COMMUNITY - PESACH 2020

COMMUNITY THE MAGAZINE OF PINNER SYNAGOGUE

PESACH 2020

Every year, it is our duty to tell the Pesach story.

This year, it is Norwood’s duty to tell their stories… #SederStories

Why is this year different from all other years for Norwood?

This year is different because Norwood will be spending it celebrating and commemorating 225 years of service to the community. That’s why, this year, it is our duty to tell the stories of some of the people Norwood has supported over the years. We will be telling these stories in a variety of ways over the coming weeks.

Norwood has been here for our community for 225 years.

With your support, we’ll be here for ever. This Pesach, help us to keep telling the extraordinary stories of the people we support by donating at norwood.org.uk/pinner or call 020 8420 6970.

Patron Her Majesty The Queen • Reg Charity No. 1059050

CONTENTS FIRST THINGS FIRST 4 | Chairman's Report

Jonathan Mindell 5

| Dear Friends

Rabbi Kurzer

6

| A New Year And New Beginnings

Rebbetzen Abi Kurzer

8

| The Youth Report

Elisha & Maya Dytch

9

| From The Editor

23 |

Doreen Samuels

24 | 25 |

36 |

Community Cafe

Rabbi's Top Five Lessons from Formula 1

What is Community?

Rabbi Kurzer

26 | Pinner Synagogue Has Joined Eco Synagogue Rebekah Gershuny

27

| Our Wet, Windy, Wonderful Weekend Doreen Samuels

38 | We Need to Change How We Live - Now

Robin Woolf | 40 Vegan, It's Not That Difficult

Marion Siskin 42 | The Treatment of Jews in Medieval Europe Annabelle Edward

| Chief Rabbi’s Pesach Message

45 | British, Jewish or European What do You Feel?

Simon Albert

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis

12

Azamrah Liz Harris

Leon Kinsley

Caron Dias

10

34 |

Run For The Mikveh

| BoD President’s Message Marie van der Zyl

13

PEOPLE’S PAGES

| US President's RH Message

46 | 47 |

Michael Goldstein

COMMUNITY MATTERS 15 16

| Pinner in Pictures | Care Corner Karen Kinsley

17

| When I Grow Up I Want to Be Liz Harris

18 19

| Kids' Corner | Our Chatanim Ruth Stuber

20 |

The Paperweight Trust

| For My Grandma Sasha Rosenbaum

22

28 |

50 | A Few Things I Learned Backpacking

Jemma Green

Simon Hodes

30 |

Jewish Dictionary

52 |

Cochin - Reflections on Jewish Life

Margery Cohen

31

| It's Never Too Late To Commemorate

32 |

David Cohen

54 |

Salmon With Rice, Herbs & Spices Anthony Nicholls

A Poem for Pesach Rabbi Kurzer

33 | His Story vs Our Story

Simcha Photos

HOME AND AWAY

Letter Yud

Debbie Miller

David Taylor

21

THOUGHTS & PERSPECTIVES

People’s Page

55 |

Miracle Cookies Anne Shooter (Levy)

Rebbetzen Abi Kurzer

| Your Community Needs You Editorial team: Caron Dias, Marion Siskin, Sonya Daniels, Margery Cohen, Elizabeth Harris Photos: Steve Gee and contributors

Magazine designed and printed by: Express Print Ltd Harrow Business Centre, 429-433 Pinner Road, North Harrow, HA1 4HN t: 020 8567 8727 e: hello@expressprint.co.uk www.expressprint.co.uk Disclaimer: Pinner Synagogue does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy of the content of any articles in Community Magazine or the consequences of relying on it. Any views, beliefs, viewpoints or opinions expressed by the various contributors and participants are those of the contributor or participant at the time of submission, and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Pinner Synagogue, the Editor or any of its employees, agents or subcontractors. Pinner Synagogue shall have no responsibility for any action or omission taken by any person on the basis of reading information or contributions in Community magazine. Advertisers should pay close attention to the requirements of all applicable legislative requirements and advertising codes of conduct when advertising in Community magazine, particularly regarding the accurate descriptions of all goods and services offered to readers of Community magazine. Pinner Synagogue shall have no responsibility or liability in relation to the provision of goods or services offered by advertisers in Community magazine.

Pinner Synagogue - www.pinnershul.org Due to Covid-19 the Synagogue office is now temporarily closed, and our staff will be working remotely. They can be contacted on: Carolyn Abrahams, Administrator 020 8868 7204 (option 1) / admin@pinnershul.org Karen Kinsley Welfare Co-ordinator 020 8868 7204 (option 2) / welfare@pinnershul.org Covid-19 Helpline - Ask for Help 020 8868 7204 (option 5) / askforhelp@pinnershul.org Rabbi Ben Kurzer 07593 034381 / rabbikurzer@pinnershul.org Rebbetzen Abi Kurzer

07912 650074 / rebbetzen@pinnershul.org

First Things First

Chairman’s Report I am finishing this report on a wet Sunday afternoon, 15th March 2020. As you will know, this was the time at which we were supposed to be celebrating the induction by the Chief Rabbi of Rabbi Kurzer. However, as with many things even just in the last three days, everything got overtaken by the Covid-19 as it accelerated in its impact on our community, the UK and indeed across the world.

With the situation being so fast changing, it is hard to predict at this point how exactly it will impact on our community, in the short or medium turn. However, between writing

by Jonathan Mindell this report and its publication you will hopefully have received plenty of communication as to what is and isn’t happening. More importantly though, I am sure we will have put in place a support structure in which those members of the community who are less at risk can help us to support those who are more at risk – those in their 70s or older and also those with underlying health conditions.

A

s I was going to say in my welcome speech at the induction, we are a typical United Synagogue community, in that we have different approaches to what individuals want to get out of their membership of Pinner.

But we all come together in support of each other and the community – evidenced by the fact that at least 50% of our members give generously of their time for the community – that’s not just participating but actually volunteering!! More than ever as we weather this Covid-19 storm, I am sure we as a community will step up and ensure that whilst we will undoubtedly have many members who will be physically selfisolating, they won’t feel isolated from the love and support that we can give them from across and within the community.

At the induction I was also going to make some comments about the first few months of Rabbi Kurzer’s time in our community. The challenge for any new leadership of an organisation is that as they join, they do not start with a blank canvas. In Pinner we offer a rich tapestry of communal life that is very interwoven and, over the months when we were without a Rabbi, we did do a pretty good job, with some help and support, to do more than keep the lights on across the community. However, since the arrival of Rabbi and Rebbetzen Kurzer, it has been clear to me that we have missed out on that vital element of spiritual leadership for the community for too long. This is now being corrected.

When they arrived in August with their three boys, Aharon, Yehuda and Shaya, it was only a short time before Rosh Hashanah - and they therefore had just a few weeks to acclimatise, before arguably the busiest time in the rabbinic calendar. Obviously the Yamim Noraim is a key period when the largest numbers of the community are in shul. Both the Rabbi and Rebbetzen made an immediate impact and, in the survey we sent out to the community, we had an extremely positive reaction to them from across our membership.

However, for me the opportunities that the Kurzers have taken to connect with members of the community outside of Yom Tov and the Shabbat morning service have been 4 | Pesach 2020

the early demonstration of their communal and spiritual leadership: such as holding a Chanukat Bayit in their house and hosting more than 300 people on the Sunday before Rosh Hashanah; Rabbi Kurzer’s approach to trying wherever possible to call everyone who has a yahrtzeit on the day, or at least during the week of yahrtzeit, which has created great connection between the Rabbi and those individuals in the community; some innovative and fresh-thinking that has brought more members than usual to shul on Friday nights with Rebbetzen Abi’s Azamrah service for women; and Rabbi Kurzer’s Sunday morning breakfast shuirs which have also stimulated large audiences.

I have always maintained that engaging with the community is not just about Shabbat attendance and so Rabbi Kurzer reaches out to us every Monday and Thursday with his GEMs for our journey WhatsApp message, to inspire our commute to work. Their regular podcasts have also allowed both the Rabbi and the Rebbetzen to get their messages across to the widest of audiences.

I have every confidence that under the spiritual leadership the Kurzers, we will go from strength to strength as we first address the challenge of Covid-19 and then we seize the opportunities that will exist beyond.

Finally, I have tended to put into the Pesach edition report details about forthcoming events, the AGM (originally scheduled for 17th May) and other future initiatives of note.

This year, however, we will send you updates on a more regular and up-to-the-minute basis to keep you informed, given that, as I write this now there is so much uncertainty.

It would appear that this year there will be rather fewer members of our community than usual in Israel for Pesach.

Wherever you are saying ‘next year in Jerusalem’, can I wish you a chag kasher v’sameach.

Jonathan Mindell

Chairman jonathanpinnershul@gmail.com

First Things First

Dear Friends This Pesach will be like no other before it. Throughout our history we have had Pesach through hard times – dealing with blood libels, adjusting to Pesach in exile and Pesach in ghettos and concentration camps. Although we thankfully are not persecuted, threatened or oppressed, I still feel there is something particularly challenging about this Pesach.

The Festival of Freedom is a time where we have always got together in groups. It is arguably the Yom Tov that is kept by more Jews than any other – perhaps even more

by Rabbi Kurzer than Yom Kippur – and it is always celebrated by a crowd. Parents, siblings, cousins and that random great-uncle cram round a table spilling drinks into each other’s plates,(and) all hands dipping in the same salt water and falling asleep on each other’s shoulders as the night wears on. So this year’s Seder night is almost unimaginable – what does Seder night look like alone?

The group feel of Seder night is not a new phenomenon – it is built into the very fabric of Pesach itself. From the very first Seder in Egypt until the destruction of the Second Temple (with a few breaks in between) Seder night revolved around the Korban Pesach – the Pesach offering of roasted lamb. The Pesach offering has many unique laws including a prohibition to have any leftovers which meant you had to ensure that you had enough guests to finish an entire lamb – quite a party! The group who ate together on Pesach was known as a ‘chabura’, a word we still use to describe a Torah gathering.

So, if Pesach was all about gathering together where does that leave us for Pesach 2020? Do we simply skip Seder night this year? G-d forbid! While the ideal Seder is held together, Seder night has been celebrated alone for thousands of years. The Talmud, when discussing how to tell the story on Seder night, stresses the importance of questions and answers. It teaches that in the first instance, the questions should be asked by children. If that is not possible then adults should ask each other. Finally, concludes the Talmud, if one is alone then one asks oneself.

Despite the great emphasis on celebrating Pesach together in groups it is inevitable that there is someone who is left out. For all the riotous, exciting, buzzing Seder tables, there will be someone sat alone with a box of matza and a cup of wine. If there is one thing I take from this year’s Pesach it is to try to ensure that that person will be at my Seder table next year. The stark realisation of what Pesach will look like in a quiet home inspires me to help anyone avoid that situation in future.

Rabbi Soloveitchik points out that this is fundamentally linked to the freedom we gained at Pesach time. Pesach, he ‘aims at the emergence of the new chesed community, for chesed is the characteristic mark of the free man. The bondsman is not spiritually capable of joining the chesed community, because he is too much concerned with himself, too insecure, too fearful as regards the morrow, too humiliated to think of someone else, too frightened and too meek.

People who spent time in the concentration camps during the Holocaust tell me that something similar, something dehumanizing, happened to most of them. All emotions were extinguished, no compassion, no sympathy, no chesed, no concern for the ‘thou’ stirred in their bosom. Every human instinct, every noble emotion was nipped in the bud by grisly fear and horror. This is exactly what happens to a slave. Only free and proud people think of others and share with others.

The birth of the chesed community – of a nation within which people unite, give things away, care for each other, share what they possess – is symbolized by the paschal sacrifice.

G-d did not need the paschal lamb; he had no interest in the sacrifice. He simply wanted the people- slaves who had just come out of the house of bondage- to emerge from their isolation and self-centeredness into the chesed community..‘ (Festival of Freedom, Rabbi JB Soloveitchik) This lesson extends way beyond Seder night. This challenging time, that has forced us to separate physically, has brought forth a renewed sense of community. Being confined to our homes has caused us to emerge with a stronger sense of wanting to help others than ever before. The obligation to become an ‘I’ and retreat into our own four walls has made us desperate to be part of a ‘we’ and build bridges within community.

The balance of individual and community has always been at the core of Judaism and is perhaps best summed up by Hillel in his famous Mishna in Avot (1:14) – ‘If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I?‘ Maybe our focus has been swinging towards the individual and we have the chance to adjust once again.

Whatever happens over this Pesach, Abi and I wish all our lovely community a happy, healthy and kosher Pesach and may we all emerge from this time with a renewed dedication to building a ‘chesed community’.

5 | Pesach 2020

First Things First

A New Year And New Beginnings Dear my community, Ciara is raging outside as I sit here to write down my thoughts about the last seven months. Like Ciara it’s been a whirlwind, but unlike her, its been really positive!

O

by Abi Kurzer

Looking back so much has happened on a personal and a communal level. We have moved to the beautiful village of Pinner, attended the winter village fair, strolled the parks and ridden the Met line countless times.

ur friends and family have come to visit and we feel so privileged to be able to host them for Shabbat and Yom Tov and proudly show them our new community. ‘Everyone is just so friendly’ is the main feedback we have received ‘yes we know!’ we reply. We feel proud to call this our community. Our boys feel at home in the shul. We know this because they make it into their home – Ahron hangs his coat up in the security office, Yehuda shouts the loudest in the children’s service to ‘wake the Rabbi up’ and Shaya, well, this just is his home- he won’t know any different.

The whirlwind began in October with our Chanukat Habayit – housewarming party - which was attended by more than 300 people. It was amazing to meet so many of you and a great way start things off. The weather held for most of the day, even allowing for some footy in the garden to happen.

At our core when we plan events we try to make them as inclusive as possible, so we made sure to have activities for kids who we know need more than just chit chat and food and some beautiful glass honey pots were decorated in time for Rosh Hashanah.

We then flew into the Yamim Noraim, the high holy days and Succot with great gusto (still using the storm analogy so bear with me). Our home felt like Piccadilly Circus, with guests staying over, lots of busy meals and a teddy bear tea party for the youngest in our community. Simchat Torah was a blast – the dancing was upbeat, joyous and energised. There was great banter, great food and lots of sweets for the kids (which they traded in for 10p per sweet at home after Yom Tov – everyone was happy)!

Once winter was upon us and Shabbat came in earlier we were able to start ‘Azamrah’ our women’s Kabbalat Shabbat, Friday night service and the ‘Chicken Soup for Soul’ Kiddush for everyone (with much appreciation to Lisa Olins and Zara Spilka for making this happen every time). There is nothing better than some hot chicken soup (or the veggie alternative) on a cold windy Friday night. It has been soulful, uplifting and tuneful and a fantastic way to transition from the hectic week into the calm of Shabbat.

I have also had the privilege of attending the children’s services every week as I take my own kids to learn about davening but also to sing songs and have fun. Thank you to all those people who run them with so much love

6 | Pesach 2020

and enthusiasm. A special thank you to Liz Singer who coordinates the rota and Laura West for arranging and laying out our new children’s Kiddush every week complete with healthy options too. Children’s activities in Pinner are on the way up with the New Gen Succot party and Chanukah party attracting large crowds and even bigger smiles on both the children’s and adults faces! There is much more to come…

We also introduced the Community Shabbat on Shabbat Shira with our guest speaker from Israel, Simi Peters. It was truly a special Shabbat. On Friday night she explored the faith that the Jewish women in Egypt had to carry their tambourines and musical instruments out with them and how we can tap into that nowadays. On Shabbat morning she addressed the topic of environmentalism and how Hashem has given us one world and we really need to look after it, while at the same time remembering that without people the world lacks meaning and so there is an important balance there. This was followed by a practical example of how we can bring this into our shul with an incredible eco-kiddush, which used sustainable and recyclable materials. Simi’s finale talk was truly mind-blowing – you’ll have to hear that one for yourselves I’m afraid, I can’t do it justice in a sentence!

The musical havdallah was not dampened by the chocolate fondue that seemed to jump out onto my top till it looked like I had gone for a swim in it (hmmm imagine that…) – no, it was definitely enhanced by it!

The best part however has been getting to know you, whether through good times or bad, we are slowly beginning to learn who you are as individuals, what makes you smile and what you find hard, what we can support you with and what favours we can ask of you too (thank you Margaret Summers not only for planting the garden around the shul but also for teaching me how to plant in my own stubborn garden!).

Ciara has calmed down it seems, at least here in Pinner. I wonder whether the next six months will feel calmer, perhaps more settled…or perhaps, like the chocolate swim – that’s only a fantasy! I can’t wait to see!

All the best, Abi

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First Things First

The Youth Report Elisha: Maya and I are very grateful that we have been able to join the Pinner community and are overwhelmed by the kind and friendly welcome we have received. We really enjoy visiting Pinner on Shabbos and are very excited to continue working with the youth service.

