LJ Today September/October 2010

September/October 2010

VOL. XXXVII No. 5

Liberal Judaism is a constituent of the World Union for Progressive Judaism

ljtoday

Four new communities celebrate High Holy Days Four new Liberal communities will hold High Holy Day services this year.

The North Herts Liberal Jewish Community, which was set up just a few months ago and is the newest of the groups to affiliate formally, has been attracting increasing numbers of worshippers. Its first High Holy Day services will be held at the Friends’ Meeting House in Stevenage, which will become its new venue. Student rabbi Sandra Kviat is to lead an Erev Rosh Hashanah and a Kol Nidre service.

Shenfield, Brentwood and Districts Synagogue, established a year ago, is to hold a full set of services, some led by lay leaders Elliott Porte and Hiam Lacmias, and some led by Sandra Kviat.

The Wessex Liberal Jewish Group, which meets in Bournemouth and is exploring affiliation to Liberal Judaism, is holding a full set of services led by Rabbi Alan Mann in a local hotel.

Finally, the Crouch End Chavurah in north London, which has a thriving cheder, is holding High Holy Day services, some of which will be led by founder member Rabbi Rebecca Qassim Birk.

Lucian Hudson, the chairman of Liberal Judaism, and Danny Rich, the chief executive, together with the honorary officers, vice-presidents and staff send their warmest wishes to all members of the movement and its congregations, and to their families, for the coming year of 5771.

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These miniature Torah mantles, by textile artist Carole Smollan, can be seen at the Etz Chayim Gallery at Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue. They are part of a collection of

work by Smollan, including ceramics, being exhibited under the title Testimony and Memory. The exhibition runs from 31 August to 17 October. Viewing is by appointment.

David Wilfond is new rabbi at LJS David Wilfond has been appointed rabbi hope to bring passion and leadership to at The Liberal Jewish Synagogue, St strengthen the community’s experience John’s Wood. He will work alongside of a content-rich Liberal Judaism as a Alexandra Wright, who is senior rabbi. path for spiritual engagement and tikkun Rabbi Wilfond, 45, an American, moves olam (social justice). Ultimately the goal to London from Jerusalem, is to create a holy community of where he was director of members committed to a admissions at Hebrew Union liberal, rational approach to College and rabbi of the Torah and tradition that propels college’s Murstein Synagogue. us to care about each other, the He has also led congregations greater community, and to be in Kiev and Boston. relevant to the issues of our day.

Looking forward to joining ‘The tools are joyful Jewish the LJS, where his appointment experiences – fun!– and profound is initially for a year, he said: ‘I Rabbi David Wilfond intellectual stimulation.’

In this issue News from communities and from 2-3 the Montagu Centre Progressive Judaism’s 200th anniversary A radical start 4 New Year messages 5

The Jewish Museum gains a multicultural audience Books Harry Jacobi reviews Ashes in the Wind Spotlight on Ealing

7 9 10

Page 2 LJ Today

news

September/October 2010

Women pray at London ‘wall’ Alexandra Ben-Yehuda

Around the Communities Beit Klal Yisrael In place of one of its Friday night services the community held a candle-lighting blessing followed by a series of talks on human rights.

Speakers included Laura Janes, a children’s solicitor at the Howard League for Penal Reform, David Solomon, who teaches English in the village of Abu Dis, outside Jerusalem, and Sarah Kaiser, of the RenéCassin rights organisation.

Birmingham Corinne Oppenheimer received tributes from members at a special kiddush to mark her many years of distinguished service to the community. She has now moved to live near her daughter in London. A gift from members went, at Corinne’s wish, to the Leo Baeck Centre for Education, in Haifa.

Avivit Katzil, Liberal Judaism’s young adults worker (left), and student rabbi Anna Gerrard (right) lead the first of what have become monthly Rosh Chodesh services outside the Israeli embassy in London in solidarity with Women of the Wall, the Israeli group which defies a Supreme Court ruling by holding prayer services at the Kotel

Youth movement wins silver The remarkable work and outstanding leadership of Liberal Judaism’s youth movement, LJY-Netzer, has been recognised with a Youth Mark Silver Award. Youth Mark is a nationwide scheme through which the quality of youth activities are assessed.

LJY-Netzer received the third highest silver given, and the highest score ever for its ‘youth participation’ standard, a tribute to the movement’s democratic decision-making process.

Lucian Hudson told the LJY-Netzer

team at an award ceremony: ‘You have set a very high bar for future generations to build on.’

Referring to the fact that the gold has not so far been awarded, he added: ‘As well as having provided brilliant leadership to the current cohort, you have been generous enough to give the next one the opportunity to go for gold!’

Rabbi Danny Rich added: ‘Your achievement reflects on the whole of our movement.’

LJY-Netzer, page 11

Brighton to host Board celebrates classical concert 250 years Brighton and Hove is hosting a concert by the Leonora Ensemble on Sunday 10 October at 2.45pm. The ensemble is made up of two violins, a viola, cello and clarinet. On this occasion they will be joined by another cello and a soprano, Susannah Startup.

The programme includes Haydn’s String Quartet The Bird, Philip Sawyers’s Four Shropshire Songs, Bruch’s Kol Nidrei and Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet K 581.

Tickets: £8 in advance, £10 on the door, including refreshments, are available from the synagogue office, 01273 737223, or bhps@freenetname.co.uk

Jeromé Freedman, a vice-president of Liberal Judaism and deputy at the Board of Deputies, and Lucian Hudson attended a celebration at the Bevis Marks Synagogue, in the City of London, to mark the 250th anniversary of the Board.

As chairman of Liberal Judaism, Lucian was presented with a copy of 250 Years of Convention and Contention, a history of the Board of Deputies, by Raphael Langham, which has been added to the library at the Montagu Centre.

Chairman’s Actions, page 5

South Bucks The community jointly celebrated its 21st anniversary and 200 years of Progressive Judaism at a Civic Service on 17 July. Among those attending were Harry Jacobi, a former rabbi of the congregation; Lucian Hudson, pictured with chairman Anita Epstein and youngsters from South Bucks; representatives of local schools; and Christian and Muslim community leaders.

Dublin The Israeli Ambassador, Dr Zion Evrony, and his wife Rita joined the congregation for a farewell kiddush shortly before his return to Israel after four challenging years in Irish–Israeli relations. In an address, he expressed his fondness for Ireland and spoke of the importance of unity across Irish Jewry.

South London Israeli singer-songwriter Mor Karbasi, a member of the South London congregation, is pictured performing a programme of glorious Sephardi music with her troupe of three guitarists and a drummer to a capacity audience at the synagogue as part of the Streatham Festival.

news

September/October 2010

LJ Today Page 3

Go-ahead for cemetery extension Planning permission at Edgwarebury is granted after four-day appeal Plans to extend Edgwarebury Cemetery in north London have been given the go-ahead following an appeal against Barnet council’s original decision to refuse permission.

The Planning Inspectorate announced its decision in August.

