Shofar May 2018 by Finchley Progressive

May 2018

Shofar

‫שופר‬

the magazine of finchley progressive synagogue

FPS Pesach Seder!

Passover Seder at FPS T

his year the FPS communal Seder, held, as always, on the second night of Passover (31 March), was led by student Rabbi Elliott Karstadt, with music by Dean Staker. I was looking forward to attending as I had many funny memories of last year’s Seder including a singing of Chad Gadya with animal sounds acted out. This year the Balint-Kurti family, the Rosenthal family, along with Ann Andrews, Nicola Marzell and Pauline Gusack helped to organise the Seder (along with many others!) with catering done by Shelley Salter. On behalf of the Rosenthals, I was assigned the jobs of folding origami paper plant pots and making the water salty (which is harder than it sounds). In the meantime, the others transformed the prayer space into a beautifully decorated, fullyfunctional dining room with Seder plates and food. Once everything was ready and everyone had arrived, the Seder began. The Passover story was narrated under the excellent guidance of Elliott with Dean’s wonderful music, whilst the community read from the Liberal Judaism Haggadah. Thoughtful additions applicable to a modern world ranged from an orange on the Seder plate, to a reading from the unofficial Harry Potterthemed ‘Hogwart’s Haggadah’. It all combined to make the story of the Exodus more engaging and relevant than ever. Oh, and of course a highlight was the spring onion fight with the family during the chorus of ‘Dayenu’ (trans. ‘it would have been enough’), a Sephardic tradition symbolising the bitter whips of slavery. Together 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

adam rosenthal

these gave a unique FPS Passover experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. The food itself was very good. I chose a delicious combination of salmon and potato salad, and all the matzah you could ever want or need. I found myself stuffed but not stuffed enough to skip the multi-coloured macaroons and strawberries. I’ll be returning for more next year!

Adam at the FPS communal Seder

Cover: Pesach Seder at FPS, with Student Rabbi Elliott Karstadt. Photo: Philip Karstadt.

Copy deadline is the 10th of each month. Please email all content to shofar@fps.org

From the Rabbi

rabbi rebecca birk

musings from my sabbatical: ‘views from off the bimah – as i prepare to get back on it!’

You

might be surprised to learn that the highpoint of my time away from you was a Silent Retreat, situated at the foot of a mountain, in the shadow of the clouds, surrounded by jungle vegetation and an enormous amount of rain. On the island of Bali. For someone who loves to talk the Silent Retreat was surprisingly nourishing. As Torah advocates, the land needs the 7th year to re-nourish. Synagogues have passed on this need for nourishment to their ministers. Congregational contracts have existed for several decades, offering rabbis a month sabbatical for every year in service (after the third year). This has been my first Shabbat of Rests, part of a Sabbatical year. (Having taken maternity leave in my last two congregations, I chose not to take a sabbatical as well.) Used to preaching, teaching and speaking frequently, I’ve enjoyed a quieter time. Like Barak Obama, on his retirement, insisting that he wanted a break from hearing his own voice. Granted, a break from North London congregational life is not quite the same as relinquishing the Presidential duties but there was an indisputable link for me. I have been nourished by this time. And not a day has passed when I haven’t felt grateful for the opportunities it has provided. As you know, I became a congregational rabbi in 2001. So, I have been in this role for 17 years. It is both the best and most grueling of jobs. I must build community, and not everyone comes to synagogue these days. I must consider member preferences in what I teach, say and do. I conduct funerals—oddly, yes, the biggest privilege of my occupation—hearing stories

about people’s lives. I thought ‘to comfort’ was a euphemism until I began this work. It is always special. I actually missed it while I was away. But taking this time to develop, to learn and to listen has been extraordinary. I have been silent. I have explored and renewed my own spiritual practice. (You probably want your rabbi to have one of those.) I have read the likes of George Eliot, Erich Fromm, Rabbi Leo Baeck, Cynthia Ozick, Chaim Potok, even the Septuagint. My mind and heart have expanded. I have studied singing, playing the guitar (I remain a beginner) and sourdough baking. I have been an attentive and engaged parent, and my phone was often ‘off the hook’ at home! I attended interfaith Peace conferences and connected with American Reform synagogues, which are hugely helpful to how I operate as a rabbi and to the possibilities we have in our synagogue here. I have planned new courses for us with snappy titles like ‘What might Yisroel Salanter Say?’; ‘Musar, and Looking Back on Life thus Far or, Words Matter’; ‘What Translations are Right in Bible and Prayer for the 21st Century Liberal Occasional Worshipper?’ Continued on page 6 3