Maya: Over Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Elisha and I enjoyed getting to know everyone here in Pinner and running interesting discussions about a range of topics. So far, we have run several Shabbat services – including discussions and heated debates on different topics such as social media and Jewish identity. We’ve held a pizza, chips and chill event, which included a very competitive dodgeball game as well as a Friday Night Oneg. We are currently planning many more events, including more onegs, and many more. So watch this space.

Now for a little bit about us: Elisha: Born and raised in Manchester, I attended Broughton Jewish Primary School and Yavneh Boys High School until I went to Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh for three years of learning and growth. Following this I attended Manchester Metropolitan University where I studied a BA in Human Resources. I enjoyed the course and continued to complete an MSc in International Human Resource Management with CIPD and CMI qualifications alongside. I have worked with several charitable organisations over the years including Aish and Camp Simcha as well as having been heavily involved in my old school Yavneh Boys Manchester.

Maya: I’d like to call myself a local having grown up in nearby Bushey and lived there until age 14, at which point we moved to Edgware. I have fond memories of coming to Pinner to spend time with my Nana and Grandpa (Judy and David Gottler) and Uncle, Aunt and cousins (Amanda, Jonathan and family) whom many of you will know, as well as visiting Pinner Shul for both Toby and Alex’s Bar Mitzvahs.

Currently I am in my final year of studying Speech and Language Therapy at City University of London.

In a few weeks we will be reading the Haggadah around our Seder tables. An interesting question springs to mind when we read about Pesach, Matzah and Maror – three key concepts which Rabban Gamliel says we need to discuss in order to fulfil our obligation. The order (Pesach, Matzah, Maror) is puzzling as surely the slavery (symbolised by Maror) came before the freedom (Matzah) and not the other way around? As always, this can be answered by a story told to me by my teacher Rabbi Golker, who heard it from Max’s son.

Dr Max Glatt, who was training to be a doctor in 1930s Germany, emigrated to the UK but was labelled as an enemy alien and deported to Australia. Each passenger was only allowed one suitcase. During an altercation, the British officers forced the German citizens to throw their suitcases overboard as a punishment. Max had no choice but to throw his suitcase overboard, which he felt very bitter about.

Max made a new life for himself in Australia and returned to the UK as a famous doctor and expert on alcoholism. One day Max attended a conference where he was lecturing as 8 | Pesach 2020

well as participating in the audience. At one point he was sitting behind two Germans. One asked the other: ‘where were you in the war?’

The man replied: ‘in the navy. We were stationed on the Australian coast where the British would deport enemy aliens and we would try to bomb their ships. One time we saw a British ship where the suitcases were being thrown overboard, which was very strange. The German divers then saw that the suitcases contained German material. We assumed there were German citizens on board, so we waited for the ship to port, the citizens got off, then we destroyed it.’

Here, the very thing which was bitter for Max was the catalyst that caused his life to be saved. It is sometimes only after we have been redeemed from a difficult situation and things have become better that we can have the clarity and hindsight to realize that even the bitter times were also part of G-d’s plan and exactly what we needed at the time.

Chag Sameach from both of us!!!

First Things First

From the Editor It is always difficult to write an editorial piece some time in advance of when it will be read for fear of it being outdated, and as I sit here and pen this edition’s opening note, this has never been truer. Our world is certainly a challenging place to inhabit right now and I suspect that by the time this magazine lands on your doorstep, that will only have evolved further.

I

remember the last Pesach edition vividly. Between going to print and

by Caron Dias publication I very sadly lost my dad.

As I flicked through my own Community and saw my dad’s face beaming back at me, next to an article about Heath Lodge - where he lived - I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

I went to check on my elderly next-door neighbour yesterday.

She is 90 and inspirational. ‘No point worrying,’ she said to me. ‘What will be will be.’ Over the coming weeks and months, through Pesach and beyond, we are all going to have to dig deep and embrace the unknown as much as we can. But we are also going to be better off If we do this together as a community.

Like most of us, I do not fare well with uncertainty. How lovely it would be to have a crystal ball and know how the future will play out to save us the angst and trepidation that comes with having to put one foot in front of the other when we don’t really know where that path may lead.

Thank you as ever to the editorial team and to everyone who contributed to this edition. I hope you find it interesting, informative and perhaps a source of momentary escapism too.

Be well, look after yourselves and each other and let’s hope the Rosh Hashanah edition brings a more stable new year.

Right now, none of us are quite sure what this Pesach will look like, whether Sedarim will be able to go ahead and whether we will be able to adequately shop and prepare for the eight days. I suspect that this year our traditions and our resolve may be continually put to the test.

‘Faith is not certainty, but the courage to live with uncertainty.’– former Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks.

Caron journalist@caronkemp.co.uk

HAPPY PESACH FROM THE

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9 | Pesach 2020

First Things First

We have a fascinating family custom: at the Pesach Seder our family sings the words of the passage known as ‘Chasal Siddur Pesach’ to the tune of Chanukah’s Maoz Tzur.

This has prompted me to consider what the festivals of Pesach and Chanukah have in common. Of course, both celebrate the miraculous intervention of the Almighty to save our people and both are eight days long in the Diaspora. Interestingly, if necessary, Jewish law requires one to sell one’s clothing or receive tzedakah in order to purchase candles for the Chanukiah. This is strikingly similar to Pesach, when one is required to sell one’s clothing or receive tzedakah in order to buy wine for the required four cups. There was also a fascinating and beautiful custom among the Jews of Izmir in Turkey to use their leftover oil from the previous Chanukah to light a small oil lamp, which they used for Bedikat Chametz, the search for chametz, on the night before Pesach.

The Chief Rabbi’s Pesach Message 5780

Yet, the most substantive, thematic connection between Chanukah and Pesach is the centrality of education as a Jewish value. Both festivals lead us to appreciate the crucial importance of

learning our tradition; aengage lesson encapsulated by our Sages,domestic who declared, Vetalmud Torah A recent BBC News item reported that more than a quarter ofin people in monthly disputes Keneged Kulam – the study of Torah supersedes all (Mishnah Pe’ah 1). about which types of plastic can be recycled. Research carried out in London last year found that nearly The Hebrew word Chanukah (dedication) comes from the same root as chinuch (education).

Indeed, dedication to education is a key feature of the Chanukah narrative. The survival of our 90% of drivers were still grappling with what the new Ultraspiritual Low Emissions Zone mean forcommitment them.to teaching legacy, despite the intentions of the would Hellenists, was rooted in our Torah and its values.

primary purpose of the Pesach seder is education - “And you shall relate to your child on that A report issued in January by a cross-party ParliamentaryThe group suggested that, in efforts to reduce plastic day saying, “It is because of this that the Almighty performed these miracles for me when I left Egypt” (Shemot 13:8). But, more than that, the Pesach seder itself sets out the ideal framework waste, many are using materials which can actually causefor greater damage environment.

When the most impactful education to – anthe audio-visual, experiential encounter whichitutilises storytelling, questioning and a veritable assault on our senses to ensure that the experience is an unforgettable treat.

It is no accident that ofsee all our the traditions, the sederfor night the remains the most comes to responding to climate change, I fear that too many of us are failing to wood trees. widely observed, even in families who would otherwise consider themselves entirely secular.

I

t is told of the apocryphal ‘wise elders of Chelm’ that they were becoming increasingly concerned about the town’s only bridge. A small cavity in the bridge quickly became a dangerous gap. Every day brought more incidents of people falling into the valley below and injuring themselves. An emergency meeting of the elders was called. After a full day of intense discussion and debate, the unanimous solution was finally announced: they would urgently build a hospital in the valley below!

I wonder what the reaction of the elders of Chelm would be to the problem of climate change and, indeed, whether it would be different at all to the way many people actually view the issue today.

On Pesach, we recall how Aaron, not Moses, was instructed to instigate the first three of the ten plagues – blood and frogs, which emerged from water, and lice, which emerged from the earth. Rashi explains that Moses owed both water and the earth a personal debt of gratitude. The waters of the Nile had protected his life when, as a baby, he was set afloat in a basket, while the earth provided the hiding place for the body of the Egyptian taskmaster whom Moses had killed in order to save a Hebrew slave.

This anthropomorphism is surprising. Can one really feel a sense of respect or deference for a river or the earth?

I believe that there is a powerful message here about our attitude to the environment. We tend to measure the impact of climate change by sea level, temperature increase or the amount of carbon in the air. These are of course all crucial in their own right but what if we measured the impact of climate change by the number of human lives it has already destroyed? Might that help focus our minds?

Accurate figures would be difficult to produce, but there is no question that millions of lives are lost every year to air pollution, natural disasters, pandemics and extreme water or food shortages related to climate change.

More than anything, Pesach is about responsibility. Slaves are merely an instrument, acting purely upon instruction. As we celebrate our freedom from Egypt and its accompanying responsibility – to Torah, to Hashem and to living in His service – we must not forget our responsibility to protect the fragile world that He created for us.

Consequently, our response to climate change should not only be about this type of plastic or that; this type of car or that.

10 | Pesach 2020

Research has shown that more Jews attend a Pesach seder every year than those who fast on Yom Kippur. Pesach teaches us what the best teachers already know – that the most effective education must be experiential.

It should be a far more fundamental shift in the way that we This lesson is of particular relevance to us today. British Jewry is blessed to have truly outstanding think the natural environment.

Planet earth has sustained schools about which, year on year, are heralded as being amongst the finest in the country.

I am always personally moved by the dedication shown by trustees, governors and staff at our wonderful humanity for millennia just as it sustained Moses in Egypt.

In to schools and they would be the first to say that there is nothing more impactful or foundational a Jewish child’s identity, than a powerful Jewish experience. return, we are failing to offer it the respect that it deserves.

Whatever the setting; formal or informal, at school or at home, may this Pesach present an

opportunity for us to refocus on a truism of Jewish life – the greatest key to a successful Jewish Valerie and I wish you a Chag Kasher Vesameach. future is quality Jewish education.

Valerie and I wish you a chag kasher ve sameach.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis March 2018 • Nisan 5778

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis

First Things First

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11 | Pesach 2020

First Things First

NISSAN 5780

Message from the President

P

esach is a poignant time of year for all of us. It is the moment when we reflect both on the suffering of our ancestors in Egypt and also celebrate their freedom from Pharoah.

For many years. we have lived free and safe lives as Jews in the UK. However, the antisemitism crisis in Marie van der Zyl Labour has given Pesach an extra level of significance. For the first time I can remember, anti-Jewish racism has been at the front and centre of British politics. Heading into a General Election last December, it is not overstating matters to say that many in our community were feeling real anxiety, and, in some cases, even fear, over our future.

The Labour leadership election will be decided shortly before the start of Pesach. We are hoping that this moment will be a turning point for the party. This is the reason that, in January, we produced our Ten Pledges for Labour Leadership and Deputy Leadership candidates. The pledges identify the ten key points we believe Labour needs to sign up to in order to begin healing its relationship with the Jewish community.

This relationship, once rock solid, has been all but destroyed. It will take leadership, commitment and, most importantly, action.

We expect that those seeking to move the party forward will openly and unequivocally endorse these Ten Pledges in full, making it clear that if elected as leader, or deputy leader, they will commit themselves to their full implementation.

We have been encouraged that all the leadership candidates have signed up to the pledges (although, disgracefully, deputy leadership candidates Richard Burgon and Dawn Butler refused to accept them). We are also hugely encouraged by the massive media coverage the pledges have received and the way they have compelled candidates to confront the antisemitism in their party.

We are passionate about protecting our religious freedoms, whether the right to circumcise our baby boys in accordance with our tradition or to ensure that employees are able to take time off for Jewish festivals and follow their Jewish traditions within the law.

Through Pikuach, we supervise religious education in Jewish schools, and we travel the country with the Jewish Living Experience exhibition, educating non-Jewish children and adults about our way of life.

We engage with Government ministers, MPs, local councillors, diplomats, faith leaders and with a huge variety of public bodies on behalf of the community we represent.

This festival of freedom reminds us how our ancestors suffered. It is our aim to ensure that our generation of Jews continues to live safely and happily.

Wishing you all a Chag Kasher ve-Sameach,

Marie van der Zyl - President

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Of course, antisemitism is not just a problem for Labour. We engaged with all the major parties during the election campaign when candidates made antisemitic statements or posts. We will continue to call out racism, wherever it comes from and whenever it happens, in a completely even-handed way.

Those who know the Board of Deputies will understand we are not a single-issue organisation. We exist to ensure that the UK’s Jewish community can live freely, happily and continue to practise our traditions. We are working to ensure that the Jewish community’s interests are protected after Brexit, whether that is safeguarding UK-Israel trade, carrying over to UK law EU sanctions on groups like Hamas, or guaranteeing the same or better access to Kosher meat.

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First Things First

NISSAN 5780

Message from the President of the United Synagogue What is freedom? In February I was invited to Rwanda to participate in a study trip run by OLAM, a shared platform to promote global Jewish international development. The trip was designed to inspire Jewish community conversations about shared responsibility towards vulnerable populations in the developing world.

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his was the first time that I had spent meaningful time in a developing world Michael Goldstein country. I saw the enormous personal challenges that confront people every day. Rwanda experienced genocide just 25 years ago and is coming to terms with the reality that a million people were slaughtered by their neighbours. In our globalised world, development is relevant to all of us. I believe it is the fundamental issue facing the human race in the 21st century.

There is much to celebrate about the world’s development in the last 40 years. Poverty has been radically reduced.

Illiteracy rates are falling, as is infant mortality. Fewer people are dying from malnutrition and more have access to clean drinking water and sanitation.

We can all play a part. We all have a voice. We should make ours heard. The Chief Rabbi has led the way on issues including the plight of refugees and the environment. As we have seen with Tribe’s visit to Rwanda and the Chief Rabbi’s Ben Azai programme, there is a role for us to play in volunteering.

But the United Nations still estimates that 21% of the world’s population lives in poverty with just $1.25 or less to spend a day. That’s 1.6 billion people. Poverty enslaves. It denies freedom. Why am I telling you this? It is clear from my conversations with our younger members that more and more of them feel a responsibility to the developing world.

As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of our wonderful organisation this year, this is another way we can ensure the United Synagogue remains proudly orthodox, modern and welcoming to all.

In many places the Torah teaches us not to wrong a stranger, not to mistreat a widow or orphan. We are commanded to support financially both Jews and non-Jews in need. The Talmud (Bava Metzia 71a) debates how to prioritising giving, ruling that the poor of your city take precedence. But the Rabbis note that if the poor of your city have at least the basics to live, we must support the poor of another city as the neediest take precedence. Today, this might mean helping people in need anywhere on the planet.

I have been extremely proud of the growing areas in which the United Synagogue has been involved in supporting asylum seekers, feeding and sheltering the homeless and making wishes come true for terminally ill people, both Jewish and non-Jewish. We will continue to support vulnerable United Synagogue families who are struggling, particularly at Pesach.

We should be unashamed that this work is not a one-way street. These acts help us all grow but they also give us another avenue for the unaffiliated to find a way to engage.

Have a wonderful Pesach. Chag kasher v’sameach.

Michael Goldstein, President. United Synagogue

Bishops Walk House, 19-23 High Street, Pinner, Middlesex HA5 5PJ Telephone – 020 3137 5398 Email – admin@essentiallyfinancial.co.uk Website – www.essentiallyfinancial.co.uk Essentially Financial Limited is an appointed representative of Flying Colours Finance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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Community Matters 1

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Community Matters 3

PINNER IN PICTURES

1.

10th Pinner Brownies Elsie, Izzy, Millie, Annabelle and April having breakfast the morning after a sleepover at Jump In Trampoline Park in Elstree. More than 200 Jewish Brownies & Guides attended the event where girls got to jump, eat pizza, watch a film, sleep over, eat breakfast & then leave!

The 10th Pinner Brownie Pack has spaces for any new girls aged 7-9 who would like to join. We meet in the Shul on Mondays from 5.45pm - 7.15pm.

For more information please contact nicky.jayson@email.com

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Since Rosh Hashanah the Pinner Israel Committee has been busy bringing to the community diverse and interesting speakers. We had Hugo Rifkind talking about his life as a journalist, James Sorene from Bicom giving us a very informative view of Israel and the present situation and William Butler talking about his life as butler to the Royals and well-known show-business people. By the time this edition comes out we shall have hosted, in conjunction with B’nei Brith, Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, talking about antisemitism and its roots. We also have an Israeli Embassy member of staff explaining the situation in Israel and the forthcoming election.

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We had our annual summer camp near Tring.

One of the activities was Go Ape. The girls had a great time and the sun shone!

