Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE L’Chayim 1st September - 31st October 2016 28th Sivan 5776 - 29th Tishrei 5777 Festival Dates to remember
Date Event Sunday 2nd October Erev Rosh Hashanah Service commences 7pm, Rabbi Ash Contacts: Monday 3rd October Rosh Hashanah -1st day Synagogue Office: Service commences 10.30am, Lisa Sachs Rabbi Ash (Administrator Wed & Fri 10am-3pm), Tuesday 4th October Rosh Hashanah- 2nd day Princes Street, No service, time for your Southport, PR8 1EG Tel.& Fax. personal reflection? 01704 535950 Saturday 8th Shabbat Shuvah Service October commences 11am: Service leader Fortune Chamberlain email: [email protected] Tuesday 11th Kol Nidrei, Rabbi Ash website: October Service commences 7pm, fast www.southportreform.org.uk commences 6:06pm
Wednesday Yom Kippur , Rabbi Ash Emergencies: 12th October Shacharit 11am Please contact the office Yizkor ( Memorial Service) The Sternberg Centre 5.00pm (approx) home to the Movement Shofar ( Service Ends) for Reform Judaism 7.00pm: fast ends 7.14pm General Enquires: Sunday 16th October Sukkah decorating , 3pm, 02083495724 meal at 5pm, Erev Sukkot www.reformjudaism.org.uk Service starts 6.30pm .
Monday 17th October Sukkot: Service commences 11am.
PAGE 1 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
Date Event Sunday 23rd October Erev Simchat Torah 7 pm, For those receiving L’Chayim by e-mail, you can print off your own with Student Rabbi Kath calendar at home. Vardi.
Monday 24th October Simchat Torah, Service commences 11am,. Yizkor is recited in this service
PLEASE NOTE ALL SYNAGOGUE MEMBERS AND FRIENDS WILL RECEIVE A NUMBERED TICKET FOR HIGH HOLY TICKET DAYS ACCORDING TO THEIR MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERS OF OTHER SYNAGOGUES BELONGING TO THE HOLDERS MOVEMENT FOR REFORM JUDAISM MAY APPLY FOR FREE TICKETS FROM THE OFFICE FOR HIGH HOLY DAYS
ONLY NON MEMBERS MAY PURCHASE A TICKET BY APPLICATION TO THE OFFICE.
THIS YEAR HAS SEEN AN INCREASED THREAT OF VIOLENCE AND HATE CRIME IN GENERAL.
THE PROFESSIONAL SECURITY DETAIL , AT THE FRONT GATE, ON HIGH HOLY DAYS, WILL ONLY LET PEOPLE THROUGH SHOWING THEIR NUMBERED TICKET.
PLEASE BE AWARE IF EACH PERSON DOES NOT HAVE THEIR TICKET TO SHOW AT THE GATE THEN THEY ARE LIKELY TO BE DISAPPOINTED AT NOT BEING ABLE TO ATTEND THE SERVICE.
Congregants are requested to be seated 10 minutes prior to service commencement. Seats are allocated on a first come first served basis. No seats can be reserved prior to the ser- vice. Please commence your seating nearest to the Ark.
PAGE 2 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
Shabbat Services commencing 11am :
Date Event
Saturday Parasha Reeh. Service leader 3rd September Joan Brooke Saturday Parasha Shoftim. Service 10th September leader Susan Fox
Saturday Parasha Ki Tetze. Service 17th September leader Mina Abram- Hebblethwaite Refreshments are available from 10.30am. Please ensure these are Saturday Parasha KiTavo. Service leader not taken into services. 24th September Richard Choueke Please ensure mobile phones are switched to not disturb the Saturday Parasha Nitzarim service. 1st October Thank you for your cooperation. Saturday Parasha Vayelech 8th October Saturday Parasha Hazing 15th October
Saturday Parasha Chol Hamoed 22nd October
Saturday Parasha Bereshit 29th October
On occasions when we are unable to offer a service, we have been advised we can go to The Home ( 81 Albert Road) to attend the service there. If you wish to attend, you must contact Mr Brian King (Chairman of the Home), tel. 01704 565621, no later than Thursday afternoon prior to the service for security reasons. The home is or- thodox, men and married women will need to cover their heads. They sit separately.
PAGE 3 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
This year’s Kol Nidrei appeal has been approved by Council following a discussion of your suggestions.
Once again we have some great causes to support. Last year’s appeal was very successful. I am grateful that the synagogue is seen to be a source of financial support to both the Jewish community and the community as a whole.
