CTJC Bulletin Chanukah 2012

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Welcome to the CTJC Chanukah Bulletin Bulletin Number 106.

Rosh Hashana seems like only last week, and already Chanukah is here.

All of the yomtovin fall early this year, which means we still have a few weeks to go before the days start to get longer again, so a week of light-filled festivities is just the thing to lift any darkness-dampened spirits. And if the candles aren’t enough alone, then a sweet and sticky doughnut will provide an added boost, and there’s a recipe available on page 17.

The indomitable Mark Harris has continued his researches into Huntingdon’s former shul, and you can read the latest instalment on page 11. We also have some fun children’s activities for the family to share.

The bulletin, like all aspects of CTJC, is produced entirely by volunteers. If you would like to get involved with any aspect of CTJC, please contact our Chairman Ros by emailing chair@ctjc.org.uk If you would like to submit material for our forthcoming Pesach issue, please email bulletin@ctjc.org.uk You can read the bulletin online in full colour at http://issuu.com/ctjc/docs/chanukah_2012 Wishing you and yours a joyous and light-filled Chanukah, from all at the Bulletin.

Small print…

Views expressed in the bulletin are the views of the individual authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of the editors or of the committee of the CTJC."

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In this issue…

1 2 2 3 4 5 7 11 15 17 20 21

Welcome to the CTJC Chanukah Bulletin In this issue…

Community news Communal information Chairman’s message What have the Greeks ever done for us? – Rabbi Reuven Leigh Memories of Gertrude Landy – by Barry Landy The Quest for Huntingdon Synagogue part 3 – by Mark Harris The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming – book review by Yoav Git Healthy doughnuts? – by Helen Goldrein Chanukah Pursuits Religious calendar

Community news Mazeltov To Stefan Reif on the birth of grandson Ishai to Aryeh and Rina Welcome to new members Jose (Yossi) and Jessica Liht Refuah Shlemah To Jonathan Goldman To Priscilla Gee To Annette Landy Condolences" To Barry Landy on the death of his mother Mrs Gertrude Landy (August 25)

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Communal Information Shul services Friday evening In term:

Winter, Ma’ariv at 6pm Summer, Minchah and Ma’ariv at 7:30pm In vacations: Winter, Minchah and Ma’ariv just before Shabbat June-August, Minchah and Ma’ariv at 7:30pm September, Minchah and Ma’ariv just before Shabbat Shabbat morning 9:30am. Sunday morning 8:00am (most weeks).

You can also consult our online calendar at www.ctjc.org.uk/calendar Learning Rabbi Reuven Leigh holds a Talmud Shiur at Chabad House, 37A Castle Street, Cambridge CB3 0AH, every Monday at 8pm. Parking is available in the Shire Hall car park. For more details email rl324@cam.ac.uk A Talmud Shiur led by Prof. Stefan Reif is held on a convenient evening in those weeks when Prof. Reif is in Cambridge. For more information email chevra@ctjc.org.uk Mikvah The Cambridge Mikvah is now open. To book an appointment please call Mrs. Rochel Leigh on 07825 126724 at least 48 hours in advance. For more information about the Mikvah please call Rochel or email at rochel@cuchabad.org.

Hospital Visiting Contact Sarah Schechter, Tirzah Bleehen or Barry Landy if you need to organise visits, or would like to volunteer to help.

Rabbi Reuven Leigh (354603) and Barry Landy can attend hospitals to read prayers.

Due to concerns for personal privacy the hospital no longer informs us when Jewish patients are admitted, so if you or someone you know would like to be visited, please contact us.

Chevra Kadisha Contact Barry Landy, Brendel Lang or Trevor Marcuson in the first instance.

Bar Mitzvahs, Weddings, Brit Milah and other religious services Contact Rabbi Reuven Leigh or Barry Landy to organise.

