Hakol Jul/Aug 2012 by Emma Sosner

July/August 2012 Tammuz/Av/Elul 5772

The “Hall at the Back”, the “Kiddush Hall”, or just “H3” Refurbishment Project Appeal - find out more on page 18

an artist’s impression of the new Kiddush Hall once it has been refurbished.

Inside this month: Rabbi Pete discusses the plight of the Spanish “Conversos” in Rabbi’s Word on page 2 Would your 5 - 12 year olds be interested in a TLSE Summer Week? Take a look at page 5 for more information Information on Admission To Jewish Schools September 2013 can be found on page 7 Michael Shaw educates us on the link between the Paralympics and the Jewish People on page 13, whilst Sue Woolf remembers 15 years of Shabbat Walks

‘No-one expects the Spanish Inquisition…’ Monty Python may have turned the Spanish Inquisition into a joke, but for those who experienced it in the fifteenth century and beyond, it was anything but. Having expelled the Jews from Spain in 1492, the Catholic authorities then proceeded to seek out those whom they believed had professed to be adherents to Catholicism but continued to practice their Judaism in secret. These secret Jews were known as Conversos, though they were referred to by the authorities as Marranos, which means ’pigs’. For many generations, these ‘secret Jews’ kept alive their Jewish practices, and with each successive generation, the reasons for observing these customs became less and less clear. Many of the Jews who left Spain found equal hostility in other countries, where Judaism continued to be practised in secret. The following account,

given by one Gaspar Lopes to the Milan Inquisition of 1540 indicates that there were secret Jews living in England in the sixteenth century: ‘When interrogated, Gaspar Lopes said that he knew Alves Lopes in London, in whose house he, the deponent, had lived for four or five days; and that he, Alves Lopes, holds a Synagogue in his house and lives in the Hebrew manner, though in secret; and that he, the deponent, saw these things and that in this Synagogue they went on one day only, the Sabbath; and that on this day there came to Alves’s house other false Christians to the number of about twenty…’ For the Jews who came to England, it soon became clear that pretending to be a Catholic was actually more dangerous that being a practising Jew, and so it was that

Jews resettled in this country in the sixteenth century. In Spain it was not so simple, and the Conversos continued to practise their Judaism in secret and passed their traditions from generation to generation. With the passage of centuries, the reasons for observing these customs became diluted and confused, and many of the actual customs were lost. But still there were many people in Spain who had a vague memory of a family tradition or practice that connected them with Judaism. A grandmother’s insistence that it was forbidden to prepare a milk marinade for a piece of beef... A father’s story to his young son of how his grandmother would light candles on a Friday evening… A strange nine-branched

candelabra at the back of a shelf in a cupboard, hidden from view… A mother who tells her son of a recurring dream that she enters a synagogue barefoot… These connections with Judaism are tenuous to say the least. Certainly they would be dismissed by any Orthodox Beit Din, should those individuals turn to that authority to have their Jewish status confirmed in a Spanish society that is now more open and tolerant of other religious faiths, including Judaism. Nor would these Jewish religious authorities be interested in scientific evidence based on DNA suggesting that as many as 25 per cent of Spanish men have some genetic connection to the Jews of the fifteenth century and beyond. But what cannot be denied is that there are many people in Spain who carry a sense of a connection with Judaism, however tenuous that connection might be. Many of these Jews, so keen to have their Jewish status confirmed, have

fallen prey to maverick ‘rabbis’ who charge them an exorbitant sum to ‘convert’ them to Judaism. Others attach themselves to emerging progressive Jewish communities, enjoying the opportunity to further their knowledge of Judaism through education and to participate in religious services and celebrations. And so it was my privilege to spend three days in Barcelona at the start of June, chairing the Beit Din convened by the European Region of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. We met and interviewed more than twenty-five individuals who told us of their wish to be regarded as Jewish and of their connection to the Jewish faith. Several of them had already been ‘converted’ by an earlier rather dubious process, so we effectively ‘confirmed’ their previous experience and, having assured ourselves that their commitment was and their knowledge of Judaism sufficient, granted them Jewish status according to the rules and regulations

of the World Union. In some cases, the level of knowledge demonstrated was extraordinary - I had a fascinating discussion with one of the candidates about the morality of Joshua’s conquest of Canaan! All in all, it was a rewarding and uplifting experience. Sometimes, I think, we tend to take our Judaism for granted. We might do well to learn from the dedication and commitment in the face of so many challenges that has ensured that Judaism has continued to be practised in so many places where its observance is forbidden or at least made difficult. The prayer recited by our bar- and bat-mitzvah celebrants in front of the open ark says that these young people ‘..think of all those who, in past ages, have preserved the Jewish faith and declared their loyalty to it…’ I feel honoured to have been part of a process acknowledging that commitment in Spain, and to have made a contribution to it.

