June 2018
Shofar
שופר
the magazine of finchley progressive synagogue
Mogilev next generation
Good News from Mogilev I
am happy to report that following last summer’s very successful Jewish camp in Poland (which FPS supported – see October Shofar) our twinned community in Mogilev (Belarus)
is having big plans for the future. Their great strength is a thriving kindergarten and now they have started their own B’nei Mitzvah programme, aiming to enrol 20 students!
Thanks to the generosity of FPS members, our Mogilev Fund is looking healthy and we have been able to contribute to the new programme. Our one-off donation will allow the Keshet community to buy a laptop for use in classes and finance an educational seminar in Minsk, as well as some Hebrew lessons, extra educational materials and a Bar Mitzvah ceremony (hall rental, decorations, refreshments). Keshet’s leader Mila Izakson has just sent me a message entitled ‘Am ehad b’lev ehad’ in which she very warmly thanks our community and says that ‘our help gives them hope’. I hope we will be able to support this programme on an ongoing basis. Wika Dorosz, Twinning Coordinator Photos, above: Mogilev Group B’nei Mitzvah ceremony in May; left: Mogilev Kindergatern children
Shofar is always interested in hearing your news and including photos of FPS members, and their families, near and far. We welcome your articles on any relevant topic. Please send these to shofar@fps.org 2
Cover: Tu B’Shevat celebration in the Mogilev Kindergarten. Photo: Mila Izakson.
Copy deadline is the 10th of each month. Please email all content to shofar@fps.org
From the Rabbi
rabbi rebecca birk
Is Judaism all about being clever or at least being intellectual? I thought about this a lot whilst I was away from congregational life. Being Jewish involves so much knowledge and so many words. When I taught one conversion course many years ago we used to bring Jewish vocabulary every week. Not Hebrew learning! Just words that enter our common conversations that assume so very much knowledge. Words like havdalah, kabbalat torah, sukkah, chavurah, even shiva may be obvious to some but are stumbling blocks to others. Rabbi Lionel Blue z’l used to say, so charmingly, visiting Quaker’s Meetings was a mini holiday from the intense knowledge and liturgy required in our services. LJ is currently trialing a new siddur. Just for Shabbat service. It experiments with language, music and theology actually. LJ congregations are asked also to experiment with this siddur over the next nine months and to provide feedback. I hope to offer plenty of opportunity for studying and talking about it and then at the end of the process we will have the opportunity to feed back our experiences and impressions fps events in july - save the dates!
Saturday 7 July 6.00pm - Charity concert raising money for The Book Trust
(and possibly strong opinions). I believe we must engage with the process whatever our initial responses might be: knee jerk or otherwise! I will be talking and working with our musicians, with our Beit Tefillah* group (which looks after our services, both shabbat and festivals) and with our member Richard Greene, a recent graduate of the Prayer Leading course run by Liberal Judaism. Talk to all of us. And look out for opportunities to experience the siddur, study it, and understand why Liberal Judaism thinks we need a new one. * House of Prayer Saturday 21 July 7.30pm - FPS Players present a rehearsed reading of The Barcelona Disputation of 1263, A play by Hyam Maccoby
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From the Chair I’m now almost one year into being Chair and can’t believe how quickly time is passing. The AGM is coming up and I wanted to take this opportunity to encourage members to think about joining the Board. Some Board members have served diligently for several years and the constitution stipulates that they should be replaced by new members. Our Board is making greater efforts to support the Rabbi and paid staff with the running of the synagogue. We all want our Rabbi to be able to focus more on her Rabbinical duties. As you know, Board members are all volunteers and many have demanding jobs and family commitments, too. Each Board member has responsibility for a particular aspect of synagogue life, for instance, security, governance, and so on. A new citizens uk & fps volunteers
As many of you know, the synagogue belongs to Citizens UK which is a fabulous example of community organising and getting local citizens involved in achieving changes in their local community. The synagogue is part of North London Citizens which encompasses the five boroughs Barnet, Brent, Camden, Haringey and Islington. NLC (Barnet) is made up of organisations such as Middlesex University, Hendon School, New North London, FRS, Noam youth movement, the Somalian Bravanese Group, as well as FPS. The focus this year will be on issues related to the environment, housing, hate crime and mental health. A few weeks ago there was an Assembly attended by the current leader of the council and the hopeful Labour candidate for the post. They were each asked to commit to supporting certain requests on each of these issues and, on the whole, did so. The task now is
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cathy burnstone
Board member could either assist another Board member or take responsibility for a new project. It’s a great way to support your synagogue and the Board only meets once a month (excluding August). Unsurprisingly, we also make sure that there is some nice food available as most Board members come straight from work. Please speak to a Board member, or to me if you’re interested in joining and as always please consider attending a meeting.