Children’s activities For information about Cambridge Hebrew School, the After School Club, or Ganeinu Child Care Service, contact Rochel Leigh at rochel@cuchabad.org CTJC email list CTJC has an email list. To join and receive regular updates about services, events, Shabbat times etc, please email Barry Landy at bl10@cam.ac.uk or Jonathan Allin at jonathan.allin@nokia.com CTJC Officers Rabbi Reuven Leigh Committee 2012/2013 Chairman Rosalind Landy Treasurer Jonathan Allin Secretary Barry Landy Synagogue officer Barry Landy Education officer Welfare officer Sarah Shechter Bulletin/website officer Helen Goldrein Board of Deputies

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Chairman’s message Do you ever catch the BBC radio 4 ‘Thought for the Day’? In late October I heard the Muslim Chaplain to Cambridge University talking on this programme. He spoke about Hagar. It turns out quite appropriately that we were reading about Hagar in our Sedra that very week! He pronounced her name Ha-djar and said that the story of Hagar also occurs in the Hebrew Bible. Of course the Jewish story precedes Islam by six centuries or more.

The whole corpus of Jewish tradition is very early including all the festivals.

We are now at the time of year when we celebrate the miracle of Chanukah which happened in Temple times. It is strange that the story of Chanukah and all the customs that surround it is not mentioned in the Mishnah. Many commentators have suggested reasons for this omission; Rav Nissim Gaon suggested that the information was so well known that the Mishna felt it was obvious. Reuvein Margolies posits the idea that as the Mishna was composed after the Bar Kochba Revolt, people were reluctant to include in the Mishna information about a celebration of a revolt which might have angered the Romans. Whatever the reason for the omission, we find a description in the books of Maccabees and a reference in the Talmud beginning with the question: ‘Mai Chanukah’, what is Chanukah?"

We are approaching a very early Chanukah this year, which brings me to the religious view of Chanukah. This festival is a celebration of the miracle of the long-lasting pure oil in the Temple, which occurred after the Greeks had polluted the Holy place of worship. This miracle allowed the Jews to take up worship again in the Temple .

There is a warm and cheerful feeling to Chanukah as we add one more candle daily to the Chanukiah. This is fun for children (of all ages). The candle lighting, the melody of Ma’oz Tzur, the traditional foods…latkes and nowadays Sufganiot/ doughnuts, join us to our history. We are links in a wonderful chain giving us connection to a long-ago past, to the present and to the future.

Wishing you all a Chanukah Sameach and much joy in our continuing traditions.

Ros Landy, Chairman

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What Have The Greeks Ever Done For Us?

By Rabbi Reuven Leigh The simplistic narrative of the Chanukah story is that of an attempt to Hellenise the Jewish people, and the eventual victory of light over these forces of darkness. The reality is that from Chanukah onwards there has been a complicated relationship between Jerusalem and Athens that can’t be painted in black and white terms. It is worth considering the various ways this relationship has been understood over time, since the legacy of the Chanukah story is played out to this very day in our understanding of the place of Judaism in the modern world. Helpfully, the Talmud informs us that the essential miracle of Chanukah is not the military victory, but rather the miracle of the oil, which may be the key to resolving this enduring dilemma and clash of civilisations.

The encounter between Judaism and Hellenism began during the Greek reign in Israel (333-64 BCE), and it was during this period that Jews began acquiring Greek names and the Torah was translated into Greek.

The familiarity with the Greek language brought with it a reduced knowledge of Hebrew, to the extent that objects in the temple in Jerusalem needed to be marked with Greek letters since the priests would have been unfamiliar with Hebrew (Mishna, Shekalim 3:2). This form of cultural assimilation led to a number of attempts to restrict and control the dominance of Greek language and culture amongst the Jews.

However, these attempts displayed a large degree of uncertainty and inconsistency. On the one hand, it was forbidden to teach Greek wisdom to your sons, but permissible to teach oneself (Baylonian Talmud, Sotah 49a). It was forbidden to learn Greek language oneself, unless it was needed for diplomacy (Babylonian Talmud, Menahot 99b).