This helps to promote the ethos of what it means to be European Jewish collection box for Jewish. charity ( Pre-Holocaust ) Thank you for your support ,
THE ALZHEIMER’S SOCIETY One in six people aged 80 and over have dementia. 60,000 deaths a year are directly attributable to dementia. Delaying the onset of dementia by five years would reduce deaths directly attributable to this illness by 30,000 a year. The Society provides information and support, fund medical and social research, and campaign for a better quality of life for people with dementia and greater understanding of the condition. They have almost 3,000 community-based services across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, providing practical and emotional support for people with dementia and their carers. Dementia can affect anyone including you or your relatives- please give generously.
THE HOME The Jewish Home in Southport exists for our benefit and for our relatives and friends. The building is of an old design and never have a life access at the front of the building. The Home wishes to build a lift so that people with disability may use the front of the building. Access to the building will improve. Ambulances and residents will not longer have to use the rear of the building that was never designed for this.
Your donation will help for many years to come.
THE MIRIAM HYMAN MEMORIAL TRUST Miriam was one of the 52 people killed in the "7/7" London bombings of 7th July 2005.The Miriam Hyman Memorial Trust has two interrelated areas of work:Miriam's memorial: The Miriam Hyman Children's Eye Care Centre (MHCECC) within the L V Prasad Eye Institute in Odisha, India. Miriam appreciated her own eye care services. Miriam's legacy: Miriam's Vision: A Response to the 2005 London Bombings - a set of resources based on Miriam's story for teachers of 11- to 14-year-olds accessible at miriamsvision.org. HELPING CHILDREN TO SEE, LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY
Show your insight - please donate generously to help children see. Remember Miriam.
PAGE 4 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
Gillian and Selwyn Goldthorpe wish you all a New Year of your wishes. As our friends, we still can’t find you a better photograph! Shana Tova.
To the entire community, Shanah Tovah,Wishing everyone a healthy, happy and wishing you L’shanah tova properous new year - 5777. u’metukah 5777 . A very happy, healthy & Best wishes prosperous new year to Fortune and Neil Chamberlain everybody. Susan Fox
Happy New Year to everyone . Faith and Richard Choueke and Wishing you all happiness, peace and good health on family wish all members and Rosh Hashanah and in the coming New Year. friends Shanah Tovah and a year of peace and good health
L’shona Tova & fond love, Ruth Bloom
Carol and Matt Suher would like to wish their Family and Friends a very Happy New Year.
PAGE 5 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
We are delighted to announce the birth of our Grandson, Blake William Isaac 18/8/16 to Dalya and Will Perry Wishing all our friends a Sweet and Happy New Year and well over the Fast! Penny and Lawrence Bernstein
Photo removed for security
This page is sponsored by Penny and Lawrence Bernstein
PAGE 6 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
Janet Landau and family would like to extend their best wishes to the Southport & District Reform Synagogue Community for the New Year and wish you all well over the fast.
The Synagogue Executive and Council wish all our members a New Year of happiness and good health.
Thank you for your continued support
Sincere wishes for a happy New Year. חַג שָׂמֵחַ
May your Rosh Hashanah be blessed with health , happiness, peace, and prosperity, for all our community and your families.
Wishing Shana Tova to all Members Best wishes from and Friends of Southport Reform Shelley Yavetz, Synagogue. May you have a healthy Maor and Tali and peaceful year ahead.
Lisa & Richard Sachs and family. PAGE 7 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
Movement Rabbi’s High Holy Day message -Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner
שנה טובה ומתוקה .Shanah tovah u'metukah‘ May we all have a good and sweet New Year.’
Rabbi Laura during her visit to us this year.
"Show respect to the aged; honour the presence of an elder; fear your God. I am God" (Leviticus 19:32) מפני שיבה תקום והדרת פני זקן ויראת מאלהיך אני יהוה
This coming year, 5777, in a partnership of synagogues, lay leaders, clergy and the team at Reform Judaism, we are shifting our focus to all ages and life stages. The jewel in our crown is in many ways, our emphasis on youth. We have the largest youth movement in the Jewish community - RSY-Netzer, with 1,000 young people taking part in activities this summer. This is brilliant but now is the time to redress an imbalance and to focus on all ages.
Many in our communities are worried about how we can respond to the social and physical needs of our older members, respecting, nourishing and responding to each other properly. We have a population that has a growing number of people living independently and on the whole, we are living longer. A quarter of our members are over the age of 70.
Many of our older members have time and energy and would love to be more involved in our communities. Those are the members we see - especially if they volunteer and are active in synagogue life - but the often unseen need for many members of our communities is a re- sponse to their isolation and loneliness.
They are our founding generation. Isolation and loneliness are the very opposite of what our synagogues are about and so our communities have identified this as a vital and pressing concern. Adult social care concerns affect so many of us - older people; their children and grandchildren; carers and the cared for.
One of the initiatives launched at our biennial - Chagigah (celebration) in July, was dedicated to adult social care. One practical and potentially immensely impactful idea emerged. It pin- points the feeling, and reality for many, of being cut off from the world, being unable to come to synagogue, go shopping, connect with the world outside and socialise with others due to physical or emotional restrictions.