Liberal Judaism applied 18 months ago for permission to create the much-needed extension to Edgwarebury Cemetery on land across Edgwarebury Lane. The plans allow for the provision of space for Jewish burials for two more generations. They also allow for

improved access and parking for staff and visitors to the cemetery.

Rabbi Danny Rich, who spoke at the four-day appeal hearing at Hendon Town Hall at the end of June, said: ‘We wish to convey our pleasure and Rabbi Danny Rich said members could now feel ‘more secure’

Rabbinic expertise is shared For the High Holy Days, 13 Progressive communities will have services led by visiting Liberal rabbis or rabbinic students from Leo Baeck College.

Rabbi Ariel Friedlander will travel to Eastbourne, Rabbi Miri Lawrence to Reading, Rabbi Neil Janes to Lincoln, Rabbi Alan Mann to Wessex, Rabbi Dr Michael Shire to Oxford and Rabbi Danny

Rich to Finchley. Five student rabbis will also be leading services: Kate Briggs will travel to East Anglia, Anna Gerrard to Gloucestershire, Lisa Barrett to Manchester, Esther Hugenholtz to Peterborough and Sandra Kviat to Stevenage, Shenfield and Crouch End. All Liberal synagogues welcome students wishing to attend High Holy Day services. Please contact Ysabella Hawkings, yszi@liberaljudaism.org, who will arrange this with the synagogue of your choice.

Young adults (aged 20-35) can apply for a Liberal Judaism Passport, giving them access to all Liberal synagogues.

Information about the scheme is available from Shelley Shocolinsky-Dwyer: shelley. s-d@liberaljudaism.org or 020 7631 9835; or visit www.liberaljudaism.org/ passport.htm.

thanks to the Planning Inspectorate. Our members can feel secure knowing that they can have an appropriate burial in an appropriate place – indeed, in the same place as their ancestors.’

Liberal Judaism is the only Jewish religious movement that allows Jews to be buried with their non-Jewish spouses, thereby preventing the separation in death of those who were bound together in life.

The original application for planning permission, which was refused, was lodged with Barnet Council late in 2008.

Rabbi Lawrence Rigal dies Rabbi Lawrence Rigal, who during a long rabbinic career ministered to six Liberal congregations, died in July, aged 81.

He had served South London, Birmingham, Bedfordshire, West Central, Woodford and, more recently, the Settlement Synagogue. When the Settlement merged with South West Essex Reform Synagogue, he took particular care of the Stepney branch.

Paying tribute to his colleague, Rabbi Michael Pertz said: ‘There were and are few men in history as humble and unassuming as Lawrence Rigal. A very private human being, in his own gentle way he epitomised what was and is and always should be great about one who bears the title rabbi and teacher in Israel.’

Obituary, page 8

A Sukkot story with a Liberal Jewish message Pete Tobias, rabbi at The Liberal Synagogue Elstree and chairman of the Rabbinic Conference, has published his first children’s book – and, not surprisingly, it has a Liberal Jewish theme.

The Secret of the £5 Etrog is a young boy’s story of his visit to an etrog shop with his father. He sees customers inspecting the fruits closely and asks what they are actually looking for. The answers set him thinking about how religious festivals are meant to be celebrated. He can’t help feeling sorry for the etrogs that aren’t allowed to join in the party at Sukkot.

Rabbi Tobias says: ‘I believe that Judaism, and indeed all religions, should

try to be inclusive and welcoming to all. I hope this book will impart this important message to children - and all who read it - and emphasise one of Liberal Judaism’s essential teachings.’

The Secret of the £5 Etrog – which costs £5, plus £1.50 p&p – is published in September by Authorhouse. It is available from etrog@btinternet.com. Postage and packing is free on all orders placed before the end of September.

A launch event will be held at TLSE on Sunday 19 September at 10am.

Meanwhile, Rabbi Tobias is working on more children’s stories: he promises a Pesach-themed tale for the spring.

The Secret of the £5 Etrog is by Rabbi Pete Tobias

Page 4 LJ Today

200 YEARS

Progressive Judaism 1810-2010

September/October 2010

In the fifth in our series of articles marking the 200th anniversary of the first Progressive Jewish service in Europe, Rosita Rosenberg looks at how the Jewish Religious Union – the forerunner of Liberal Judaism – came into existence

Radical from the very start Walk into The Liberal Jewish Synagogue, St John’s Wood, and you will find the Montefiore Hall, the Mattuck Room and the Israel Abrahams Library. Attend a function at South London Liberal Synagogue and you will be in the Lily Montagu Hall. Visit the headquarters of Liberal Judaism and you will be at the Montagu Centre. These names honour those who were so instrumental in the foundation of our movement.

A precursor of the foundation of the organisation now called Liberal Judaism was the development of progressive Judaism in both Germany and the USA in the early and middle 19th century. In the UK, too, there had also been rumblings of discontent with the established Orthodox synagogues. The West London (Reform) Synagogue of British Jews, founded in 1842, had modernised the service to some extent but this was restricted to

‘At West London the prayer for the Royal Family was in English but men and women still sat separately’ having the sermon and the prayer for the Royal Family in English; men and women still sat separately. In the Hampstead area of London for a few years in the 1890s there had also been some Saturday afternoon services with revised liturgy.

But it was a 25-year-old woman from a wealthy Orthodox background who set in motion the foundation of a radical new Jewish movement.

The Hon Lily Montagu was the sixth of 10 children of the banker Samuel Montagu, later Lord Swaythling. She was a serious and spiritual young woman, yet also of a practical nature with great organisational skills. Deeply concerned at what she saw as a drift away from Judaism towards assimilation, she wrote an article, ‘The spiritual possibilities of Judaism today’, which was published in the Jewish Quarterly Review of January 1899. The co-editors of that publication were two renowned Jewish scholars, Dr Claude Montefiore and Dr Israel Abrahams. In her article, she pleaded for

less emphasis on ritual and for the re-establishment of Judaism on the ‘basis of truth, dignity and beauty’. This aroused considerable interest. There followed much correspondence with and lobbying among her friends, relatives and leaders of Anglo-Jewry by both her and Montefiore. A committee was formed and a number of private meetings held. On this committee sat three United Synagogue ministers, the Rev Simeon Singer (of prayer book fame), the Rev AA Green and the Rev JF Stern, as well as the Rev Morris Joseph of West London Synagogue. The aim, at this stage, was only to provide shorter, more understandable and attractive services, supplementary to those already on offer.

The first service of the newly formed Jewish Religious Union took place on the afternoon of Saturday 18 October 1902 in the Wharncliffe Rooms of the Great Central Hotel in Marylebone Road. More than 300 people attended, there was a harmonium, a mixed choir and men and women sat together (or, as reported by

Lily Montagu: serious and spiritual, yet of a practical nature with great organisational skills

the Jewish World, ’sat promiscuously’).

The service, which was mainly in English, was conducted by the Rev Singer. Dr Montefiore preached the sermon. A public meeting formally to launch the Union took place the next day at Hampstead Town Hall, when Lily Montagu outlined the aims and objectives of the organisation.