Later authorities argued that the prohibition only applied to works of a uniquely Greek nature whereas works of natural science or metaphysics were considered universal and did not come under the ban (R. Moses Iserlis, Shut ha-Rama). What we can learn from the variety of attempts at restricting Greek influence, is recognition that a blanket ban was probably unachievable, due to the already successful expansion of Greek culture into Jewish culture. The sentiment expressed in these 5"

prohibitions is a warning that Greek must be treated with a degree of caution, but cannot be entirely ignored. Amongst the later Medieval Rabbinic authorities there was agreement that elements of Greek culture needed to be restricted, however, there was disagreement regarding which aspects of Greek culture should be avoided. The plurality of views already evident in earlier Mishnaic times served the needs of later Medieval Rabbinic leaders, who found precedent for their own attitudes towards Greek culture and thought. Even the more permissive Maimonides, who positively engaged with Greek philosophy, understood the ban to apply to history books and love songs (Commentary on the Mishna, Sanhedrin 90a)."

We are left with what we would describe in Yiddish as a situation that is ‘nisht ahin un nisht aher’, neither a rapprochement nor an aggressive war, and there remains a large amount of ambiguity on how to handle the relationship.

The Talmudic indication that the essence of Chanukah is expressed in the miracle of the oil could be the key to clarifying the optimum way to approach all things Greek.

Oil is both hydrophilic and hydrophobic; it is soluble in some liquids such as alcohol (Babylonian Talmud, Chulin 97a) and is insoluble in others such as water (Mishnah, Tvul Yom 2:5). These contrasting characteristics of oil are instructive of the way we are to engage with all things non-Jewish, on the one hand it is essential that we permeate all things we come in contact with and become fully absorbed, whilst at the same time retaining our essential distinction and avoid becoming diluted. Such an approach is fraught with dangers and can lead to unintended consequences, which is why the Rabbis have attempted to try and suggest the best equilibrium. What is certain however is that the legacy of Chanukah is not a simple rejection of all things Greek, but a challenge to retain an essential and distinctive Jewishness whilst being exposed and immersed in the world around us.

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Memories of Gertrude Landy

By Barry Landy Born December 4th, 1911 died August 25th, 2012. Survived by one sister, Monica, sons Barry and Francis (one daughter, Rosalind, predeceased), seven grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.

My mother, Gertrude (Williams) Landy, universally known as Gertie, lived a long, productive and fascinating life.

Sometime in the 80s, in the course of a conversation with my wife Ros, she said that, "we used to go for holidays to Golders Green". When Ros stopped laughing my mother explained that in those days Golders Green was mainly green fields and streams and was easily accessible by the Underground. This spurred us to ask my mother to record her memories, and it is from those recordings that we produced a booklet of her life, from which these notes are taken.

She was born in the East End of London in 1911, just before the Great War of 1914-1918. Her father was a Russian immigrant, and her mother a member of the Kutchinsky family, well known for having a jewellery store in Commercial Road and later in South Kensington (next to Harrods).

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Her early life was marked by travelling.

In 1915, during the first World War, she saw a Zeppelin which was bombing London, and because of that the family moved to Portsmouth, where they furnished their house with items bought at the auction of Queen Victoria's Palace on the Isle of Wight.

The family returned to Bishopsgate in the East End of London at the end of the war in 1919 for just three years. In 1922, having graduated from Junior School with a scholarship to a grammar school, they moved again, this time to North East Germany where they spent a year in Schwerin in Mecklenberg. They stayed there until 1924, during which time Gertie learned German and experienced at first hand the hyperinflation. During their stay Hitler staged his BeerHall putsch and she experienced first hand German antisemitism such as local youths stoning their (Jewish!) dog.

The family returned to London in 1924, and as well as going to the City of London College, Gertie started working for her father in place of the son he never had. At that time also she joined a Young Zionist society and in short order became its Chairman. Both she and her father were very actively Zionist all their lives, to such an extent that her father forbade her to get serious with any English man as they were going to move to Palestine.

In 1929 my mother went with her parents and baby sister to visit her mother's family in Poland. Amazingly, they drove there all across Europe. Her father was never a good driver and they had all sorts of incidents; they drove into a ditch, they collided with a tram, but nevertheless they got there. After they arrived the car broke down completely and they had to find horses to pull it to a garage, which made a part to repair it.

