the Dixter, Benichou,
Riseman and Rosenthal
families
The Liberal Jewish Synagogue and West London Synagogue
invite members and guests affected by the loss of a child
to our shared biennial service
A MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR THE LOSS OF A CHILD
OR THE LOSS OF THE PROSPECT OF A CHILD
at 15.00 on Sunday 28th April
at West London Synagogue, 33 Seymour Place, London W1
The service will include prayers and music,
the lighting of candles and time for silence.
If you would like to attend but are not sure about coming alone, please speak
to Rabbi Alexandra Wright or a member of the LJS Bereavement Group.
ADVANCE NOTICE ! KEEP THE DATE
Bring‐A‐Friend Shabbat
Saturday 19th October
This will be a special chance to introduce friends to the LJS, in
particular those who do not belong to a synagogue or who
would just like to find out more about the LJS. (Of course, you
are also welcome to bring friends to other services and events!)
Full details will follow. In the meantime, we welcome your
suggestions for making the Bring‐a‐Friend Shabbat particularly
meaningful for visitors. Send your suggestions to ljs@ljs.org
and we will publish the best – and act on them.
Friday evening services start at 18.45.
Shabbat morning services start at 11.00 unless otherwise stated.
DATE
RABBI/SPEAKER
Friday 29th March
Neil Janes
NOTES
Shabbat 30th March
Neil Janes
Shabbat Chol Ha-Moed Pesach
Shabbat Services
Shabbat and festival services: April
Sunday 31st March
Erev 7th Day Pesach
Alexandra Wright
Evening service in the Rabbi John Rayner
room
Monday 1st April
7th Day Pesach
Alexandra Wright
The service will include the Song of the
Sea and Yizkor (Memorial Service) for
the last day of the festival
Friday 5th April
Alexandra Wright
Chavurah supper with guest speaker Peter
Lantos (details on page 4). ❉ See note below
Shabbat 6th April
Shemini
Alexandra Wright
Baby Blessing: Ava Rosenthal
The service will include special readings for
Yom Ha-Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day)
Friday 12th April
Neil Janes
All welcome to the service especially members
of Rabbi Janes’ and Susannah Alexander’s
Hebrew and Exploring Judaism classes.
Shabbat 13th April
Tazria/M’tzora
Neil Janes
Baby Blessing: Jacob Spanier
Friday 19th April
LJY-Netzer Service
Please join LJY-Netzer for a guitar-led service
especially for those in school years 10, 11
and 12. Service followed by supper
Shabbat 20th April
Acharey-Mot/Kedoshim
Alexandra Wright
Ruby and Sasha Rechler B’not Mitzvah
Led by the Kabbalat Torah class
Friday 26th April
Shabbat 27th April at 10.30
Emor
Kabbalat
Torah service
Sunday 28th April at 15.00
West London Synagogue
Friday 3rd May
Please note: the service
starts at 10.30
Memorial Service for the loss of a child or the
prospect of a child. See details on page 2
Alexandra Wright
Chavurah Supper to mark Yom Ha-Atzma’ut
(Israel’s Independence Day) with grass roots
organisation OneVoice, working in Israel and
Palestine to build support for a two-state
solution and dialogue between two Middle
Eastern neighbours. ❉ See note below
Shabbat 4th May
Alexandra Wright Oliver Delew Bar Mitzvah
B’Har/B’Chukkotai
Tiny Tots
❉ Please bring a non-meat or sweet dish to share and £5 to cover the cost of supplementary food.
3
The Library Committee is delighted
to invite you to the next
Friday Chavurah supper
with guest speaker
Peter Lantos
on Friday 5th April at 18.45.
By the age of 30, Peter Lantos had survived
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, was
beaten by the Communist police in Hungary,
qualified in medicine, defected to England,
sentenced to imprisonment for this ‘crime’ in
his absence and had established a career in
academic medicine in London. And this was
only the beginning.
After retirement, it was his childhood
experiences which gave him the impetus to
SAVE THE DATE: Saturday 8th June
SUMMER SOIRÉE
write Parallel Lines, published in 2006. The
book attracted universally favourable reviews.