10th Pinner Guides meet every Tuesday evening from 6.45pm to 8.30pm during term time. Please contact Jo Mindell, Guider-in-Charge at joannapinnerguides@gmail.com

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Our Cub Pack have had a brilliant 2019, with loads of exciting activities. To list just a few….a visit to Harrow Fire Station, taking part in Mitzvah Day, making Lego Robots, a science evening, discussing on-line safety, playing conkers, kite making, plus lots, lots, more. The photo shows us bag

packing at Sainsbury’s, where our cubs raised nearly £300 for Red Nose Day. Contact Jackie & Ian Silverstone - enquiries@9thpinner. org.uk & www.facebook. com/9thPinnerCubs

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Around 175 people attended our December music event and enjoyed a preChanukah style meal of bean and barley soup, followed by salt bee, viennas, latkes and coleslaw. A delicious start to a very entertaining evening, which was a pot pourri of songs, sketches and magic all overseen by a very Victorian/ Edwardian master of ceremonies. Some of our members were even persuaded to ‘assist’ on stage (quite hilariously in some cases), which – together with audience participation in many of the oldtime songs – made the evening a great success and one which will probably be repeated again in the future.

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Well done and thank you to everyone who organised and enjoyed New Generation's Lights, Chanukah, Action party. We had pasta chanukiah making, doughnut decorating, games including a giant dreidel and glow in the dark pass the parcel, plus a delicious family supper, and loads of kids having a blast.

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What a wonderful Mitzvah day with over 120 people attending. We made crumbles for homeless people, dog toys for Harefield Dogs Trust, learnt to knit squares and made welcome posters for refugee children.

Big thanks to our wonderful singers Merrill Dresner and Pippa Reid who finished off our event in style and with a smile.

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We were well represented at the annual Remembrance Sunday service in Pinner, where Rabbi Kurzer led us in prayer.

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Pinner Shul Supper Quiz.

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Community Matters

CARE CORNER Intergenerational Thoughts

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by Karen Kinsley Welfare Coordinator

omething that has been in the news and on my mind recently is loneliness. Loneliness seems to be something that can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, finances, ethnic background etc. And part of loneliness has always been the lack of mixing between generations, which reports say is a phenomenon that has grown massively over the last 30 years.

I’ve always felt that it is such a shame that, whilst most people have friends and acquaintances at shul, they are all too often within five to ten years of their own age group.

I understand why. People feel they may have nothing in common with someone from a different generation. But we need to look beyond this received wisdom.

Thanks to advances in science, medicine and technology, people are living longer than ever before, and they have the ability to stay connected with the world on an unprecedented scale. That’s why it’s so important for people of all ages to come together to interact and learn from one another.

In the press, there has been much made of the cultural differences between young and older (shown in current voting patterns in this election).

Younger people tend to see the 21st century’s openness, diversity and connectivity as the natural order of things, but want deep inequalities and imbalances to be corrected.

Many older people, meanwhile, are thrown by the sense of constant change, and want to try to hang on to whatever security they feel they have. I do not think these two perspectives are quite as irreconcilable as some people think, but they nonetheless sit right at the heart of a deep generation gap.

Political conversations can be tricky and the media can make this harder with current phrases such as ‘generation snowflake’.

Beyond close relatives, what do millions of us really know about the needs, values and lives of people at different stages of life from ourselves? Look at your Facebook friends. How many of them are significantly older – or younger – than you?

The beauty of intergenerational events and mixing of ages is that the benefits go both ways. Studies show that children who participate in activities with older adults tend to have improved reading scores, communication skills, problemsolving skills and a positive attitude toward community service. They are also much less likely to develop antisocial behaviours such as drug taking.

For the seniors who volunteer or have close relationships with children and teens, studies show that they tend to burn 16 | Pesach 2020

more calories, experience fewer falls and perform better on memory tests than their peers. Additionally, older adults with dementia and other cognitive impairments experience more positive effects during interactions with children than they do during other types of activities.

Loneliness is a serious public health problem. The lonely are not just sadder; they are unhealthier and die younger. Charities and the government understand this. So what can be done?

New charities have sprung up like the wonderful Cares Family, which connects young and old in a friendship scheme.

Intergenerational events and programs also bring together diverse groups of people and help dispel negative and inaccurate stereotypes. They allow people to learn about changes in culture and technology. Children frequently expose older adults to new technology, vocabulary and social norms, and older adults teach children about history, traditional cultural values and customs, as well as provide a sense of identity and understanding. It also provides a unique opportunity to share traditions and memories.

Several years ago, when I worked at JW3, I ran an intergenerational project where teenagers volunteered to teach over 70s skills on computers, phones and iPads. The amazing thing was the conversations that took place and the smiles on everyone’s faces.

Surely, beyond the differences amongst the generation, are the similarities. We all worry about money, global warming, politics and society. We all share the same concerns and of course we can always learn from seeing a different angle.

So what can we do here at our shul?

Our shul prides itself on being inclusive and of trying new initiatives. At Pinner Synagogue, I see the young befriending the elderly with regular visits and the benefits it brings to both. We have grandparents taking our toddler services, bringing a wealth of experience and memories to the services. Grandparents telling stories and sharing traditions with our toddlers is such a special moment and is happening regularly at shul.

Events such as pop up café (every Thursday morning!) and Mitzvah Day really bring the community together. We have games afternoons and we have volunteers ready to teach ICT skills to all ages so that the barriers are removed and the conversations are happening. We just need to be more aware and try to make more occasions truly intergenerational.

We need to be thinking constantly of how to bring people together and create those opportunities.

I challenge you, next time you are at shul or at any social event, to speak to someone from a different generation, find the common ground and make a new friend! And if you have any ideas or thoughts on this topic, do get in contact with me welfare@pinnershul.org

Community Matters

WHEN I GROW UP I WANT TO BE...

I applied and was accepted on to a two-day residential training course. Training involved observing videos of lessons, and commenting on the quality of teaching, learning and achievement, and also taking part in role play situations when we had to imagine we were interviewing senior school leaders as well as pupils. Our performance was assessed and a couple of weeks later I received a letter to say I had passed the first stage and would attend an inspection as a ‘probationer’ and then be further assessed. One can be sent anywhere in the UK: indeed it is normally far from home as it is important that one has no connectivity with the school being inspected. I have been all over the country, once having to fly to Guernsey, but it is rare to have time to see the place one is visiting. On that occasion though, I managed to fit in a brisk walk down to St Peter Port to see the boats!

Being a School Inspector Firstly, I must say that I am not allowed to say that I am an inspector. The Independent Schools’ Inspectorate (ISI), who I have worked for over the last 11 years, insist that we can only be called inspectors when we are actually inspecting.

The ISI is the organisation responsible for inspecting independent schools that operate throughout the UK. They are monitored by Ofsted but work as an independent not for profit organisation. I first became involved when I was working in an independent school. All the inspectors are serving teachers within the network of schools. Serving members are not paid but receive a small honorarium. The Lead, or Reporting Inspector is a professional inspector who works for the ISI part time. They prepare and lead the inspection and write the report.

By Liz Harris

I became interested in inspections when I was working in a school that was inspected. Apart from having the nervewracking experience of having an inspector sitting at the back of my own classroom, observing me conducting a lesson, I was involved shortly afterwards in observing a potential replacement for my own position shortly before I moved on to a new school. I was interested because my comments on the candidate’s performance were almost identical to the headteacher, who was also observing and was a trained inspector! It occurred to me that I might have some of the attributes needed for this role.

It is very interesting to see the different schools, and having taught for my entire career in London, the ethos is very different out of London; less pressurised and altogether more laid back. I enjoy speaking to the children who are always excited to talk about their school and keen to tell the inspectors absolutely everything! Of course, the staff are more nervous than the children and sometimes can be tense when we are interviewing or observing lessons. As a practising teacher I always try to appear relaxed and smile a lot, as it can be most disconcerting to have someone sitting at the back of the room who is frowning.

I recall in the initial training being told an anecdote about an inspector whose face always looked cross and there had been complaints about this affable, enthusiastic gentleman who was told he had to smile more! There have been some interesting moments. I once observed a teacher who was so nervous that she managed to write on her electronic whiteboard with a normal marker pen! I do not expect the school was very amused.

Although I am primarily a music specialist, we have to observe all subjects, but I am loosely in the curriculum group which involves creative subjects including Art, Drama, Games and PE so I always take my wellington boots and waterproof jacket in case I have to stride over a muddy games field to observe rugby, football or hockey!

I find this occasional work very interesting and now as a retired inspector I am called at short notice to fill in if someone drops out. I am also pleased to say that when one is retired, the honorarium is upgraded to proper remuneration for the work!

CAREER STORIES

If you would like to feature in a future edition of Career Stories email journalist@caronkemp.co.uk 17 | Pesach 2020

Kids' Corner

The Pesach Quiz

16 The Four Questions at the Seder ask about a. The matzah, the wine, the shank bone, the reclining b. The matzah, the roasted egg, the charoset, the reclining c. The matzah, the bitter herbs, the dipped vegetables, the reclining

10 How many plagues affected the Land of Goshen? a. One b. Three c. Nine 11 The first plague was a. Blood b. Frogs c. Hail 12 The fifth plague was a. Boils b. Locusts c. Cattle Disease

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Answers:

13 The last plague was a. Lice b. Death of the Firstborn c. Darkness

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Which hand did G-d use to bring the Israelites out of Egypt? a. Left hand b. Neither hand c. Right hand

18 What does 'Dayenu' mean? a. It would have been enough b. It was not enough c. It was incredible

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The name of Moses' sister was a. Miriam b. Sarah c. Zipporah

17 During the Seder we open the door to a. Yeshua b. Moses c. Elijah

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What was the name of Moses' brother? a. Pharaoh b. Aaron c. David

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b) Death of the firstborn b) Blood a) Four days c) The matzah, the bitter herbs, the dipped vegetables, the reclining. c) Elijah a) It would have been enough

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How many plagues could Pharaoh's magician's copy? a. Three b. None c. Two

c) Right hand c) Aaron's b) Ten c) Two b) Three a) Blood c) Cattle disease

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15 For how long did the Israelites have to keep the Passover lamb in their houses before sacrificing it? a. Four days b. Seven days c. Fourteen days

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Why did Moses run away from Egypt when he was a young man? a. Because he wanted to live in the desert b. Because he had killed an Egyptian c. Because he had killed a Hebrew slave

How many plagues did G-d inflict on Egypt? a. Nine b. Ten c. Eleven

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The name the king of Egypt was known by was ... a. Tutenkamun b. Rameses c. Pharaoh

14 What did the Israelites have to put on their houses as a sign for G-d to 'pass over' them? a. Water b. Blood c. Paint

Whose snake ate all the other snakes? a. Moses's b. Pharaoh's c. Aaron's

b) Moses c) Pharaoh b) Because he had killed an Egyptian b) Aaron a) MIriam

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Who did G-d choose to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt? a. Elijah b. Moses c. Aaron

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Community Matters

Our Chatanim

By Ruth Stuber

It was a tumultuous, aggressive, unsettling time not only politically but within Anglo-Jewry, when the Council of Management chose our 2019 Chatanim; Chatan Torah Howard Erdunast and Chatan Bereshit Graham West. With their gentle humour, considerate and thoughtful approach to the honour bestowed upon them, they made Simchat Torah​a ​ n especially joyous occasion.

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efore a packed congregation with family and friends, the dissensions and conflicts outside were forgotten, as we celebrated the end of reading the Torah and the beginning of the new cycle, honouring Howard and Graham who reciprocated in the traditional way by entertaining us.

At their first Chatanim meeting, Howard and Graham were told by the wardens how Simchat Torah had been celebrated by previous Chatanim. But they were given carte blanche to do as little or as much as they wanted to do. Very soon they were in complete agreement, ‘no singing or dancing’. ​They chose to interweave quite different personal stories​,​ interspersed with humour.​ Howard chose to speak about a moving chance encounter in Pinner Shul with a gentleman from Israel who happened to sit near him. Graham entertained us with an imaginative and original fairy tale about his family. Followed by a light supper, it was a memorable and enjoyable evening for all who attended.

Howard grew up in Southend-on-Sea and told me with a smile that he was a ‘proper Essex boy’. He became more involved with the shul following his mother passing away in 2004 and his son Paul's Bar Mitzvah the following year.

On the Board of Management for two years in the 2000s, he was responsible for managing the updating of the first redevelopment of the shul website.

For two terms from 2012 to 2018 he was one of our deputies on the Board of Deputies, elected in his second term to the Defence and Interfaith

Relations Division and co-opted onto the Organisational Working Group.

Howard twice invited Jonathan Arkush to Pinner to talk to us at Board of Deputies Shabbatot, first as Senior Vice President and then three years later when President. He also helped bring Alex Brummer, then a Vice President, to speak at a Pinner Israel Action Group event on his journalistic career.

Howard is now undertaking​​the more practical roles of looking after the leining rota on behalf of the wardens and also the Shabbat security rota. Both are time consuming, and 'a bit fiddly but satisfying when it all comes together on the day’.

Howard said that if he could encourage male and female members to do one thing, it would be to undertake the short Level 1 CST course and join the security rota. He added, ‘volunteers end up undertaking less than ten hours’ worth of shifts spread across the year, but those ten hours make a huge selfless contribution to the community’ and he thanks all those who play their role within our security team. More recently, he has also taken one of the shul’s seats at the United Synagogue Council.

Graham and Hilary with their young family joined Pinner shul in 1987. ​​Growing up in Wembley he joined his father in the family business. Today his company is the sole United Kingdom Representative of Lead Crystal Glass for a leading Hungarian glass company.

Graham attended Kilburn Grammar School and last year at the centenary celebrations of the foundation of the school he was pleasantly surprised to

discover Pinner shul members among the Old Boys including the late Philip Muzlish.

Graham’s long-lasting contribution has been primarily behind the scenes with the younger generation in the community.

For more than 30 years he assisted with the leadership of two Jewish cub groups.

First was in Kenton. Then for 20 years, from 1996 to 2016, with 9th Pinner which proved so popular that there was usually a waiting list to join. When groups went on camping weekends he used to help load the van on Thursday and take Friday off to help to set up camp before Shabbat came in and stayed for the whole weekend. I was interested to learn that although he had been an enthusiastic member of the 19th Wembley Scouts he had never himself been a cub or been interested in becoming a cub.

In 1998, Graham served for one year on the Board of Management, assisting the youth group. In Autumn 1998 Community there is a photograph of the new Board with youthful Graham in his scouting shirt and on the front cover daughter Laura with Eva Grossman and Lyndsey Shepsman all in their guide uniforms celebrating winning the Baden-Powell Trefoil Award. A family West edition!

Graham is now a Community Security Trust team leader and regularly assists with Pinner security, not only on Shabbat but at other weekday events.

Both Chatanim were pleased to have been asked. Graham was surprised and ‘enjoyed everything about it’ while Howard reflected that ‘it was nice to feel appreciated’. In the closing lines of their speeches they paid fulsome tributes to their wives Hilary and Anne. Thanking them for organising the Simchat Torah celebrations and for everything they do for the community, adding that ‘whatever it is that we may have done that has led to this honour, it is largely down to them’.

But it is the Management Council who are now thanking Howard and Graham for their unstinting, constant contribution over so many years, by choosing them as our Chatanim.

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Community Matters

Community Matters

Helping Hands The Paperweight Trust

- Anglo-Jewry’s own CAB

By David Taylor

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ome four years ago when approaching retirement, I was looking for volunteering opportunities. A friend introduced me to Paperweight, then a small Jewish charity based – as it still is - in Bell Lane in Hendon. I have never regretted it.

Paperweight was established in 2010, originally to help people - usually widows - who had never had to deal with their own finances or paperwork. Many were afraid even to open any official looking envelope. Their late spouse had done it all.

Paperweight sent in volunteers to sort out their papers and show clients how to handle their affairs themselves for the future.

Paperweight has gone from strength to strength in the last nine years. We now have more than 160 caseworkers in London and Manchester, each with their own speciality, dealing with problems ranging from welfare and benefits, elderly concerns and debt management to family law, housing and survivor issues. We are currently opening new cases at the rate of one a day. And all done by trained volunteers who are carefully vetted by the trustees before they are appointed.

With my professional background in family law I was asked to help Paperweight to offer support in that field to those who cannot afford the high cost of solicitors.

Legal Aid in the family and matrimonial courts has almost entirely been abolished. So, an ever-increasing

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number of applicants are faced with the daunting task of representing themselves by acting in person. But where does someone without relevant legal knowledge get the right information, help and support needed to thread their way through the fine details of court rules and procedures? How can they personally present their cases in court when their wealthier spouse may be represented by a solicitor or barrister?

Paperweight has established a small unit of volunteer professionals to address these issues and to help clients who turn to us for help. While the unit remains small in number, the workload for our team has increased exponentially and we are actively seeking suitably qualified volunteers to enhance the unit.

Most clients that I see come to us at a time of uncertainty and distress at the breakup of their marriage. Should they stay with their partner for the sake of the children? How will they manage financially? Will they have to move out of the security of their home? Where they can they turn to if there has been physical or emotional abuse? And, most importantly, how can they try to reach agreement with the other parent on future arrangements for their children?

Too often we hear of allegations of one parent trying to alienate the children from the other parent.