In 1931 she went with her father to the Zionist Congress in Basel.

Naturally she met many people who were later famous; Chaim Weitzman, Nachum Sokolov and Jabotinsky – names we recognise nowadays from streets!

In 1934 she travelled with her father to Palestine, where he bought a Pardes. She met many well-known people including Chief Rabbi Kook, to whose yeshivah her father donated chairs. The purchase of the pardes took so long because of the convoluted bureaucracy that her 8"

father had to return to England and leave my mother to complete it. So she was then living on her own in a foreign country. Quite daring for those days. Apart from learning Ivrit she also travelled to Lebanon and Damascus, on the Cairo to Beirut railway – she went all the way from Egypt to Syria via Lebanon by train. In Damascus she was mobbed because of her blond hair."" "

Above: Gertrude is third from the right, aged about 23.

In 1935 she met and married Harry Landy, who later became the long time Financial Representative of Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue and Treasurer of the Board of Deputies. Life inevitably became more settled; in 1939 they moved to Hampstead Garden Suburb, where she lived for most of the rest of her life. During the war they moved to a large house in Kings' Langley, where she looked after a constantly floating population of relatives, friends, and refugees. She often regarded this as the happiest period of her life. Certainly my sister and I had a wonderful time with 6 other cousins in the house.

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In 1947 she inaugurated the Women's Mizrachi movement in Great Britain starting with the local group in Hampstead Garden Suburb, and in November that year was in Palestine for the United Nations vote in favour of the Jewish state. She never forgot the excitement and celebrations as the vote was taken and especially the dancing in the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The rest of her life was punctuated by innumerable visits to Israel, which was truly her second home, and where she had many relatives and friends. She was a builder of Zion in every sense. The Women's Mizrachi (now Emunah) of which she was Chairman from 1947 to 1968, and then became Founder President, has many achievements. The ones dearest to her heart were the first home that they built in Israel (the home in Afula built for holocaust orphans), the Fanny and Walter Nathan Williams Creche and Kindergarten named after her parents, and the last home with which she was associated, the Neve Landy Children's Home close to Kiryat Gat. Her family home in Hampstead Garden Suburb (from 1952 in Holne Chase) was a byword for hospitality. People still remember the Simchat Torah parties which they held every year for over 20 years. They also hosted many famous people including Chief Rabbi and Mrs Herzog (Chief Rabbi of Israel) many times, and S Y Agnon for one weekend just after he had won the Nobel Prize (I have written an earlier article about this for the Bulletin).

However, especially after the death of her daughter Rosalind in 1975, she was more and more a devoted grandmother. No one who knew her will forget her sense of humour, her fierce intelligence, and her wisdom.

Many Cambridge people will remember her visits to Cambridge for the festivals. She came with my father for Pesach, Succot, and Rosh Hashanah for many years until his illness in 1995, and then after his death in 2000 she continued to come to us until her age prevented her from travelling.

We all miss her.

She is buried in the Jerusalem that she loved, aged 100, and lies next to her husband Harry in Sanhedria Cemetery.

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A Quest for Huntingdon’s Synagogue (Part 3) Mark Harris continues his search for the medieval shul

One cool and cloudy Thursday morning in October, I was sitting alone in a large room surrounded by shelves of files in the Cambridgeshire County Council offices of the Historic Environment Team at Castle Court in the Shire Hall complex. In front of me on the expansive desk was a ring-bound Archaeological Excavation Report relating to a Huntingdon dig, and two hefty, lidded cardboard boxes that Sarah Bultz, HER Assistant Archaeologist, had helpfully arranged to be brought from the Cambridgeshire County Archaeology Store. Filled with hopeful anticipation, I could barely wait to open and inspect the containers’ contents, which comprised medieval finds from archaeological trial and monitoring exercises in 2005 and 2008 (prior to a commercial development).