to ensure that whoever is elected keeps to their promises. We are looking for FPS members of all ages who are interested in these issues and would be able to be involved in helping to push these issues forward with other members of North London Citizens UK. Please let me know if you might be interested and I can send you details of what was requested of the two candidates and put you in touch with the Citizen UK’s organiser, As we know from the Syrian project, which we do through our involvement with Citizens UK, this is a fabulous opportunity to work constructively with other organisations and communities in Barnet in order to achieve changes. Please let me know if you are interested in being involved in pushing forward the issues of either mental health, the environment, hate crime or housing. Or, simply, if you would like to be involved in Citizens UK. Lesley Urbach; lcurbach@aol.com
Yom HaAtzma’ut: Celebrating Israel’s 70th
zoe jacobs
O
n an evening so warm that you could have (just about) mistaken Finchley for Tel Aviv, members of FPS gathered to celebrate Israel’s 70th birthday. As Jews we did it in the only way we know – by making and eating food! Afterwards, we enjoyed an Israel-themed treasure hunt and quiz. In a collaborative, community, culinary ‘carry-on’ we made humus, falafel and pitta bread from scratch in what became a cloud of zingy herbs, loud chatter and give-it-a-go enthusiasm. Dr Claudia Prieto-Piastro, our resident Israeli food and culture expert, helped us get the balance of flavours and textures, ensuring we all enjoyed a feast of homemade Israeli foods outside in the sunshine. Afterwards, we set the younger members of the community to find 70 Israel facts that had been hidden in the garden, while everyone else split into teams to battle it out in an Israelthemed quiz. After every round, our youngsters came to report back the facts they’d found, from ‘Israel is the only county to have more trees today than it did 50 years ago’, to ‘Beersheva has the largest number of chess grandmasters per capita of any city in the world.”
Perhaps most enjoyable of all was our Kabbalat Torah and Ivriah assistants, Tom & Evyatar, offering a Basic-Hebrew-Learning-ComeComedy-Sketch that was both informative and brilliantly funny. Whether we learned how to say ‘how are you’ in Hebrew or whether we learned who might be the comedy duo to rival Ant and Dec, it was joyous and celebratory–and much like the whole evening–offered us a moment, amongst many more challenging ones, to revel in Israel’s many gifts.