My typical client is in almost total ignorance of matrimonial law and

procedure. Our team is able to explain, in simple lay terms, what rights the client has and, in most cases, how they can bring the marriage to an end without incurring high legal fees. Whilst we cannot take legal responsibility, we identify the clients’ options and help them to make their own decisions. We help to prepare court applications, fill in the necessary forms, and explain what they should expect if and when they have to go to court. We help with anything from straightforward divorce procedure to more complex children issues and financial disputes.

We have separate specialist volunteers who can assist with a large array of side issues: from debt problems and benefit claims to supporting the client as a ‘McKenzie friend’ at court hearings. We also explain the need for a Get and help in coordinating the religious and civil procedures.

In summary, we seek to be there for the client who turns to us for help at one of the most difficult and stressful times of her or his life. We offer a safe and confidential zone where they can discuss their fears and receive constructive support from our professional team.

We help them to resolve their issues and enable them to look forward with renewed self-confidence.

I am not the only Paperweight volunteer from Pinner. There are at least four others to my knowledge and Leonie is our most recently appointed trustee.

If you have the skills and time to join us as a caseworker more information is available on our website: www.paperweight.org.uk Paperweight makes no charge for its services. So, all financial support is most welcome. We exist entirely on private donations.

Community Matters

For My Grandma I

By Sasha Rosenbaum

was 12 when I was told that my grandma was being cared for by a special place called St Luke’s Hospice. At this point in time, I had not yet visited the hospice and I didn't really understand much about what a hospice was. In June 2016, I visited my grandma at St Luke’s for the first time. It was a really big day for me as it was the day of my Bat Mitzvah. I was so excited but also extremely upset that my grandma was not able to share my special day. However, this did not stop me from going to surprise her wearing the gorgeous blue dress she had picked out for me!

As soon as I arrived, I was very nervous, as I knew my grandma was very poorly and I didn't like seeing her so ill. From the very moment I walked into St Luke’s, I was greeted by warm smiles from the friendly staff. All the staff were so kind and made me feel a bit less anxious.

They told me how my grandma was such a strong, brave character and what a funny and amazing woman she was.

After seeing my grandma, I had time to reflect on the hospice. I was so happy that she was being so well looked after and that the staff were so incredible. Unfortunately, a few days later, I was hit with the news that my beloved grandma had passed away. Although I knew she was very ill, her death hit me very hard and I found it extremely hard to cope with.

Now, three years later, I still miss my grandma every day. Not only was

she my relative, she was one of my closest friends. We used to spend every Saturday together at her house doing 'arts and crafts' as she was talented and so creative. I learnt so much from her, which inspired me to carry on her legacy by making handmade jewellery and other small cute items, to raise money for the hospice, whilst at the same time doing the things she taught me.

So far, I have already sold lots of bracelets and scrunchies, raising more than £1,000 for the hospice. At the end

of this year, I will be doing a sale at my school to raise even more, in the hopes of smashing my £1,500 target. I am so glad to be fundraising and will continue to keep selling my accessories to help keep my grandma’s spirit alive and to help support the good work of St Luke’s.

I know she would be proud!

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ StLukes4myGrandma

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Community Matters

Your Community Needs

We’re lucky to have a varied and vibrant community here in Pinner. This is due to our members generously giving their time to run everything from clubs, to security and kiddush rotas as well as being there for those in need. Volunteering is a fantastic way to feel part of our community and if you have the time, getting involved couldn’t be easier…

Security Rota

Children’s Services

The Together Plan

Volunteers must be CST trained and are required to man the shul entrances on Shabbats and key chagim. CST training sessions are held in shul.

Volunteers to take Children’s Services on Shabbats and Yom Tovs throughout the year.

In Pinner we have services from toddler age all the way through to the Youth Service and training can be provided as necessary.

Volunteers meet on a Tuesday morning in the Henry Jackson Centre from 10am 1pm to check, sort and bag donations of clothes and household items before they’re sent out to Belarus.

Time Commitment: 5-6 times a year or for Team Leaders, 7 -9 times a year.

Time commitment: Every 4-6 weeks & Chagim.

Contact: Jonathan Cohen at jscohen@duanemorris.com

Time commitment: Dependent on individual.

Contact: Ashley Reece at Ashley.reece@lineone. net or Simon Hodes at simonhodes@gmail.com

Contact: Suzanne Goodman on 020 8868 1074 or 07956888641

Kiddush Rota

Welfare

Volunteers to arrive at shul at 10.15am to prepare and set out the food, wine and whisky for kiddish in the Henry Jackson Centre on Shabbat and to clear away at the end of the morning.

Brownies

There are a number of ways volunteers can help vulnerable members of our community.

The Brownie Pack meets at the shul on Mondays from 5.45pm – 7.15pm (school term time). Volunteers are needed to help with activities such as arts and crafts and games.

Time Commitment: 4 times a year Contact: Natalie Levy at natalie.krota@gmail.com

Leining Members wanting to lein for a particular occasion should contact the shul wardens, Gerald Isaac or Nigel Presky through the shul office.

Volunteers for leining on Shabbats or chagim are always welcome.

Time commitment: No specific time needed.

Contact: Howard Erdunast at hle1@btinternet.com

Welcoming Rota Volunteers to welcome visitors to Pinner when there is a simcha in shul. They are required to arrive at 9.30am and to be available until 10.45am. There are always two members of the welcoming committee on duty at a time.

Time commitment: As and when required.

Contact: Shereen Presky at shereen@expressprint.co.uk

22 | Pesach 2020

Shiva meals - collect meals from The Kosher Deli in Edgware and deliver them to the Shiva house. Shiva meals are currently only offered to members sitting in Pinner.

Time commitment: As and when required.

Volunteer befriender – visit members, who, for various reasons, are feeling isolated or alone.

Time commitment: Minimum monthly.

Telephone calls – contact members of the community at key festivals throughout the year.

If you have any ideas on talks or training with regards to the welfare of the community, please contact Karen.

Contact: Karen Kinsley, Welfare Coordinator at welfare@pinnershul.org

The Games Club Drivers are needed to bring players to and from the club and it’s helpful if they can stay for the duration of the club.

Time commitment: Monthly on a Monday afternoon, from 2.30pm - 4.30pm.

Contact: Andrea Aron at andrea999@waitrose. com if you’re able to help with transport or Edna Terret at ednaterret@btinternet.com for general information.

Time commitment: Weekly/ Bi-weekly.

Contact: Nicky Jayson at nicky.jayson@email.com

Shul magazine Volunteers needed to collate the magazine and inserts and ‘stuff’ them into envelopes at the shul around three weeks before Pesach and Rosh Hashanah from 9.30am – 11am. Helpers are also needed to hand deliver the envelopes to members.

Time commitment: Twice a year.

Contact: Nicky Jayson at nicky.jayson@email.com

Community Matters

RUN FOR THE MIKVEH - or should that be Mitzvah??

By Doreen Samuels

You see an old lady, struggling to cross the road and your instinct is immediately to offer to help. A friend is ill in hospital, you go to visit, and also offer to take food to the family. Someone asks you to sponsor them in the marathon for a worthy charity, you give willingly and as generously as you can.

W

e consider these actions almost ‘instinctive’ - we ‘run’ to do a mitzvah. These mitzvot we see as ‘good deeds’ but they are also commandments, basic building blocks of the behaviour expected between a Jew and our fellow humans.

The mitzvot between a Jew and G-d are not always regarded as instinctive and maybe as something of a burden. So, it is interesting to know how to understand the benefit we gain from observing them, particularly the ‘easy’ ones.

Jews are taught to regard eating as an opportunity to elevate our actions beyond the mundane physical activities that are involved. We are encouraged to eat food which is ‘kosher’ – fit for the purpose of increasing our spiritual attachment to G-d and Judaism. Each food is endowed with a brachah said before eating it, and one after. Little known is the opportunity to endow many of our dishes, cutlery and cooking implements with this same spiritual component. Our whole meal preparation and eating can be experienced as building links in the long chain of the Jewish people.

Water, which is free to flow – ‘mayyim chayyim’ – or ‘living water’ has intrinsic holiness in Judaism. From the time of the Torah, Jews have immersed themselves – and various utensils - in a specified pool of water – which might be a river or the sea. More often, in our days, a Mikveh (literally, a pool) is specially constructed and designed with the utmost convenience and comfort of those using it in mind.

In Pinner, we do not have a Mikveh for bodily immersion – so I’m not going into any detail on that. If you want more information, try https://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/ article_cdo/aid/1541/jewish/The-Mikvah.htm We do have a Kelim Mikveh. A Kelim Mikveh is a small mikveh designed especially for immersing certain cooking / dining utensils – kelim in Hebrew. This act of tevillah – immersing - creates a simple but sublime transition from the mundane to the holy; from the tameh (impure) to the tahor (pure).

Be under no illusion – it has nothing to do with cleanliness.

Indeed, people must be scrupulously clean before immersion (tevillah), and you will probably want to wash your dishes and utensils thoroughly afterwards.

Stock Image

enclosure contains a double pool – one fills up regularly with rainwater, which is considered ‘mayyim chayyim’, and is in contact with the other via a small channel.

We first make a special brachah, immerse the ‘kelim’ so as to completely cover every possible surface in water (while still holding on to them!) and then take them home to wash.

Pinner’s Kelim Mikveh was dedicated to the memory of Barbara Feldman, z”l, who, with Nicholas, Sarah, Deborah and Miriam, were a much-loved family in Pinner.

Sadly, we did not have the funds – or the planning permission - to fully enclose the Kelim Mikveh in a building, such as is often done in larger communities, so the water in ours can be ‘interesting’!

This is an easy mitzvah to carry out – on the scale of helping a friend who is ill – and once you know how to do it, also quick and simple. The door of the enclosure has a padlock with a combination which can be obtained from the shul office. I am more than happy to take anyone who would like to see the Kelim Mikveh and learn how to use it, and to send anyone who would like it, a copy of the brachah and a list of those kelim which need tevillah in a mikveh, as certain things do not, or do require tevillah, but without a brachah. These documents are also on laminated sheets on fences within the enclosure.

Our Kelim Mikveh is near the shul, in a special enclosure between the Henry Jackson Centre and the car park. The 23 | Pesach 2020

Community Matters

Community Café Our community pop up café’s first few months have been a great success.

With delicious Nespresso coffee and the day’s papers, plus good company – what more could you want?

P

eppered with special event such as our Macmillan coffee morning in the shul sukkah and Mitzvah Day supporting Harrow Food Bank, our café experience has already been memorable. Plus, our Chanukah fair raised £130 for Pinner Care.

Whether you are aged nine or 99, please join us every Thursday morning in the shul where you will be given a very warm welcome.

Thanks to all the volunteers who have helped make this initiative such a success. If you wish to help and or simply attend let us know.

Doreen, Hilary, Leonie and Zara.

A Poem – by Derek Reid Share a table, talk to me Converse and laugh Across a cup of coffee or a tea Exchange your views Through another’s eyes Who’s to say when age is wise Or foolish for the sake of cheer The company in kind is here And the music of a tinkling cup Can sugar tease, can drink it up Make a date next Thursday morn To share your world and speak your mind To those who will listen and provide an answer at the time Or the following week and so continue friendships grasp.

Looking forward to look back It may be Irish but to bond with friendships Is called, ‘to know the crack!’

And if a wisecrack lifts your week Then you'll share the key And we'll see you next week.

24 | Pesach 2020

Community Matters

What is community?

By Leon Kinsley

When my mum asked me /what does community mean’? the first thing I said to her was ‘my family and friends’. Then I started to think about it more and realised it’s much more than family and friends and is really important! It’s really the support around you from a big group of people who are just welcoming, have something in common with you, and are caring of you. It is about trust and people who know you and your background.

I

am 11 and have been in Pinner all life. Shul has been a big part of my life. I went to toddler group, PJK nursery, cheder, all the children’s services and many events. I know my parents really believe in community and tell me the more you put in, the more you get out. I saw this through my brother Gabriel when he was anxious about his Bar Mitzvah - the more he came to shul, the more people knew him, and he got more confident. I know how much confidence he got from his Bar Mitzvah teacher who taught him step by step and eventually he conquered all his fears and loved performing his Bar Mitzvah amongst people he knew and knew him.

That shows me that a caring community can help you achieve anything!

People in a community think about others and help each other. That can happen in small communities like my family’s or bigger communities.

One thing that I do every year is Mitzvah Day in November. I think it is a great idea and there is a lovely feeling as everyone comes together to help others. What was really good this year was mixing children and older people. We had a tea with older people who I don’t usually mix with.

It was more interesting than I thought it would be! We did lots of activities together, so I made apple crumble for a homeless shelter and I tries to knit some blankets for homeless people! I also made a dog toy for Harefield Dogs Trust. Everyone got into the spirit of the afternoon and it really felt good to see everyone working together. It was also nice that some of my friends were there and groups like the cubs.

As I have thought about communities, I have realised there are lots of them; my school, my clubs, my football team and many more. They all make you feel

a part of something with people who you have things in common with. I told my mum that a lot of my communities are online! I play games on my Xbox and talk to my friends and other people who play the same games (I am always being careful of who they are of course!).

Maybe online communities are the future as grown-ups always seem to be on their phones? I hope they don’t totally replace our face to face communities!

What I’ve learnt is that we all need many communities to grow and have fun and be healthy. My mum even has a dog walking community! What communities do you think you belong to?

I’m also aware that there are other children with other communities. I go to a non-Jewish school and my friends also belong to different communities and for the same reasons. I know they have friends in their churches, mosques or temples. In fact my school itself is another type of community for me. A place I belong. A place with people I can trust (I hope!).

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Community Matters

Pinner Synagogue has joined Eco Synagogue

By Rebekah Gershuny

By joining Eco Synagogue, Pinner Synagogue is taking steps to raise awareness of eco issues and start a conversation with members of the community to adopt specific eco-friendly initiatives, including banning single use plastics, reviewing our recycling policy, and the efficiency and use of our shul building. Pinner Synagogue launched its first Eco Synagogue event with an eco-friendly Kiddush on 8th February 2020 to coincide with Tu Bishvat.

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co Synagogue is a cross-denominational group with members from many synagogues. It was inspired by Eco-Church, whose website was 'translated’ for the Jewish community and then pioneered by Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg of New North London.

It is supported by Chief Rabbi Mirvis and by the Board of Deputies. Eco Synagogue has created an online survey that member synagogues fill in to assess and improve their level of environmentally responsible practices in their use of buildings, land, food consumed, amount recycled, what is taught in cheder and sermons and how social action initiatives are supported across congregations and in the wider community.

As we tick off our increasingly eco-friendly measures in the survey, we get awards - bronze, silver and gold - as an added incentive and a gauge of progress. The aim is to raise awareness in a gradual process, so that we change our frame of mind and lifestyle behaviour to consume less and waste less - starting in the synagogue and moving beyond into the wider community.

Elsewhere in this ‘Community’ is an article written by Robin Woolf about climate change and the vast and global environmental issues that the world is facing, demanding

26 | Pesach 2020

change from each one of us to reduce our use of the earth’s resources, change our consuming behaviour, alter our transport means and our energy use in our homes and work to reduce our carbon footprint. Each of us can make a difference even though eco issues are global.

For further information about Eco Synagogue or to become involved, please contact one of the members of the Pinner Eco Synagogue Group: Merrill Dresner, Rebekah Gershuny, Jane Leaver, Pippa Reid and Maxine Segalov.

Community Matters

Our Wet, Windy, Wonderful Weekend

By Doreen Samuels

On Friday 14th February, following the ‘advance party’, some of whom had gone down on Thursday, some of whom went very early on Friday, a group of Pinner Shul members – with the indispensable caretaking support staff Vaz and Juliana - descended on Bristol.

O

rganised down to the last chocolate mint and morning minyan by David and Estelle Kaye and Leonie and Howard Lewis, the Shabbaton followed a plan devised by the two families several years ago for twinning with small communities. The first was Norwich (three times), then Portsmouth, then Reading - and now Bristol.

Jeffrey and I had been on one of the visits to Norwich and had enjoyed every minute of the Shabbaton and the special vibe of Shabbat in a small community. We had been unable to join any of the others, but were delighted to be able to join the group this year.

We were all expecting Storm Dennis, and so were prepared for the weather – just as well, as it rained most of the time, though the winds were not as bad as expected. Because of the wonderful camaraderie and care that the group evinced, the rain went almost unnoticed and certainly didn’t dampen our spirits or our enjoyment.

Our programme began on Friday night and was spent in Bristol Shul, a magnificent late Victorian building opened in 1871. After Kabbalat Shabbat and Maariv, students from the congregation went back to Rabbi Mendy’s for supper. The Pinner group and Bristol community enjoyed a wonderful Shabbat meal together, getting to know each other and joining in with singing, a Dvar Torah (from me!) and introductory talks from board member Tony Gordon, and Elkan Levy, our scholar in residence.