Over the years that followed, the original United Synagogue ministers were prevailed on to leave the committee

because of conflict of interest but regular services still took place, prayer books and pamphlets were published, and children’s classes were provided. By 1909, however,

‘More than 300 attended the first service. A public meeting to launch the JRU took place the next day’ two far-reaching decisions were taken: to change the name of the organisation to The Jewish Religious Union for the Advancement of Liberal Judaism, and to establish an actual Liberal congregation.

The first service of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue (then at Hill Street) took place in February 1911. A young American rabbi, Israel Mattuck, was appointed in 1912. He was to lead both the LJS and the national movement for more than 40 years.

That first synagogue is now the largest of 35 congregations of Liberal Judaism.

Could Montagu, Montefiore and Mattuck – the ‘three Ms’ – ever have envisaged that?

Another point for reflection is that when, in 1902, the JRU was searching for a venue for regular services, it was approached by the West London Synagogue to hold its Saturday afternoon services there. Ten stipulations by the West London council – including that men and women should sit separately and that West London should approve the content of the service – meant that the proposal was rejected. Had those stipulations not been so stringent, perhaps those services would eventually have become absorbed into the WLS and Liberal Judaism would not have come into existence.

In 2002, the centenary year of Liberal Judaism, nearly 200 people attended a celebration at the former Great Central Hotel, now the Landmark Hotel, in the very room in which that first service was held. For a few hours they were with us, those forward-thinking Edwardians who bequeathed such an inspiring legacy, a Judaism for our times.

Rosita Rosenberg, co-editor of ‘Liberal Judaism: The First 100 Years’, is a former executive director of the movement

new year

September/October 2010

LJ Today Page 5

Just what I needed – doubt Sandra Kviat ensures she won’t arrive at the High Holy Days unprepared After hope, forgiveness and holy life, I found doubt. Not in an existential way, but this was the word that caught my eye as I scanned the index of a new anthology of Jewish wisdom by Rabbis Andrew Goldstein and Charles Middleburgh.

Leaving aside the obvious Freudian undertones in my choice of topic, in this season of reflection and relationships, doubt can be an unwelcome guest at our inner dinner table. We hold doubts about our relationship to God and the efficacy of prayer, and about our ability to change the relationships we have with others.

Doubts can challenge the repetitiveness of the annual High Holy Days merry-goround; but what do we do with this doubt and how do we talk about it?

Turning to chapter eight, I found that the authors had collected an interesting ensemble of texts to address this doubt about belief, God’s presence, our individual roles, and repentance.

I have no idea to whom, I have no idea for what I am praying.

A prayer is bound up within me

and searches for a God and searches for a Name.

I pray in the countryside in the roar of the city street together with the wind which rushes before me.

A prayer is bound up within me and searches for a God and searches for a Name.

Kadya Molodowsky Despite doubt, or perhaps because of doubt, the protagonist prays.

Exploring doubt in a book about Jewish wisdom is a freeing experience. If we feel unable to address doubts at this time of the year, how can we engage with the emotions of the High Holy Days? I did not, of course, find all the answers in this chapter. What I did find were different voices, with different experiences.

This is the strength of the book. Each chapter has seven voices: some biblical, some modern and some somewhere in between. Each voice has a different flavour, exploring the theme in a variety of ways. With 40 chapters, corresponding

to the number of days in the period between the start of Elul and Yom Kippur, there is space to reflect on a whole chapter or a single reading each day.

Too many times we arrive at Rosh Hashanah unprepared and then face a deluge of words and images; I usually find it overwhelming and difficult to connect with any of them. My plan this year is to accompany my morning cereal with a reading from High and Holy Days. I hope this will give me space in which to connect with the texts and with myself, to unwind the prayer within me that ‘searches for a God and searches for a Name’.

Student rabbi Sandra Kviat will be working with Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue during the coming year High And Holy Days, by Andrew Goldstein and Charles Middleburgh, is published by Canterbury Press (Norwich); available at amazon.co.uk; 160pp.

ISBN: 9781853119941

CHAIRMAN’S ACTIONS

Learning to ensure we all flourish

by Lucian J Hudson Liberal Judaism enters the year 5771 with confidence, compassion and a spirit of collaborative enterprise. Confidence, because its vision of a better world can speak to Jews and non-Jews; compassion, because these troubled times mean that we have to be that much more attentive to the needs and interests of others, as well as of our own; and collaborative enterprise, because the only way any of us will make real progress is by playing a role in a bigger endeavour.

We must look outward, and not just inward, to develop our communities so that Liberal Jews become the most active ambassadors for an engaged and engaging Judaism. The tide is turning in our favour.

Working with our exceptional chief executive, Rabbi Danny Rich, and his able team at the Montagu Centre, the Board of National Officers supports the deepest and widest engagement with Jewish and non-Jewish groups to shape the

conditions in which we can all flourish, based on values of equality, freedom and learning. We cannot be a light unto other nations unless we respect others and engage with them.

Our cutting-edge role is to remind ourselves and others of the prerequisites for building a common humanity. Our practical commitment to such causes as UJIA, World Jewish Relief and Leo Baeck Education Centre in Haifa, all follow from this clarity of purpose. Our relationship to Israel and the diaspora, and our crosscommunity partnerships in Britain, should all be informed by a vision to develop a better society, and practical skills in building bridges and brokering solutions.

Being a Liberal Jew carries a distinctive identity and responsibility within and outside the Jewish community, living and refreshing our tradition by upholding universal values. Central to this tradition is Jewish learning, with a love for a questing and questioning approach to life.

This is why the Leo Baeck College is so important to us. Liberal Judaism must

make Jewish teaching even more of a priority in the year ahead, strengthening the relationship between rabbis and communities to promote and develop education. In everything we do, we must bring out the benefits and disciplines of Jewish learning – for all ages.

Learning must not be relegated to a particular age group or time of the week, but pervade our activities. It is not just about learning by rote; it is about applying what we know, experimenting, and reflecting as we act, not just after we have acted. It starts with our children and young people, but carries on all our lives, in our work, relationships and free time.

Number 23 in the ‘Affirmations of Liberal Judaism’ refers to ‘the dynamic and developing character of Judaism’. If we are serious about upholding this affirmation, we have to be ready both to adapt to the changing environment, and to change ourselves. This is what Jewish learning is ultimately about, and Liberal Jews must be its 21st century champions and practitioners.

Page 6 LJ Today

September/October 2010

feature

September/October 2010

LJ Today Page 7

Liberal Jews are helping the enlarged Jewish Museum, with its new galleries and exhibits, attract visitors from different cultures, writes Beatrice Sayers

We can bear more of our heritage Pete Tobias explains why his synagogue is about to begin a less selective cycle of readings from the Torah, which will last for not one but three years If you attended a Liberal synagogue every Shabbat morning for the next year, and the Torah readings were based on the current Liberal Judaism lectionary, you would hear no more than 15 per cent of the entire Torah. In an Orthodox synagogue, you would hear all of the Torah’s 5,845 verses (though probably not translated and explained, as would probably happen in a Liberal synagogue). What happens to the almost 5,000 verses that Liberal Jews don’t get to hear? Admittedly, some of them, dealing with animal sacrifice, various human emissions or demands to wipe out enemies, we might prefer not to hear (though there is a case to be made for hearing them in order to

‘Liberal Judaism has always had difficulty reading many sections of the Torah as part of a worship service’ understand the context in which our ancestors wrote). But we do still seem to be missing an awful lot.