I was especially eager to examine meticulously these unearthed ancient artefacts (or more likely, I feared, little bits of such), because they were discovered very proximately to the limited area within which (I considered) the town’s medieval synagogue had been located. (Parts 1 and 2 of my quest for the shul were featured in the Pesach and Rosh Hashanah 2012 issues of the “CTJC Bulletin” and can be read online at www.ctjc.org.uk.) Needless to say, I was anxious to turn up (perhaps in a “Eureka moment”) some hard confirmatory evidence of the one-time existence of the synagogue and its congregants. (The Jewish community would not have been living in a ghetto; and Christian residents would have been their intermingled neighbours.)

My earlier researches had gleaned sufficient information to contend that the medieval shul had been sited close to St Clement’s Passage. This narrow footpath, which leads off Huntingdon’s High Street alongside St Mary’s Church, was formerly named “Mutton Alley” (as specified in Speed’s map of

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1610, the earliest –so far – identified of the town). There have been suggestions that “Mutton” was a derogatory back-reference to the mutton diet of the area’s former Jewish residents (known in the medieval era as “mutton eaters” because of their refusal to eat pork). However, I had discovered an alternative possible origin for the nomenclature. In 1275, when Cambridge’s Jewish population was exiled to Huntingdon, a man called Josce (of a wealthy and notable Jewish family) was appointed one of the four chirographers of the Huntingdon and Cambridge archae. Subsequently, I found that Josce’s family name was “Motun”, sometimes given as “Mutun”; so it may well be that “Mutton Alley” was named after a scion of that dynasty.

I had learned of the archaeological excavations in my “target” area of Huntingdon whilst doing some research reading of material (kindly provided for me at the Norris Museum in St Ives by its curator Bob Burn-Murdoch) concerning the Ramsey Abbey aspects of my quest. To recap briefly, scholarly monk Gregory had purchased a large number of Hebrew books/manuscripts at an auction held in the “profaned synagogue” of Huntingdon for the Abbey’s renowned library shortly before the shul was burned out by a mob around 1287. (I have been endeavouring to trace the whereabouts of any of these Hebrew items which may have survived the dissolution of the monasteries to the present day in various collections, in the hope that they might afford a clue to the exact location of the shul.)

The site of the pre-development monitoring digs was located to the rear of 151 High Street, Huntingdon; and it was directly accessible from St Clement’s Passage just metres to the northwest. The area is bounded to the north by a car park, to the east by the rear of 153 and to the west by residential properties.

Slightly further to the east is an area once known as “Temple Close” and which gives its name today to a nearby thoroughfare, “Temple Close”. There has been a divergence of view as to whether “Temple” may allude to Above: St Clements Passage, formerly Mutton Alley land possibly once owned here

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by the Knights Templar, or to a medieval synagogue in the neighbourhood.

The excavation revealed material indicating that the dig locale had been a rubbish pit for centuries, and certainly since the Saxon epoch. It is understood that, during the Middle-Ages, domestic refuse was usually disposed of to the rear of, or in any case quite near to, localities of activity and residential occupation. It would not have been practicable for me to review the entirety of material excavated, but I had particularly requested to see any items of stone, metal, pottery, wood, glass or manuscript.

The associated report that had been made available provided me with data concerning other discoveries. Amongst these, I was particularly interested in the statistical results of animal bone finds in the medieval period. And I was fascinated to read that considerably more sheep bones were extracted from the trenches than pig bones, and by a factor of three to one. Arguably, I suppose, this could be taken to back up the “mutton eaters” description of Huntingdon’s medieval Jewry living in the close environs.

As I prepared to open the boxes set before me on the desk, I pondered what artefacts might be revealed. I had read in connection with the discovery of other medieval English synagogues, such as in Norwich, that stonework (maybe from supporting columns) could be a useful pointer to the former existence of a sturdy stone building accommodating a shul. Stone buildings, other than churches, were fairly uncommon in general residential areas; stone was difficult to shape, expensive and thus employed sparingly. Stone houses were constructed only for the extremely wealthy. Generally, houses in medieval towns were timber-framed with wattle and daub walls.