Shabbat morning saw various groups from Pinner making their way to shul, many with pre allocated roles to play, from davening to making sure there was the right food on the right number of tables at the right times! The high points of the service were the reading of the Ten Commandments and the Rabbi’s sermon.

were responsible for reshaping and preparing the shul hall for the Melava Malka.

Our Melava Malka was enlivened by Norman Terret, probably the world champion Bingo caller, and all competed fiercely for the prizes available.

Elkan Levy gave yet another fascinating talk, this time on the history of the United Synagogue and shared humorous stories from his role as Minister to Small Communities. This was followed by a film, ‘The Infidel’, which many people enjoyed, though some snuck away for an early night…

Kiddush was followed by an enlightening talk from Elkan on the history of the Bristol Shul and a tasty Shabbat lunch, complete with cholent, vegan and vegetarian options, vegan challot and fish dinners!

Next morning after Shacharit in the hotel and a hearty breakfast, we made up packed lunches from the food provided by our organisers and set off for the next adventure – a visit to the SS Great Britain. This again proved to be a highlight of the weekend. Not only does the ship have a most fascinating history, with an amazing Jewish thread, but some of us were incredibly fortunate to be guided round by Francis Cornish, a retired British Ambassador – to Israel!

We arrived home tired but very happy, feeling that we had been part of something very special.

Minchah was davened before we went back to the hotel for our Shabbat shluf, and so most of us were able to take taxis back for Ma’ariv, Havdalah and the evening activities, where another group

We all owe a huge debt of thanks to Leonie and Howard, David and Estelle, and the Office of the Chief Rabbi, without whose support this visit would not have been possible.

27 | Pesach 2020

Thoughts & Perspectives

Letter Yud Dear Pinner Welcome to the tenth in a series on the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, in which we are exploring the meaning behind the Aleph-Bet letters including their names, shapes, sounds and numerical values. In addition, we have seen that the order, orientation and direction of the letters holds much significance.

T

he tenth letter is Yud, and with this being the Pesach edition let us also try to connect the Yud to our festival season…..

Yud is the smallest letter of the Aleph-Bet and yet this small letter represents the name of G-d and greatness. The structure of the letter

by Simon Hodes Yud begins with a dot (maybe we could consider as an atom) with a line above and below. The line above reaching up towards heaven, and the line below reaching towards earth. Despite representing such greatness, the small size of the letter Yud hints towards humility, just as Moses – our greatest prophet – was described as ‘exceedingly humble’, the Torah was given on Mount Sinai (said to be a ‘humble’ mountain), and G-d chose such a small nation to receive the Torah. Judaism places great emphasis on humility.

The word Yud itself can mean ‘Jew’. The letter Yud is the first letter of the four words used to describe the Jewish nation Yisroel, Yehudah (Judah), Yeshurun and Yaacob. The word Yud sounds like Yad – meaning hand. This letter represents possession and our sages teach that at birth a baby’s hands are clenched as they enter the world ready to take hold of ‘life’ and all it offers, whilst after death the hands are open, as we take nothing physical from this world with us.

The letter Yud has the numerical value of ten, which is a special number and represents unity and completion. Ten is the basis of the decimal system. We can list many examples of tens in Judaism. We need ten Jewish men to form a Minyan, to be quorate to pray. It is said that G-d created the world through ten statements, and that these themselves relate to the ten commandments. It is further said that all the 613 commandments can be drawn out ‘subclauses’ of the ten commandments.

In Genesis, it took ten generations from Adam to Noah, by which time the world had descended into immorality, and G-d decided to bring the flood. There was then another ten generations from Noah to Abraham, the first Jew. Abraham was famously tested ten times by G-d, including the ultimate test of being asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. And of course, Moses brought the ten plagues upon Egypt bringing redemption. We have the ten days of awe from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur (10th of Tishrei).

28 | Pesach 2020

The Jewish nation themselves ’tested’ G-d ten times in the desert. The Talmud (Ethics of the Fathers 5:7) records ten miracles that occurred regularly in the Temple.

As this is the Pesach edition, let us consider the ten plagues, and perhaps how these matched the misdeeds of the Egyptians. Although there are many deep and lengthy interpretations of the ten plagues, there is a Jewish concept of Middah k'neged Middah, meaning ‘measure for measure’.

Perhaps this year as we recite the plagues and dip our fingers in our wine to remove a drop, these simple ideas might be worth considering: DAM (Blood). The river / all drinking water turned to blood – the Egyptians had nothing to drink and were THIRSTY. But when the Jews took water to drink it was not blood – it was water again. (The Jews had been THIRSTY working hard in the heat as slaves).

S-FAR-DEYA (Frogs). There were frogs everywhere. They were really noisy, croaking incessantly. The Egyptians could not get any sleep and were tired and grumpy. (As slaves the Jews were exhausted as from hard labour).

KEY-NIM (Lice). The Egyptians were covered in ITCHY LICE. They couldn’t stop scratching. It was horrible. (As slaves the Jews were working hard in the heat, uncomfortable and itchy with sweat and sores).

AROV (Wild beasts). There were wild beasts which terrified and attacked the Egyptians. The Egyptians were traumatised by the nasty animals. (As slaves the Egyptians hit and beat the Jews to make them work harder).

DEVER (Death of animals). The Egyptians’ animals all died. They were hungry as they had no meat to eat. (The Jews were worked so hard as slaves. All they had time to make was Matzah, and little food to eat).

SHEH-HIN (Boils). The Egyptians were covered in painful spots and boils. They looked ugly, and it was very painful to have a wash (As taskmasters, the Egyptians hit the Jews to make them work harder. The Jews had sore painful skin from beatings and hard labour).

BARRAD (Hail). Huge hailstorms of fire mixed with ice rained down. The fire and hail destroyed houses and ruined all the crops, causing famine and hunger. (The Jewish slaves had lived in poor conditions).

Thoughts & Perspectives

ARBEH (Locusts). The locusts came and ate and ate and ate. The trees and fields were left bare. The Egyptians had no food to eat. (As slaves the Jews were starving with little to eat apart from simple Matzah).

HOSHEK (Darkness). It became DARKER than night. The Egyptians could not see a thing – not even each other. But the Jews had light wherever they went. (The Egyptians had locked the Jews in dark prisons. Their slave houses had no lights or candles and were very dark and sad. The Jews had felt scared and alone).

Jews. Pharoah thus decided that all the Jewish baby boys should be thrown in the river Nile) So as we gather around our Seder tables, let’s give some thought to out humble Yud - that represents so much!

Here’s wishing you and families a Chag Kasher V’Sameach a Happy, Healthy, Kosher Pesach.

MAKAT- B’HOROT (Slaying of the first born).

At midnight all the firstborn children and animals in Egypt died suddenly. It was really awful for them. The Egyptians all ran to Pharoah and begged him to let the Jews go. (King Pharoah had been scared that the Jews were going to leave Egypt. His magicians had correctly told him that a baby boy would be born who would become a leader and save all the 29 | Pesach 2020

Thoughts & Perspectives

Jewish Dictionary

Broigus

Of course we bicker. We’re Jewish!

B

roigus defines your relationship with cousins whom you haven’t spoken to for 20 years because they seated you at the table next to the kitchen at their son’s Bar Mitzvah! Why do occasions that should be a source of joy sometimes end up causing a broigus that can last for years?

by Margery Cohen

The Yiddish word originates from the Hebrew ‘b’rogez’, ‘b’ meaning ‘in’ and ‘rogez’ meaning something between agitation, anxiety or anger. ‘Rogez’ appears quite frequently in the Bible and in midrashim. One of the consequences of exile, which the Bible predicts in Deuteronomy, is ‘lev ragaz’ – agitation of the heart. In the Song of the Sea, we read that ‘people will hear of the Exodus and be anguished’ (‘yirgazun’). The prophet Habakkuk urges the people to remember compassion at times of wrath – ‘b’rogez rachem tizkor.’

In terms of its meaning as anger or upset, it sometimes tends to be used in a slightly inaccurate context. I can be broigus (angry) with you, but you can’t really have a broigus with someone any more than you can have ‘an anger’ with someone.

In many extended Jewish families, there is someone who is broigus with another member of the family, often over some relatively minor or innocent misunderstanding, which can then be passed down through generations. Broigus signifies a smouldering disgruntlement where one feels slighted and offended by somebody’s remark or behaviour. Often, we are able to deflect our anger into irony or humour. Jews don’t get angry – they get broigus. At a communal level, broigus is a subject of endless curiosity. It elicits our interest and sells newspapers. Who’s upset with whom, and why, is a staple of Jewish politics.

The concept of the broigus gave its name to a dance. With the emancipation of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, 30 | Pesach 2020

a number of dances made their appearance at Jewish festivals and celebrations. Among the many wedding dances was the Broyges-tanz, a dance in which two dancers take turns at expressing anger with each other, then make up their quarrel and dance together merrily, holding opposite ends of a handkerchief. The concept of this dance holds a lot of important messages for life today. It was customary at a shtetl wedding for two individuals, usually the mothers-in-law, to dance a pantomime of fighting and then making up, a life lesson for the newly married couple. Postings on the Jewish Genealogy network also indicate that in the shtetl there were certain people who customarily danced the Broigus Dance at different communal events. These individuals improvised the dance, telling a story of a broigus in dramatic form as they went along, accompanied by Klezmer music provided by live musicians.

These days, if you find yourself worrying about who was broigus with you, which cousin you weren’t speaking to and which aunt wasn’t speaking to you, you could download the new app designed especially for the Jewish community, the BroigusApp. An early version went down well with me, so I added in a dashboard. Now I can see that I’m currently not talking to 12 family members and friends, while 17 family members and friends are not talking to me. Another feature enables you to include auto-blocking your Facebook friends, categorising broiguses into intentional, unintentional, imaginary and justfor-fun.

BroigusApp has plans to expand the app further and is planning a ’longest broigus’ competition.

I have an aunt who would probably win because she hasn’t spoken to her twin sister since they were seven years old. The app is very easy to use. I managed to block 34 people in moments. I especially enjoyed setting up my broigus anniversaries. For example, I set up a notification that said: ‘On this day in 1996 my cousin invited the Cohens for Shabbat dinner and didn’t think of including me.’

On a serious note, it seems sad that these disputes are still going on in our enlightened age. We cannot love everyone, but we can learn to tolerate their idiosyncrasies. A broigus can only be resolved if you are willing to let bygones be bygones, realise that family and friends are precious and make up your mind to act courteously to each other.

Thoughts & Perspectives

It’s Never Too Late To Commemorate On Yom Kippur, almost 55 years since the day my baby brother was born (and died) his name was read out aloud for the first time during the Yizkor service.

I

was born and grew up in Cape Town. In 1965 my mother fell pregnant with a ‘laat lammetjie’ - which translates to ‘late lamb’ - an Afrikaans expression used to describe a baby born a few years after the last child. In my case, I was six and I was the youngest of three children. On the 19th August, one month early, my

by Debbie Miller mother gave birth to a little boy. I can still see my six year old self jumping on the bed with happiness.

That is until my dad came home that evening crying and we were told that the baby had died. As was the way back then, everything became hush hush. Not to be spoken about. My mother was expected to behave as if she had not loved the baby she had carried for the eight months of her pregnancy.

My parents were told that as the baby had lived for more than eight hours, they were allowed to name him, but as he had not lived for longer than 24 hours he would not be buried in his own grave. My parents named him Ira. Ira isn't a very common name in South Africa and in fact I’d never met another Ira ... that is until in 1984 I met and subsequently married my husband Ira. Somehow it felt that we were getting the Ira we were meant to have in our family.

Ira and I emigrated from South Africa to the UK in January 1985. In 1986 my dad was attending a stone setting and got chatting to a gentleman from the Chevra and he told him the story about our baby. The chap said he would go and check the register of graves, and to our utter amazement we discovered that baby Ira was buried in his own plot in the children's section of the cemetery and therefore tragically had lain in an unmarked and unloved grave for more than 20 years! As soon as we discovered this, we had a headstone made and on our first trip back to South Africa after the discovery, we held a private family ceremony to consecrate his grave.

But still, after so many years of keeping silent and not wanting to upset our parents we didn't really talk about him or light a candle for his yarzheit - almost too painful to acknowledge. So every year during Yizkor I would silently add his name to my prayers and of course when visiting the cemetery in Cape Town I visit his grave.

But last Yom Kippur (a year ago) during contemplation I got to thinking that we should have his name read out loud, but I didn't know what his Hebrew name was. If indeed he had been given one. The Chevra in Cape Town confirmed that he had not been given a Hebrew name.

As Yom Kippur approached, I contacted Rabbi Kurzer with my predicament - should we just call him by his English name or give him a Hebrew name - and if so? What name? Rabbi Kurzer said it is better to use a Hebrew name ‘although G-d knows who we are’ and I could choose to use the English name or I could use the name ‘Aryeh’ (which is my husband's name) or in such instances the name ‘Yisrael’ is also used.

However, my dad's name is Yisrael and so after consulting my siblings, we decided that we would use the name Aryeh.

As so finally this past Yizkor I felt I honoured the memory of my beloved parents - Shira bat Dov Ber z''l and Yisrael Yitzchak ben Mordechai z”l by commemorating their baby ARYEH BEN YISRAEL YITZCHAK.

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A Poem for Pesach

By Rabbi Kurzer

It's been six whole months Since I wrote last For the Community Mag How time has gone fast?!

The lesson of the seder (though it is not ‘quick-fix’) Is to turn creative And think up new tricks.

Sermons, events, Getting to know all New experiences each week Some big and some small.

For even if we were bookish And knew the whole lot We would still be required To discuss the Pesach plot.

But the novelty of the rabbi Has begun to fade And you begin to wonder: For what is he paid?

There are always more lessons And meanings to find For the Torah is special By the Infinite designed.

So I am always looking To throw spice in the mix Never let things get old Always after new tricks.

So we ask lots of questions How, what, why and who But there’ll always be more Even when we think we’re through.

We expect from the Rabbi A dvar torah sublime But this time I decided To give you this rhyme.

The lesson of the seder Is to never stop hunting To keep asking our questions And our problems confronting.

Yet no Torah from the Rabbi Would be a great sin So I’ll give it in verse – That way it’s win-win.

And if we keep on asking Perhaps we’ll become What is known to us Jews As a talmid chacham.

The truth is that all of us Sometimes find it tough To go through old motions And read all the same stuff.

A ‘wise student’ – the title That we try to earn For the wisest is one Who never ceases to learn.

‘What is the point?’

Ask some with incitement We sit there and wonder Where’s all the excitement?

So be creative and clever Think of ways to enable The questions to flow From those sitting at your table.

Nothing has changed I’ve done it before The Torah and mitzvot Are really a bore.

So let us all come together And pray so sincere That we’ll celebrate together In Jerusalem next year!

32 | Pesach 2020

Thoughts & Perspectives

His Story – vs - Our Story

By Rebbetzen Abi Kurzer, LMSW

Paula was struggling in a difficult marriage, while parenting a six-year-old child with behavioural challenges and feeling stuck in her career as a home carer.

P

aula explained that she had been in two previous relationships that also didn’t work out, had never had much success in school and she felt as though she was losing her relationship with her child. During our sessions together, she relayed the story of her father, who had arrived in London with nothing to his name and built up a substantial business that made him a big profit. Her family lived very comfortably until the year before she was born. At that time her father’s business went bust and everything he tried his hand at failed again and again. Paula explained that she grew up understanding that before she was born it was all going great and afterwards everything her father touched turned to dust. We explored together how she had somewhat internalised this narrative and how this story had informed a part of how she viewed herself and her understanding of how she would be able to navigate her current situation.

We all find ourselves as the protagonist of our own stories. There are meanings and values transmitted to us from those that preceded us, which we learn through stories; for example ‘after watching her mother battle alcoholism she knew she would never drink again’ or ‘his family have always been strong through difficult circumstances and so family must keep together at all costs’. Freedman & Combs (2005), narrative family therapists, take it one step further and explain that these stories that we enact are not just about our lives, they are our lives. The greatest example I have found of this is in the area of childbirth as women often hear stories of childbirth from their mothers and grandmothers, which not only shape how they view it but equally subconsciously informs how they may or may not be able to physically cope with the pain.

As Jews, we too have grown up with a story that is recounted annually at the Pesach Seder. Retelling the story of the birth of the Jewish nation, from freedom to slavery, at this time and in this immersive manner teaches us that this is not just ‘His story’, Hashem’s command that we relate a story about an objective string of events that led us to where we are today, but rather an opportunity for it to become ‘our story’.

This is one of the central Mitzvot of seder night when we are commanded to tell our children, grandchildren or students what happened to us as it says in the Haggadah; In every generation, an individual is obligated to view himself as if he actually went out of Egypt, as it is written: And you shall tell your child on that day as follows: Because of this, HaShem did for me, when he took me out of Egypt.