( continued next page)
PAGE 8 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
The project we are launching in 5777 addresses our core values of honouring our elderly or those who are physically restricted at any age by fundraising in partnership with our synagogues for two wheelchair accessible minibuses to cover all of our UK communities. They will provide essential access to those who are most vulnerable, enabling them to maintain their Jewish way of living and alleviate their sense of isolation.
These minibuses are a fabulous and practical means to fulfil the mitzvah of respecting the aged.
The 12th Century French commentator, Rashi teaches that there should not be such thing as defining a person by their age - merely as "an older person". Instead, we should refer to those who have acquired wisdom. He adds that the honourable way to treat older people (and I would say everyone of every age) is that we don't usurp their place in society, nor their ideas, or speak instead of them. We should not interrupt when it might take longer to express themselves or be patronising about what other people think or need.
Rashi continues his explanation of the Torah verse above stating that often people do not really see each other. It is our role, our mitzvah, our duty, to make anyone who may be invisible to be visible. Those involved in our adult social care initiative highlighted our many members who are physically restricted and cannot come to synagogue which exacerbates feelings of loneliness and isolation. Rashi compares this to a person consciously closing their eyes to others, shutting people out of their heart. He draws a fascinating parallel to our relationship with God. Disrespecting those who we might prefer not to see, or are just not conscious of, is equal to disrespecting God.
I believe that the meaning of why we live and should live is to partner God in the repair of the world. This is not an abstract theological claim - it is practical. This can be measured, whether by a phone call, a visit or even by enabling our members to come to synagogue with two national Reform Movement minibuses!
שנה טובה ומתוקה .Shanah tovah u'metukah May we all have a good and sweet New Year. -Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner
L’Chayim would be pleased to have you share your thoughts with the wider community on any aspect of Judaism relating to our community or of a general religious nature. What would you like to see happen in Southport & District Reform Synagogue? If you read something in L’Chayim you would like to comment on - just let us know. We also appreciate Jewish humour, news of family and friends.
Your opinion matters.
Do enjoy the Synagogue News that follows....
PAGE 9 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE Synagogue News
For the Evening services, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur ser- vices we are fortunate to have Rabbi Robert Ash to take our services.
Rabbi Ash has been a frequent contributor to our Shabbat services during the year. His insight into Judaism is always thought provoking. We are grateful that he is able to be with us for this special time.
Rabbi Robert Ash, qualified in 2002 from Leo Beck College, having previously obtained a PhD. He was for some years Rabbi of Newcastle Reform Synagogue before emigrating to be a Rabbi in South Africa ( Johannesburg) for the Beit Emanuel Progressive Synagogue in 2007. He is now back in England, representing international Judaism; as a student he was a visiting student rabbi to a German synagogue; he tell me he speaks German as one of his talents.
Over the last year he has been trying to encourage the ‘lost Jews’ of the North to come together. He encourages an active interest in all matters concerning Judaism, and that includes congregants!
We very much look forward to his services.
A synagogue may be a place of meeting and worship, however, it would not exist without the contribution of volunteers that regularly give of their time, effort, and donations. I would like thank all those people who put the functioning of the synagogue as one of life’s priorities. The Re- form Jewish community in Southport owes you a great thanks in keeping the synagogue alive, functioning in a meaningful way, and preserving the synagogue for future generations.
Dr Selwyn Goldthorpe Synagogue Chairman.
By way of a thank you, honours are allocated for services.
Every year Council awards the special Simchat Torah honour of Chatan Torah and Kalat Bereishit to those individuals that have contributed greatly to synagogue life over the last year. (continued next page)
PAGE 10 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
Neil Chamberlain is elected as this year’s Simchat Torah’s Chatan Torah.
Neil, perhaps most people will know, has blown the shofar for us for the last few High Holy Days.
He has been a help and support to the synagogue for many years. Always ready both give advice and lend a practical hand. He can be seen in the kitchen most fes- tivals when the catering needs to be done, including the washing up.
We are also in debt to him for helping with the maintenance for the synagogue, from plumbing to electrical, and for his wisdom. His support is invaluable.
Lisa Sachs, J.P. is elected as this year’s Kalat Bereishit.
Lisa, perhaps most people will know has worked as the synagogue’s administrator for the last few years, even volunteering to lower our costs by helping out with the cleaning.
Always ready to help whether in work or out of work. The synagogue would be a poorer place if she only just did her job. We have met deadlines, produced docu- ments and notifications, laundry, catering, funeral arrangements, and perhaps great- est of all, has put up with the mannerisms of the Council and Executive, and mem- bers, with good humour, patience, and cups of tea.! She always has an ear to listen, and always can bring ideas to the synagogue as to how to do things better.
Her support is invaluable.