From the Chair How

quickly time flies! We’re delighted to welcome back our Rabbi from her well-deserved sabbatical and we are looking forward to her dynamic presence. It is also a testament to our community that we’ve managed to function even without Rabbi Rebecca Birk. We’ve even joined up a number of new members and welcomed them to our synagogue. Thank you to Rabbi Danny Rich, Rabbi Dr Frank Hellner and to student Rabbis Peter Luyendijk, Nathan Godleman, Elliott Karstadt and Gabriel Webber. Thanks also to all our lay members who

cathy burnstone

organised and even took services, and to the many other events we enjoyed as a result of members’ efforts. The Seder was an unmitigated success thanks to the 80 or so members and guests who attended and to Student Rabbi Elliott’s leadership. Importantly, the food was delicious.

elections for the board of deputies

Nominations by 31 May The Board is the voice of British Jews, the first port of call for government, the media, other faith groups and the diplomatic community seeking to understand the concerns and positions of our community. Its democratic and cross-communal nature means that they are better able to represent the community to these important stakeholders – and Deputies play an invaluable role in this process. Deputies represent their constituencies and respond to policy consultations, inform the work of its Honorary Officers and staff, and are ambassadors for the work of the Board of Deputies to their own communities. As well as attending Board Meetings and running for election to the organisation’s divisions, Deputies may also represent their constituencies at events throughout the year. The Board also welcomes ‘Under 35 Observers’ who do not have voting rights but often go on to become Deputies in their own right and take part in a number of

activities including the recently launched Board of Deputies Young Professional and Students group. Our current Deputies, Janet Tresman and Stanley Volk, have completed their three-year term and as at December 2017 represented us as follows: Janet Tresman – 14 Board Meetings attended out of 20 Stanley Volk – 9 Board Meetings attended out of 20 Janet and Stanley are willing to stand again but all FPS members must be given the opportunity to stand for election or to submit nominations for the next triennial. We need to advise the Board of our nominations by 31 May. If you would like further details about the role of a Deputy, please contact me. Do also look at their website: https://www.bod.org.uk/ Josie Kinchin, Honorary Secretary

Abayudaya – the Jews of Uganda I have been on many Jewish journeys—visiting Jewish communities or studying traces of them all over the world: from Mogilev to Odessa, from Gondar to Thessaloniki—but my recent visit to the black Jews of Uganda was probably the most surprising. Not many knew about their existence existence, because until the 1960s they were practically isolated from the outside world.

Where did they come from? You might well ask. The Abayudaya (‘People of Judah’) trace their history back to the 1880s. A black tribal chief named Semei Kakungulu was converted to Christianity by British missionaries, but fell out with the British (who were at the time ruling East Africa) over their refusal to recognise him as a king. He became a member of a sect which followed a belief system combining elements of Christianity and Judaism and was accused by the British of being a Jew. He responded by saying, ‘Then I am a Jew!’, and promptly circumcised himself and his sons. His community started following Judaism. Some years later a mysterious traveller known only as Yossef joined them and taught them about Jewish festivals, kashrut and other practices. By the time Idi Amin Dada came to power as a result of military coup in 1971, the Abayudaya had about 8000 members. Amin outlawed Jewish practice and destroyed the synagogues. Some of the Abayudaya converted to other

wika dorosz

religions to avoid persecution and their numbers dwindled to a few hundred. They became known as ‘Shearit Israel’ (the Remnant of Israel). They were ‘discovered’ by an Israeli student studying in Uganda – the first time they met an Israeli and the first Jew they saw since Yossef’s visit! The community underwent a revival in the 1980s. Today they number around 2000 and live in nine villages. They have a primary and secondary school (which accept also non-Jewish students) and five synagogues (one of them Orthodox!). Gershon Sizumo—son and grandson of Abayudaya spiritual leaders—is the first rabbi to have studied abroad, in Los Angeles, and is affiliated with the Conservative movement. He is a warm, charismatic man and obviously popular in the wider community. A couple of years ago he was elected as a local member of parliament in Kampala. It was a privilege to spend the Shabbat with this community and share their services (traditional, but fully egalitarian, with an impressive standard of Hebrew and singing!), their meals (a kosher goat in our honour), and their individual stories. Interestingly, Christians and Muslims live side by side in the Abayudaya villages and we haven’t heard of any tensions.