When public reading of the Torah became part of a weekly ritual in Mishnaic times, it was spread over three years. The Babylonian rabbis divided the Torah into 54 sidrot or parshiyyot (singular: sidrah or parashah), with the reading concluding and recommencing each year on Simchat Torah. This system has now become the norm around the Jewish world, allowing each week of the year to be referred to by the name of the portion that will be read on the following Sabbath. As mentioned, in Orthodox tradition, the full parashah is read, meaning that the whole Torah will be heard in a year. Some Conservative and Reform congregations have introduced their own version of the

triennial cycle whereby one third of the allocated weekly portion is read on a Sabbath morning: the first third in year one, the second in year two and the remaining section in year three.

Liberal Judaism, with its emphasis on ethics over ritual, has always had difficulty reading many sections of the Torah as part of a worship service. In the earliest days of the movement, rabbis chose only the enlightened laws of Leviticus or Deuteronomy, bypassing the details of the construction of the sanctuary in the second half of Exodus and the descriptions of animal sacrifice in Leviticus.

This changed in the 1960s, when a new lectionary was drawn up, suggesting three different readings from each week’s portion. This was never intended to match the triennial cycle being introduced in other, more traditional non-Orthodox communities mentioned above: the three selected weekly sections were only a small fraction of that week’s total portion. For example, based on the current Liberal Judaism lectionary, Liberal Jews will only ever hear 37 of the 111 verses of the sacrificial instructions in the portion Va-yikra (Leviticus 1:1-5:26) and an even smaller fraction (35 out of 122 verses) of the sanctuary’s construction in Va-yakheil (Exodus 35:1-38:20). Even the opportunity to hear the stories of Genesis is limited: parashat No’ach, which includes the story of Noah and the flood as well as the Tower of Babel, contains 153 verses (Genesis 6:9–11:32) but Liberal Jews are offered a choice of just 42. And that total represents all three suggested passages, of which just one will be read, so only a third of those 42 verses are actually heard in any year.

A look at some of the omitted verses makes it clear why Liberal Judaism has been so selective. But the result is a series of unconnected readings which

give neither a sense of the Torah as a whole, nor the flow of the themes and elements running through it. I believe Liberal Jews are missing out on hearing much of their heritage, and I have created a new triennial cycle of readings to address this. This cycle will not mean that every verse in the Torah will have been read at the end of three years. But in the first year, virtually all of Genesis will be heard. The second year looks at the ‘history’ of the Israelite people, from Egypt and through the wilderness: readings coming from the first half of Exodus, much of Numbers and part of Deuteronomy. The third year focuses on priestly and prophetic elements of the

‘The parashah that includes the story of Noah and the Tower of Babel contains 153 verses, but Liberal Jews are offered just 42’ Torah: the festivals and other practices which are still an element of – and relevant to – modern Judaism, before concentrating on the enlightened regulations and insights in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

This may create difficulties. Next Simchat Torah, for example, we shall not be completing our cycle of readings but moving from the end of Genesis to the start of Exodus; but that is a moment equally worthy of celebration. I believe that the opportunity to hear more of the Torah, in a sequence that reflects its different themes and authorship, will increase our understanding and enjoyment of our heritage.

Pete Tobias is rabbi at The Liberal Synagogue Elstree and chairman of Liberal Judaism’s Rabbinic Conference

Have you got a point of view on an aspect of Jewish life or worship? Or would you like to comment on this Viewpoint? Email the editor, ljtoday@liberaljudaism.org, including your congregation and telephone number

Judaism for everybody The Jewish Museum in London has come of age. After buying a former piano factory at its rear, it closed for more than two years to undergo a £10m rebuilding programme. It now draws in visitors from across multicultural Britain.

Since the museum reopened in April, groups from Muslim, Christian and non-faith schools have visited, as well as groups from Orthodox and Progressive cheders and Jewish schools.

In its four permanent galleries the museum tells the story of British Jewish life from 1066 to the present day, with objects, display boards and interactive exhibits: some are a modern and thoughtful way to explain and educate, others appeal to a sense of fun. The waves of immigration, and the story of the establishment of the state of Israel, are told partly through artefacts from immigrants: nuts brought to England in the 1890s by a Lithuanian; a silver Kiddush cup from Iran in 1925; and a bible written in by an anti-apartheid campaigner, his companion in solitary confinement in a South African prison.

As well as inspecting the objects from the museum’s noted collection of ceremonial art, visitors can meet the Jablonsky family from the East End: touching a card on different exhibits, they can discover how they lived; or plait a challah using rubber dough and smell the chicken soup on the stove. A few steps away they can put on hats, headscarves or false beards, stand in front of a mirror and, with video encouragement from

A 13th century mikveh (left), on the ground floor of the museum, displayed for the first time since its discovery in 2001 in the City, and the gallery ‘Judaism: A Living Space’ Peter Durant

actor and comedian David Schneider, perform in the ‘Yiddish theatre of Camden’; or enter the studio of the renowned wedding photographer Boris Bennett and have their picture taken.

The Holocaust Gallery is set aside from the rest of the first floor space. In a short film, four survivors who settled in Britain talk about their experiences. Visitors can learn also about Leon Greenman, an Englishman sent to Auschwitz from the Netherlands. After liberation from Buchenwald he returned to Britain and spent the rest of his life, until his death in 2008, fighting Nazism and racism.

Dov Softi is one of the team of four

educators, who teach visiting groups. Dov, 40, a cheder teacher for more than 10 years at The Liberal Jewish Synagogue, where he is a member, is often asked by children why he doesn’t wear black clothes or a hat. ‘A lot of questions they ask clearly come from adults’ comments, which they are now challenging,’ he says. ‘I tell them I am a Liberal Jew and I choose not to wear a skullcap, but that when I read from the Torah scroll I wear a kippah and a tallit.’

One of the faces of Liberal Judaism at the museum, Dov enjoys teaching non-Jews, and occasionally clearing up misconceptions. ‘For me, contributing to the society I live in is part of who I am.’

Liberal rabbi answers visitors’ questions An interactive screen in the first floor gallery ‘Judaism: A Living Faith’ offers a chance directly to compare the various stances of four streams of Judaism.

In a section called ‘understanding the Torah’, an Ask the Rabbi screen shows four smiling faces, each representing a different movement: Aaron Goldstein (Liberal) Laura Janner-Klausner (Reform), Yitzchak Shochet (Orthodox) and Jonathan Wittenberg (Masorti). Each has recorded video answers to eight identical questions.