On behalf of the congregation I would like to thank all the service leaders for their support in keeping the Southport and District Reform Synagogue alive. Our unsung, and sometimes sung heroes! (ed, and Chairman).
Judging by the numbers present at the funeral, to the few that may not know, sadly we have to announce the death of Ivor Brooke on 19th July, loving husband of Joan. Ivor would have been 84 on the date of his funeral, 4th August, having been born in 1938 in the East End of London. He was evacuated out of the East End during the war years. Ivor was an accomplished accordion player and ballroom dancer, and when he emigrated to Canada, Joan ‘fell’ for him, coming back to Eng- land in 1963, they were married at Southend-on Sea, Reform Synagogue. `(continued next page) PAGE 11 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
They had two daughters in Southend, Rhea and Sheri. Sheri has taken after her Father and Mother and now lives in Canada.
Joan and Ivor moved to Southport as Ivor’s job as a company accountant was based in Liverpool. Still ‘by-the sea’, Ivor had an easy going nature and happily accompanied Joan in her active life, in- cluding that of the synagogue.
It was with great sadness we watched as Ivor came to shul, increasingly affected by dementia, even- tually needing full time care. ( PLEASE SEE THIS YEARS KOL NIREI APPEAL).
Our thoughts and sympathy are with Joan and her family, May Ivor’s memory be a blessing.
Dear Editors,
I would like to take this opportunity to give many thanks for all the offers of help and condolences when Ivor passed away.
It was gratefully appreciated by me and my family.
Joan Brooke
We are enjoying tea and biscuits prior to the shabbat service. Council has decided to make this provision more obvious by having a more formal arrangement in the kitchen.
We hope that congregants may socialise prior to the service in the back of the hall. Refreshments are available from 10.30am, the service commencing at 11pm.
Please ensure that the refreshments remain at the back of the hall or in the kitchen once the service commences.
( This page is sponsored by Joan Brooke in memory of her husband Ivor)
PAGE 12 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
during this issue of L’Chayim
SEPTEMBER OCTOBER
Joan Brooke Clare Colwyn Daniel Colwyn Selwyn Goldthorpe Helen Kay Jean Gould Enid Marcus Jon Hirshman Brian Maylott Caroline Kaye Jacky Samuels Eileen Lippa Marcia Stoller Deborah Wilson Hilary Wilson Daniel Wilson
Congratulations to Lisa and Richard Sachs who will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in September .
Congratulations also to Selwyn and Gillian Goldthorpe. As I said some years ago in this magazine for our 25th anniversary, “like a good wine, marriage improves with age”. We will celebrate our 37th wedding anniversary in September. What a corker!
If you wish to sponsor a page in L’Chayim, this can be done for a minimum of £10. You can pay more if you wish. Please contact the office.
To advertise a business or an event, there is £10 minimum charge, or for a full page £40. L’Chayim is distributed around the Jewish community with an interest in Southport and District Reform Synagogue, this includes country members, and friends of the synagogue. (ed).
This page was jointly sponsored by Lisa and Richard Sachs, Selwyn and Gillian Goldthorpe PAGE 13 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE 2nd July - Timothy Wilson’s Barmitzvah
Photo removed for security Photo removed for security
Thanks to Rabbi Elf for all his help, and Tim’s teachers Anne Kletz, and Fortune Chamberlain
Photo removed for security We had a lovely shabbat on 2nd July thanks to the Wilson family and friends. The synagogue was packed with well wishers for Tim, who was guid- ed through the barmitzvah service and reading by Rabbi Ash.
Tim narrowly missed injury when the sweets were thrown! Hillary and Christopher Wilson kindly invited all the congregation to a sit down kiddish. Many thanks to them, mazeltov, and thank you to all those helping with the kiddish.
The synagogue was pleased to present Tim with his own Siddur suitably inscribed to remember the occasion of his barmizvah .
We all enjoyed the Friday night service of July 22nd ( thank you to Fortune Chamberlain for leading the service), and all those that came along to sing their hearts out, and those that listened.
The chavurah supper was splendid. I loss count of the number of desserts to try!
Our hosts, Harry and Mary Kessler ( seen to the left) had a good time. We are very grateful for the use of your home and hospitality.
PAGE 14 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
Having a good time seeing in shabbat - the 22nd July chavurah :
Photo removed for security
Photo removed for security
Making new friends, some younger than others!
Keep an eye out for the next chavurah.
A perspective on Chagigah at from Susan Fox Eastwood Hall, Nottingham.
Set on 26 acres of landscaped grounds, this Georgian country house was the venue for the Chagigah on 24-26th June. Almost 250 people attended.