His first novel, Closed Horizon, is a vision of
the near future in the Republic of Great
Britain, where conflicts between individuals
and the Surveillance State create complex
moral dilemmas. It is a story of loyalty and
betrayal, guilt and forgiveness, blackmail and
courage. In the words of Baroness Helena
Kennedy ‘a brilliant and terrifying novel about
the fragility of freedom.’
Peter Lantos has recently finished a play, The
Visitor, and is working on his second novel.
Please bring a non-meat or sweet dish to share
and £5 towards the cost of supplementary
food provided by Susannah Alexander.
London Society of Jews and
Christians: future events
8th May
• Dinner • Guest speaker
• Fabulous raffle and music
Faith and Politics – Lord Griffiths
and Baroness Neuberger in
discussion at Portcullis House,
Westminster
Fundraising for
Learning Across all Ages at the LJS
20th June Summer outing to Oxford (date to
be confirmed)
MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW
18th July
Joint Summer Garden Party with
CCJ at Westminster Abbey, 18.00
Lend a helping hand
Would you be interested in joining the LJS
Membership Committee, which organises
events both for newly-joined members and for
more established members of the synagogue?
Contact jennywhite63@googlemail.com or call
Jenny on 020 7794 5886 for more details.
[\
A good way to help the synagogue to continue
providing the full range of services, education
and community care for our members,
including the little extras that can make such a
difference, is to leave a legacy in your Will. For
4
advice about this, please contact the Executive
Director, Caroline Bach (email c.bach@ljs.org).
[\
Shammashim: Our team of shammashim needs
reinforcement. This is an opportunity to play an
active role in ensuring the smooth running of
Shabbat services, while meeting and greeting
members and visitors. Shammashim always work
in pairs and duty turns come around about every
eight weeks. If you are interested, please contact
Bob Kirk via the LJS on 020 7432 1283.
Liberal
Judaism:
Phase
Three
W
hen Lily Montagu, one of the founders of the Liberal
Jewish movement, died 50 years ago in January 1963,
the first chapter of Liberal Judaism in the UK was
brought to a close. Born into an orthodox Jewish family, Lily
Montagu laid the foundations of the movement, witnessed and
advanced the growth of the LJS, promoted the founding of
other Liberal congregations in London and the regions, as well
as the World Union for Progressive Judaism, and laboured
tirelessly and passionately for the causes of the Liberal
movement – preaching, teaching, writing and disseminating her
ideas about Judaism as a ‘true religion’. She exhorted her
congregation at West Central Liberal Synagogue (originally the
West Central Jewish Girls’ Club) to awaken and stimulate their
faith through contemplation of beauty in nature, literature and
art; to attach themselves to God in order to find authority for
their moral life in God’s commands and not in the conventions
of society.
‘Honour, social service and purity’ must come before all else in
the world, she wrote; these are the things that should help us
‘overcome our unworthy desires, control our passions, combat
our selfish inclinations’. Religion ‘has the power to make us
happier’. It can help us ‘adjust our minds to bearing the weight
of insoluble problems which threaten their well-being’.
Lily Montagu,
founder of Liberal
Judaism, died 50
years ago this year.
Rabbi Alexandra
Wright discusses
her legacy and
asks how the
anniversary can
help us as we look
to the future
With the founding of the West Central Jewish Girls’ Club in
1893 – a club that catered specifically for the needs of Jewish
girls from the working classes – Lily Montagu began to develop
her religious ideas, recognising the economic exigencies under
which the girls worked and sympathising with the requirement
to work on Shabbat mornings – hence the provision of a
Shabbat afternoon service, which has remained to this day. She
shared her faith, her love of literature and art and the value of
friendship with them. She had a strong sense of vocation and
service and her powerful presence and somewhat heady
spirituality must have allowed her to serve as a role model and
even hero to the girls. They were her ‘children’; she offered
advice and counsel in words, some of which might feel
somewhat patronising today.