Rabbi Pete Tobias 3

Religion School The school year comes to a close as we wind down the Religion School for the summer holidays. There will be just two meetings of the Religion School in July and then it will all start again in September! Many thanks to all the Religion School teachers who have worked so hard in the past year to help you learn Hebrew and about Liberal Judaism! We meet on these dates in July: Sunday 1st 10.00 am – 12.15 pm Religion School Sunday 8th 10.00 am – 12.15 pm Religion School And parents: please join us at 12.15 pm for that brilliant Religion School service to end the morning!

Bar-/Bat-Mitzvah Class The bar-/bat-mitzvah class will come to the end of Rabbi Pete’s book ’Never Mind the Bullocks’ and meets on these dates in July: Saturday 7th 9.30 – 10.45 am Saturday 14th 9.30 – 10.45 am There are no bar-/bat-mitzvah classes in August

Kabbalat Torah The KT Group has missed a few meetings owing to various outside influences, so we’re going to make up for it in July. And the best is about to come: the Almost Legendary KT Trip to Berlin takes place at the end of July! No meetings in August. Sunday 1st July: 12.45 – 2.15 pm Sunday 8th July: 12.45 – 2.15 pm Sunday 22nd July: 11.00am – 12.30 pm Tuesday 24th July 4.30 am: Depart from shul to Berlin Wednesday 25th July: 11.30pm:Return to shul from Berlin

Jewish East End Walk

The Jewish Museum is now taking bookings for our walk on Sunday 22nd July, starting at 11am and lasting about 2 hours, cost £15 per person. TLSE members are asked to make their own bookings and to let Tina Shaw know if you are coming so we can make arrangements for lunch afterwards. Places are limited so don’t leave it too late to make your booking, which can be done either by going on line or by telephoning the museum.

Adult Education Basic Judaism discussions continue to take place regularly. This month both classes meet on a Saturday. Although these classes are primarily intended for those converting to Judaism, other members are welcome to join the group, which meets after the service on the following dates: July 2012: Saturday 7th: The Jewish festivals 1 - The Sabbath Saturday 21st: The Jewish festivals 2—The Pilgrim festivals The class will follow the 11.00 am service, starting at around 12.45pm and ending at 1.45pm. Refreshments will be available. Please note that those involved in the conversion programme are expected to attend the service as well as the class that follows it: attendance at services is an integral part of the conversion course. There are no meetings of the class in August; the next one is on September 1st.

Thursdays At TLSE There will be one session for the group in July on Thursday 5th. This will be an opportunity to sample several ‘mini-lessons’ presented by Rabbi Pete and, on the basis of these, decide an outline curriculum for the next academic year which will start in September. All are welcome: the timings of the sessions are as follows: Thursday 5th July: 11.00am - 12.30pm 7.45pm - 9.15pm

TLSE Summer Week?

The shul is considering organising activities for children aged 5-12 for the last week of August. There will be sports, crafts, computer games and an educational theme, all overseen by qualified, CRB checked staff. If there is sufficient interest, the scheme will run from Tuesday 28th until Friday 31st August, from 9.00 am until 3.30 pm. If you are interested, please let Rebecca know by contacting her on 020 8953 8889 or at office@tlse.org.uk. A decision will be made in the first week of July– please let us know asap!

Services For July/August 2012 Fri 6th July 6.30pm Kabbalat Shabbat supper Sat 7th July 11.00am Shabbat morning service Num 24, 1-19; Midrashim on Mah Tovu Council Rep: Richard Elman Theme: Synagogue Fri 13th July 6.30pm Sat 14th July 11.00am Council Rep: Mike Walton Fri 20th July 8.00pm Sat 21st July 11.00am Council Rep: Mike Rebak Fri 27th July 6.30pm Sat 28th July 10:00am Sat 28th July 11.00am Council Rep: Debbie Ram Fri 3rd Aug 6.30pm Sat 4th Aug 11.00am Council Rep: Davina Bennett Fri 10th Aug 6.30pm Sat 11th Aug 11.00am Council Rep: Nick Belkin