There was a varied programme to choose from celebrating the best of Reform Judaism. Here is my personal perspective, reports Susan :
PAGE 15 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
The Kabbalat Shabbat service was emotional and meaningful prior to Dinner, during which it was very pleasant to meet new people from other communities nationwide. I then went to a late night study session with Rabbi Jackie Tabick on styles of leadership as demonstrated by God, Aaron & Moses and Caleb & Joshua in a discussion on the Shabbat Sedra.
My choice for the Shabbat morning session was "David, Bathsheba & Uriah: Baths, Babies & Corrupt Kings" (2 Samuel 11-12) with a discussion of rabbinic responses, reactions to the text in the con- text of the English Civil War (writings by Thomas Hobbes & John Milton) and how it affects modern political thinking. That was followed by the Shabbat morning service.
The three initiatives of the Chagigah focus on re-imagining leadership, tackling adult social care and empowering Jewish spiritual practice. In her Shabbat morning address, Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner said: “These initiatives and the plan for their future stewardship were crafted by rabbis, Re- form Judaism professionals, community welfare, education and development professionals and our lay people in collaborative partnerships. This partnership reflects who we are and should be as a national movement”.
“We’re being resolutely ambitious, transforming the map of Reform Judaism. It doesn’t stop here. After Chagigah, we’ll continue to embed the initiatives in our communities. We’re completely committed to accompanying our communities and setting up support networks in the many varied ways they want to evolve and flourish”.
The mid morning session of my choice was "Keep Calm & Study the Zohar" with Dr. Alinda Dams- ma of LBC. The Zohar is the cornerstone of Jewish Mysticism and has had a remarkable impact on Jewish & non-Jewish culture. Our discussion centred on its relevance to Reform Judaism. I attended another LBC @ 60 session in the afternoon entitled "Hope & despair in Times of Crisis" with Laliv Clenman & Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris. We discussed complex reactions to extreme difficulties, looking through the prism of the Book of Lamentations, allowing sacred texts to express our hopes and fears.
Can you spot our shul members shown in the group photo of the Chagigah?
PAGE 16 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
One of the Seuda Shlishit sessions that I attended was a discussion on the overlapping of formal and informal Jewish education.
Following that, I attended a very interesting late afternoon session entitled "A Bedouin Leader Against the Odds" with Amal Elsana Alh'jooj, a leading activist for the Bedouin Community in the Negev and a pioneer in advancing women's rights and community development. Amal discussed cur- rent and historical issues facing the Bedouin communities in Israel as well as Arab-Jewish relations.
Only a handful of poetry lovers, including myself, attended "A Woman's World" which was a reflec- tion on women's concerns in Israeli Society as expressed in modern Hebrew Poetry. It was a stimu- lating discussion. I found two contemplative psalm readings through chant & meditation, conducted by Rabbi Lisa Barrett, one in the evening and then another on Sunday morning, particularly spiritually meaningful and theraputic. "Learning after Dark" was an interesting discussion on whether an athe- ist could convert to Judaism and the implications for the Jewish Community, led by two student rabbis, including Kath Vardi.
Following Sharcharit on Sunday morning, I attended the final LBC ses- sion, which was entitled ""From Dinar to Tamar: Women's Voices Reimag- ined" which was a study of Talmudic and Midrashic tales connecting Di- nah to Tamar and interpreting women's issues through their experiences.
As well as sessions on the initiatives, Chagigah featured inspiring speak- ers and educators offering learning opportunities for all ages and levels. There was also room for fun with quizzes, arts and crafts, music and dancing. A dedicated stream of sessions celebrated the 60th anniversary of Leo Baeck College, recognising the College’s position at the heart of British Reform Judaism’s engagement with Jewish texts and learning.
Chagigah closed with an emotional and unifying musical ceremony
Overall, it was an interesting, meaningful, stimulating and thoroughly enjoyable weekend.
Spoilt for choice ? In thought (My thanks also to Chagigah’s web site -editor.)
PAGE 17 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
New prayer books for the funeral service and Days of Awe are in the pipe line for the synagogue. Following the generosity of the recent Scroll Appeal, Council has decided that the money that was not utilised for the new scroll should be devoted to modernising our service books.
Synagogue Book Loan Scheme
Did you know that the synagogue has an extensive Jewish library with books about all aspects of Jewish life, belief, law, and Zionism? we have books to suit all ages.
These books may be read in the synagogue ( Why not have a cup of tea? See office hours below.) or may be taken out on loan by completing our records.
Many members also have private libraries. If you are looking for a particular book ( especially if it is out of print or not available elsewhere), you are welcome to advertise ( free of charge) in L’Chayim.
ffiffiffiffi*wffi You have children? You have grandchildren ? re-h*ffi ffi$ffiY ffiffi This scheme is FREE. ffiffiffiffi $ffiw$ffitu€ They have wonderful books ( I know, as I read them to ffiffi$tuffiffiffiru'% my grandchildren - editor.), always relating to some ffiffiffiKffi %ffiruY', aspect of Jewish life that is suitable for the age of your wffi Yffiffiffi p*ffiffiffi child. ffiwffiffiY &€ffirury"M Apply on their web site.