Top: New converts; above: Rabbi Gershon & congregants.

The Testimony Project Are you a survivor of the Holocaust? Or do you know someone who is? This includes people who came to Britain before the outbreak of the Second World War, If so perhaps you or they might be interested in recording their story as part of the Holocaust Survivors’ Centre’s Testimony Project? The Testimony Project of the Holocaust Survivors’ Centre has been in existence for over sixteen years. We have a small group of trained and supervised volunteers, who carry out interviews for the Project. Interviews usually take place at the interviewee’s home and are recorded. These testimonies try to reflect the broad life of the interviewee, giving a detailed description of that person’s life from early memories up to the present, encompassing the effect that the Holocaust had on their life. These recorded interviews are primarily for

lesley urbach

the survivor and his or her family but in addition, where permission is granted, the recordings are copied and lodged with a bona fide museum or library. These include the National Sound Archive of the British Library, the Wiener Library, or any preferred by the interviewee. Once filed, the recorded interview can be accessed by researchers studying the Holocaust and so provide a first-hand account of the rise of Nazism in the thirties and the events that unfolded. The value of eye-witness accounts is immeasurable in terms of trying to understand the unimaginable, in attempting to learn for the future, and in rebutting Holocaust denial. For more information, please contact Lesley Urbach, lcurbach@aol,com, 020 8346 2257 or Helen Norman at the Holocaust Survivors’ Centre, HNorman@jcare.org

from the rabbi / cont. from p.3

I have the objective distance to consider what our children should be learning about their Jewish life, what we should be spending our precious synagogue funds on, and what we need to be a strong, effective and meaningful congregation. I have new plans for the children’s Curriculum, B’nei Mitzvah, Family Services, Music and Mitzvoth in our synagogue. I am refreshed. I am invigorated. I have had a long Shabbat of rest; I am grateful to you, my community. When I return to work fully on 14 April I anticipate it will be with vigour and intention, enriched by this Shmita.

together in barnet help needed!

TiB needs your help – and it won’t hurt! Do you live in N2 or N12? Jeremy Leaf Estate Agents will donate £££ to TiB for each board that goes up for the next six week period beginning in either June or September with the wording: ‘We Support Together in Barnet Night Shelter’ Contact Darren Harrington (TiB) for details: darren@togetherinbarnet.org

Beit Tefillah

services at fps

services – may Friday 4 May 6.30am

Kabbalat Shabbat Service

Saturday 5 May 11.00am

Shabbat B’Yachad

Friday 11 May 6.30pm

Kabbalat Shabbat Service

Saturday 12 May 11.00am

Shabbat Service celebrating Rachel Andrews Bat Mitzvah

Friday 18 May 6.30pm

Shabbat Resouled

Saturday 19 May

11.00am Shabbat Service 6.30pm Shavuot Tikkun Leyl at Sha’arei Tsedek Synagogue

Friday 25 May 6.30pm

Kabbalat Shabbat Service

Saturday 26 May 11.00am

Shabbat Service

people mazal tov to

50/50 club draws, march winners:

Rachel Andrews who will be Bat Mitzvah on 12 May Tom Rich and Victoria Wershof who will celebrate their Aufruf on 26 May The following who have significant birthdays in May: Anita Freedman, Ray Telfer, Melvyn Newman, Michael Collett, Geoffrey Leberman

1st 2nd 3rd

for

sa l e

Eliza King Lassman John Norman Toby Helfman

£25 £20 £15

Historic unread issues of Superman Comic. £10 each. Proceeds to the synagogue. Contact: lionel.lassman@gmail.com or phone 0208 445 3284

Beit Knesset

community events, all welcome!

bridge group

pilates

Mondays @ 7.30pm, £4. There are even small prizes for winners! (How good is that?) For details contact Paul Silver-Myer via the synagogue office on 020 8446 4063