Benjamin Hochenberg Amy Alabaster Amber-Jade Bernard Mitchell Blythe Jacob Cavendish Erev Shabbat service Alice Elman Shabbat morning service Benjamin Good Num 25, 1-18; Judges 7, 7-21 Isabella Grant Theme: Jewish Identity Annabel Grays Erev Shabbat service Theo Lewy Shabbat morning service Katie McAree Num 27, 12-23; 1 Kings 16-30 Alycia Pannaman Theme: Leadership Alice Pollock Erev Shabbat service Oli Ram Tots’ service Teo Ungar Shabbat morning service Jack Wingate Num 31, 1-21; Isaiah 1, 10-17 Ella Blythe Theme: Tish’ah b’av Imogen Diston Mia Emmett Erev Shabbat service Paige Holman Shabbat morning service Samuel Nathan Num 32, 1-32; Isaiah 40, 1-9 Alexander Shotts Theme: Consolation Freddie Skinner Erev Shabbat service Joshua Stevens-Shachar Shabbat morning service Oliver Strange Num 33, 1-36; Jonah Zur Ethiopian Journeyto land of Israel Theme: Jewish History

Fri 17th Aug 8.00pm Erev Shabbat service Sat 18th Aug 11.00am Shabbat morning service Num 33, 37-56; Journeys RSGB Pilgrim Festivals Machzor Council Rep; Sue Woolf Theme: Loneliness Fri 24th Aug 8.00pm Sat 25th Aug 10.00am Sat 25th Aug 11.00am Council Rep: Michael Reibscheid

Erev Shabbat service Tots’ service Shabbat morning service Num 34, 1-15; Joshua 1, 1-11 Theme: Land of Israel

Fri 31st Aug 6.30pm

Erev Shabbat service

Happy Birthday!

Mazel Tov! Jacob Cavendish for his Bar-mitzvah on Saturday 14th July and Joshua Edon for his Bar-mitzvah on Saturday 25th August

Admission To Jewish Schools September 2013 Many parents of children hoping to go to certain Jewish schools in September 2013 have been asking about the Certificate of Religious Practice that some schools require. Details of these are on the websites for those particular schools; the role of TLSE in the process is to monitor your child(ren)’s attendance at services. In order to facilitate this, you can receive an attendance card from the synagogue office, which should be brought to all religious services. This will be signed and stamped by whoever if officiating the service and will serve as a record of attendance when the CRP forms are signed later in the year. To find out more about the admissions policies of the various schools, click these links JCoSS, JFS,Yavneh College. If you’re reading the print version of the magazine, details of the schools’ policies are available on their respective websites—just google the name of the school along with admissions 2013 and you should get to the right place. If you have any questions about admissions to these schools, please let me know. And I look forward to seeing you and your child(ren) at several services in the next few months!)

Security Rota Sat 7 Jul 10.15am

Sat 14 Jul 10.00am

Sat 21 Jul 10.15am

A Kossoff

J Kaye Sun 8 Jul 9.15am

A Dove J Posner

B Kramer

R Cavendish

L Collis

Sun 15 Jul 9.15am

M Blake

J Collis

P Cohen

M Reibscheid

D Alpert

M Saunders R Flaum A Dove M Grant

Sat 4 Aug 10.15am

D San

P Mendelsohn

D Alexander

Sat 28 Jul 10.15am

Sun 1 Jul 9.15am

B Tuckman

Run your own business? Would you like help with: Book-keeping & accounting? Preparing bank & other reports? Chasing overdue accounts? VAT returns?

M Woodcock J Emanuel Sat 11 Aug 10.15am

M Walton N Belikn P Miller

Sat 18 Aug 10.15am

M Gray J Reese M Ward

Sat 25 Aug 10.00am

S Schusman D Jackson L Hirsch

The deadline for copy for the next issue is Thursday 16th August

For professional and affordable help

Contact: ALLAN NEWMAN E: apn@paulbrett.co.uk T: 07976 671 873 W: www.paulbrett.co.uk

D.S. T RAFFORD

All types of internal painting & decorating undertaken 33 years experience in the local area Tel: 01923 680228 Mob: 07759 559536

Outstanding Wedding & Barmitzvah Photography

web: yzphotography.co.uk email: info@yzphotography.co.uk

Tel: 0800 234 3290

Walks Date: Sat 7th July Time: 2:00 for 2:15pm Leader: Lisa & Leigh Renak Meet at : The CafĂŠ in the Park, The Aquadrome, Frogmore Lane, Rickmansworth, WD3 1NB Mobile: Lisa 07956 319942, Leigh 07958 502526 Date: Sat 11th August Time: 2:00 for 2:15pm Leader: Anthony Scott-Norman Meet at: Oakmere Park Pay & Display car park, High Road, Potters Bar. Mobile: 0796 200 3542

Diary July/August 2012 Sun 1 July

10:00

Religion School

Sun I July

12:45

KT Group

Tues 3 July

10:00

Pilates

Thurs 5 July

11:00 & 19:45

Adult Education

Fri 6 July