Reading her sermons and Club Letters today, one is conscious,
not only of her distinctive spirituality, but also of her own
personal background and struggles. As one of ten children,
born to Samuel and Ellen Montagu, she was taught to order her
life around religious observances. Samuel, later Lord Swaythling,
remained an observant, orthodox Jew his whole life and was
adamantly opposed to the teachings of the Liberal movement
and disapproved of his daughter’s association. ‘My father saw
5
all around him the lax Jews,’ she writes in 1950,
‘which would drop off, and the faithful would
remain and pass on true religion to the next
generations.’
Yet Lily Montagu was concerned about the socalled ‘dead leaves’. With the scholarship and
deep personal faith of Claude Montefiore and
Israel Abrahams, whom she admired
enormously, and with the support of her sisters,
Lily Montagu’s single-mindedness to further the
cause of Liberal Judaism must have been a
lonely and often difficult path.
Lily Montagu
photographed
in about 1902
Reading again the tributes to her in Pam Fox’s
book A Place to Call My Jewish Home, it sounds
as though – in her old age at least –she was
regarded with affection and admiration, but
also perhaps as an eccentric – a woman who
never married, never had children, who never
seemed to change her clothes, with a penchant
for extravagant hats and who once poured a
blancmange off the plate and straight into her
handbag at a synagogue lunch.
A fortnight after her death, Rabbi John Rayner
acknowledged in a sermon1 that her death
marked the end of a chapter of Liberal Judaism.
1
6
John Rayner, ‘The Next Chapter’ in
A Jewish Understanding of the World
(Berghahn Books, 1998), pp40-41
While he expressed gratitude for her ‘inspiration
and leadership’ and described her impatience
for further progress, he also recognised that the
impact of Liberal Judaism on Anglo-Jewry had
remained unremarkable.
In fairness to Lily Montagu, she never conceived
of Liberal Judaism as a rival organisation that
would claim affiliation from Jews connected with
other denominations. She saw the movement as
an alternative expression of Judaism that offered
a new and different way of thinking. As Ellen
Umansky points out in the conclusion of her
1983 study of Lily Montagu, Lily Montagu and
the Advancement of Liberal Judaism (Edwin
Mellen Press), ‘Her concern was simply that
Jews recognize the “spiritual possibilities of
Judaism”’(p209).
The second phase of Liberal Jewish life, said
Rabbi Rayner, required two things: a re-statement of what Liberal Judaism stands for, but also
a way of bringing the movement more forcefully
to the attention of the community. Furthermore,
‘cataclysmic events, like the destruction of
European Jewry and the establishment of the
State of Israel, have occurred’ since the founding
of Liberal Judaism. The message must now be
expressed in the ‘idiom of our own day’ – and
we must try to express it even better than they
did, he wrote.
Critical of the founders’ lack of attention to
Rabbinic Judaism, their underestimation of
emotion and the difficulties of self-discipline, he
accuses the early leaders of being too restrictive
in their appeal.
‘Liberal Judaism created for itself an unfortunate
image, as a form of Judaism for those more or
less alienated from traditional Jewish life and
learning, for those who want to be Jewish but
not overmuch, as a rescue operation for the
victims of assimilation.’
In the second phase of Liberal Judaism’s work,
he continues, ‘we have an even bigger task: to
establish Liberal Judaism as a serious alternative
to Orthodoxy, and ultimately perhaps as the
norm of Jewish life in this country.’ John Rayner
example’. Liberal Judaism has to be shown
that it doesn’t only work in theory, but
also in practice.
‘If we want to commend Liberal Judaism
to others, we must first love it, and live it,
ourselves… Let us prove that our Judaism
is, in Lily Montagu’s favourite phrase, a
living Judaism. Only then will the second
chapter of our history be a worthy sequel
of the first.’
Now, 50 years after the death of Lily
Montagu and into the synagogue’s second
century, we must start to write the third chapter
of Liberal Judaism. Is that task even more
challenging than the one faced by Lily Montagu
and her contemporaries in the uncertain years
leading up to the outbreak of the First World
War? Is it more difficult than the task of
reconfiguring Liberal Judaism – its theology,
liturgy and rationale in the aftermath of the
destruction of European Jewry and the
foundation of the State of Israel?