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

yoga

Tuesdays @ 7.30pm Contact Richard on 020 8349 9602. rosh chodesh

Celebration of the New Moon by women gathering for sharing, learning and spiritual exploration. Next meeting Tuesday 15 May @ 8.00pm FPS Library – ‘Rosh Chodesh: Why do we mark it?’ presented by Rabbi Amanda Golby Contact Wika on vdorosz@gmail.com 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 An hour’s learning in the small hall, followed by lunch hosted by Nicky at Café Thursday for anyone who chooses to stay (see below). cafe thursday

Thursdays @ 1.00pm £6 for a freshly-prepared 3-course lunch. For menus, more information contact Nicky Marzell via the synagogue office 020 8446 4063

cafe ivriah

Saturdays (Term time), 9.45-10.45am All welcome to an informal, wideranging and topical discussion, from the weekly Torah portion to current affairs. Over coffee and biscuits, between Ivriah drop-off and morning service.

Beit Midrash

learning at fps

beit midrash new series: hosting nif uk

new series: sung & unsung jewish heroes

‘The modern tribes of Israel and the challenges of a shared society’. Speakers: Adam Ognall, Chief Executive of New Israel Fund UK Ltd (NIF UK), and Atira Winchester, Director of Programming at NIF UK.

Speakers: Lionel Lassman & Adrian Lister 17 May: A Brief History of Rhode Island 24 May: Superman is Jewish 31 May: The Bright Lady of DNA 7 June: King of Lampedusa

3 May: Arab citizens of Israel and the secular Jewish population 10 May: The new national religious Jew and the settlements

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

The Charm of Monty Bixer

sarah rosen-webb

part 1

‘Who’s

interviewing whom?’ Monty Bixer asks as he opens the door. After a quick tour of photographs, paintings, and poetry—of and by Miriam and their children and grandchildren— we settle down to drinking tea and some great stories. Monty was born in the Alexander Buildings on Commercial Street in the East End in June 1926. There, Monty was entranced by his father Myer’s stories of life in Latvia, recounting how his father’s father had from the age of ten, like most Jewish boys of the time, served in the Russian Army in Siberia. Myer was one of four surviving brothers of a family of 10 children. Along with brothers Sam and Max, he reached London while brother Izzy went to Berlin. Myer’s life in London began with work in a garment factory. The girl destined to be Monty’s mother worked in the same factory and, with the blessing of the girl’s father, she and Myer were married. At home, they spoke a mixture of Yiddish and English, and Monty never thought of them as different languages until he got to school. Imagine his surprise when his teacher asked the class of five-year-olds for an example of a word beginning with ‘K’. Monty called out ‘kalbfleisch’ [calves meat] and received a ‘klapen-kop’ as thanks from his teacher! After that, Monty learned quickly which language was for school and which for home. He jumped a grade in primary school and was awarded a much coveted place at Central School. (Photo, right:

Bar Mitzvah boy). Ever the pragmatist, Monty has little time for ‘isms’. He says when growing up in the East End Communism was once thought of as the ‘answer to all Jewish problems’. But learning of his uncle’s death in the Spanish Civil War cured him of this earlier enthusiasm for a ‘one size fits all’ solution to all problems. At the start of WW2, 13-year-old Monty was evacuated to the Fens where he spent most of a school year working in sugar-beet and potato fields. Back in London a year later, Monty left school and began war work: ten hours a day, six days a week, making bird cages for miners’ canaries. Later, he was turned down for an upgrade to make fire extinguishers for tanks and aircraft, being told that they didn’t need a ‘Jewboy’ for that and they sent him off to clear rubble from bomb sites. Monty talked to his father about the bad treatment he was getting because of his being Jewish. His Dad, also a pragmatist, advised the seventeen year old “This is a good country and with good people. It’s the system I don’t like. Don’t wait to be called up”. Monty chose the Navy, and his first assignment was with the Fleet Air Arm learning reconnaissance photography. Monty got on well with all of the ship’s company, but often found himself being discriminated against. When he found himself en route to Belfast to join the HMS Trouncer, he was singled out again as a Jew, but Continued on page 11

Eco Synagogue - Our Land ‘Our Land’ is the second of the green guidelines in FPS’s goal of becoming a sustainable synagogue. The Questionnaire is short and

from the green team

sweet, just like the little piece of land that FPS cares for.