Visitors can ask Rabbi Shochet, ‘What is the role of women in Judaism?’ and he replies that although it might seem as if women played a lesser role, ‘Man is

Rabbi Aaron Goldstein of Northwood (right) on the interactive Ask the Rabbi screen

perceived as the aggressor and therefore needs more commandments in order to be able to better tame him. Man needs to be able to play that more overt role in the leading of the services and needs that

mechitzah (partition) in the synagogue, in order to make him properly focus on his prayer and prevent him being distracted.’

Ask the same question of Rabbi Goldstein, of Northwood and Pinner, and he replies: ‘Liberal Judaism was a radical movement at its inception in 1902. Then, it decided that men and women had an equal role to play within Judaism, so that women could be rabbis, women could come up to Torah – women could play any role in the community that men could.’

Liberal Judaism’s Daytimers group is visiting the Jewish Museum on 5 October.

Telephone 020 7631 9830 for details

Page 8 LJ Today

obituary

September/October 2010

1928-2010

ASHES IN THE WIND: THE DESTRUCTION OF DUTCH JEWRY by Jacob Presser Souvenir Press, £15. ISBN: 0285638130 Review by HARRY JACOBI The account in this book of my rescue from Holland by a non-Jewish heroine 70 years ago pleased me. The detailed and horrifying account of the sufferings of Dutch Jewry, especially of my own family, left me depressed, tearful and emotional.

My uncle, who had rescued me from Germany, and his wife and daughter were deported to Belsen, where the terrible conditions are described in a supplement.

Then they were packed on a train to Troebitz and liberated by the Russians. The sufferings on that journey are described in detail. Of 2,500, only 600, including my family, survived the journey. I can now understand why my Dutch family never want to talk about their experience.

My grandparents, then 86 and 83, were sent from Amsterdam to the transit camp, Westerbork, where the conditions were tolerable, but full of fear and foreboding. I have a letter written by my grandfather to my uncle in Amsterdam relating the ‘celebration’ of their diamond wedding in the camp. Three weeks later they were deported to Sobibor where they perished in horrible conditions, again described in a supplement.

This book, first published in 1965, is the most authoritative and comprehensive account of the sufferings and destruction of Dutch Jewry. The author was an eminent history professor from 1926.

Sadly, his wife was sent to and died in Sobibor. He went into hiding in various locations, where he kept a diary and survived the war. He resumed lecturing and was commissioned to research the

Sir Victor Blank is guest speaker at the sixth annual dinner At the annual dinner of Liberal Judaism’s Council of Patrons, at Kent House, central London, Rabbi Danny Rich thanked the Patrons for their generosity over the six years since the council’s inception.

With a nod to the guest speaker, Sir Victor Blank – the former Lloyds TSB chairman who led the takeover of HBOS in 2008 – Rabbi Rich commented that the sum of nearly £750,000 raised by the Patrons was an impressive sum, ‘even for a banker’.

Sir Victor recalled his role in the rescue of the high street bank, saying Lloyds had been ‘twice on the brink of a precipice’. Musing on the requirements of leadership, he said passion and charisma were vital, and good leaders were willing to take risks.

Rabbi Rich said the Patrons’ money had been put to good use: funding work to build on the successful relationship between the Montagu Centre and constituents; to sustain and increase the number of Liberal Jews; to extend the outreach programme; and to increase Liberal Judaism’s profile. ‘There has been no fudging on issues and we have made our voice heard,’ he said.

Other guests included Vivian Wineman, the president of the Board of Deputies, Brooks Newmark MP, former MP Gillian Merron, Dinah Rose QC and several vice-presidents of Liberal Judaism.

Among the positive aspects was the solidarity of many non-Jews with the wearing of the yellow badges

For information about the Council of Patrons please email Rabbi Danny Rich at d.rich@liberaljudaism.org or telephone 020 7631 9820.

John Bernard

Rabbi Lawrence Rigal, who has died aged rabbinate, negotiations between the Liberal and Reform movements over Leo 81, will be fondly recalled by countless Baeck College had just fallen through and congregants who have admired his so the three Liberal students, Harry integrity, warm sonorous voice, common-sense attitude to Jewish matters Jacobi, Nicholas Ginsbury and Lawrence and his deep concern for his community Rigal, were sent to University College to do a degree in Hebrew Literature together members throughout their celebrations with added rabbinic tuition. Lawrence and sorrows. studied Talmud and Shulchan Aruch with Lawrence, the second of three brothers, Dr Teicher and Rabbi Kokotek. He led High was born in Golders Green. He attended a preparatory school in north London from Holy Day services in Britsol, travelling there on his Lambretta with a Torah scroll where he won a scholarship to Highgate strapped to the back pannier.

School, which he attended from 1942, when it was evacuated to Westward Ho! in Ordained in 1964, he was appointed minister to Birmingham Liberal north Devon. In 1946, he was conscripted Synagogue and, three years later, to South into the RAF and served as a ground London, arriving soon after the wireless mechanic, serving for Six Day War. He was told that two years and reaching the rank of leading aircraftsman. there were two applicants for conversion who had been In the RAF, the privately waiting for some time. One of educated Lawrence later these made a deep impression reflected, he had learnt of the on him; after her conversion, real world, and that experience shaped his left-leaning political they began dating and he eventually proposed to her. Kay attitude. After demobilisation, and Lawrence were married at he did a two-year course in Rabbi Lawrence Rigal the Prentis Road synagogue by shoemaking at Cordwainers Rabbi John Rayner.

Technical College in Mare Street, Hackney, working first in a shoe factory in After seven years at South London, he took on the double task of Woodford and Princelet Street and later in shoe retailing.

West Central, after some years switching Active in the North West London Aid the Woodford half for what was then called Society for the Home for Aged Jews, he the Beds-Herts Liberal Jewish Synagogue. and his brother George formed a junior branch called the Norwesters, which took In 1985, he moved to the Settlement Synagogue as full-time rabbi, where he schoolchildren round museums and other places of interest. One of these youngsters remained for 24 years before retiring fully.

After the Settlement merged with South was Martin Gilbert, the future historian.

West Essex Reform Synagogue, he took In his early twenties, Lawrence attended a study and discussion group under the particular care of the Stepney branch. In leadership of Dr Golde at the newly formed July this year he received a Rabbinic Fellowship from Leo Baeck College, to Wembley Liberal Community and, later, mark his distinguished service. sessions at The Liberal Jewish Synagogue Lawrence’s hobbies included art, led by Dr Abram Spiro and John Rayner.

Lawrence, his brother George and Joan palaeontology, photography, winemaking and computing. He designed three websites, Salter formed a youth club for ages 16+ including one for the Stepney branch of the at Wembley Liberal, joining with the Settlement synagogue, and the site www. youngsters of Kingsbury United shul to jewish-customs.co.uk. A keen craftsman, form the Two Triangles Club. After two years, however, the Liberals formed their he made the mosaic panels for the BedsHerts synagogue and the Star of David that own club. The club joined the Federation hangs in the City of London Crematorium. of Liberal & Progressive Jewish Youth Lawrence was co-author, with Rosita Groups, of which Lawrence eventually Rosenberg, of Liberal Judaism: The First became the chairman. In Wembley, he formed what was one of the Liberal 100 Years, published in 2004. He is survived by wife, Kay, sons Daniel and movement’s first ‘junior clubs’.