Please note synagogue office hours : Wednesday and Friday, 10- 3pm.Outside of office hours there is an answer phone service and contact for urgent matters.
PAGE 18 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
We thought it would be nice for you to share in some thoughts from a recent shabbat service. We are in- debted to that shabbat’s service leader, Mina Abram-Hebblethwaite for her Dvar Torah concerning PARASHAH BALAK, Numbers 22:2-31
How did it begin with you, I wonder? Perhaps with Beatrix Potter's delightful Peter Rabbit stories. Or may be with the engaging friends of Christopher Robin including, of course - how could anyone forget - the endearing, exasperating, depressive donkey Eeyore. Animals talk, so we learn from our nursery stories: to each other, and to us. It is part of the awe and wonder of childhood.
As we mature other aspects of animal life come to have greater influence on our un- derstanding. There may, for example, be pets to care for. Also, classical texts such as Anna Sewell's 'Black Beauty' [actually written for adults] lead us to consider our ethi- cal treatment of horses and, by implication, other animals too. Sewell suggests animals may have faculties more sensitive, more aware, than those of humankind. For instance, when Black Beauty intuitively refuses to cross a bridge on the night of a terrible storm, despite being whipped to go forward - before his master is warned that the bridge is broken in the middle. Had Beauty not stood his ground they would surely all have been drowned.
Could it perhaps have been this kind of intuition that led Balaam's donkey to veer away from the presence of the angel? The Torah reading tells us that three times the donkey tried to protect her master from danger. Each time, in ignorance, he beats her. We might have just a little sympathy with Balaam. He is an eminently powerful person leading a prestigious entourage in response to the personal invitation of the son of a King's special re- quest: "Please come ... he whom you bless is blessed indeed, and he whom you curse is cursed." And the don- key does indeed appear to be making a fool of Balaam: first by carrying him off the road into a field, then by crushing Balaam's foot against a wall, and finally by squatting down beneath him. No wonder Balaam is furious! Furious to the point where he exclaims: "If I had a sword with me, I'd kill you." Did we NOT know the 'inside story' we may think that Balaam was reacting to a silly, stupid and stubborn donkey, but that would be modern thought. In Balaam's time donkeys were not only indicative of wealth but also noted for their spirit and at- tachment to their master. This would seem to be true of Balaam and his donkey, for when given voice does she not respond to his charge that she is making a fool of him by saying: "have you ever known it to be so with me?" At this point Balaam's eyes are opened and seeing the angel, he realises the danger. Like Black Beauty, Balaam's donkey has saved her master's life.
But, should we regard this record just as a story of a talking donkey, a cruel master and a dangerous angel, that eventually has a good ending? Much like a children's tale. Or, even as a moral story alerting us to the fact that animals may be more perceptive and intelligent than we realise and therefore ought to be better treated? Much like Sewell's writings.
If we go back to the beginning of Torah, to Bere'shit/Genesis, we find the first thing Adam does when the ani- mals are brought to him is to name them. We also read that for both human and animal kind: "only every green herb they were all permitted to eat equally". After the flood eating of flesh was permitted to all, but with ac- countability. (continued next page)
‘In the beginning God made one bunny rabbit’ editor
PAGE 19 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
Must it follow from this that it is right that in our time most animals have lost their value and significance to such a degree as to become mere 'products' for human use and consumption? Voices are being raised against such treatment of sentient beings. Two examples are: Stephen R L Clark author of 'The Moral Status of Animals' who addresses serious and searching questions: "What are animals really like?" and "How should we treat them?". Whilst FRAME is the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments.
We began our reflection today with childhood voices of animals, let us hear again what they might have to say on the matter. Just like Eeyore, in response to Christopher Robin's: "We'll help you get it right, if we can" he gloomily replies: "Not that you are likely to. Nobody ever does." If we put into the mouth of all animals the cry of Balaam's donkey: "What have I done to you that you have beaten me ...?" an attitude like Eeyore's is surely no fitting response. Black Beauty on the other hand expresses a hopeful expectation: in this in- stance animal to human: "Always be good so people will love you. Always work hard and do your best." Per- haps the most appropriate human reciprocal response to this are the words of the prophet Micah in our Haftarah today, an admonition which surely does not exclude our treatment of animals: "The LORD has told you ... what is good, And what the LORD requires of you: Only to do justice And to love goodness, And to walk modestly with your God; ".
May it be the will of God that we find the courage, the heart and the desire to do this.
Shabbat shalom.
Mina A Abram-Hebblethwaite
I have just finished reading Jonathan Balcombe’s book, ‘What a Fish Knows’, the inner life of our underwater cousins. Based on the latest scientific research ( and refer- enced), this book offers a fantastic insight into how we have underestimated their adaptation to their environment and their intelligence.