(Shemot 13:8) For He redeemed not only our ancestors but ourselves as well, as it is said, And He took us out of there, in order to bring us to give us the Land that He swore to our fathers. (Devarim 6:23) In the view of narrative therapy, an individual looking for positive change and growth from their situation will take place as a result of their increased ability to gain access to other stories around themselves, which may differ from the one they know or think about. They will be able to consider alternative ways of examining how values, meanings and assumptions inform their view of themselves and others. They will need to learn how to create and internalise new stories, open themselves up to new views on future possibilities and take an active role in shaping their future storylines. So for Paula this involved her remembering that her mother’s story of

raising four children in a happy home, despite the loss of the business, made her wonder whether she had some of her mother’s fighting spirit. She was able to consider other external influences on her life and how her circumstances differed drastically from those of her father and equally began to look at herself with new abilities to shape her future.

Every year at seder night we come together to read our story of the birth and development of our nation and yet it won’t truly become our story unless we genuinely engage with it. This means instead of reading through the verses one dimensionally, we would benefit from discussing, contemplating and asking questions to open the story up.

Reading the myriad commentaries in the various Haggadot is a great way to start thinking about our story from lots of different angles. Questions may include thinking about how this experience must have felt? How has it shaped the way we think about ourselves? Why did we have to go through slavery to become a nation and what meaning does the seder and its messages infuse in our lives? It may also move us to explore how the story of the exodus compares or differs from other stories in our past, perhaps that of the Holocaust, and contemplate how at different eras in history our ancestors read the same words in very different circumstances and how different meanings and values were carried through to us.

Around every seder table around the world we are encouraged and charged to make ‘His story’ into ‘our story’ and when we do, our narrative will be strengthened for ourselves and also carried through and taught to the next generation to enable them to do the same.

33 | Pesach 2020

Thoughts & Perspectives

AZAMRAH

Pinner Ladies’ Friday Night

A

By Liz Harris

zamrah was born in Pinner on 6th December 2019. Rebbetzen Abi was keen for the ladies of the community to join together to bring in Shabbat with the beautiful and tuneful melodies of the Kabbalat Shabbat service. For some of us this was a new experience as Friday evening is normally frenetic, getting ready for Shabbat and we do not often attend Shul. However, many of us wanted to support this initiative and approximately 50 people attended.

Rebbetzen Abi encouraged us to close our eyes, relax and think of all the strains and stresses of the working week. Most of us, whatever our age or personal stage in life, can identify with this as we all have many commitments; young children, demanding jobs, elderly relatives, friends, or volunteering commitments. For many ladies it may be a combination of all of these! We were encouraged to welcome in Shabbat in a spirit of peace and calm. The soothing melodies assisted us to do this and we felt calm and peaceful by the end of the Service.

Whilst some ladies were very familiar with the melodies, for others they were new, but I did not get the impression that this in any way distracted from the spirit of the service, as those unfamiliar were happy to listen and follow. With more practice people will become used to the tunes and will be able to join in. Following the Kabbalat Shabbat, some decided to join the men upstairs for the Maariv Service, some davened Maariv with just the women downstairs and some just felt the need to relax and enjoy the start of Shabbat with friends.

‘I loved the way Rebbetzen Abi set the mood with fists clenched and eyes closed, ready to let go of the week and welcome in Shabbat.’

‘Began tentatively, reached moments of pure happiness and joy in sharing and welcoming our Shabbat Bride together with female friends and community members, ended with a reunion with men for hot soup, and ended with confidence and a feeling of satisfaction that permeated the whole Shabbat day.’

‘I thought Azamrah was lovely. I particularly liked the calm atmosphere with the dimmed lights and the small candle lights, and I particularly liked the way that Abi started it with a form of meditation and getting rid of the week’s stresses.’

‘I thoroughly enjoyed being able to sing all the Friday night songs in shul with all my women friends of Pinner and found the experience very moving.’

of Harrow Web Studio

A welcome Kiddush including chicken soup for the soul completed the evening and was a different start to Shabbat for many of us.

And don’t just take my word for it. Here’s what some of the other participants had to say…

‘On a cold dark winter’s evening there was a real beacon of spirit and light coming out of our shul. It was wonderful to see so many women of all ages and stages come together to sing, to pray and to connect - Azamrah means ‘I will sing’ and I hope we will enjoy many more occasions to sing together.’

‘The atmosphere was lovely. I particularly welcomed closing my eyes and letting go of the busy week. I am not familiar with the songs but enjoyed listening to those that did and look forward to attending again.’

'I came into shul late and stressed and was soon lulled into the Shabbat spirit by the beautiful singing and the warmth of the group.’

‘I enjoyed the Azamrah gathering. Rebbetzen Abi created a warm and welcoming atmosphere for a joyful 34 | Pesach 2020

ˮ

Kabbalat Shabbat. I would recommend it and plan to go to the next one.’

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35 | Pesach 2020

Thoughts & Perspectives

Rabbi’s TOP FIVE LESSONS from Formula 1 1. Don’t be afraid to crash

by Rabbi Kurzer

36 | Pesach 2020

Anyone who has experienced being driven round a track by a racing driver knows the fearlessness required to keep

pressing the accelerator as the wall fast approaches. And every so often mistakes happen and there is a significant crash.

I have heard many drivers interviewed after these crashes and asked whether their experience makes them scared to get in the driving seat again and everyone gives the same answer: if you’re scared to crash it’s impossible to race.

Whether or not that’s sensible is a good question (you can tell I’m just

an armchair fan!) but it teaches us something fascinating – what inhibits us most from pushing to our maximum potential is the fear of what may happen if things go wrong. To push ourselves to achieve all we can requires us to put aside the possibility of failure and focus all our efforts on doing our best.

And if we do crash on occasion in life, get back in the driving seat as fast as possible and get back to racing!

Thoughts & Perspectives others getting more recognition for what they do and it can cause envy. In truth, G-d looks at each of our achievements regardless of what public praise they may or may not receive. Each one of us is a tremendously valuable member of the Almighty’s ‘team’ and only with our specific and unique successes does the world function as a whole.

3. Adapt to a changing world Some years a driver or team dominates the championship, yet the following year they seem to struggle. The reality is that change happens fast. Even during a season, cars are adapted and upgraded to make sure they are at the cutting edge of competitiveness.

life and, in that sense, Torah and mitzvot are no different. When something is important to us, we focus on every detail and want to maximise.

5. There’s always room to improve When the margins are tiny, every drop further is also a great improvement.

Every year we see new records being set in F1, not just because the cars improve but because drivers are squeezing every drop of performance they can out of their machines. In interviews, one often hears a driver talking about how they want to ‘get more out of the car’ and it is that desire to do better, even when you seem to be at the top, that makes all the difference.

❝ To push ourselves to

achieve all we can requires us to put aside the possibility of failure and focus all our efforts on doing our best. ❞

Judaism teaches that if we are not constantly trying to grow and improve we begin to slip backwards. There is no such thing as just treading water – we have to try to do better or the world around us moves on and we will get left behind. What may have kept us spiritually connected when we were young may no longer work – it is crucial to keep learning and growing in our understanding of G-d and ourselves.

2. Every member of the team matters The last time I changed a tyre it took me the better part of an hour to change just one. In an F1 pit stop, all four tyres are changed in around 2.5 seconds! There is a dedicated team (‘pit crew’) who practice all week and each member of the team is crucial to the perfect pit stop. What this means in practice is that one person spends all their time just practising taking a front left tyre off and nothing else…and that key component makes the difference between winning or losing!

Sometimes we look around and see

4. Success in tiny margins At the British Grand Prix last year, the difference between first and second place qualifiers was 0.006 seconds.

That means that the difference between the cars was less than a human footstep.

Yet the difference between winning and losing is immense.

In Judaism, we are sometimes content to sit back and settle for less, but the tiniest things can make a huge difference – from pronouncing/mispronouncing words in our prayer to how long it took to make our matzah. We forget that details make a huge difference in every area of

We, as human beings, have so much potential to achieve, and the Torah guides us to realising that potential. We may think there is no more we can do, but there is always more for us to eke out from ourselves.

Our habits tell us that we can’t go any further – this is what I’ve always done and I can’t do any more. In truth, we have immense capability to improve, whether in the help we give to others, the commitment we show to our relationship with G-d or the effort we put in to bettering ourselves.

Let us be driven by the desire to always ‘get more out of the car’.

❝ In truth, G-d

looks at each of our achievements regardless of what public praise they may or may not receive. ❞

37 | Pesach 2020

Thoughts & Perspectives

We Need To Change How We Live -NOW Robin Woolf

The report from the UN International Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (‘UNIPCC’) meeting in Madrid in September 2019 clearly spells out the need for the world to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane to keep global warming below 2 degrees C over the coming decades. A higher temperature rise runs a real risk of some equatorial lands becoming uninhabitable and low-lying coastal regions being submerged because of a higher sea-level.

T

here is evidence already that polar icecaps are melting (Antarctica recently reached a record high temperature), that more serious fires are happening (eg in California and Australia) and weather events are more extreme. The UNIPCC stresses that the tools already exist to effect reductions in GHG but it needs worldwide concerted political will to make it actually happen.

Annual growth of GHG in 2018 was double the 1% average over the decade 2007-2017.

Last year, David Wallace-Wells published his book ‘The Unhabitable Earth’, in which he tells his readers about the scientific consensus that increased global warming will bring potentially horrendous long-term effects. Not surprisingly, there are differing views about what will actually happen. It seems that we have only a few decades to prevent the current adverse trends becoming a serious threat to man’s very survival.

About 30% is from fenlands but agriculture (mainly farming animals for meat) generates 23% of the methane total, more GHG than from hydrocarbon fuels used by the transport sector.

Methane The concentration of methane in the atmosphere is now around two and a half times the pre-industrial level.

Burning fossil fuels and methane from decaying man-made and agricultural waste adds another 32% of the annual total - equivalent to 13190 million tons of CO2.

The following table details the scale of ‘meat farming’ 2019:

Whatcausesman-madeglobalwarming?

Man-made GHG were virtually non-existent a hundred years ago but now comprise a significant and increasing part of total GHG and in 2018 totalled 47080 tons.

Beef cattle

72% comes from hydrocarbons and 28% from methane (converted to equivalent carbon dioxide [CO2]; mainly from agriculture).

Dairy cattle

Carbon dioxide from hydrocarbons The five nations emitting 54% of the total were: CO2 Emissions (million tons)

Annual growth 2018

China

9428

2.2%

USA

5145

2.6%

India

2479

7.0%

Russian Federation

1550

4.2%

Total World

34078

2.0%

(figures taken from BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2019)

38 | Pesach 2020

Population

Number Killed in Year

Feed needed per animal

1.5 billion

1.5 billion

25 kilograms

to produce 1 kg of meat

0.27

Sheep

1.0

1.0

15

Pigs

1.0

1.0

6.4

Chickens

1.9

19

3.3

# Proportion intensively farmed not known

Beef cattle are mostly intensively farmed – the majority in the USA, Brazil and Argentina.

Intensive farming needs additional land to grow the feed needed. This is driving the alarming deforestation of the Amazon rain forest – one of the main oxygen-producing and CO2 absorbing ‘lungs’ of the world. This deforestation is being actively encouraged by President Bolsaro of Brazil!

Note that during the time the world’s population has doubled, meat consumption has trebled.

Thoughts & Perspectives

In November 2019, BBC1 broadcast ‘Meat – A threat to our Planet’ (available on i-player until August 2020), which explored many of these issues. It concluded that meat consumption needs to be positively discouraged.

Sheep, however, cannot be intensively farmed. Eating lamb rather than beef is environmentally advantageous.

[As an aside, Kosher beef and chicken, certified by the London Beth Din are never from intensively farmed animals. Note that other Beth Din may not work to the same high standards.]

What are we doing to stop man-made emissions from growing further or still better, reduce them?

At the Paris Summit in 2015 more than 190 nations gathered to discuss a possible new global agreement aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The resulting agreement set out a global framework to limit global warming to 2 degrees C and to aim to reduce the increase to 1.5 degrees. The EU and its member states ratified the agreement in November 2016. However, the USA has since opted out of the agreement and boycotted the UN Climate Conference in Madrid in September 2019, convened to nail down the details left open in 2015.

After Madrid, the UN Secretary-General issued a report ‘Call to Action’. 70 nations agreed to more ambitious National Determined Contributions but these 70 generated less than 10% of 2018’s world total of GHG.

We should encourage Greta Thunberg and her worldwide supporters to exert maximum pressure on political leaders to take concerted action worldwide soon, however difficult and politically uncomfortable and inconvenient that proves. We should also pressure our government to clearly label ALL meats at point of sale so we can choose between ‘sustainably’ or ‘intensively’ farmed products.

Did you know that the UK government recently instituted a Citizen’s Climate Assembly to advise it how to meet its target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050? The Assembly comprises 110 ‘ordinary people’ selected to represent the range from ‘sceptics’ to ‘believers’ and it met in Birmingham for its first session in January 2020. Its recommendations are due in April.

In conclusion Scepticism – a refusal to accept the scientists’ projections – may be preventing some governments and individuals from even trying to reduce GHG. Extreme sceptics even maintain that global warming is a part of the natural climate cycle and blaming it on us humans is just plain wrong!

My view is that the unbiased apolitical science behind the UNIPCC’s actions is broadly right and that doing nothing runs an intolerable risk for the future of mankind. I only hope that in fifty years’ time when our grand-children’s grandchildren will be grown up, the world will still be fit for mankind to inhabit.

But none of the four nations – USA, China, India and the Russian Federation – which together generated over 50% of the 2018 world total GHG, has so far signed up The UN says that it hopes the other 130 nations will sign up in 2020. We shall see.

It is not surprising that political leaders are reluctant to take the extreme action necessary, particularly those who are voted into office for relatively short terms of tenure.

Taking action to reduce GHG emissions means that the more developed western nations will have to make proportionately bigger cuts. Reducing GHG will mean taking really difficult decisions and putting them into practice will difficult too.

Now what?

There are things each of us can choose to do anyway: ● eat less meat (and then only buy UK raised ‘free-range’ meat) ● use our cars less and public transport more ● turn off electrical lights and appliances when they are not actually needed ● put on more clothes and turn down central heating ● avoid air-travel (and buying fruit or vegetables grown far away and only buy UK produced items) ● avoid using plastics and when unavoidable use re-usable containers and re-cyclical material 39 | Pesach 2020

Thoughts & Perspectives

Vegan

it ’s not that difficult

By Marion Siskin

It’s Friday midday. Chicken soup in the fridge, kneidls done, potatoes peeled, veg prepared, artfully decorated pavlova (or, in my case, crumble) ready to go. All you’ve got to deal with is the chicken. You have close friends coming for Friday Night Dinner. Then you get a call from your friend saying ‘You know Sara/Josh is bringing their friend. I did tell you they’re vegetarian, didn’t I?’

W

ell, actually, no you didn’t. And at that stage, you would be fully justified in opening a tin of vegetable soup for the guest and letting them make do with the vegetables you had prepared. Such short notice is the swift way to the end of a friendship.

It would be a different matter if the friend had given fair warning that you would have a vegetarian guest. For a traditional (and very good) Jewish cook like my mum, my turning vegetarian some 40 years ago was a bit of a challenge when it came to FND or other big meat-based meals. I would often end up with a Marks and Spencer ready meal, eaten out of the tin foil package. Times have changed and everybody is familiar with the concept of vegetarianism and more recently, veganism.

For many people preparing a meat meal, they would prefer to serve vegan (or as it has become recently, plant-based) food as an alternative, rather than vegetarian, which allows milk products. Actually, it’s not difficult. If you are starting with chopped liver, there are now many alternatives, including ‘mock’ chopped liver, but hummus or many of the other dips are readily available. It's fairly easy to make up a vegetable based soup, and certainly is much quicker than chicken soup – I’m sure you all have your favourites.

40 | Pesach 2020

When it comes to the main course there are lots of alternatives. Peppers stuffed with rice, mushrooms and onions are easy – and you can do several and freeze the spares. I always find that adding soy sauce and tomato paste stops them from being bland. Vegetable crumble, using either a Mediterranean type mix (peppers, courgette, aubergine) or winter veg (butternut squash, sweet potato, parsnips) is a little different. You can add seeds and mixed herbs to the topping as you see fit. However, the easiest of all is baked portobello mushrooms. Just add some sliced garlic, drizzle over olive oil and soy sauce and bake for 30 mins or so. Surprisingly good.

These are my standbys as I am usually cooking for carnivores (the rest of the family). However, if you want to make something a little more special, there are plenty of recipes available. There is any number of vegan cookbooks and online recipes to browse through, and some of our favourite cooks/chefs - Ottolenghi, Jamie Oliver, Evelyn Rose, Nigella have recipes that can be used for inspiration (other chefs are available). Soy and nut milks and vegan cheeses make it even easier to serve a vegan meal.

This is something that I tried at Rosh Hashanah last year. A meal in a dish – with acknowledgements to Jamie Oliver.