Photos, clockwise from bottom left: Neil & Sarah RosenWebb; Tom & Evyatar; Group shot
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Notice Board havdalah concerts
FPS, musically, is a truly privileged community. Our talented couple, Abigail and David Dolan, present monthly havdalah musical events. We float into the new week after hearing visiting musicians and also ‘home grown’ Dolan performances. Last month our dedicated resident musicians, Dean and Franklin, offered us a well-researched range of modern ecclesiastical melodies – BUT ‘us’ was, sadly, an audience of six! They continued, unfazed, to delight us with a toe-tapping repertoire. Please, dear readers, do support and enjoy this highlight of the FPS month. Rochelle Simmons announcing agm & two board vacancies
The FPS AGM is to be held on Tuesday 10 July, at 7.30pm. The AGM provides the opportunity for the congregation to hear from our rabbi, chair and treasurer as they reflect on the past year’s activities and for those present to receive the accounts – so you know where your subs are going! Under the terms of the Articles of Association, two members of the Board of Trustees are required to step down so there are always vacancies for others in the community to step up. Every congregant can make his or her voice heard within FPS but being on the Board of Trustees perhaps gives you a slightly louder voice. Please do think about serving the community in this way and, in particular, we need a new Honorary Secretary as, after three years, I am standing down this year in order to concentrate on other areas of life within our rich community. Josie Kinchin
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high holyday appeal 2017 The FPS High Holyday Appeal 2017 raised a grand total of £11,715 with the following amounts (which include Gift Aid) going to our chosen charities following members’ preferences: Together in Barnet £4084.37 Syrian Refugee Project c/o Barnet Refugee Welcome Board £4069.38 Rene Cassin £2971.88 Sikkuy £2903.12 Mexico Earthquake Appeal c/o World Jewish Relief £62.50 Many thanks to all those who gave so generously. If you have charities you would like to support in this year’s HHD Appeal, please pass the details on to FPS Office. Pauline Gusack
Beit Tefillah
services at fps
services – june Friday 1 June 6.30am
Kabbalat Shabbat Service led by Rabbis Rebecca Birk, Ofek Meir & Danny Rich
Saturday 2 June 11.00am
Shabbat B’Yachad led by Rabbis Rebecca Birk, Ofek Meir & Danny Rich
Friday 8 June 6.30pm
Kabbalat Shabbat Service
Saturday 9 June 11.00am
Shabbat Service celebrating Adult B’not Mitzvah Janet Barak, Helene Dane & Valerie Joseph
Friday 15 June 6.30pm
Shabbat Resouled
Saturday 16 June 11.00am
Shabbat Service celebrating Jacob Levey Bar Mitzvah
Friday 22 June 6.30pm
Kabbalat Shabbat Service
Saturday 23 June 11.00am
Shabbat Service celebrating Ollie Pelham Bar Mitzvah
Friday 29 June 6.30pm
Kabbalat Shabbat Service
Saturday 30 June 11.00am
Shabbat Service
people mazal tov to
Janet Barak, Helene Dane & Valerie Joseph who celebrate their Adult B’not Mitzvah on 9 June Jacob Levey who celebrates his Bar Mitzvah on 16 June; Ollie Pelham who celebrates his Bar Mitzvah on 23 June; Kitty & Roger Lyons on the birth of a granddaughter Dora Isabel, daughter for Gideon & Alex; Clare Grew & Aaron Kazab who will be married on 24 June The following members who have significant birthdays in June: Amelia Mendel, Monty Bixer, Sheila Levy, David Kahan, Lilian Gellnick, Sheila Conroy, Maureen Lobatto, Doreen Isaacs,
Lynn Karstadt and Mauro Manela Josie Kinchin & John Rubinstein celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary condolences
To Dean Staker on the death of his father in Australia in May welcome to new members:
Alison Denham & Daniel Janet Munro 50/50 club draws, may winners:
1st 2nd 3rd
Charlotte D’Alton Eldridge £25 Elah Golan £20 Jake Silver-Myer £15
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Beit Knesset
community events, all welcome!
bridge group
cafe thursday
Mondays @ 7.30pm, £4. There are even small prizes for big winners! For details contact Paul Silver-Myer via the synagogue office on 020 8446 4063
Thursdays @ 1.00pm excepting on Wednesday June 6. £6 for a freshly-prepared 3-course lunch. For menus, more information contact Nicola Marzell via the synagogue office 020 8446 4063
yoga
pilates
Tuesdays @ 7.30pm Contact Richard on 020 8349 9602.