The Rabbi writes
advocated creating a Liberal Jewish halachah,
‘firmly grounded in Jewish tradition, thoroughly
modern in its conclusions, comprehensive in its
scope, unimpeachable in its reasoning.’
Theoretically, John Rayner succeeded in
achieving that structure through his published
and unpublished writings and sermons. One
has only to read his Principles of Jewish Ethics,
first published in 1998 and re-printed in 2005
by Liberal Judaism, to understand his vision of
Liberal Judaism – a vision that embraced every
aspect of human life – from personal ethics
between individuals, to social ethics, from the
ethics of the family to economic, educational,
medical and media, legal, political, international
and environmental ethics. Every aspect of moral
teaching is underpinned by a text – whether
from the Hebrew Bible or Talmud, or elsewhere
in rabbinic literature.
In this second phase, argued John Rayner, there
is an even more difficult task: ‘to back up this
exposition of Liberal Judaism by our own
7
In an environment of lost faith and cynicism, of
polarisation between fundamentalism on the
one hand and atheism and secularism on the
other, what do we need to propel us forward
and ensure not only the survival of Liberal
Judaism, but its integrity, its meaningfulness
and dynamic spirit?
There are three things, I think, that we need to
concentrate on in the coming years at the LJS:
one is our attention to those members of
society who are too easily exploited – the poor,
the vulnerable, children, refugees, asylum
seekers, those who have no employment, the
elderly and those suffering from physical or
mental illness. In the current austere economic
climate, Judaism requires us to exercise
responsibility and protection, support and help.
Lo yiheyeh-b’cha evyon – ‘There shall be no
needy among you’ (Deuteronomy 15:4) must
remain our watchword, helping us to guard
against oppression, poverty, encouraging us to
do whatever is in our power to give to others.
To paraphrase Heine, since the Exodus freedom
– and we might add justice – has always spoken
with a Hebrew accent.
If our observances – our celebration of Pesach,
among others – do not propel us to protest
against poverty, reduction of services for
children, for the elderly, the sick, for refugees
and for those who have no status in our society,
then they have no meaning at all for us. The
very purpose of Jewish practice and observance
must be for moral and ethical reasons.
Secondly, the need for dialogue among people
of faith and people of no faith is essential. We
are not speaking only about the polite exchange
of tea-time pleasantries between Jews and
Christians or Jews and Muslims, but a proper
listening and understanding of the people
among whom we live. Let us read each other’s
scriptures, let us participate in each other’s
festivals and holy days and understand the
cultural and religious teachings that are
precious to others so that we can learn from
them. We do not violate our own faith, but
enrich it by opening ourselves to others.
Thirdly, there is the matter of faith. As much as
we require physical nourishment – food and
water – I believe we need spiritual nourishment,
although we do not always recognise it. We are
not only creatures of the physical world, we have
metaphysical and spiritual appetites, emotional
needs, and the community and everything it
stands for can meet some of those cravings in
the connections we make with each other, in our
reaching out to those in need and in our deepest
longing for self-alignment and peace.
As the festival of Pesach comes to a close and
we enter the period of the counting of the
Omer – a time of journeying together towards
Sinai – I invite you to write with me the third
chapter of this adventure of Liberal Judaism and
help to contribute the fruits of our heritage to
the well-being of the Jewish community and to
our wider society.
■ The Lily Montagu Lecture, organised by the
London Society of Jews and Christians, takes
place in November each year. This year we are
delighted to announce that the speaker will be
Dr Ellen Umansky, Lily Montagu’s biographer
and editor of many of her lectures, sermons and
letters. Please keep Thursday 14th November
free in your diary for the lecture and the
following Shabbat, 16th November, for further
study sessions.
8
Your chance to try out some new tunes
Cathy Heller-Jones, the LJS
Director of Music, will be
leading song sessions for
adults who wish to learn
some of the songs we sing at
our Shabbat and festival
services – including the new
melodies introduced recently.
Song sessions will take
place in the Sanctuary from
9.30-9.50 on these Saturday
mornings:
20th April
11th May
15th June
13th July
Everyone is welcome.