Thoughts & Perspectives

Greek Inspired Cauliflower Stew Ingredients : ★

1 lemon – using a peeler to zest it

★

Olive oil

★

1 bulb garlic

★

2 red onions, peeled, quartered, separated into petals

★

10 stoned black olives (you can use more)

★

300g new potatoes, sliced into 1cm thick

★

15g oregano

★

10 large ripe plum tomatoes, quartered

★

1 head cauliflower

★

200g fresh/frozen peas or broad beans

Method ★

Preheat oven to 200C/400F/gas 6

★

Put lemon zest in large casserole pan, add 2 tbsps. oil and the garlic bulb and cook for 5 mins.

★

Then add the onions, olives and potatoes, cook for 5 mins until starting to soften and colour.

★

Quarter and add the tomatoes, season with salt and black pepper.

★

Add 500ml of water to the pan, bring to the boil, stirring well and scraping up sticky bits from the bottom.

★

Cut a cross in the stalk of the cauliflower and push it right down to the bottom of the pan.

★

Drizzle with olive oil, then place covered in the oven basting occasionally, for an hour or until brown and caramelised, removing the lid halfway through.

★

Put the cauliflower onto a serving plate, remove the garlic bulb, and put the pan back on a medium heat, add the peas/beans and simmer for 5 minutes.

★

Squeeze the garlic out of the skins and stir back into pan, adjust the seasoning and pour over the cauliflower, finishing with a good squeeze of lemon juice.

★

Lots of vegetarian recipes are now easily adaptable with the availability of soya/nut milks and vegan cheeses.

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41 | Pesach 2020

Thoughts & Perspectives

The Treatment of Jews in Medieval Europe

By Annabelle Edward

Last year, as part of my History degree, I had the opportunity to study Medieval Jews where my initial perception of the ‘persecuted Jew’ was challenged. With the rising levels of Anti-Semitism in modern times, it’s of great interest to trace the roots of the Jewish life: why negative stereotypes gained ground and henceforth quality of life within the Jewish community itself.

U

pon immediate analysis of the Medieval Jew, it would be assumed that life was less than fortunate. Jews were subject to harsh, if not persecutory treatment by society, shown through examples including their expulsion from Italy during the Spanish Inquisition as part of the 1492 Alhambra Decree, accusation of blood libels and so on. Of course, it must be remembered that unless one was of nobility, life in Medieval Christian Europe was extremely difficult. This was also an age when no less than 40,000 Christian witches were burned alive after confessing to relations with demons. Henceforth I hope to shed some light on the less advertised interpretations concerning the treatment of Medieval Jews.

Blood libels A Blood Libel is defined as a ritual murder whereby Jews were accused of murdering Christian children in order to gather their blood to bake within matzah for Pesach. Accusation of blood libels had a distinct anti-Semitic foundation.

Yet in order to understand why Christians held this belief, we must understand the contemporary Christian image of the Jew. 42 | Pesach 2020

The idea of Jews participating in violent and barbarous acts was not an absurd thought in Christian Medieval Europe. The tales of the Jewish acts of martyrdom were seen to be proof of the Jew’s violent nature, henceforth entrenching belief.

In this sense, there was a lack of understanding of the Jewish culture and it was this lack of knowledge that led to the development of irrational fears. This is predominantly seen around the time of Easter (celebrating the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ), Purim and Pesach.

It was believed that Jews participated in blood libels in order to gather young Christian blood for Matzah, an irrational belief, partially because this went against the laws of Kashrut. Also, on an interesting note, the tradition of re-enacting the hanging of Haman as part of the Purim celebrations was misinterpreted by Christians as the active mockery of Jesus’ crucifixion. Such miseducation ultimately resulted in tensions, promoting the idea that Jews sought to attack Christians. Robert of Torigny in 1171 recorded many Jews being burnt to death after being accused of crucifying a child during the Easter season.

One interesting interpretation of why Christians actively believed in Jewish participation in blood libels was that in some way, it settled religious doubts, legitimising the Christian faith. A prominent feature of blood libels was the crucifixion of the victim. Seeing as Jews were the witnesses of Christ’s crucifixion, the continued accusation of blood libels further confirmed the reality of the crucifixion of Christ.

Moneylending Throughout history Jews have been associated with money. This is seen to originate in medieval times, famously depicted in a sketch drawn in 1233 on top of a bank roll showing a devil touching an individual’s nose. Yet it must be kept in mind that 1233 was a turbulent year for the exchequer, so this does not necessarily represent the perception of Jews on the everyday basis.

Henceforth, the stereotype of Jews as moneylenders in Medieval Europe was not necessarily negative. The role is seen to economically benefit the Jews. Moneylending was considered a form of usury, and with Pope Clement

Thoughts & Perspectives

denouncing usury as a form of heresy in 1311 it meant that Christians could not partake. Seeing as Jews were subject to different courts it meant that Jews were able to dominate the moneylending profession. Likewise, with the foundations of capitalism being established and the need for money for international trade it meant there was a solidified space for the moneylending Jew within the economic system. There is evidence of Jews being able to economically surpass Christians.

Isaac of Norwich for example, living in the 12th century, at time of death had £100,000 to his name. To put this into perspective, this was a larger economic sum than Henry II.

Women Analysis of the Jewish woman must be undertaken within the Jewish community.

It may be surprising but the life of a Jewish woman in everyday society was significantly better in comparison to their Christian counterparts. Jewish women were subject to laws of protection that granted them some element of rights and freedoms within the marital sphere. Rabbi Gershom Ben Judah (c.960 – 1028), the first prominent Rabbi within the Ashkenazi sphere ruled out polygamy, which was rare but still practiced. Likewise, a woman could

not be divorced against her will. There were other significant Jewish figures who advocated for the rights of women.

Maimonides wrote that a woman’s husband must allow her to have freedom to go outside the house.

their business practices. This was seen to be effective in allowing the Jews to set up and solidify individual enterprises, such as the Banking House of Lopez, set up by five brothers in Lisbon, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Antwerp and London.

The physical separation demonstrated by the mechitzah in the Synagogue was not translated into all areas of everyday life. In fact, it is seen that women were able to gain power and prestige within the economic sphere. There is evidence of women working as moneylenders, being able to practice independently from men and even surpass them. For example, in the 13th century, Licoricia from Winchester, who was later found murdered alongside her maid, worked independently from her husband David of Oxford and was a frequent at the King’s court.

This idea of ghettos from a modern understanding is associated with the horrific images from the Holocaust. But the ghetto for the Medieval Jew was not an entirely negative prospect, it was a form of protection. This is shown by how in 1084 the Jews of Spires requested to settle in a sperate district and for a wall to be built around their community. By then being gated off from the Christian world meant Jews in ghettoed communities were able to develop their own autonomous powers, separate from Christian rule. In the community in Aljamas, Catalonia, autonomy was expressed by local rabbis. Rabbis controlled the taxes and could elect representatives to meet with Christian leaders.

The Jewish Community To some extent, Jews benefited living alongside the Christian community. The theological beliefs of Augustin the Hippo emphasised that Jews should be allowed to continue their customs as in doing so they served as witnesses to the truth of Christian history. Therefore, although not religiously agreed with, within law Jews were protected. For example, in 1238 Ponҫ Hug III, King of Cyprus granted sweeping privileges to the Jews to protect

Therefore, what is seen in an eerily familiar manner, is the development of Anti-Semitism in times of intense stress, with Jews becoming the scapegoat for accusation. Yet within the everyday life of a Jew, it was possible to express religious freedoms. This shows the importance of undertaking continued focus on this prominent part of Jewish history.

43 | Pesach 2020

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The London Soup Kitchen BEIS HATAVSHIL

In the global financial capital that is London, it is easy to believe that there are no Jews who live without knowing where their next meal is coming from, but unfortunately, the story is a bit different. There are dozens of families and individuals, including orphans and widows, who require support for the very basic necessity of daily meals.

Following is an overview of the functions of the soup kitchen, which will help you appreciate the difference your contribution will make to the most vulnerable in society. We founded the Chicken Soup Shelter in 2003 Our mission was to use all our strength to combat hunger, loneliness and poverty among Jews in London.

Our Soup Kitchen continues to operate six days a week twice a day, serving over 100 hot, nutritious meals to anyone who walks through our doors. In addition to providing food for those who are financially or otherwise unable to cook for themselves, our soup kitchen is a place where vulnerable people – many of whom suffer from mental health problems – can find comfort, companionship, and camaraderie.

As well as the Soup Kitchen, we also operate a Meals on Wheels programme, delivering meals to people with mobility issues and to needy families unable to organise family meals on their own. Our Families in Crisis programme provides invaluable assistance to families struggling to keep their head above water – many of them including orphans and widows – to whom we give the ability to live a life of dignity and security.

The operation of the soup kitchen, Meals on Wheels, and Orphans-and-Widows, Shabbos Programme reaches the annual cost of £345,000.00. This includes food supplies, utilities, transportation, personnel and maintenance.

With the Pesach imminent, we are also taking on the extra responsibility of helping families with struggling finances to celebrate Pesach without falling into a spiral of debt. By negotiating special accounts with local providers of meat, fish, clothing and Yom Tov essentials, we are able to ensurethat no family has to choose between giving their children the Yom Tov they deserve and keeping their family’s finances out of the red. The delivery of this project comes at an additional cost of around £120.000,00.

Your kind donations will help us to put a smile on the face of hundreds of needy men, women and children, orphans and widows. Nothing can compare to the feeling of

44 | Pesach 2020

giving solace and comfort to the heartbroken and downtrodden individuals whom we help every day. On their behalf, I am asking you to extend the hand of kindness and help us to continue our vital work. Our costs have risen substantially in recent years as a result of rising food prices and an increased number of people dependent on our services, and we continue to be reliant on the extraordinary generosity of donors like yourself.

Nothing can compare, however, to the feeling of giving solace and comfort to the heartbroken and downtrodden whom we help every day. It is on their behalf that I am asking you to extend the hand of kindness and allow us to continue our vital work.

Surely when you sit down to your Seder table on Pesach you'll feel good knowing that you have a big hand in helping local poor families for Pesach.

The impact that every donation has on the lives of London’s neediest Jews is more than words can express. We pray that, in the words of the prophet Yishaya, all those who, through supporting us, give sustenance to the hungry and afflicted will be blessed like the ‘spring whose waters do not fail’. May you go from strength to strength as the One above returns the blessings you have bestowed upon London’s needy Jews, bringing you, your house, and your family success, happiness and good health. and a Chag Kasher v'Sameach.

‫חג פסח כשר ושמח‬

Please accept in advance my sincere gratitude for any support you can provide.

Yours sincerely Shloimeh Blonder

Donations can be sent c/o Mr A.Merlin, 20 Darenth Road, London N16 6EJ payable to The Chicken Soup Shelter Charity no.1119905 Account details the chicken soup shelter H.S.B.C. SORT CODE 40 06 27 ACCOUNT NO. 21468561 phone no 02088093002

Thoughts & Perspectives

By Simon Albert

Since the end of WW2 there has been little contradiction between identifying not just as a ‘British Jew,’ but as both British and Jewish. Now, however, British politics have prompted many British Jews to seek the citizenship of countries which their families fled. I have been working on a new project to document this.

F

or some, this may be simply an act of convenience, a document ensuring continuing EU citizenship rights, with no emotional or other consequences. However, given the number of people in public life who have spoken about the dilemmas they faced in doing so, particularly for those seeking German citizenship, the emotion has been all too real, especially for those whose applications had fallen foul of the strict German laws requiring paternal ancestry for applicants born before 1953.

The Jewish Historical Society of England (JHSE) is launching a new website to collect individual thoughts. The site will act as a ‘postbox’ through which individuals can submit as much information as they feel comfortable in sharing, including both text and photos. Their content

will be arranged into 27 different countries which will be developed into a permanent online resource. (Some of those countries are already represented amongst Pinner shul members, including the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain and Portugal). A range of specialists will read the submissions and write analytical pieces for the 2020 issue of the JHSE’s journal 'Transactions.'

The Times columnist and fellow Pinner resident Daniel Finkelstein comments: ‘I’m right behind what I think is a great initiative and I look forward to seeing what the organisers can do. It seems to me really important.’

The new JHSE website was launched at 6.30pm on Monday 9th December at the Wiener Library. Speakers included Richard Aronowitz-Mercer, Head of Restitution

at Sotheby’s; Dr David Hirsh, sociologist, Goldsmiths; Dr Keith Kahn-Harris, sociologist, Birkbeck; Dr Ruvi Ziegler, Associate Professor in International Refugee Law, University of Reading and Chair of New Europeans, Prof Shirli GIlbert, Professor of Modern Jewish History, Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies, University College London, and Professor Miri Rubin, Professor of Medieval and Modern History, Queen Mary, University of London.

Around 50 people attended with a wide range of opinions represented. Following the event on 9th December, and a similar session given by Simon Albert at Limmud 2019, the JHSE website is due to be launched in early 2020 with more information about the project available at jhse.org/inner-passport-system

45 | Pesach 2020

People's Pages

People’s Page WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS Zoe Abrahams Louise Aron Aaron Furman Benjamin Furman Victoria & Andrew Gee Carol Rosen Wendy Ryb MAZALTOV TO NEW GRANDPARENTS Janine Barclay Grandson Dee & Mervyn Beth Granddaughter Sonya & Steven Daniels Granddson Elaine & Steve Gee Granddaughter Cheryl & Simon Gordon Granddaughter Shelly & Paul Harris Granddaughter Andrew Nyman Grandson Shereen & Nigel Presky Granddaughter Tova & Nigel Salomon Granddaughter Angela & Colin Sefton Two Granddaughters MAZALTOV TO NEW GREAT GRANDPARENTS Renee Binstock Great Grandson Renee Binstock Great Granddaughter Irene Gothelf Great Granddaughter Evelyn Kostyn Great Granddaughter Cynthia Zneimer Great Granddaughter MAZALTOV ON THEIR ENGAGEMENT Sophie Conway to Simon Epsley Andrew Nyman to Helen Rose MAZALTOV ON THEIR WEDDING Daniella Freeman to Jacob Moses Victoria Romain to Andrew Gee Melissa Shering to Benjamin Paisner Andrew Singer to Nicola Cane Miriam Capper to Bension Tilley MAZALTOV ON THEIR SPECIAL WEDDING ANNIVERSARY Louise & Lloyd Matz 10th Anniversary Doreen & Jeffrey Samuels 20th Anniversary Susan & Jonathan Franks 25th Anniversary Lynne & Derek Englander 35th Anniversary Hazel & Jonathan Coren 40th Anniversary Sheila & Brian Ardel 50th Anniversary Sue & Roy Levene 50th Anniversary Angela & David Taylor 50th Anniversary Anita & Ernest Simon 65th Anniversary MAZALTOV ON THEIR BARMITZVAH Wally Gallick 3rd Barmitzvah Alfie Goldring Louis & Zak Rosenbaum 46 | Pesach 2020

MAZALTOV ON THEIR BATMITZVAH Libby Goldring Elouise & Mia Parkus MAZALTOV ON THEIR SPECIAL BIRTHDAY Graeme Canter 50th Birthday Steven Daniels 60th Birthday Cheryl Gordon 60th Birthday Michelle Jay 60th Birthday Jon Kalisch 60th Birthday Sue Line 60th Birthday David Ordman 60th Birthday Graeme Simons 60th Birthday Yvette Brown 65th Birthday Jonathan Charlton 65th Birthday Derek Englander 65th Birthday Lorna Stern 65th Birthday Ian Holland 70th Birthday David Jay 70th Birthday David Korman 70th Birthday Marion Langford 70th Birthday Michael Moss 70th Birthday Renee Sheinman 70th Birthday Sue Albert 75th Birthday Dawn Ansell 75th Birthday Jacqueline Barnett 75th Birthday Margery Cohen 75th Birthday Sandra Miller 75th Birthday Neville Nagler 75th Birthday Anthony Nicholls 75th Birthday Brenda Press 75th Birthday Stuart Reece 75th Birthday Albert Levy 80th Birthday Howard Midgen 85th Birthday Maurice Levitt 90th Birthday Irene Whiteley 100th Birthday CONDOLENCE ON BEREAVEMENT Janine Barclay Father Judith Barnett Sister Lawrence Brown Father Paul Lazarus Brother Albert Levy Brother Trudie Muzlish Husband Anthony Muzlish Father Roz Rome Stepfather Susan Rosenblatt Brother Eric Samuel Wife Angela Sear Husband Leslie Spitz Sister Norman Terret Brother CONDOLENCES TO FAMILY OF Dennis Lewis Mildred Shorts AWARDS Michael Boekman: Special Recognition Award for his outstanding contribution to Volunteering at Norwood as at 10th March 2020

People's Pages

Louis Rosenbaum

Zak Rosenbaum

Ellie & Mia Parkus

Melissa Sherling & Benjamin Paisner

Wally Gallick

Alfie & Libby Goldring

Miriam & Bension Tilley

47 | Pesach 2020

CST wishes our whole community a safe and enjoyable Pesach CST wishes all British Jews a safe and enjoyable Pesach.