Thursdays @ 6.30-7.15pm led by Tali Swart. Beginners to intermediate; individually tailored instruction. Payment in blocks of six, roughly £8 per lesson. We are now in the large hall so we can accommodate more people. Contact taliswort@btconnect.com
rosh chodesh
Celebration of the New Moon by women gathering for sharing, learning and spiritual exploration. Next meeting Tuesday 12 June @ 8.00pm FPS Library. A talk by professional organiser and ‘de-clutterer’ about the central role and emotional value of the Family Home in Jewish life, the interrelationship between Home – Objects – Memories (and why we find it difficult to let go of certain objects). Contact Wika Dorosz on vdorosz@gmail.com
cafe ivriah
Saturdays (Term time), 9.45-10.45am All welcome to an informal, wide-ranging and topical discussion, from the weekly Torah portion to current affairs. Over coffee and biscuits, between Ivriah drop-off and morning service.
book club
Wednesday 9 May @ 8.00pm The Book Club welcomes you to their meetings, held in people’s homes on the second Wednesday of each month. We choose a variety of books, many—but by no means all—of Jewish interest. The only condition being that the person recommending a book must have read (and loved) it! and that it is available in paperback. Contact Sheila King Lassman sheila@waitrose.com or Edgar Jacobsberg on e.jacobsberg@gmail.com learn
Thursdays, 12.00-1.00pm excepting on Wednesday June 6 An hour’s learning in the small hall, with Rabbi Rebecca, followed by lunch hosted by Nicola at Café Thursday for anyone who chooses to stay (see above).
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saturday ivriah!
Every Saturday, young members of FPS come together to learn, play, and pray at Ivriah, our cheder. Our young, knowledgeable teachers offer fantastic informal learning spaces where they teach interactive, exciting and creative classes. At Ivriah, our children explore Progressive Jewish values, learn modern and biblical Hebrew, and spend time discovering their own opinions on modern Jewish questions. We are sowing the seeds to create confident, engaged young people! Ivriah starts for children in Reception, and our special Bar and Bat Mitzvah programme begins in year 7. If you’d like to know more, or want to come for a taster session, please contact Zoe Jacobs at zoe@fps.org or call 020 8446 4063.
Beit Midrash
learning at fps
new series: sung & unsung jewish heroes
7 June Lionel Lassman: ‘King of Lampedusa’ 14 June Lesley Urbach: ‘From loyal German citizen to Germany’s unwanted’ FPS member Lesley Urbach will speak about her mother’s family’s life in Germany before and during the Second World War, using testimony from her mother and aunt, family and photos 21 June Helen Fry: ‘A Very Secret War: Émigrés listeners who bugged the Nazis in WW2’ Author and historian Dr Helen Fry has written and edited over 25 books. Her works cover the social history of the Second World War: British
intelligence and the secret war; spies and espionage; and MI9 escape and evasion 28 June 5 July 12 July 19 July
Helen Fry: ‘The King’s Most Loyal Enemy Aliens: German-Jewish refugees who Fought for Britain in WW2’ Lionel Lassman: ‘The Man Who Never Was’ Lionel Lassman: ‘Women of the S.O.E.’ Lionel Lassman: ‘The Winehouse Connection’
liberal judaism biennial conference 29 june - 1 july 2018
The theme for the 2018 Liberal Judaism Biennial Weekend is ‘Liberal Judaism: The Formula for Truly Progressive Judaism’ and it will seek to explore what makes our movement what it is today. Tickets for Liberal Judaism’s flagship event of 2018 are on sale now. The LJ Biennial Weekend takes place from Friday 29 June to Sunday 1 July at the St Johns Hotel in Solihull, just outside of Birmingham. Our keynote speaker will be Rabbi Danny Freelander, president of the World Union
for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ). Liberal Judaism is also offering every community a free place to send one new member. That person will get to enjoy the whole of the Biennial, as well as taking part in a special programme about engagement that will help us learn and discuss how to expand our membership. You can get full ticketing details, reserve your place and find out more about the early plans by visiting www.liberaljudaism.org/ calendar/biennial 9
The Charm of Monty Bixer
sarah rosen-webb
part 2
