Synagogue

This was my third year as Jewish Chaplain and the first year we were able to celebrate all the Jewish festivals without interruptions from the pandemic. All of our Jewish pupils were here with us and we were able to sit back around the Shabbat table and celebrate our heritage at close quarters.

With Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) falling the day before the beginning of term, we were certainly thrown into the Jewish deep end, but the autumn festivals were well attended and the community soon started to feel like a family once again.

The highlight of the Michaelmas Term had to be our celebrations for the festival of Chanukah. It is very unusual for this festival to fall early enough in the secular calendar for us to celebrate it at college. This year, it fell so early, that all eight nights were during term time, which gave us a unique opportunity to share this joyous and delicious festival with many different groups within the Clifton College community. Each night, different groups were invited to join in with Chanukah celebrations in different parts of the school, including the Percival Library, Wiseman’s House in the Upper School and Mansfield’s House in the Prep School. Each night, candles were lit, songs were sung and the delicious Chanukah foods, potato latkes and doughnuts, were enjoyed by all.

Another festival that brought the community and its friends together was Purim. The Jewish Sixth Formers prepared a hilarious and slightly irreverent Purim play that combined the Biblical story of the Book of Esther with 21st-century politics, Clifton humour and some very unusual costumes! The Catering Department provided an amazing buffet, including traditional Purim pastries called hamantaschen and a variety of other triangular foods.

We were delighted to be able to celebrate three long-awaited Bar/Bat Mitzvah services this year. Lea Fischer, Noah Lawrence and Tamara Fischer began working towards this Jewish milestone before the pandemic and had to adapt to online lessons and cope with many delays. All three were finally able to gather with friends and family from all over the world to read from the Torah as part of a Shabbat morning service and celebrate their achievements.

This year’s Heads of Synagogue, Grey Woolf and Josh Trackman, helped to lead service, plan events and galvanise the community. It was also an honour that one of the Heads of School was a member of the Polack Centre Jewish community. Anya Soldatova was a committed and respected Head of School and an active part of our Synagogue community, even playing Queen Vashti in the aforementioned Purim play! Overall, it has been a year of coming back together and rekindling the spirit of our unique community.

Rabbi Anna Gerrard Jewish Chaplain

Trips

An Alpine Adventure

On 29th July 2022, our pupils met to embark upon a lifechanging adventure to reach the summit of the Bishorn in the Swiss Alps, a mighty 4,000 metre peak. We arrived in the charming Swiss village of Zinal, at an altitude of 1,675 metres, to check into our hotel and meet our British Mountaineering Guides, Olly and Tom.

We travelled to the Moiry Dam (2,249m) at the head of the Grimentz Valley the next morning, the starting point of our five-day expedition. We enjoyed the stunning panorama of the turquoise lake waters, an amazing colour due to the glacial flour in the lake. From here we started the steep hike up the rocky path to the Cabane de Moiry hut (2,825m), which overlooks the crevassed Glacier de Moiry. We were able to practise alpine skills, using crampons and ice axes to move confidently and safely on the glacier. The first day at altitude was difficult for most, with a challenging hike back up from the glacier

Continuing our acclimatisation, our next objective was to climb a peak. We headed up to the Col du Pigne (3,141m) and, using our new alpine rope skills, we practised moving together safely up the north ridge to the summit of Pigne de La Lé (3,392m). From here, we descended onto the glacier, roping up as two teams to cross deep crevasses, practising our newly-learnt alpine skills, before returning to the Moiry hut for a second night.

The following day was a linking day, joining one valley to another. After a breakfast of bread, jam and Marche thé, we left the Cabane de Moiry hut and headed back up to the Col du Pigne. A long descent back down to Zinal gave us our first glimpse of the Bishorn, which was nerveracking yet extremely exciting. After descending 1,466 metres, we arrived back into civilisation to restock on supplies.

After a good night’s sleep in Zinal, we felt re-energised for the final part of our expedition. We began the long, steep ascent to the Cabane de Tracuit