Gideon, and brothers George and Cedric.

At the time he decided to train for the

Sir Victor Blank, left, and Stanley Fink at the Council of Patrons’ sixth annual dinner

LJ Today Page 9

The unspeakable truth

Patrons’ A man of deep integrity donations reach A leading light in youth work in his twenties, Lawrence Rigal embraced his role as a rabbi with £750,000 dedication, compassion and humility Rabbi Lawrence Rigal

books

September/October 2010

fate of Dutch Jewry, a task that took him from 1950 to 1965 and was published under the title of Ondergang (Destruction). Soon after, the English translation was published. An extended paperback version is now available.

The estimated Jewish population of Holland in 1941 was 140,000. Only about 10 per cent survived. Their experience and fate are detailed with many eyewitness accounts and documents and reveal, among tales of sympathy and

succour, some surprising and unpleasant facts. The pre-war and war-time Dutch Nazi party – the NSB – was powerful and found much support. The author cites many examples of treachery and betrayal and is particularly scathing of the behaviour of the Dutch government in exile in London, which did nothing to help, and of the British government expressing sympathy but taking no action to help.

Furthermore, ‘The allies could have done more than merely shed tears for all these foreign Jews.’ The Dutch Red Cross is also condemned. While the Belgian and French Red Cross helped in Theresienstadt, ‘the Dutch Red Cross was, as ever, conspicuous by its absence’.

Much space is naturally devoted to the activities of the ‘Jewish Council’. It was sponsored by the Germans in 1941 and soon regarded as a state within a state.

The eminent Jewish members had an unenviable task, mostly choosing between two evils, and ‘the spectrum of collaboration (with the Germans) ranged from utterly corrupt elements, determined to save their own skins by deliberately and knowingly sacrificing their fellow Jews, to those who, although collaborating, tried to save as many innocent people as possible’. The council was dissolved on Rosh Hashanah 1943.

Among the positive aspects of the occupation the author relates the heroic Dockers’ Strike in February 1941, commemorated by a statue of a docker in the old Jewish quarter in Amsterdam, the protests of some professors and headmasters against the expulsion of Jews, the protests of many churches at the anti-Jewish measures, the solidarity

of many Dutch non-Jews with the wearing of the yellow badges, and the helpfulness of many police.

The author also relates that, sadly, there was strife between native Dutch Jews and German refugees. Even sadder, whilst the Jews had lived in peace and harmony with the Dutch over many centuries, and there was no antisemitism pre-war, he encountered a great deal post-war. The reason is the contrast between the way the survivors returning from the camps were looked after and compensated and the suffering of the Dutch. This became evident to me in the shock I received when returning to Amsterdam on French leave from the army very soon after the end of the war.

Amsterdam was like a ghost town: no cars, hardly any bicycles, the shops empty and all the trees felled for firewood. The Dutch had hoped for a speedy end of the war after the Normandy landings, were shocked at the defeat at Arnhem, and suffered terribly in the so-called hungerwinter of 1944-45. An exhibition of their

Returning after the end of the war, I found no cars, the shops empty and all the trees felled for firewood suffering is now part of the Amsterdam Historical Museum, incidentally in the same building, the Burgerweeshuis, where we lived and from which we were evacuated in May 1940.

An Afterword pays tribute to the author: ’Presser wrote from a position of engagement with the victims. When we see photographs or film footage of Presser he does not appear to be a very emotional man to us. However, Presser’s emotions found their way into his texts and it is this emotional engagement that still speaks to his readers.’ It certainly spoke to me, and will, I hope, to many future readers.

The Times Literary Supplement summarises: ‘Dr Presser has rendered a great service to the record of humanity.’ It is, alas, a record more of inhumanity.

Rabbi Jacobi, born in Berlin, escaped to Holland and in 1940 to England. He has served Southgate, Wembley, South Bucks and Zurich Liberal congregations

September/October 2010

Page 10 LJ Today

youth

September/October 2010

Spotlight on Ealing

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

Where is Ealing Liberal Synagogue?

In Lynton Avenue, west Ealing, a 10-minute walk from Ealing Broadway tube or five-minute walk from Drayton Green railway station.

Bigger and better than ever

When was it founded?

In 1943 by a small group of like-minded Jews, since when it has grown and flourished. It takes a pride in its warmth and inclusivity, and welcomes children at every service.

Kadimah had a record number of participants, and no fewer than 44 madrichim

How wide is the catchment area?

Members include those who live or work in west London, including young families, single people, couples and retired people.

The sanctuary at Ealing Liberal Synagogue; members Meryl Salter and Bill Glassman at Simchat Torah; and Rabbi Janet Burden

Who leads the services?

Rabbi Janet Burden, who has served the community since 2005.

When are services held?

On Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, and for all festivals. Different styles of services are offered, including contemplative services.

Have there been any recent innovations?

Yes – this year, the rabbi introduced a Tisch supper (Yiddish: tisch – table), on the first Friday of the month. She invites 12 guests from the community to join her at the synagogue to celebrate Shabbat with a home-cooked meal, round a properly laid table. Others are welcome to join and bring a contribution of food.

Another recent initiative is ‘study as service’. On one Shabbat morning a month, and one Friday night a month (following an Access to Judaism class), Rabbi Burden offers a class on an aspect of Jewish practice or belief. These study sessions are fun and well-attended.

What else is on offer to children?

A thriving religion school, which caters

Some of the cheder children with artwork they created for Tu B’Shvat

LJ Today Page 11

for children aged four to 13, and holds its classes on Shabbat mornings. A committed team works with head teacher Rabbi Burden. Most teenagers stay involved after becoming b’nei mitzvah by becoming class assistants and teachers.

Youngsters often take part in Liberal Judaism’s youth movement, LJY-Netzer, and its Kadimah summer camp.

What do the scrolls come from...?

One came from the Crosby and Waterloo Synagogue, Merseyside, which was founded by the Brenner family and others shortly after the Second World War. After the synagogue closed, the scroll was donated to the Ealing synagogue through a family connection: Debbie Brenner is a former chair of Ealing. ... and its ark?

A couple of years ago, Ealing gave the old ark from Northwood and Pinner synagogue a new lease of life. With the help of two architects from among its congregants, the synagogue reused some decorative wrought-iron gates and surmounted them on the ark doors to

create a new one, with handles decorated as Shabbat candles.

What goes on at Ealing socially?

There are bridge, badminton and lunch clubs, a reading circle, mother and toddler group and other informal networks. A women’s group, Kinor, meets in members’ homes for meals and discussion.

Occasional activities include chavurah suppers, book fairs, variety shows, quiz suppers and monthly talks.