Cathy has recorded some
of the songs and you can
listen to them through links
on the LJS website. Below:
Members of the congregation
at the recording session.
Come and celebrate Shavuot with us
Shavuot, which means ‘weeks’ in Hebrew, is one
of the three pilgrim festivals described in the
Torah. There it is a harvest festival; later in history,
in keeping with the other pilgrim festivals, a
historical event was also ascribed to it and it
became known as Season of the Giving of the
Torah. For Liberal Jews, Shavuot is a time to
engage with our sacred heritage. All wisdom
and learning throughout Jewish history,
including our own Liberal Jewish voices, is part
of the celebration at this time and accordingly
we devote our night to learning.
Please join us on 14th-15th May for any of the
activities below – all members, friends and
visitors are welcome.
Tots’ Activities
16.00-17.00 – Tiny Tots Activities for the festival
of Shavuot led by Rabbi Neil Janes. Bring some
food to share and stay for dinner with some of
the older children at 17.00.
Children’s Dinner
17.00-18.00 – Young families are invited to
bring some non-meat food (no nuts please) to
share for this special festival dinner. An excellent
opportunity for children to share dinner before
staying for the evening service, especially for
families for whom the Chavurah supper after the
service is too late. To enter the spirit of Shavuot
it is customary to eat dairy foods: we will have a
special cheese tasting activity during the meal!
Evening Service
18.30 – Join us for an inter-generational service
as we welcome the festival of Shavuot. All ages
and families welcome.
Chavurah Supper
19.15 – A Chavurah (friendship) supper – bring
your own non-meat dish to share with the
congregation. Enter the famous LJS Cheesecake
Competition, which will be judged after dinner.
Up all night
This year, the LJS will be hosting the all-night
study programme and welcomes our learning
partners, West London Synagogue, to our
building. This custom is known as a Tikkun Leil
Shavuot and it will feature a wide variety of
study sessions, creative workshops and activities
throughout the night, culminating in a morning
service as the sun rises. This custom has grown in
popularity in the last few years in communities
around the world who are seeking to learn and
engage with all aspects of Judaism. We are now
putting together a programme which will feature
rabbis, charities, film, art and multisensory
experiences. All are welcome to some or all of
the night. Put the date in your diary now.
Regular Festival Morning Service
11.00 – A festival morning service for the whole
community. There will be a children’s service
running concurrently.
Neil Janes
9
at the
LJS
Classes in Judaism and Hebrew
Shavuot term 5773/2013
TUESDAY 11.15-12.30
16th April - 9th July
Tuesday Texts
Tutors: Rabbis Alexandra Wright and Neil Janes, Dr Dov Softi and Susannah Alexander
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. New members are most welcome. Biscuits are provided.
This term begins with a study of the prophet Elijah in the Hebrew Bible and the way in which
Mendelssohn and his librettist Pastor Schübring used biblical and New Testament texts in the
composer’s oratorio ‘Elijah’. Later in the term, we hope to include some sharing of texts with
Sister Margaret Shepherd of the Sisters of Zion.
TUESDAY 19.00-20.00
Hebrew Reading Classes
23rd April - 9th July
Half-term: 28th May
1) Beginners with Susannah Alexander
This class is designed for beginners who want to learn to read and decipher the prayer book.
2) Reading the prayer book with Rabbi Neil Janes
The class is designed for those who know their alphabet and a little bit of vocabulary. We are
looking at key prayers from the Shabbat service liturgy.
TUESDAY 20.00-21.00
23rd April - 9th July
Half-term: 28th May
Exploring Judaism
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.
This year the course will be taught primarily by Rabbi Neil Janes. Class members are encouraged
to read materials which will be made available online. The course is designed to offer
10
➯
The Learning Circle
knowledge about aspects of Judaism, to encourage practical experiences of Liberal
Judaism and space for personal reflection within the group.
Course members are warmly encouraged to attend Friday night services on the second
Friday of each month, when the D’var Torah (words of Torah in the service) will be devoted
to aspects of Shabbat. We also encourage participants to share Friday night dinner
together after the service. Rabbi Neil would be delighted to hear from members and friends
who are current students or who have completed the course of learning and would be
willing to provide occasional home hospitality on Friday nights for those currently enrolled.