1. Does your synagogue have land (other than a car park) for which it is responsible? Yes

2. The land at our synagogue is managed for the encouragement of native wildlife and plants (e.g. grasscutting schedules, provision of bird boxes and feeders etc.) Yes

Need to find out

3. The land at our synagogue includes areas set aside for the growing of fruits and vegetables: Yes

Need to find out

4. Our synagogue has set aside some of our land for the provision of a community garden or allotment: Yes

Need to find out

5. Our synagogue actively encourages members of the local community to use the synagogue land for recreation/contemplation: Yes

Need to find out

6. Composting facilities are available on our synagogue premises: Yes

Need to find out

7. Is there anything else you have done relating to synagogue land that you would like to tell us about? Comments

monty bixter / cont. from p.10

this time to be invited home for Friday Night dinner by one of the managers! Monty spent the rest of the war on HMS Trouncer somewhere in the Mediterranean with “no idea what we were really doing”. He recalls that his ship was attacked and that he was slightly injured. After four weeks recuperating in Ceylon, he joined up with HMS Sainfoin in Calcutta. His radio skills were good enough by then to listen to reports coming from Europe. That was how he heard that the Royal Navy was actively preventing Holocaust surviving Jews

from entering Palestine. He was livid! He went to his Officer and said ‘I’m finished with this Navy!’ The Officer understood and got Monty to realise that if he did leave he would be stranded in the South China Sea. Reason prevailed, and he stayed on. In Singapore, Monty set out to find a synagogue and asked a Malay girl for directions. He told her he was Jewish, and she remarked ‘So am I’. It was a first for both of them – the classic ‘but you don’t look Jewish’ story. Monty’s story continues in June Shofar 11

‫נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע‬ We Will Do and We Will Hear from Sinai to today

Shavuot service and Tikkun Leyl Saturday 19th May Sha'arei Tsedek Synagogue 6.30pm until late An evening run for and by Finchley Progressive Synagogue

Southgate Progressive Synagogue

Sha'arei Tzedek Synagogue

Notice Board the amazing bagel is back!

Following the success of last year’s stall, I am excited to announce that FPS has a stall at this year’s East Finchley Festival on the Sunday 24 June. We will be raising money for the synagogue by selling smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels! Last time, we sold a belly-full of bagels and made lots of money but didn’t enrol any new members. Let’s hope we can do one better and get some new members as well.

To that end I am looking for volunteers to help with supplies or their time. We need bagel makers in the morning, and people on the stall in the afternoon. Please see the list below of what is required. Let me know if you want to be involved in all or part of this fun endeavour. Phillip Raphael, Organiser raphael@yahoo.com / 0788 246 3378

Equipment • • • • •

Supplies • Bagels approx. 200–300 (dependent on weather forecast) • Smoked salmon, cream cheese, butter, lemon juice etc.

Large car to transport: Gazebo/Open sided tent Long table 2 x folding chairs 3 x cool boxes

Stall Shifts

Then on Sunday 24 June... Set up • Stall set up at 10.00am 2 x people • Pick up and stuff bagels between 9.00am and 12.00pm 3 x people

• Shift 1 12.00–2.00pm 2 x people • Shift 2 2.00–4.00pm 2 x people

Pack up • 4.00-5.00pm 2 x people. We can leave earlier if we are sold out or the crowds have thinned

We all had a great day last year and there was a fantastic atmosphere at the festival. Hopefully you can help out and make this year’s bagel stall even better than last year’s.

Oh, and invite all your family and friends to come to the festival and enjoy some special FPS bagels!

paid security review

to continue with paid security from Principle Security longer term. In addition to being of reassurance to our fantastic security volunteers, it has also reduced the pressure of filling the security slots on Friday and Saturdays, as well as on the High Holy Days, and the numerous ad hoc security requests. I will continue to review the security situation. If you have any comments, good or bad, about paid security or security in general, please contact me at: security@fps.org Phillip Raphael

As promised we have undertaken a review and feedback session around the use of paid security at FPS. Thank you to all those who took the time to write to me with your views, which were very useful and informative. The overwhelming majority of those who responded were positive about the impact of having professional security on the gate along with the volunteers. While I am sensitive to those who weren’t so keen and to those who questioned the role of security at FPS, based on the feedback, it has been agreed