How do members keep in touch?

The synagogue’s magazine, Shalom, is sent to members six times a year and an e-bulletin is sent out twice a month.

What do members say?

‘There is something magical about every Tisch I’ve been to. Maybe because Janet’s preparation is so meticulous and the meal and celebration so well organised.’

How do I find out more?

Email office@ealingliberalsynagogue. org.uk, telephone 020 8997 0528 or visit www.ealingliberalsynagogue.org.uk.

For a third year running, LJY-Netzer’s summer camp, Kadimah, returned to Cottesmore School in Pease Pottage, West Sussex. A hundred and forty-four chanichim (participants) aged seven to 15 spent two weeks building a Liberal Jewish community in the beautiful building and grounds.

Kadimah is a highlight of not only the LJY-Netzer calendar, but of the Liberal Judaism calendar in general.

With more than 15 communities Plagim (school years three to six) let off steam at the Kadimah summer camp in West Sussex represented, it is a meeting place for young Liberal Jews from across the country and an inspiring vision who’ve had a positive impact on the world. of what Liberal Judaism’s future might From biblical heroes to Zionist leaders to look like. non-Jewish figures, each provided an The record number of chanichim was example of the potential we each have to matched by a record number of 18- 24improve the world we live in. year-old madrichim (leaders): 44 young But there was more to camp than people devised and delivered a packed pioneering. Amongst the peulot was the day-long programme of imaginative and traditional multitude of Kadimah engaging informal programming. happenings: wide games, t’fillot The theme for camp was ‘young (services), water fights and hikes, chalutzim’ – young pioneers. Each day barbecues and bonfires, star-gazing, there was at least one peulah (educational friendship-bracelet-making and football. programme) looking at young people Most importantly, hundreds of new

friendships, connections and memories were formed.

Other highlights of camp included a mini-Israel night when the whole camp was turned into a corner of Israel, including a visit by two Palestinian–Israelis and a UV disco party. The youngest age group, Plagim, spent the day at Drusillas Park zoo in Alfriston. Nechalim (school years seven and eight) went to Brighton, where they made pizzas and visited the pier. Yamim (school year nine) and Chalutzim (school year 10) went on hikes. Somehow, we also found time to record a CD – listen out for it in the next few weeks!

Kadimah is about to enter its fifth decade but it is still growing and improving. As well as providing amazing fun, it’s a safe, positive and inclusive space where young people learn how to live Liberal Jewish lives. We’re immensely proud of all of our volunteer tzevet (staff) who made the experience possible and of the chanichim who threw themselves into camp with such openness, interest and energy.

LJY-Netzer’s year ahead – cut it out and put it on your fridge!

SEPTEMBER 2010

JANUARY 2011

Mazkirut (post-school)

OCTOBER 2010

Plagim Weekend (school years 3-6) Nechalim Weekend (years 7-8) Yamim Weekend (years 9-10) Hadracha Seminar Alef (years 11-12)

NOVEMBER 2010

Social Action Chain Reaction (school years 11 upwards)

DECEMBER 2010

Kinus (school years 7-10) Veidah (school years 11 upwards)

FEBRUARY 2011

Mazkirut (post-school) Plagim Weekend (school years 3-6) Nechalim Weekend (years 7-8) Hadracha Seminar Bet (year 13)

MARCH 2011 APRIL 2011

13-18 April Machaneh Aviv – spring camp (school years 3-10)

MAY 2011

Hiking Weekend (school years 9 upwards)

JUNE 2011 JULY 2011

Mazkirut (post-school); 31 July-14 August Kadimah summer camp (school years 3-10); Israel Tour (school year 11)

AUGUST 2011

25 July - 8 August 2010 | Cottesmore School, West Sussex

Kayitz – tour of central Europe (school year 12)

Email one of the LJY-Netzer team Josh Dubell (j.dubell@liberaljudaism.org), Adam Francies (a.francies@liberaljudaism. org), Yszi Hawkings (y.hawkings@liberaljudaism.org) or Robin Moss (r.moss@liberaljudaism.org) or phone 020 7631 0584 The Youth Movement of Liberal Judaism

September/October 2010

Page 12 LJ Today

Liberal Judaism congregations Bedfordshire Progressive Synagogue (Rodef Shalom), 01234 218387; bedsps@liberaljudaism. org; www.bedfordshire-ps.org.uk Beit Klal Yisrael, c/o The Montagu Centre, 21 Maple Street, London W1T 4BE; 07505 477459, bky@liberaljudaism.org; www.bky.org.uk Bet Tikvah Synagogue, 129 Perrymans Farm Road, Ilford, Essex IG2 7LX; 020 8554 9682; bttkv@liberaljudaism.org; www.bettikvah.org.uk Birmingham Progressive Synagogue 1 Roseland Way, Birmingham B15 1HD; 0121 634 3888; bps@liberaljudaism.org; www.bpsjudaism.com Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue 6 Lansdowne Road, Hove BN3 1FF; 01273 737223; bhps@liberaljudaism.org; www.brightonandhoveprosynagogue.org.uk Bristol and West Progressive Jewish Congregation 43-45 Bannerman Road, Easton, Bristol BS5 0RR bwpjc@liberaljudaism.org, www.bwpjc.org Crawley Jewish Community, 01293 534294 Dublin Jewish Progressive Congregation, PO Box 3059, Dublin 6, 00 3531 2856241; djpc@liberaljudaism.org Ealing Liberal Synagogue Lynton Avenue, Drayton Green, W13 0EB; 020 8997 0528; els@liberaljudaism. org; www.ealingliberalsynagogue.org.uk Eastbourne Progressive Jewish Congregation 01323 725650; fax: 01323 417645 epjc@liberaljudaism.org; www.epjcong.org.uk Edinburgh Liberal Jewish Community 0131 777 8024; info@eljc.org; www.eljc.org Finchley Progressive Synagogue Hutton Grove, N12 8DR; 020 8446 4063; fps@liberaljudaism.org; www.fps.org Gloucestershire Liberal Jewish Community Enquiries: 01242 521468 or 01242 234232 Harrow and Wembley Progressive Synagogue 326 Preston Road, Harrow HA3 0QH; 020 8904 8581; hwps@liberaljudaism.org; www.hwps.org Herefordshire Jewish Community 01594 530721; hjc@liberaljudaism.org Kent Liberal Jewish Community 07952 242432; bulletin.kljc@liberaljudaism.org; www.jewishkent.org.uk/communities/KLJC/kljc.html Kingston Liberal Synagogue, Rushett Road, Long Ditton, Surbiton, Surrey; KT7 0UX; 020 8398 7400; kls@liberaljudaism.org; www.klsonline.org Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation The Synagogue, 24 Avenue Road, LE2 3EA; 07875 123744; lpjc@liberaljudaism.org The Liberal Jewish Synagogue, 28 St John’s Wood Road, London NW8 7HA; 020 7286 5181; ljs@liberaljudaism.org; www.ljs.org The Liberal Synagogue Elstree, Elstree High Street, Elstree, Herts WD6 3BY; 020 8953 8889; tlse@liberaljudaism.org; www.tlse.org.uk

