November/December 2010
Page 10 LJ Today
youth
November/December 2010
Spotlight on Shenfield
LJY-Netzer is Liberal Judaism’s Zionist youth movement. It gives young people the opportunity to develop a strong Progressive Jewish identity whilst enjoying friendships and having fun
Shenfield – where’s that? It’s Shenfield, Brentwood and Districts Synagogue, to give the community its full name; or, in Hebrew and more succinctly, Rosh Tikvah. Shenfield is to the north-east of the centre of the borough of Brentwood, in Essex, 20 miles from central London.
Breathing new life into clubs
How did it all begin? Rosh Tikvah began as a Newbury Park satellite group of Bet Tikvah Synagogue, Barkingside. Key members of the community had moved to Brentwood and wanted to recreate what they were missing. They began with the odd service and social function, but after three years, and with more people attending for Shabbat services and a growing demand for a cheder, a core of members decided to go it alone. The synagogue affiliated to Liberal Judaism in December 2009.
As well as organising big national events, the movement’s youth workers are increasingly to be found providing direct activities in communities
Who keeps the community going? Natasha Radford, the synagogue’s chair and lay leader, Janice Feldman, its treasurer, and husband Louis, secretary. When and where are services held? There are monthly Shabbat morning services at 11.15am, and services for all the festivals, with parties for Purim and Chanukkah. These are held in Hutton, just east of Shenfield, with the cheder and High Holy Day services held in a hall in Brentwood. Who leads services? Natasha usually leads with another community member, Hiam Nacmias, reading the Torah. A lay reader from Bet Tikvah sometimes assists. A student rabbi led this year’s Yom Kippur service. Who are the congregants? Members of all ages and backgrounds. Warmth is seen as key, and the synagogue prides itself on ensuring that all who walk through its doors feel welcome. Many families
LJ Today Page 11
From above, clockwise: Shenfield’s first communal seder; a cheder pupil explores London’s Jewish Museum; recent Sukkot celebrations. Below left: the community’s new Sefer Torah
are of mixed faith, and may not have felt comfortable elsewhere. However, all the congregation are encouraged to join in at whatever level they wish. In keeping with its ethos, the community has a non-Jewish trustee, who is a joint member with his Jewish wife. Many non-Jewish spouses attend regularly; they are encouraged to take part in worship, reading from the Siddur alongside family and friends. The sense of community spirit is strong. What is the cheder like? It is the heart of the community and has some 20 pupils enrolled. Taking place on Sunday mornings, the cheder is run by professional teachers and is open to all children, from the age of three. They learn through play, arts and crafts and song, progressing to Hebrew, Jewish studies and a focus on Israel. The children are taught to chant their bar-/batmitzvah portions by Hiam. The synagogue also runs an informal drop-in session for adults. This, too, is
run by a teacher, but is very much led by the interests of the group. What does the synagogue get involved in? It provides an outreach service, visiting schools and local places of worship. The format of these visits can include formal talks or hands-on workshops for adults and children alike. Community members are usually available to travel almost anywhere in Essex to do this work. Members also meet socially, with a quiz night coming up. How does Rosh Tikvah link with others? Through its website, which lists services and events and through which members share ideas, though a monthly e-newsletter, and through Facebook. What does the future hold? A bigger community, and the first b’nei mitzvah services, which are in the diary for 2012. For more information visit www.roshtikvah.com or email natasha.radford@roshtikvah.com.
LJY-Netzer is the youth movement of Liberal Judaism, probably best known for some of our big national events, like Israel Tour, Kayitz, Machaneh Aviv or Machaneh Kadimah. But once upon a time (in fact up until 2004!), LJY-Netzer was called ULSPNYC, and later ULPSNYC-Netzer. ‘ULPS’ was Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues and ‘NYC’ was Network of Youth Clubs. For many years, ULPSYNC’s primary way of engaging young people was through running local synagogue youth clubs. Youth clubs on the old model have largely fallen out of favour in Liberal Judaism synagogues in recent years, but LJY-Netzer thinks that the idea behind them – providing local, regular, smallerscale activities at synagogues – is still a great one. That’s why last year we started running youth activities at two communities (Elstree and Northwood). The
synagogues wanted different things: Elstree wanted us to help reboot its youth club, and Northwood wanted a few bigger events. Members of those synagogues may remember Shira Conradi coming to Elstree last year and having loads of fun on Sunday afternoons, and Ben Baginsky running a fantastic Chanukkah party, as well as other events after cheder mornings. This year, after really positive feedback, we’re pushing ahead with this way of working with communities, but instead of just two, we are working with six. Robin will be working with Elstree: the next event will be on 21 November, and will combine youth club with doing social action for Mitzvah Day. Josh is helping to revolutionise the Finchley Progressive club, making it more fun than ever. The Sukkot Sleepover, which he helped to run, was just the start of a great year he’s got planned. Yszi will be co-ordinating the
amazing provision at Kingston, making sure that the energy and excitement of Simon Frais’s work is not lost. Adam will be working at both Northwood and Pinner, building on what they have already and making a club the community can be really proud of, and Brighton and Hove, showing that LJY-Netzer is not just for Londoners! Finally, Tom Francies, one of our Bogrim (graduates), is going to be helping out monthly at South Bucks, cementing the strong bond that we have had with them during the past few years. If you – or your child or children – are members at any of these synagogues, watch out, because LJY-Netzer is coming to town! We are there to provide what you and your community wants, regularly, and in a way that suits how things work at your local level. Come and try what we have to offer. We guarantee you’ll have a memorable time.
Shnatties jet off for their year in Israel
Upcoming Events
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20-21 NOVEMBER 2010 Social Action Chain Reaction (Galim school years 11-13). Party the night away then wake up on Sunday and join thousands of others for Mitzvah Day 26 NOVEMBER 2010 Netzer Kabbalat Shabbat (all). Enjoy a joint creative service and meal with RSY-Netzer - a lovely way to end a hectic week 10-12 DECEMBER 2010 Kinus (Nechalim and Yamim - school years 7-10). Your chance to get your voice heard and change how LJY-Netzer does things
Nine Liberal Jews left Heathrow in mid-October for their Shnat Netzer gap year in Israel. From left: Dan Mackenzie, Tamara Silver (Oxford Jewish Community), Zara Tobias (Bristol and West), Josh Grant (Birmingham), Rachel Finn (Southgate), Flora Cantacuzino-Levy (LJS), Miriam Smith (Harrow and Wembley), Laurence Suckling and Rebecca Viney (both Kingston)
19-22 DECEMBER 2010 Veidah (Galim and Bogrim - school years 11+). Democracy in action!
Contact the LJY-Netzer team: Josh (j.dubell@liberaljudaism.org), Adam (a.francies@liberaljudaism.org), Yszi (y.hawkings@ liberaljudaism.org) or Robin (r.moss@liberaljudaism.org); telephone 020 7631 0584 or email office@ljynetzer.org