In Part 1, we left Monty asking his CO for an immediate discharge, before realizing that would have meant being stranded in the South China Sea. Here, we catch up with Monty’s story, after WW2. After the war, Monty found work with British Railways doing outdoor electrical repair work. When, on his first day, someone asked yet again ‘Are you Jewish?’, Monty knew what he should do. He signed up with the 43 Group, Jewish ex-servicemen organized to fight fascism on the London streets, a response to Jeffrey Hamm’s and Oswald Mosley’s fascist parties. When the state of Israel was established in 1948, Monty headed out, equipped with his skills in electronics, a willing heart and a smattering of Hebrew. He is grateful to the many British and French passport officers who turned the blind eye to young volunteers travelling across the Channel and down to Marseille to set sail for Israel. Monty spent the next two years as the ship’s electrician on the Haganah (K20), a British built Corvette which had been used for convoy escort work during the war and then sold as scrap to some Americans who, in turn, passed it on to the Israelis (photo above). Home in London in 1950, Monty decided to do ‘the Knowledge’ and drive a Black Cab, so that he could ‘earn and learn’. After nine years of part-time study Monty qualified as a structural engineer. But life wasn’t all about work... At the Candlelight Club one evening in 1953, 10
he met Miriam, a young Israeli girl waitressing there. Miriam’s family had left Germany for Israel when she was young. Fresh out of the Israeli military service, she had come to London to study Art at Central St Martin’s. Once Miriam had made it clear that she was more interested in Zionism than fashion, Monty was hooked. For their second date, he suggested a bike ride down to Box Hill in Surrey. Although the 60 km roundtrip nearly did her in, Miriam was hooked too. They married in 1954 in Tel Aviv. Monty’s abiding memory of their wedding was that, because his mother-in-law had bought some live carp and they were swimming in the bathtub, he didn’t get to bathe before the chuppah! Monty worked on a number of projects at consulting engineers and contractors, including W S Atkins, in the building in 1962 of the Berkeley Nuclear Power Station in Gloucestershire (now decommissioned), the multinational Ove Arup Group Ltd. in Newcastle (engineers of the Sydney Opera House), and then Taylor Woodrow (now Taylor Wimpey). He enjoyed his work for them for quite some time but was hankering for something new. Bershert, one evening he met a guy in a pub and they started chatting. Says Monty, ‘He was a chemist and I was an engineer and both of us were a bit fed up with our work. We bumped into each other a month later at trade show at Olympia and chatted again. And, as they say, the rest is history. We developed a concrete repair system using epoxy resin among other materials and went into business together’. Contracts to resurface runways came from Heathrow and other airports and the new business flourished. Monty and Miriam have been FPS members for over 50 years. Miriam taught Hebrew at Continued on page 11
Hana Greenfield Memorial Swim Kmoch Island, Kolín Sunday 26 August 2018
The Hana Greenfield Memorial Swim is to commemorate an activity that the residents of Kolín (today Czech Republic) used to take part in regularly up until the mid-1930’s, until industrial pollution put a stop to swimming in the river. The event is named after one of the few Holocaust survivors from the town. Hana
jane drapkin
used to swim in the river as a child, alongside both her Jewish and non-Jewish friends. The swim is open to anyone—residents of Kolín, swimmers from around the world, Jews, non-Jews—and will be free of charge, with a request for donations to charity. For more information and to enter the swim, please search for Hana Greenfield Memorial Swim, Kolín, on www.eventbrite.com. Discounted accommodation has been reserved at the Hotel Theresia in Kolín. To reserve a room, send an email to recepce@hoteltheresia.cz saying you are with the Drapkin/Goldstein party. The weekend’s activities will start on the Friday evening with an Erev Shabbat Service in the Synagogue. If you would like more details of the weekend or the swim, please contact jane_drapkin@hotmail.com
monty bixter / cont. from p.10
Ivriah, while Monty, declaring himself ‘more of a belonger than a believer’ found himself joining in for lectures, study groups and social events. He surprised himself by showing up initially for Rabbi Frank’s and then other Rabbis’ sermons, ‘hooked on their pearls of wisdom’. Monty is immensely proud of his Judaism and of Israel. He says ‘Israel today is more of a mosaic than a melting pot of Judaism’. If you have any doubts about why we need Israel, just ask Monty and he will give you a hundred reasons. FPSers might know about Monty’s rapping talents. Here’s part of one that he wrote on the occasion of Miriam’s 80th birthday. Snap your fingers, tap your foot, don’t stop for breath, and feel the rhythm!