It was a veritable long-shot that I would find something manifestly pertinent to Huntingdon’s Jewish house of worship … such as a piece of pottery or glass etched with, say, Hebrew letters or part of a Shield of David! However, on the basis of leaving no stone unturned, almost literally in this instance, I was delighted to be given a private opportunity to sift through the excavated items provided for me.

I was somewhat surprised to find in the first box (and by itself) a large, complete and attractively formed pottery jug showing some evidence of a light green glaze. This fine ceramic had been discovered, resting horizontally, in one of the three trenches dug out on site, interestingly (though not necessarily significantly) the one nearest to St Clement’s Passage. Dated from the mid13th to the mid-14th century, and thus substantially within the germane time window, it could have been used for holding water or oil. Unfortunately, although my vivid imagination was running riot, I could detect no patterning or other marks that would definitively assist my quest.

The second cardboard box waiting for my attention contained a large number of individual transparent pockets, of varying sizes, holding the following

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categories of finds: glass items (one being an exquisite, six-inch long, slender and greenish-hued bottle; the others largely comprising pieces from broken, bright-coloured bottles); flint; a sliver of bone decorated with tiny circles; a mysterious and smallish, U-shaped and twist-fashioned metal object with a small knobble in the middle (possibly of personal or decorative use); shards of pottery; and some rather unappealing, see-through packets of loose flotsam, slag, coal and burnt material (the latter prompting some equivocal curiosity on my part).

Left: A Medieval – Post Medieval glass small phial (late 15th century – mid 17th century).

Found London, 2007. Photograph © Museum of London.

But underneath these mainly bits and pieces there lay one largish and quite heavy chunk of medieval stone, which the excavation report describes as coming from the wall of a building. My close examination disclosed neither inscriptions nor other meaningful marks on the stone slab, which I had lifted carefully to expose its underside. The report indicates that the trenches revealed in situ no extant structural formations; so the section of stone wall appears to be the only corroboration, from the site, of a stone building that may have stood somewhere in close proximity. The answer to whether that building was Huntingdon’s medieval synagogue must, at present, be left to the imagination.

My quest continues …

Mark Harris’ new book, “The Music Makers and other Jewish stories”, is published in paperback by Troubador Publishing Ltd (Matador Fiction) price £7.99.

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The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming by Lemony Snicket A (children’s?) book review by Yoav Git Every now and then I come across a book that transforms my perception of reality, that causes a paradigm shift and opens a vista into a better understanding of our world. TLWCSS is not such a book. Yet it does address great themes in human endeavour – trials and tribulations, the strive for self-identity and of course, altruism and self-sacrifice.

Let us review the facts dispassionately (warning: spoiler). TLWCSS is born to a Jewish home and runs away.

Screaming. On its journey it encounters Christmas lights, a candy cane and a Christmas tree in the forest. It is rescued by a Jewish family and finally... eaten.

These are the bare facts but we can and should explore further.

I write this review in the week between ‫ לך לך‬and ‫ ;ויירא‬the travails of the Latke reflect on ‫'אברם‬s journey. God tells Avram, "‫ – "לך לך‬not just "go" but "go for your Self". The purpose of the journey is to find the Self. Latke is trapped in a world that is fixated upon Christianity, and journeys through its own series of unfortunate events, only to discover its place in the world.

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Yet, here is where the similarity ends and the differences begin to jar.

Unlike ‫אברם‬, who left a house of idolatry, Latke was raised in a good Jewish home. Why then is it running away? What are its motives?

Which brings us to the clear references TLWCSS makes to the work of Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995). The primacy of ethics comes from the experience of the encounter with the Other. The Other precisely reveals himself in his alterity not in a shock negating the I, but as the primordial phenomenon of gentleness.

The Latke goes on a journey to define its Judaism as the reflection of the alterity of the Christianity surrounding it. But rather than treating this experience as a privileged phenomenon, Latke fails to engage. It preaches rather than listens, lectures rather than learns. In short, our Latke lacks a key element of humility and ‫תמימות‬. As G-d spake to ‫אברהם‬ - Hithalech lefanay veheye tamim. '‫'התהלך לפני והיה תמים‬.

