20 JANUARY 2022
COMMUNITY 15
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GIFT promotes the values Inaugral Lecture by of health, kindness and The Rabbi community
Sacks Chair of Modern Jewish Thought
Year 9 DofE Immanuel College Students packaging up the hundreds of bottles of freshly squeezed orange juice squeezed by Hasmonean Girls’ School in honor of Tu B’Shevat
In celebration of the new year for trees, GIFT hosted a range of exciting, meaningful events for people of all ages in London and Manchester on Sunday 16 January 2022. GIFT was thrilled to involve hundreds of volunteers in making a positive difference to others and to the environment. 60 volunteers gathered in Hendon Park to pick up litter, and demonstrate the importance of caring for the world around them. Dozens of bags were filled, ensuring that this special space can be enjoyed safely. All participants were rewarded with a warming hot chocolate, courtesy of the Hendon Park Cafe. Josh Boyden, who together with his friend Yoav won the prize for the most litter collected, said: ‘I really enjoyed taking part in this litter-pick - we all have to do our bit for the environment.’ Councillor Alex Prager, representing the West Hendon Ward, said: ‘It was wonderful to see GIFT volunteers out in force in Hendon Park this weekend, working hard to clean up our local green spaces and celebrating Tu B’Shevat. After the hugely successful litterpick in Brent Park & Brookside Walk in November 2020, GIFT have once again shown how their unique blend of volunteering and education produces a highly impactful contribution to the community whilst providing invaluable lessons to the younger generation. Hendon Park is an amazing asset to all local residents and it’s lovely to see the volunteers showing such care for the park. Thank you once again to all the GIFT volunteers for their hard work!’ Over 200 students from Hasmonean High School for Girls sliced and juiced thousands of oranges to make 400 bottles of orange juice for GIFT’s recipient families. To add a competitive twist, the year groups battled to see who could make the most bottles; Year 7 was crowned the winner.
Josh Boyden with his friend Yoav, who together won the competition for the most amount of rubbish collected
Students at Menorah Grammar School collated beautiful, healthy fruit baskets, which brought much pleasure to the receiving families. The youth of Shrubberies Shul in Manchester came together to create baskets of fruit for GIFT families. Rabbi Sandor Milun, Managing Director of GIFT, says: ‘Tu Bshvat is the Rosh Hashanah of the trees. Just like a tree produces fruit to nourish those around it, so too do people produce fruit: good deeds and acts of kindness. GIFT was proud to engage with many hundreds of volunteers to mark this special festival with meaningful acts and opportunities to give.’
Rabbi Dr Zarum
Almost 500 people joined Rabbi Dr Zarum to hear his inaugral lecture on Monday night, entitled “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom: Towards a Judaism for the 21st Century”. The event was held in-person and online and saw an international audience which included the Zandan family from the USA. who generously established the Chair. Joanne Greenaway, LSJS Chief Executive said “this new Chair is one of the key ways that we will honour the legacy of Rabbi Sacks zt’l at LSJS. I’m so delighted that Rabbi Dr Zarum will have this platform to continue to build his thought leadership at LSJS and to address the challenges of our age through teaching Torah in his own unique way and furthering the vision of Rabbi Sacks of ‘a Judaism engaged with the world’. Rabbi Dr Zarum said, “I tried to lay out my thinking of a meaningful Judaism for the 21st century, based on Rabbi Sacks’s ideas of the interplay between Torah and worldly wisdom.” LSJS has had a deep connection with
Rabbi Sacks zt”l spanning over 40 years, as he progressed from student to lecturer and then Principal and President. Following his term as Chief Rabbi he became the Honorary President of LSJS. This long-standing association made the creation of the Rabbi Sacks Chair of Modern Jewish Thought a natural step for LSJS to continue to recognise Rabbi Sacks zt”l contribution to contemporary Jewish thought and further his teachings. The inaugral lecture kicks off an exciting first year for the Rabbi Sacks Chair of Modern Jewish Thought which will see Rabbi Dr Zarum conduct speaking tours in the US, Israel and across the UK. He will also be mentoring future Jewish leaders, in a similar way to how Rabbi Sacks zt”l mentored him. Rabbi Dr Zarum is also completing his first book which is due to be published in 2023. To find out more about the Rabbi Sacks Chair of Modern Jewish Thought or about LSJS courses and events please call 0208 203 6427 or email lsjsadmin@lsjs.ac.uk
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