Mir-i-am, born in Ger-man-y, Bad-d place to be ‘cause, if you were a Yud it was no damn good. In Germany they brought in laws In dem laws, der was a clause If you’re a Jew it’s gonna be real bad for you’ Her Pa said: ‘Now this country is a disgrace, Ain’t fit here for the human race. And ...we’re gonna leave this place. NB: Sarah Rosen-Webb apologises for a misunderstanding in recording last month’s interview with Monty, and wishes to clarify that he never experienced any discrimination while in the Navy.
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Notice Board finchley food bank
We’ve been contacted by some Jewish students and young professionals working with food banks and social action projects. They say that not many synagogues or Jewish community organisations support their local food banks and they are starting a network to encourage them. The Trussell Trust identified FPS as a synagogue which already collects donations and they have contacted us for information in order to try and encourage other synagogues and organisations to do what we are doing. FPS leads the way again in social action projects! Finchley Food Bank posted the following on their Facebook page, Saturday 21 April: ‘Despite the amazing weather today we still had 49 adults and children from homes across the borough. This left stock dangerously low for next week. The most needed items are tinned meat, vegetables, fruit, fish, biscuits, coffee, sugar, milk, rice, and all toiletries (except sanitary products). Please buy an extra item when you do your next shop and leave it in the box in the Synagogue hallway – we will ensure that it goes to Finchley Food Bank for distribution. Thank you for all your help. Peggy Sherwood & Alison Rees the barnet community cookbook
Do you have a family recipe that your family has cooked for generations or are there recipes you simply enjoy cooking and others enjoy eating? Did your mother or grandmother cook amazing food from their country of origin? Do you mix British ingredients with recipes from countries close to your heart? Do you cook food that makes you remember other places or people? Do you want to share your secret? We want to hear your story and cook your recipe! As part of the campaign to fund the support that we offer 15 Syrian families in 12
Barnet, we are writing a community cookbook, and we need you to help us. Contact Claudia Prieto Piastro cprietopiastro@gmail.com to arrange a meeting before the end of June. She will hear your story, write your recipe and cook it! We are looking for all kinds of recipes from soups to cakes, so that we have a complete cookbook that showcases the diversity and the stories of the people living in the area. If you have any skills that might be helpful in the creation of this cookbook please let us know! [It might be useful to highlight allergens used in recipes in the manner listed on prepackaged goods. Ed.] donations needed!
The final Syrian family that Barnet Council has agreed to welcome has now arrived and is in need of numerous items including: • Clothes (18-month old boy, 3-year old girl) • Pots and pan • A good quality double mattress • Curtains for the living room • A blender • A sofa If you have any of these hanging around and can deliver to the N20 area, it would be much appreciated. Smaller items can be dropped off at FPS Thursday evening or Friday morning. Contact Lesley Urbach lesley.urbach@me.com leo baeck college course
Susannah Alexander: It’s Not All Lox & Bagels: A Historical, Cultural & Gastronomic Overview of Jewish Culinary Traditions. 4-week course at Leo Baeck College, Monday 7.30-9pm, 4-25 June 2018. For the full description and prices please go to LBC Lehrhaus 2018 / www.lbc.ac.uk.