As a SCUBA diver I was impressed as to how fish behave, their personalities ( now subjected to cartoon animation), their social interactions, and behaviour.
How did the fish know the exact time our hotel chose to to feed them scraps? We saw them gather punctually for feeding time at 9am.
This book explains some of the behaviour fish teach their young. How they learn. How they look after their little ones. How they use tools. It is readable, humorous, and will make you understand that fish deserve our respect, care and protection. This book will change your understanding of our underwater friends. [ ISBN 978-0-374-28821-1] (Selwyn Goldthorpe)
Oh dear... ‘and then God made two’.
PAGE 20 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
URGENT APPEAL
This appeal is not for money! It is for YOU.
This appeal is on behalf of on behalf of Jonni and his wife Rabbi Miriam Berger of Finchley Reform Synagogue and the Berger family. (www.facebook.com/Spit4Mum)
Jonni Berger’s mother Sharon, has Leukaemia and needs a stem cell transplant as the only cure. If you're able, we are asking you to join the bone marrow stem cell register to help to potentially save Sharon’s life and the lives of many others in the Jewish community and elsewhere who have blood cancer.
It could be you who is in this position, it could be any one of us.
Ages 16-30 can join the bone marrow transplant register by requesting a saliva testing kit from Anthony Nolan which will be sent to you in the post https://www.anthonynolan.org
Ages 30-55 can join via DKMS Delete Blood Cancer www.dkms.org.uk
If I may explain to you, as a doctor, how this works. In order to kill off the cancer in the person with blood cancer, you irradiate the bone marrow. Great! You now have a patient with no ability to make ed blood cells or the white blood cells that fight infection as these are made in the marrow.
What is involved is taking some blood or sometimes bone marrow from a matched donor and giving this to the person who has been treated with radiation. Like seeds for a plant, new blood cells take root, The cancer is hope- fully cured and you have given life to another. I have personally had bone marrow taken from me, and I can say that I was up and running straight away. It is a simple business.
Jonni writes, ‘My Mum has blood cancer, acute myeloid Leukaemia to be exact, the only cure for which is a stem cell transplant. Something which only a stranger can provide. Could you be that person? That hero? Last Friday night we were sitting around the Shabbat table as a family, tucking into my Mum's lovely chicken soup, and this Shabbat there will be an empty chair at our table whilst she is spending her first Friday night of many in hospital, hooked up to a chemotherapy machine. I'm asking for your help as a stem cell match to cure her, give her back her life. Matching stem cells which everybody has in their blood stream, are most likely to come from somebody in the Jewish community.’
To see the work done by the Anthony Nolan Trust see https://www.anthonynolan.org
Doctor Selwyn Goldthorpe PAGE 21 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
during this issue of L’Chayim (יאָרצײַט) yahrzeits
We remember their contribution to our lives:
SEPTEMBER OCTOBER Mariam Rivilis – Mother of Estelle Mannheim Ann Kessler – Mother of Harry Edith Morrison – Mother of Edna Davis Kessler Myrtle Pavion – Mother of Stephen Pavion Norman Stephens – Brother of Jack Hakim – Father of Fortune Chamberlain Betty Eckstein Max Schneider – Father of Bella Chilton Harry Pavion – Father of Louis Swade – Father of Martyn Swade Stephen Pavion Leslie Myer – Father of Deborah Hirshman, Husband of Jacqueline Katz Minna Mayze – Mother of Rod- Isaac Zachariah – Brother of Marcel Zachariah ney Jackson and Gina Luxemberg
The congregation on shabbat have the opportunity to reflect on those that have helped to make us, make our community, and contribute to the world we at present live in. MAY THEIR MEMORY BE A BLESSING.
Do you have a memory to share? Contact L’Chayim
Rabbinic Support Although the synagogue does not have a full time Rabbi, we do have Rabbinic support and of course the co-operation of other nearby communities. Rabbi Norman Zalud now offers the synagogue pastoral support for personal is- sues. Rabbi Robert Ash offers support to our services and for Jewish learning. Rab- bi Elf supports our services on request. Student Rabbi Kath Vardi will continue to support our synagogue for services and education, thanks to the MRJ.
EVANS & BURKEY STONEMASONS OF DISTINCTION
SPECIALISTS IN QUALITY HEADSTONES
FOR THE JEWISH COMMUNITY
MANY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
TELEPHONE 0151 733 5563
PAGE 22 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
The Joint Jewish Burial Society ( JJBS) is an insurance scheme paid on behalf of you by the synagogue as part of your membership. It covers all the costs of a Jewish funeral. Other synagogues may have alterna- tive schemes. Please be aware of this if you have to move, or cease to be a member, and speak to us.