While reading how the Latke arrives in the forest, lost and bewildered, I was reminded of a famous work by ‫ ש’י עגנון‬- ‫והרוכל האדונית‬. That story is in itself an allegory of the Jewish community in Eastern Europe before and during WWII and tells of a Jewish merchant who comes across a hunting hut and a lady living alone in the forest. The petty merchant stays with the lady named ‫( לניה‬echoing the Hellenistic civilization fought by the ‫ )מכבים‬and discovers to his horror that she preys on her husbands, sucking their blood. It is only through the rediscovery of his Jewish roots that the merchant saves himself.

A similar tale of self discovery and redemption ensues in TLWCSS... the Latke is able to redeem itself only through rediscovering its Jewish roots. However, as Chekhov warned us, the axe presented in the first act, is finally going to be used in the story's climax.

Which brings us a full circle to TLWCSS and the story of the ‫עקדה‬. The Latke is finally able to stop screaming as it discovers that even our Self is only a reflection of the transcendental. The fulfilment of our purpose comes from a divine mandate and surrendering the self in the pursuit of experiencing the sublime.

To paraphrase, Latke was slightly over egged and would have benefited from a Lemony Latke recipe as an appendix.

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Healthy doughnuts?

By Helen Goldrein The most delicious Chanukah doughnuts I ever ate were from a wholefoods bakery in Jerusalem – sugar-free and wholewheat, with the jam filling replaced by a tasty date spread. Not only delectable, but good for you too! Mmmmm. So, when the time came to attempt doughnut making at home, I set about recreating these healthier-than-average deep-fried treats.

My recipe is not entirely sugar free, although most of the sugar in the dough will be gobbled up by the yeast. Using a combination of white and wholewheat flours gives a nutty flavour whilst keeping the dough light. The cinnamon sugar gives a spicy touch to the sweet coating. And given that we have a small person in the house, I also made these in mini size, which means that grown-ups can eat several and still feel virtuous!

I must admit that when I made these, I didn’t bother to fill them with anything – the little fried balls were delicious on their own. If you do fill them – with jam, date spread or something else entirely – please let me know how they turn out!

Mini ‘healthy’ doughnuts Makes approx. 8 Ingredients: 75g strong white flour 50g strong wholemeal flour 15g margarine 1.5 teaspoons dried yeast 60ml warm water 3-4 tbsp caster sugar 0.5-1 tsp cinnamon Vegetable oil, for deep frying

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I used a Kenwood mixer to make the dough. I imagine you could make these fairly easily by hand, although the mixing and kneading would be a bit tedious.

Mix the flours, sugar, margarine and yeast in the bowl of a Kenwood mixer, using the dough hook. With the motor running, pour in the water and combine until you obtain a smooth dough. Cover the bowl with a damp tea-towel and leave in a warm place to rise. It needs to double in size, which will take approximately 40 minutes.

While the dough is rising, line a baking sheet with non-stick paper and dust with flour. When the dough is ready, tip it out onto a floured surface and knock it back. Divide the dough into eight pieces, and roll into balls – each will be about the size of a 10p piece. Place them on the lined and floured baking sheet and re-cover. Allow to rise again for about 30 minutes, until doubled in size.

Heat the oil in a deep pan until a crumb of dough dropped into it sizzles. Gently spoon in the doughnuts using a metal spoon, and fry for 6-8 minutes, rolling them around in the oil, until they are a deep golden brown all over. Don’t put more than 2 or 3 in the pan at once or they will stick together in a disastrous way. Once they are cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent kitchen paper.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon and spread out on a plate. Roll the doughnuts in it while they are warm to obtain a thin, even coating. If you are filling the doughnuts, cut a slit with a sharp knife and spoon or squirt in your filling.

Eat and enjoy!

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Chanukah Pursuits!

On the back of this bulletin is the board for a Chanukah game. To play it you will need a dice, plus a counter for each player. Everyone starts at ‘light the first candle’ and rolls the dice to progress around the board, following the instructions on the squares. The first player to reach the eighth candle is the winner! If you like, you can copy the board onto a bigger paper, and add squares of your own.