Friday 12th April
Friday Night Service: Exploring Shabbat
Tuesday 23rd April
Theology Part 2
Tuesday 30th April
History Part 3
Tuesday 7th May
Reflective Session: The Jew in the world
Friday 10th May
Friday Night Service: Exploring Shabbat
Tuesday 14th May
Shavuot (Tikkun Leyl Shavuot)
Tuesday 21st May
Zionism and Israel
Tuesday 4th June
Jewish Denominations
Tuesday 11th June
Reflective Session: Seekers, Dwellers and Post-Modern Judaism
WEDNESDAY 18.30
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.
THURSDAY 19.00
Learning to be a Shaliach Tzibbur
Michael Simon is running a course on the structure and content of a typical service from the
Siddur Lev Chadash. It is a practical course for those who wish to understand the thinking
behind the prayers and who might wish to take or lead a service. Although Hebrew is not
essential, the participants will be able to practise and improve their Hebrew reading ability.
Michael has previously led two adult B’nei Mitzvah groups at the LJS, ran a Shabbat morning
adult discussion group and has taught an adult class using Prayer Book Hebrew the Easy Way.
He currently leads services at Hammerson House and is an LJ nominee on the governing body of
the Akiva School.
Join us at the LJS at 19.00 on Thursday 4th April and Thursday 18th April.
➯
11
SHABBAT 9.45-10.45
Learning from Texts with Bernie Bulkin
20th April - 6th July
Half-term: 25th May
The theme for this year is Jewish Thought in the 20th Century, seeing how the issues of Zionism,
scientific revolution, growth of Reform, the Holocaust, creation of the State of Israel, and gender
equality were dealt with by the great Jewish writers of the last century, including Buber,
Rosenzweig, Kook, Leibowitz, Plaskow, Fackenheim, Baeck, and Heschel. We also do about ten
minutes of parashah study at the beginning of each session. New participants always welcome.
SHABBAT 9.45-10.45
Beginners’ Hebrew with Gary Lane
20th April - 6th July
Half-term: 25th May
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 11.00
ART
Informal art class for beginners or experienced artists who are welcome to join a friendly group
to paint together and work through until lunchtime. Bring pastels, water colours, acrylic, oil or
other materials. The class meets every Monday excluding Jewish festivals and Bank Holidays. For
more details, phone Paul Podolsky: 020 8346 2270.
12
LJY-Netzer-led Erev Shabbat
services are held once a month at
the LJS, followed by a pizza and
ice cream supper. The service on
Friday 19th April is for Years 10, 11,
12 and 13 (15-18-year-olds).
Community Care leaflet
The next Keep-in-Touch tea party will be
on Sunday 23rd June at 15.00. Please
make a note in your diary to be sure you
don’t miss it. More details and invitations
will follow. Meanwhile, KIT continues its
work of keeping in touch with our more
elderly congregants.
Liz Crossick, the LJS social worker, can be
contacted on 020 7286 5181. She has
access to social services, housing
departments, hospital social services, etc.
She is ready to help with difficulties
experienced not only by our older members
(such as illness and the provision of care)
but also across the spectrum of life.
The LJS has produced a Community Care
leaflet which gives details of all our
various ‘care’ activities. Copies are
available in the foyer – or ask a friend or
relative to bring one home for you.
Many thanks to Philip and Isabel
Monnickendam, who generously donated
the February lunch. The meal started with
a delicious mackerel paté, followed by
sweet/sour meat balls with rice and
vegetables, and finished with a
scrumptious orange cake, chocolate and
coffee – all cooked by our devoted
Restaurant Tuesday team. There is always a
vegetarian option available.
VIDEO
PLUS
The next lunch is at 12.30 on 16th April.
We would love to welcome some new
diners. Why not give us a try and taste our
home-cooked meals at just £3.50? Perhaps
the above will whet your appetite.
Our Community
Restaurant Tuesday
If you are a newcomer, please phone the
office (020 7286 5181) beforehand. If you
are a regular but are unable to come,
please also phone the office.