Limmud: dedicated to Jewish learning in all its variety. We're an ambitious and passionate organisation with a global reputation for creating events with a lively approach to Jewish learning. We're inspired, led and run by volunteers. We're committed to harnessing the energy of people from right across the Jewish community – all ages, all reli- gious affiliations and none – and from across the world. * Limmud comes to LIVERPOOL Sunday 6th November 2016 Transport from Southport is arranged for YOU
INTERESTED IN BRIDGE?
The Bridge Club meets at 1pm, Wednesdays, in the Synagogue.
We would like to hire out the synagogue hall during the week to interested groups. If you know of an organisation, or group that wish to use a modern hall, then please put them in contact with the office. The hall could be used for anything from chess clubs to yoga groups.
We have rented the second car parking space at the front of the synagogue, Monday to Friday. Sorry for any incon- venience- it all helps to keep the synagogue open for a longer period as we continue to endeavour to not have a financial deficit.
PAGE 23 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner’s recent statement on anti-Semitism
We will defeat anti-Semitism by soundly condemning those who perpetrate it, by discussing the most challenging topics and by engaging with those who have reject- ed it. Anti-Semitism is wrong and must be fought wherever it is encountered. It is not just a racism found on the political left, nor solely in the political sphere. When somebody shows genuine remorse for their past actions and offences, we, as a society, must be prepared to listen. If someone once expressed anti-Semitic views, and today apologises for them, it is vital that we continue a dialogue with that person.
The comments Naz Shah MP made were unacceptable. They were anti-Semitic views and although expressed in a time of raised tension within her community in Bradford, it is not possible to defend them. The full and, I believe, genuine apology she has given clearly indicates that she has changed her views. She is an example of an individual we must work with in the fight against prejudice.
We can today contrast her contrition with the words of the former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who not only stated that he had never heard any anti-Semitism from within the Labour party, but in the same breath proceeded to declare that “Hitler was supporting Zionism”.
I hope that the troubling views we have heard this week will be the launch pad for a new direction in the discourse on anti-Semitism in Britain.”
July 2016 Dear Education Secretary,
We are 68 rabbis who all seek to ensure our community both has a strong Jewish identity and also plays an active role in British life in general. Some of us are in favour of sepa- rate faith schools, some of us are opposed to them, but all of us are keen that the current legislation surrounding the admissions procedure for faith-based Free Schools is main- tained, whereby a maximum of 50% of pupils can be selected on faith grounds, whatever faith that may be. We feel that there should be a place in the education system for schools that seek to achieve this balance, so that the children at them can have both a sense of religious roots and openness to others. We feel it will benefit the children concerned and the soci- ety into which they will emerge and help shape. We call upon you not to abolish the 50% admissions rule for faith-based Free Schools, and believe that Jewish values can happily co-exist with social cohesion. Rabbi Jonathan Romain ...and 67 others
PAGE 24 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
Need a break?
In need of The Southport Rest Home Choice of long or short stays, permanent residency
*Friendly atmosphere *24 hour care *Rooms available at reasonable rates *Excellent food from our Kosher kitchens *Conservatory overlooking Hesketh Park *Beautiful synagogue for your convenience
Also available : self-contained flats
Enquiries to Dee on 01704 531975
The Home is looking for volunteers to take chair-bound residents out to the nearby local park and amenities.
If you can spare a little time for this mitzvah, please contact Julie on the above number. You are only young once! PAGE 25 Community Newspaper of the Southport & District Reform Synagogue, GATES OF PEACE
A rabbi was once passing through a field where he saw a very old man planting an oak tree. ‘Why are you planting that tree?’ Said he. ‘You surely do not expect to live long enough to see the acorn grow up into an oak tree?’ ‘Ah,’ replied the old man, ‘my ancestors planted trees not for them- selves, but for us, in order that we might enjoy their shade and fruit. I am doing likewise for those who will come after me’ Talmud Ta’anit 23a
A legacy to Southport and District Reform Synagogue today is a special gift to our tomorrow.
After considering your family and friends, you may also want to leave an amount in your will to charities. Please consider making S&DRS one of your charities. S&DRS future will be all the more secure so that our children may con- tinue to practice the religion of their choice in Southport.
The responsibility to protect what was given to us, build on it and pass it on to the next generation in a better, stronger state is in- cumbent on us all. The gift of continuity in your will, whether large or small, will help to ensure that our community will continue for generations to come. L’dor v’dor—from generation to generation.
Remember S&DRS when writing your will. Even if you have already made a will, you can amend it at any time and make your gift by using a simple document, a codi- cil. We can provide the correct wording for this. It is always advisable to seek profes- sional advice when drafting something as important as a will. S&DRS can supply you with details of a number of local solicitors who are willing to offer advice.
Please give this some thought - your contribution can make a significant difference.
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