You can also have fun colouring the Chanukah picture below.

The new, state of the art Dreidel is a multi-faceted, interactive educational and entertainment micro-system, which utilizes maximum kinetic transfer technology, putting years of experience at your fingertips.

Rapidly rotating on its axis, Dreidel is driven by centrifugal forces that defy gravitational pull. Dreidel operates efficiently on renewable energy sources at high, medium and low speeds.

Velocity and RPM levels are adjusted by the flick of a finger.

Perfectly balanced and precision engineered, Dreidel is virtually maintenance free – it has no moving parts, and no batteries or upgrades are required.

Simply hold in an upright position, and use thumb and forefinger to accelerate. Driedel works best when operated on smooth surfaces with low coefficient of friction. After completing its spinning mode, Dreidel automatically begin to gyrate, displaying various conic sections as it decelerates.

Dreidel then shuts down automatically, however its quick turnaround time allows Dreidel to be used repeatedly for endless Chanukah fun!

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Religious Calendar Chanukah 2012 The first night of Chanukah is Saturday 8 December.

Purim 2013 Thursday 21 February 2013 – Fast of Esther Fast ends 6:00pm Saturday 23 February 2013 Shabbat Ends 6:14pm, Maariv at 6:30pm, immediately followed by Megillah Reading, Sunday 24 February 2013 Shacharit 8:00am, immediately followed by Megillah Reading.

Pesach 2013 Anyone who would like to attend a Seder, or who knows someone who would like to attend a Seder is invited to consult Mr Barry Landy (C. 570417) who will try to arrange a suitable host. Derby Stores (Cambridge 354931) will take Pesach orders.

Monday March 25 Fast of the Firstborn Shacharit 7:00am Finish all Chametz by 9:41am Burning of Chametz by 10:56am Festival starts 6:07pm Minchah/Maariv 6:00pm

Sunday March 31 Festival Starts 7:17pm Minchah/Maariv 7:15pm

Tuesday March 26 Shacharit 9:30am Minchah/Maariv 6:00pm First day ends 7:06pm

Monday April 1 Shacharit 9:30am Minchah/Maariv 7:15pm Last day starts 8:17pm

Wednesday March 27 Shacharit 9:30 am Festival ends 7.11 pm

Tuesday April 2 Shacharit 9:30am Festival Ends 8:21pm 21"

SHAVUOT 2013 Shavuot is in University Term, so the services are organised by the students. Minchah/Maariv times to be announced Tuesday May 15 Festival Starts 8:33pm Wednesday May 16 Shacharit 9:30am Thursday May 17 Shacharit 9:30am Festival Ends 9:49pm

Visit www.ctjc.org.uk for weekly Shabbat and service times, plus information about all of our events.

Look out for details of communal Chanukah and Purim celebrations, coming soon!

CTJC is seeking a representative for the Board of Deputies. If you are interested in this position, please email the Secretary, Barry Landy, at bl10@cam.ac.uk

22"

Light$the$ eighth$candle$

Light$the$fiFh$ candle$

Lose$a$ fortune$at$ dreidel$–$back$ 2$squares$

Light$the$ fourth$candle$

Chanukiah$by$a$ window$–$ forward$2$ squares$

Roll$the$dice$and$move$your$piece$around$the$board.$$ The$first$player$to$reach$the$eighth$candle$wins!$

Light$the$third$ candle$

Polish$your$ chanukiah$–$ forward$one$ square$

Can’t$find$the$ matches$–$back$ two$squares$

Eat$too$many$ latkes$–$back$ one$square$

Light$the$first$ candle$

Cook$up$some$ donuts$–$ forward$1$ square$

Who$will$be$first$to$ light$all$eight$ candles?$

Remember$the$ miracle$–$ forward$2$ squares$

Light$the$ second$ candle$

Light$the$ seventh$ candle$

Forget$the$ words$to$Maoz$ Tzur$–$back$2$ squares$

Light$the$sixth$ candle$

Win$at$dreidel$–$ forward$3$ squares$

Eat$too$many$ chocolate$coins$ –$back$one$ square$