Adult B’not Mitzvah Celebration On Saturday 9 June (Parashat Sh’lach) there will be an Adult B’not Mitzvah celebration. The women participating are Janet Barak, Helene Dane and Valerie Joseph. Here are their messages: janet barak
‘It’s never too late to learn’. I joined FPS Synagogue around four years ago and have been coming regularly to services and talks. I decided to celebrate my Adult Bat Mitzvah as it was not the tradition to do this when I was young. I have been wanting to do this for quite some time. During my journey, I have had an opportunity to learn in depth about my heritage and identity as well as about the different aspects of Judaism. I am extremely grateful that I am able to celebrate my Bat Mitzvah with family and friends and coB’not Mitzvah with the help of Wika Dorosz and Rabbi Rebecca. I believe the moral of the story is it is never too late to learn! helene dane
I converted over 40 years ago. Not because I married a Jew but because it is a great way of life. I am comfortable to be a Jew and it is my CHOSEN way of life, I like the traditions, the Jewish humour, the spirituality, the festivals, the community and the Shul.
Darwin said that it is not the strongest species that survive, but the most adaptable to change. While sometimes change can be scary, life is change and change means life. An opportunity to grow, improve, and learn new things... Hasidic saying: Do you know where God is to be found? He is in a place where he is invited to enter. God came in to my house...And having my Bat Mitzvah is a way to mark a celebration of my faith and my chosen way of life. valerie joseph
As a teenager I was confirmed at North London Synagogue, but in the 1960s not many girls or boys in the Liberal movement had their B’nei Mitzvah. As I attained three score years and ten this year, I felt strongly that it was the right time for me to renew my commitment to Judaism, especially Liberal Judaism, which has played such a large part in my life. As is customary I am undertaking a Tzedakah project. At the end of April, I participated in the national Swimathon by swimming 1500 metres at The Aquatic Centre, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. At the time of writing I raised just over £1,300 for Cancer Research and Marie Curie Charities. I have, of course, invited family and friends to come to the service and hope that they will be joined by the FPS friends that Howard and I see on a regular basis at Shabbat services.
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B’nei Mitzvah jacob charles levey’s bar mitzvah, 16 june
Hi, my name is Jacob Levey. I live in Muswell Hill along with my mum, dad and two older brothers. All three of us go to The Latymer School in Edmonton. My Torah portion is Numbers 16: 20-35, the rebellion of Korah against Moses. In this portion, Moses asks the congregation to stay away from Korah, Dathan and Abiram or God will ollie pelham’s bar mitzvah, 23 june
I am Ollie. I’ve been coming to FPS since I was born and enjoyed Play and Learn and Shabbat Resouled. In my Jewish journey, I’ve had a baby naming, and was enrolled into Ivriah. I am the third generation of Pelhams to walk the Finchley Progressive Synagogue floors and follow in my family footsteps. This is important to me – L’dor va’dor! Every Pelham has had different interests in Judaism. My grandfather, Jimmy, was a liberal Jew; my grandmother, Olive, was interested in the Women’s Guild; she helped young Jewish women escape from Nazi Germany. My father, David, ran Kadimah summer camps for 33 years, was chair of the synagogue, and treasurer of Liberal Judaism. He was interested in the social and community aspects of being Jewish. I wonder what my future role in Judaism will be? 14
kill them too. It shows a different, angrier side of God that is rarely shown in the Torah and also a chance to see the everyday reality of Moses’ leadership. He has to face down a rebellion against his leadership and then deal with the consequences of his victory. He wins against Korah, but the heavy-handed way in which he destroys the uprising becomes a slur on his reputation. Moses proves to be–when put to the test–a ruthless and brutal leader. This is not the spiritual Moses I thought I knew from Seder night stories and the Exodus, but an earthly political leader fighting to hold on to his power.