TEA
Our film afternoons are held on Wednesdays. 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.
Lifts are available.
Wednesday 24th April:
SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN
with Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
Please enter ICE into your mobile phone
with the telephone number of a close relative
whom the police or emergency services
can contact in an emergency.
IT COULD BE A LIFE-SAVER.
BRIDGE CLUB
Monday afternoons from 14.00-17.00
in the Assembly Hall upstairs at the LJS
The Bridge Club is very successful and much
enjoyed by its members. Anyone with any
knowledge of the game is most welcome. There is
a friendly atmosphere and helpful suggestions.
The cost is £2 (including tea or coffee).
13
Young LJS A spectacular Purim
Purim was celebrated in spectacular fashion this year with true
community spirit: in Religion School the younger children in Gan,
We wish these young
Alef and Bet were joined by Tiny Tots in making masks, crowns
members of the LJS a
and rattles before listening to Caroline Hagard’s interactive Purim
Story. This was followed by a
very happy birthday in April:
Fancy Dress competition and
lots of hamantaschen.
Rebekah Allen (February)
The Murder Mystery evening
Nena Atwell
was hugely successful, attended by more than a hundred adults
and children. Beginning with a groundbreaking rendition of the
Lola Barber
Megillah in the Sanctuary, the fun continued with a Chavurah
Banquet fit for a King, during which ‘Who killed Haman?’ was
Kobe Behr
performed by the outstanding Mystery Players, including a
Benjamin Brown
lecherous King, two stunning Queens, a feisty Mordechai and a
haughty Zeresh. All cunningly protesting their innocence, they
Reuben Cohen
were expertly interrogated by Rabbi-Inspector Clouseau. Finally,
in a nail-biting finale, it was the magnificent Esther who rightly
Axel Cohen
received the most votes from the appreciative audience.
Audrey Curtis
Many thanks must go to all the actors and readers, to those who
contributed food to share and everyone who came along to
Gabriel Dubin
support and enjoy the evening. Special thanks to Caryn
Berlingieri who came up with such an inspired Purim idea and to
Wilfred Ginsberg
her husband Chris for providing the appropriately-themed music
for the performance and the dancing afterwards.
Emily Gruber
Gaby Lazarus
Naomi Hanna-Kemper
Sam Hanna-Kemper
TINY TOTS at the LJS
Ayelet Janes
Matilda Mills
Isabella Raucher
Sasha Rechler
Ruby Rechler
Jessica Spanier
Samuel Swanton
Aaron Tedeschini Rigal
Caroline Weiss
14
© Dawn Hudson/Fotolia.com
Do you have
little ones
aged between
0 and 4?
Please bring them to the LJS on Shabbat mornings for a delightful
session of songs, stories, drawing and kiddush:
27th April • 18th May
8th June • 29th June
Activities for tiny ones with their parents, grandparents and carers
The nursery is available every Shabbat for children to play or read
Please email s.frais@ljs.org if you would like
to be added to the Tiny Tots circulation list
How you are helping young people at risk
Wac Arts (formerly the Interchange Trust)
was the non-Jewish charity chosen to
benefit from the LJS High Holyday Appeal.
Here the trust reports on the use it is
making of our donation.
Since we received the LJS award we have made
a really positive start on the Pathway Project.
The Pathway Officer started work in January
and Pathway Youth workers began in February.
We have started working with 12 boys in Year
11 who attend our weekday programme
because they are at risk of permanent exclusion
from school. Half have a special educational
need statement so will struggle to achieve the
transition to work or further education without
this extra support. All 12 have been allocated a
youth worker and completed their first one-toone session to look at their career ambitions, the
opportunities available and the qualifications
they will need to achieve their next steps.
We have organised supported trips to three
colleges, City of Westminster, Westminster
Kingsway and City and Islington, where they
met course leaders, welfare officers and current
students. Staff accompanied them on these
visits and ensured they asked appropriate
questions and gathered all the information they
needed to make informed choices. Staff have
initiated good links with staff in these colleges
who welcome our ongoing involvement once
the young people start their courses.