Here in the UK, the most serious recent attack was in July 2018, against Britain’s third oldest synagogue,

At CST, our mission is to protect every shul and every

in Exeter. A man attempted to burn it down and

community. We do this in partnership with you, because

tried repeatedly to smash a window that the shul had

security depends upon everybody playing their part. Your

strengthened, using CST advice and CST funding.

local CST volunteer team needs you to sign up and join

When the glass at last partially broke, he poured petrol

it; and everyone should be aware of their surroundings,

in as best he could, setting it on fire, but failing to

knowing how to react should anything happen.

destroy the shul.

We wish that none of the security was necessary, but last

The German, American and UK attacks were against

year showed, yet again, that whilst terrorism is exceptionally

relatively small Jewish communities, but the attackers

rare, it sadly does happen and it can occur anywhere.

knew them as being their nearest synagogues. The door being closed in Halle saved lives. In Exeter,

Last Yom Kippur, the synagogue in Halle, Germany, was

the shul was protected because the community and

attacked by a terrorist. He tried to shoot his way into the

CST had worked together, exactly as CST does with

building but failed because the door had been closed.

hundreds of others across the country.

The rabbi and the congregation had followed the simple security instruction of shutting the door behind them.

This is why CST wants every community and every shul

This saved many lives inside the shul service, but the

to work with us, to be aware of security and to join local

terrorist killed a passer-by in the street outside, before

CST security teams.

then killing a customer in a nearby kebab shop.

We do this because we want our local communities and On the last day of Pesach, a terrorist attacked the

shuls throughout the country to thrive, leading a full

synagogue in Poway, California, killing one congregant

and confident Jewish life. Thank you and we wish you,

and wounding others, including the rabbi.

your families and communities well over Pesach.

www.cst.org.uk

Community Security Trust

@CST_UK

National Emergency Number (24-hour) 0800 032 3263 London (Head Off ice) 020 8457 9999

Manchester (Northern Regional Off ice) 0161 792 6666 Community Security Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales (1042391) and Scotland (SC043612)

Shul Article - Pesach 2020.indd 1

27/02/2020 17:09

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Home & Away

on our travels....

A Few Things I Learned Backpacking

O

By Jemma Green

ver the past three years, I have been lucky enough to spend ten months backpacking across 13 different countries, spanning three continents and an amazing variety of cultures. In March 2017, at the age of 21 and during a post-university gap year, I embarked on my first adventure to New Zealand, Fiji, Bali, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Australia. As I waved goodbye to my parents at Heathrow airport (Dad far calmer than Mum as you can imagine!) I was both excited and terrified for the next six months of my life.

Then, in September 2019, at the age of 24 and after two years of law school, I travelled around South America for four months. I flew to Colombia and worked my way through Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. I am glad that I went to South America when I was a bit older and had previous travelling experience as the continent can be more challenging to navigate, not least because I didn’t speak a word of Spanish or Portuguese. Gone were the days of being able to communicate in English, of transport running smoothly (I’ll never complain about the Met line again) and of your tummy feeling truly settled!

Both trips were amazing; so many ‘firsts’, such truly beautiful landscapes and so many wonderful friends made. And as I look back on my two trips, I am also grateful for the invaluable lessons that I learnt, which I know will stand me in great stead for the future, a few of which I mention below.

One of the best parts about travelling is not having a detailed plan. This can be daunting at first, especially for someone like me who is a bit of a ‘control freak’ and usually likes to plan meticulously. But travelling just doesn’t work like that. Of course, I knew the countries that I wanted to go to, and I had certain dates where I needed to be somewhere because I was meeting a friend, or I had booked a tour. But overall, it was a case of ‘winging it’. Not planning meant I could extend my stay in places I fell in love with – Queenstown in NZ and Cusco in Peru being prime examples. It’s also great because, unsurprisingly, the traveller community give the best recommendations and not planning meant that as I met other travellers, they could tell me about places which they had been to and loved and then I could decide to go somewhere which hadn’t been on my initial list – Sapa in Vietnam and Patagonia in Argentina for example.

Learning to ‘go with the flow’ is something which I wasn’t great at before travelling and I think it’s an important life lesson.

50 | Pesach 2020

When travelling in certain countries, things didn’t run as smoothly as they do in Pinner! So, adapting to various situations is crucial. I was caught up in the political unrest in Bolivia in November following the October 2019 election.

On the one hand, it was incredibly interesting to be there during that time and to learn from the locals why the situation had deteriorated so badly and why they were protesting. On the other hand, it was extremely disruptive.

Due to protestor blockades, my overnight bus to Sucre stopped at 5am still 10km outside of the city. Our only option was to carry all our belongings and walk the 10km into Sucre around the blockades. I used to struggle carrying my 18kg backpack from the front door of my house to the car on my front drive, but it’s amazing what you can do when you have no other option. Getting into Sucre was therefore difficult but getting out was even more of a challenge. We had to leave in the middle of the night to try and avoid the blockades. But, unfortunately, we were halted by further blockades when we were an hour away from our destination – Uyuni.

This time it was too far to walk. It’s at times like this when you have to remain positive, think outside the box and work out what the best and safest options are. For me, the situation was unprecedented, unpredictable and scary. But sometimes things crop up which take you by surprise and it was an amazing learning curve for my two friends and I (and now makes for a great story!).

One needs money to travel and so saving and budgeting are part and parcel of backpacking. I worked out how long I was going for, how much I thought it would cost and worked and

Home & Away

saved accordingly. I also had to adjust to unexpected costs that arose when I was away. You can’t predict when you are going to have to pay for medical care (like when my ankle became infected in Peru due to mosquitos), or need to pay for an emergency taxi ride out of Bolivia to escape the protests, or even having to pay 50 NZD a night for a hostel due to being there over Easter weekend! It wasn’t my proudest moment when I was in Melbourne and had to make an ‘emergency’ call to my Dad to ask for a top-up – I didn’t even have enough money to buy a coffee to brace myself for the conversation!

But saving, budgeting and using money that I had earnt on things that I love is something to take with me into the future.

unsafe at times or just generally missing home. But these are small prices to pay for the privilege of travelling the world and learning things not only about the countries that you visit but, more than that, about yourself. Whilst my A-levels, undergraduate degree and then two years of law school were a lot of work (and tears!) - trying to navigate my way through difficult situations with a language barrier in a foreign environment has taught me more skills than any academic course could. As I prepare to start my career as a trainee solicitor, I am so thankful for the months I spent backpacking.

They were the best months of my life and I will carry the memories and the skills with me into the future.

A final thing I learnt – and it sounds clichéd but is important – is to be present. So many times, I would be at the top of a mountain or at a wonder of the world and immediately take my phone out and start taking pictures and filming and posting on Instagram. When I went to South America, I reminded myself to actually take in what I was seeing as opposed to just looking at it through a screen, which I could have done on my laptop at home. When I arrived at so many beautiful places – Rainbow Mountain and Machu Picchu in Peru, the Salt Flats in Bolivia, Mount Fitzroy and Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia and Christ the Redeemer in Rio – I took a moment to take it in myself and to appreciate that I was physically there in person.

Take the time to travel – I really cannot recommend it highly enough.

Travelling can be challenging; 23-hour overnight buses, trying to find food that doesn’t send you racing to the toilet, feeling 51 | Pesach 2020

Home & Away

Cochin

- Reflections on Jewish Life O

By David Cohen

ur Far Eastern adventure started in Singapore, a well ordered, technologically advanced city state in its own right. Singapore is the regional cradle of international business, which is carried on with vigour and energy. Its population is 5.5 million. This includes 2,500 Singaporean-born Jews and a further 2,000 Jewish expats, and together they comprise an active community serviced by kosher facilities and three synagogues.

By contrast, India has a population of in excess of 1.3 billion. Like Singapore, India carries on its daily activities and business with the same degree of vitality.

However, what attacks the senses of the first-time tourist to India is not its energy, but the bustle and noise of its teeming population. In one hit, it’s smell, sound and sight - the smells of the fish and spice market; the tuk-tuks and the cars that seem to hoot continuously and which chassé unconventionally around each to avoid collision; the accumulated rubbish and the dirt; and the homeless and beggars that seem to accept their lowly place in Indian hierarchy.

Our first taste of this vast subcontinent was Cochin in the south western state of Kerala. Cochin sprawls across a yawning estuary where a variety of cultures embedded in its history collide: the cantilever, spider-like fishing nets that were introduced in about 1400 CE by Chinese traders from the court of 52 | Pesach 2020

Kublai Khan, the Muslim influences of the Moors and the crumbling colonial relics of the Portuguese and the Dutch that followed them; and of course the overwhelming architectural, economic and legal influences on the city that were established by the British.

Preceding them all were the Jewish traders who first arrived during King Solomon’s reign in 932 BCE. Jews were attracted to Kerala by the plentiful supply of spices, apes and peacocks, as well as ivory, teak and sandalwood, the last three of which were said to have been used in the construction of the second Temple.

Today, very few synagogues remain intact, and only one is functioning. The two synagogues we visited are in Jew Town, so named after the dispersion of the Jews from outlying villages and their re-settlement in the centre of Cochin.

The bustling streets and shops form conduits that lead to each of these two synagogues. In both instances, the synagogues represent not only an oasis of calm, but also a still and sad silence that flows from the loss of the Jewish community of Cochin.

The Paradesi Synagogue is the best known, dating back to 1568 and is located in the centre of Jew Town in Jew Street.

This synagogue, which was destroyed by the Portuguese, was rebuilt with the help of the Dutch in 1665. A clock tower was added in 1726. The steep and lofty clock tower permits

Home & Away

on our travels.... the building to rear up above the cluster of shops in the street below. The congregation consisted of ‘white’ Jews that had come from the Iberian peninsular and Amsterdam, and the ‘black’ Jews that originated from Anjuvannam.

The interior of the building is complete with Chinese handpainted floor tiles, an additional Bimah affixed to the ladies’ gallery, and from the ceiling hang amazing crystal chandeliers and brass and glass oil-burning lamps in keeping with local tradition.

Kadavumbagam Synagogue was built in 1200 CE by the remnants of the Malabari or ‘black’ Jews and was renovated in 1700 CE. It is set back from Market Road, the central spine of Ernakulam’s busy market area, and is approached along a passage lined with plants. It has no gatehouse, which is uncommon. The courtyard is occupied by an unpromising and anodyne pet fish shop, which is owned by Elias Josephai, the trustee of the synagogue. Beyond a busy and crowded pet shop the synagogue is to be found through a heavy set of doors. The synagogue’s interior forms a secluded murmur away from the noise outside. Elias has put his heart and soul into the upkeep of the synagogue, in particular following storm damage that affected the building in 1975 and a subsequent burglary. Elias relies on donations from tourists and émigrés from Cochin, and from the proceeds that the pet shop generates. Before entering the synagogue, removal of footwear is essential.

In common with the Paradesi, the synagogue contains ten windows said to recall the number of commandments. It retains a gilded and painted hand-carved teak ark (heckal), a decorated and painted ceiling with a grid pattern of lotus flowers (an Indian motif), brass and crystal chandeliers, and a ladies’ gallery.

In Kerala synagogue fashion, the painted and decorated gallery features a second Bimah (tevah) is placed at the centre of this gallery.

The history of the Cochin community goes back to the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE when approximately 10,000 Jews migrated to the Malabar coast, settling in Cranganore, an ancient port some 20 miles north of Cochin, where the Maharaja of Kerala allowed them to settle. The Maharaja gave the Jews 72 square miles of land called ‘Anjuvannam’ in the 11th Century.

Anjuvannam was attacked on the eve of Sabbath in 1165 CE, when nearly 40,000 people were killed and less than 1,000 survived. These survivors moved to Ernakulam, which then was marshy land. When they arrived, they saw the potential of the area because of the inland water streams which enabled easier transport. They settled and built a synagogue in their settlement. Ernakulam is now in the centre of Cochin and forms part of what is called Jew Town.

The Moors, who came to Kerala in the 11th century, drove the remaining Jews out of Cranganore. Further expulsions took place when the Moors overran outlying settlements killing

many of the population and burning down their synagogues in 1524. Further disaster struck when in 1662, the Portuguese invaded Cochin and burned down the Paradesi and several other synagogues in the city, destroying every book and religious object. In 1663, the Dutch defeated the Portuguese and took control of Cochin. They helped the Jews return to the city and rebuild synagogues and provided them with prayer books from Amsterdam.

The Jews lived in harmony with the rest of Cochin’s population thereafter. The Maharaja, the Dutch and the British continued to give the Jewish population equal and favourable rights and their religious practices were always protected. But India’s independence in August 1947, followed by the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, came as a welcome blessing for the Jews that remained in the Malabar communities. They also saw Israel as their historic homeland and aliyah from Cochin began.

This continued into the 1970s, as Jews realised that the economic benefits of emigration to Israel outweighed the emotional strings that tied them to their 2,000-year history with Kerala. Today it is estimated that just 22 Cochin Jews remain. Tourists and Cochin émigrés living in Israel are relied upon to allow services to be conducted on an intermittent basis in the remaining serviceable synagogues.

And so, as we took our photographs, we tried to imagine what it must feel like to be the last survivors of one of the great stories of the Jewish Diaspora.

53 | Pesach 2020

Home & Away

Salmon With Rice, Herbs & Spices

By Anthony Nicholls For my last birthday my children arranged for me to have a private cookery lesson with Fabienne VinerLuzzato and this is one of the dishes I made under her instruction. It has become a favourite in our household.

Ingredients: » 500g of fresh salmon (skinned and filleted) cut into medium pieces

» 5 or 6 cloves of garlic cut into small pieces

» 250g basmati rice

» 90mls sunflower oil

» 250g fresh broccoli florets cut into small pieces

» 1 teaspoon sumac

» 250g fresh spinach

» 1 tablespoon harissa (you can use two but I think that is a bit too strong)

» 20g fresh dill (finely chopped)

» Salt and pepper

» One large onion (chopped)

» One lemon

Method: 1. You will need a large non-stick saucepan (I use a 25cm stockpot) 2. Rinse the rice to remove excess starch and wash the herbs.

3. Fry the chopped onion and garlic in the sunflower oil at medium heat until they are soft and beginning to turn brown.

Add the rice and mix; then add the herbs, the salmon and the spices and mix. Add about 350 to 400mls of water and mix.

4. Cook uncovered at high heat initially and then lower the heat to medium, stirring regularly to ‘flake’ the fish and mix the ingredients. The water will gradually evaporate.

5. Once the water has evaporated continue the heat for another ten

54 | Pesach 2020

minutes to form a crust at the bottom of the mixture. Try tapping the bottom of the pan to feel if a crust has formed.

6. Put a serving dish on top of the saucepan and hold it on with an oven glove or towel, take a deep breath and quickly turn the saucepan upside down and you should hear and feel a gentle ‘thud.’ Gently raise the saucepan and you should have something that looks like the illustration.

7. If it falls to pieces, don’t despair, just spoon it into a 10cm square foil oven dish and it will taste exactly the same.

8. Squeeze the juice of a lemon on before serving.

This can be served immediately or put on a hot plate for the following day.

Home & Away

Miracle Cookies

By Anne Shooter (Levy) These chocolate chip cookies are a little bit of a miracle – a Pesach one if you like, but delicious any time (unusually for a Pesach biscuit, I think you’ll agree).

They are gluten and dairy free, have only SIX ingredients, take barely any time to make and involve next to no washing up. You don’t even have to chill the mixture before you bake them!

So here goes..

Ingredients: (makes 12 - 15)

» 1 large egg » 250g almond butter (or peanut butter if it’s not Pesach or you eat kitniot) or a mixture of both

» 90g golden caster sugar (or use any sugar)

» 1 teaspoon vanilla extract » 1 teaspoon baking powder » 200g dark chocolate chips (or use white or milk if you like)

Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan.

2. Line a large baking sheet or two smaller ones with baking parchment.

3. Beat the egg with a fork in a medium sized bowl. Add all the other ingredients. At this point you can use a whisk or fork to mix everything together, but I prefer to pop on a glove and mush everything together with my hand.

4. Roll small balls, about the size of a walnut, of the mixture and place on the baking sheet, leaving about 6cm between each ball.

5. Bake for 12 minutes. They’ll be really soft but they firm up to be crisp on the outside, squishy in the middle.

6. Cool for at least ten minutes before eating or cool totally and store in an airtight container for up to three days.

55 | Pesach 2020

INDEPENDENCE. DIGNITY. CHOICE.

“Raymond’s stroke had a devastating effect on his and Pamela’s life until they moved in to their Jewish Blind & Disabled apartment. Now they enjoy the best of both worlds – independence with a social life on their doorstep” Raymond & Pamela moved into their state-of-the-art mobility apartment in 2019.

ENABLED To make a donation or to apply for an apartment visit www.jbd.org or call 020 8371 6611 Registered Charity No. 259480