B’nei Mitzvah rachel andrews’ bat mitzvah, 12 may

Hi, my name is Rachel Andrews, my Bat Mitzvah is on 12 May 2018, which would have been my Grandad’s 105th birthday, had he lived that long. I like dance and netball. I am in my school’s netball team. I really like biology and maths, but I really hate English. I like subjects where the answer is either right or wrong, rather than being more subjective. I think this may be why I have found learning my portion and the prayers easier than writing the Dvar Torah. I am planning on raising money for a charity helping to prevent and treat

malaria, as I’ve heard you can save the most lives with your money by preventing malaria. Also, we learnt about malaria at school when we were studying diseases. The video they showed us was very upsetting and made me want to do something about it. My portion is about letting the land rest and also letting anyone have the food from your land in the 7th year. This includes hired help and also the stranger, who lives with you. This links to the charity, as it helps people you’ve never met (strangers) who are in need. Thank you to John and Zoe for supporting me throughout the Bat Mitzvah process. I am really looking forward to my Bat Mitzvah with the FPS congregation.

fps and data protection

You are more than likely aware that new data protection regulations are coming into effect on 25 May 2018. Our Privacy Policy will be published on the FPS website (or is available from the office) and will set out in full how we use your details and your rights in relation to your personal data. In the meantime, this article sets out some key points. FPS respects your right to confidentiality and will only use your personal information with your consent and in connection with your role as a member of the synagogue and to comply with our legal obligations. Personal information will be used and shared only for the purpose of supporting your membership at the synagogue. This information will be used by our Rabbi, staff, FPS Council, care team and those members running teams, events or projects for FPS. As you know, phone numbers and email addresses are used for our security, Kiddush and other rotas. Personal information 14

will not be disclosed to third parties without your consent. All computer and paper records recording your personal details are kept securely and will be retained while you continue to be a member of the synagogue, or longer if it is necessary for legal purposes. You have the right to ask to see the information we have recorded about you. If you would like to do so, please ask Pauline Gusack in the office who will arrange to provide the information. You have the right to ask that the information be corrected or deleted. You will shortly be receiving a letter from FPS asking you to consent to our continued processing of your personal data. Please respond to it as promptly as possible as the new rules require us to have a record of your consent for us to continue to hold your details and to use them to contact you.

Fun Page shavuot number quiz

We celebrate Shavuot this May, which is not only a harvest festival but also commemoration of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments. The story starts after Passover when the Children of Israel had taken flight from Egypt and had been wandering in the wilderness. To complete the story, please use the green numbers below, putting one number in each green box. two, two, three, ten, ten, ten, six, six, seventy, seven, seven, forty, forty, forty, forty

The children of Israel arrived at Mount Sinai and on the morning of Day of their encampment, ‘there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud’, and the people assembled at the base of the mountain. Then God came down to the top of Mount Sinai. Moses went up briefly and returning, prepared the people for what was to happen next, and then God spoke to all the people the words of the commandments. But the people were afraid when they heard God speaking and scuttled off and Moses told them not to be afraid. Then Moses escorted a select group consisting of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and of the elders of Israel to a location on the mount where they begin to pray. And then God summoned Moses up Mount Sinai and He said, “I will give thee tablets of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them” to the children of Israel. And Moses and his right hand man Joshua went up into the mount of God. The mount was covered by the cloud for days and on the th day Moses went into the midst of the cloud and was ‘in the mount days and nights.’ And Moses said that God gave him

tablets of stone written with by God’s own finger with what he had told the Children of Israel from the midst of the fire and cloud when they were all gathered at the base of Mount Sinai (and had been so afraid). But before the full days were up, the Children of Israel decided that something had happened to Moses, and insisted Aaron (Moses’s brother) made a golden calf. So when after the full days, Moses and Joshua came down from the mountain with the tablets of stone, Moses saw the Children of Israel worshipping and dancing round the calf and he was so furious he threw the tablets down and broke them into pieces. So what happened next? God told Moses, “You need to cut out tablets of stone like the first pair: and I will write upon these tablets the words that were in the first tablets, which you broke.” And God wrote on the tablets what he had written on the first: the Commandments. The Commandments include the commandment about Shabbat which is ‘ days you shall work, and do all your work: but the th day is the Sabbath of your God: in it you will not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is visiting your property.’ 15

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. 020 8349 5100

Office phone: 0208 346 1777 Email: janet@altermans.co.uk