All 12 have taken mock exams in numeracy,
literacy and ICT and have discussed their results
with the Pathway staff to set realistic goals for
their final exams. They have also reviewed
progress in the creative curriculum so that these
young people know their educational levels and
apply for appropriate courses that they will stay
on and enjoy.
Inevitably the programme has revealed other
issues, which make it hard for them to think
about the future. One young man is struggling
with very difficult relationships at home and the
recent changes to housing benefit mean that his
family will be leaving London. We are therefore
looking at his options for independent living
once he turns 16.
Two young men who are in care are also anxious
about where they will be living next so the staff
are working with social services to ensure
stability until they are 18. One has a looming
court case that may result in a custodial sentence
so the staff are working with social services and
the solicitor to support his need for continued
education whatever the result.
In the last week of February all 12 went on a
supported work experience. Three went to
primary schools, two to sports centres, one to a
film company and the rest worked in retail.
Several found this very challenging, but daily
support from youth workers helped them all to
complete the experience. They are all now
working on building a CV and learning about
interview technique. At the end of term we will
hold mock interviews, which we will film, so they
can judge their performance for themselves.
We are confident that this programme is
already making a difference to their chances of
moving on to the next step and achieving
success. Many of them have already submitted
applications to college for courses that they are
capable of completing and they are feeling
much more confident about their futures.
Elliott art exhibition
The Elliott Art Group is presenting its 17th
exhibition of works in the Montefiore Hall at
the LJS from 9th May until 4th June.
The Elliott Art Group, formed in 1993, work
in watercolour, oil, pastel, etching and
drawing. The group includes LJS members
Sally Warburg and Marie Alpert.
The work is for sale and commissions are
undertaken. Inquiries about purchases can be
made at the LJS reception desk.
15
Tea shops to opera, tobacco to television
To mark the centenary of
the founding of the LJS
cemetery in Willesden, Blue
Badge guide Rachel Kolsky
devised a special tour.
Jenny Nathan describes
some of the famous names
buried there
Most of us on the tour knew
the cemetery well but some
had never been there before
and all of us learnt new things.
We started with the Salmon
and Gluckstein families and
how they had created the
J. Lyons company, about which
we reminisced, recalling with
pleasure the tea shops, Corner
Houses and of course the
famous Trocadero Restaurant.
We learnt about Bernhard
Baron who made a great
fortune from tobacco, then
gave away millions of pounds,
particularly to medical causes
such as the Middlesex and
London Hospitals, but also to
the Oxford and St George’s
Settlement in the East End,
and the LJS portico with its
imposing pillars.
Around the beautiful Elkan
memorial there are many rose
bushes marking where ashes
have been interred, including
those of our beloved Rabbi
John Rayner. As we walked
around we saw the names of
many other rabbis including Dr
Israel Mattuck, our first rabbi,
his son-in-law Dr Leslie Edgar,
16
Dr David Goldstein and Jacob
Kokotek of Belsize Square
Synagogue.
There are many well known
people from the world of
entertainment, including the
film director John Schlesinger;
the actor John Slater of Z-cars
fame; three members of the
Grade family, Leslie, Lew and
Bernard Delfont; as well as
Conchita Supervía Rubenstein,
an opera singer who died in
childbirth in 1936 and whose
grave, designed by Sir Edwin
Lutyens, is adorned with four
tortoises.
Less well-known, but very
important in the scientific
world, is Sir Isaac Shoenberg
who invented High Definition
TV (405 lines) and who
pioneered outside broadcasting
for the 1948 Olympic Games.
Well known in the entertainment, legal and political world,
Lord Goodman and his brother
are buried here and also Jonas
and Esther Sellar whose sons
Irvine and Maurice generously
Above: The tour group.
Below: The grave of opera
star Conchita Supervía,
guarded by its four tortoises.
donated the beautiful mural at
the LJS by William Utermohlen.
■ The tour was oversubscribed
and is being repeated on
Tuesday 4th June; to sign up,
please email Rachel Kolsky at
info@golondontours.com or
phone her on 020 8883 4169.