For my Tzedakah project I raised money for the Pelham Fund, which was set up in 1976 by David and Jimmy on the death of my grandmother, Olive Pelham. Recently it was renamed the Pelham Family Fund after the death of my dad, David. The fund helps children in need. To raise money, I held a monthly tea party for six months. I made all the cakes, scones and sandwiches. And I raised £1,600. My Bar Mitzvah portion is Chukat, in the Book of Numbers. It is about the people of Israel wandering in the desert after Miriam died. They were thirsty. God tells Moses to speak to the rock in order to get water. Moses, however, strikes the rock with his staff. The people get their water but God is not happy and tells Moses that he will not be allowed to lead the people of Israel into the promised land. I want to thank John Rubinstein for helping me to prepare for this special day. Just like John, I love football and support Tottenham, so my lessons with John have been filled with lots of football chat too!
Fun Page In June our first Torah reading is from the parasha/chapter Beha’alotcha set in a time when the Jews were still wandering in the desert, having escaped from Egypt. God told Moses to select leaders from the community of the Israelites, so one scout from each of the 12 tribes of Israel set out from the wilderness on a expedition. Moses sent them on a mission in the land of Canaan, and he told them: “Go into the Negev into the hill country and see what kind of country it is. Are the people who dwell in it strong or weak, few or many? Is the country in which they dwell good or bad? Are the towns they live in open or fortified? Is the soil rich or poor? Is it wooded or not? And take pains to bring back some of the fruit of the land”
And it just so happened that it was the season of the first ripe grapes. Look at the picture Joshua and Caleb, the two most famous scouts (or spies!) and the size of grapes they found. If you were going to explore some strange lands, perhaps to move there, what kind of things would you want to know? Here are some stamps showing the twelve tribes of Israel and a map of the lands around and including Israel as they were around three thousand years ago. Can you see where they eventually settled? Back then, which tribe had the biggest territory?
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Contacts
fps website: www.fps.org
finchley progressive synagogue
Life President: Sheila King Lassman
54 Hutton Grove N12 8DR 020 8446 4063 www.fps.org facebook.com/finchleyprog Rabbi Rebecca Birk – rabbi@fps.org
Vice Presidents: Renzo Fantoni, Josie Kinchin, Alex Kinchin-Smith, Laura Lassman, Lionel King Lassman, John Lewis, Paul Silver-Myer, Andrea Rappoport, Joan Shopper
Emeritus Rabbi: Dr Frank Hellner
contacts
Community Development Manager: Zoe Jacobs – zoe@fps.org
Board of Deputies Reps: Janet Tresman, Stanley Volk
Musicians in residence: Franklyn Gellnick, Dean Staker
Beit Midrash (Adult Education): Adrian Lister adulteducation@fps.org
Synagogue Manager: Pauline Gusack pauline@fps.org
Beit Tefillah (Rites & Practices): Valerie Joseph
Premises Manager: Howard Hamerton
Care in the Community: Jacquie Fawcett jacquie@fps.org
executive
Chair: Cathy Burnstone – chair@fps.org Vice-Chairs: Paul Silver-Myer vicechair@fps.org, Louise Gellman vicechairlg@fps.org Treasurer: Martin Silk – treasurer@fps.org Honorary Secretary: Josie Kinchin honsec@fps.org board members
Phillip Raphael, Samantha King, Maureen Lobatto, Louise Gellman
Café Thursday: Nicky Marzell
Website Editor: Philip Karstadt fpswebsite@fps.org Shofar Editor: CA. Cranston – shofar@fps.org Shofar Team: Sarah Rosen-Webb, Wika Dorosz FPS Office: administrator@fps.org The Finchley Progressive Synagogue is a company limited by guarantee (Company No 9365956) and a registered charity (Charity No 1167285) whose registered office is 54 Hutton Grove, Finchley, London N12 8DR
President: Alan Banes
ashley page
janet tresman
insurance brokers
mediator & collaborative family law solicitor
Commerce House 2a Litchfield Grove London N3 2TN
Altermans Solicitors 239 Regents Park Road, London N3 3LF
Tel. 0208 349 5100
16
Office phone: 0208 346 1777 Email: janet@altermans.co.uk