The Montagu Centre 21 Maple Street London, W1T 4BE Tel: 020 7580 1663 Fax: 020 7631 9838

www.liberaljudaism.org President The Baroness Neuberger DBE Chair of the Board of National Officers Lucian J Hudson Deputy Chair Amanda Grant Vice-Chairs Simon Benscher and Jackie Richards Treasurer David Pelham Social action and disability officer Leon Charikar Israel and the diaspora officer Daniel Needlestone Vice-Presidents and Honorary Vice-Presidents David Amstell, Monique Blake, Henry Cohn, Nigel Cole, Geoffrey Davis, Stanley Fink, Jeromé Freedman, Louise Freedman, Rabbi Dr David Goldberg, Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein, Sharon Goldstein, Rabbi Harry Jacobi, Jeremy Jessel, Willie Kessler, David Lipman, Corinne Oppenheimer, David Pick, Rosita Rosenberg, Tony Sacker, Harold Sanderson, Joan Shopper, Beverley Taylor, Clive Winston Chairman of Rabbinic Conference Rabbi Pete Tobias Chief Executive Rabbi Danny Rich Internal Services Shelley Shocolinsky-Dwyer PR and Communications Alexandra Ben-Yehuda Education Sandra Kviat Interfaith Rabbi Mark Solomon Shlicha Dana Friedman LJY-Netzer Josh Dubell, Adam Francies, Robin Moss

lj today is edited by Beatrice Sayers Deadline for the November edition: 1 October. ljtoday@liberaljudaism.org.

Liberal Judaism is the dynamic, cutting edge of modern Judaism. It reverences Jewish tradition, seeking to preserve the values of the Judaism of the past while giving them contemporary force. Registered charity number 236590.

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Lincolnshire Jewish Community 01427 628958; ljc@liberaljudaism.org Manchester Liberal Jewish Community, 08432 084441; mljc@liberaljudaism.org; www.mljc.org.uk North London Progressive Jewish Community 020 7403 3779; nlpjc@liberaljudaism.org; www.nlpjc.org.uk Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue, Oaklands Gate, Northwood, Middx HA6 3AA; 01923 822592, npls@liberaljudaism.org; www.npls.org.uk Nottingham Progressive Jewish Congregation Lloyd Street, Sherwood NG5 4BP; 0115 9624761; npjc@liberaljudaism.org; www.npjc.org.uk Peterborough Liberal Jewish Community Enquiries: 020 7631 9822 The Progressive Jewish Community of East Anglia (based in Norwich); www.pjcea.org.uk Reading Liberal Jewish Community 0118 942 8022; rljc@liberaljudaism.org; www.rljc.org Shenfield, Brentwood & Districts Synagogue 01277 888610; info@roshtikvah.com; www.roshtikvah.com South Bucks Jewish Community 0845 644 2370; sbjc@liberaljudaism.org; www.sbjc.org.uk South London Liberal Synagogue PO Box 14475, London SW16 1ZW; 020 8769 4787; slls@liberaljudaism.org; www.southlondon.org Southgate Progressive Synagogue 75 Chase Road, London N14 4QY; 020 8886 0977; sps@liberaljudaism.org; www.sps.uk.com West Central Liberal Synagogue 21 Maple Street, London W1T 4BE; 020 7636 7627; wcls@liberaljudaism.org; www.wcls.org.uk Woodford Liberal Synagogue Marlborough Road, George Lane, London E18 1AR; 020 8989 7619; wps@liberaljudaism.org; www.woodfordliberal.org.uk

Associated congregations Beit Ha’Chidush, Postbus 14613, 1001 LC Amsterdam, Netherlands, 00 31 23 524 7204; info@beithachidush.nl, www.beithachidush.nl Oxford Liberal Jewish Services: 01865 515584 or 01865 765197; www.ojc-online.org

Developing communities North Hertfordshire Liberal Jewish Community (based in Stevenage) Contact Yael: y.shotts@ liberaljudaism.org or 020 7631 9824 The Suffolk Liberal Jewish Community (based in Ipswich), 01473 250797; sjc@liberaljudaism.org

‘tent: the meeting place’ The community for young adults Contact Avivit: a.katzil@ liberaljudaism.org or telephone 07866 501787

Make a date ...........

5 September (Sunday) Liberal Judaism’s annual memorial services (see right) 12 September (Sunday) Northwood and Birmingham synagogues host events in association with the European Days of Jewish Culture and Heritage 19 September (Sunday) Launch of The Secret of the £5 Etrog, by Rabbi Pete Tobias, at The Liberal Synagogue Elstree, 10am 5 October (Tuesday) Visit to the Jewish Museum by Liberal Judaism’s Daytimers group, 11am. £6. Email a.wakely@liberaljudaism.org 10 October (Sunday) The Leonora Ensemble perform a benefit concert at Brighton and Hove 21 November (Sunday) Mitzvah Day organised

by Mitzvah Day UK (www.mitzvahday.org.uk)

Young envoys at interfaith event Hollie and Jack Walton, members of The Liberal Synagogue Elstree, and Blake Berger (right of picture), from Redbridge, create a Jewish branch on the tree of humanity, as part of an interfaith RE conference, Ambassadors of Religion and Belief, in Whitechapel, east London.

The children wrote some of the Ten Commandments on the branch and interwove it with blue ribbon and Jewish symbols. Anne Krisman Goldstein, from the Kent Liberal community, led the group A hundred youngsters, representing 10 religions, attended the conference.

Shabbaton in Norwich The eighth annual Small Communities Shabbaton will be held in Norwich on 6 November from 10am to 5pm with the Progressive Jewish Community of East Anglia. Cost: £20 per person. The Shabbaton is a chance to meet and spend Shabbat with members and leaders from Liberal, Reform, Masorti and independent communities. Lunch and refreshments are provided and reasonable rates are available for accommodation. More information is available from debi. penhey@lbc.ac.uk or phone 020 8349 5632.

Memorial services Liberal Judaism’s annual memorial services take place on Sunday 5 September as follows: 11am at Edgwarebury Cemetery (Rabbis Aaron Goldstein and Harry Jacobi); 1pm at Western Cemetery, Cheshunt (Rabbi Stephen Howard); 3pm at Golders Green Crematorium (Rabbi Frank Hellner); and 2pm at Pound Lane, Willesden (Rabbi Alexandra Wright).

4 December (Saturday) Anniversary Concert at Birmingham The Kol Kinor choir and the Hepplewhite Trio. Tickets: 0121 634 3888

Finance assistant

2011

Janet Manderson has joined the Montagu Centre staff as temporary finance assistant. Her appointment follows the resignation of Sofia Ahmetova, finance officer, in August.

22 May (Sunday) Liberal Judaism Day of Celebration, The Liberal Jewish Synagogue, St John’s Wood. Email a.grant@liberaljudaism.org