LJ Today September/October 2015

September/October 2015 VOL. XLII No. 5

Liberal Judaism is a constituent of the World Union for Progressive Judaism

www.liberaljudaism.org

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All change at Liberal Judaism S IMON BENSCHER has been unanimously elected as the new chair of Liberal Judaism. He was voted in by the movement’s communities, rabbis and officers at the Liberal Judaism AGM in July. Simon - a former chair of Woodford Liberal Synagogue who has held many positions in the national movement - takes over from Lucian J Hudson. After a very successful six year term, Lucian will now serve as deputy chair, after also being unanimously elected to the position at the AGM. Other key changes during the summer saw Rabbis Richard Jacobi and Alexandra Wright elected by their peers as the new co-chairs of Liberal Judaism’s Rabbinic Conference (see page 3) and Sam Alston, Anna Craven and Tom Francies take over as the new LJY-Netzer movement worker team (see page 11).

Rabbi Danny Rich has become Liberal Judaism’s senior rabbi, combining the brand new position with his current role as chief executive.

Speaking to lj today after his election, Simon said: “It is with some trepidation, but enormous pride, that I step into the chair of a movement that I have been a part of for five decades.

“My aims are to build upon the extraordinary legacy that Lucian has left and the massive impact he made, by taking Liberal Judaism in someways backwards. That’s not a contradiction, it’s an acknowledgment that a large part of our recent successes, and I believe our future, is in the enormous strength that we have in our communities and their members. Going back to our grassroots is a big part of our way forward.

“We are also blessed with the most inspirational rabbis who have taken on an enormous and exciting task in exploring a new prayer book, and I’m also looking forward to being a part of that process.”

Lucian added: “I am thrilled to be handing over to Simon. He will take Liberal Judaism to new heights, with his deep understanding of our movement and extraordinary dedication.

“I might have changed Liberal Judaism, but Liberal Judaism has also changed me. It’s been a great honour being chair and seeing an expansion in our number of communities, an increased profile, the creation of the Alliance with the Movement for Reform Judaism and legal incorporation as a civil society organisation.

Liberal Judaism has gained in confidence, been very innovative and given an ethical and strategic direction on critical issues.

“None of this could Lucian J Hudson (left) and Simon Benscher at LJ’s head office have been achieved without the support of an David Pelham, who has served Liberal exceptional Board of National Officers, Judaism as an officer for many years, including Simon and Jackie Richards. I including in the role of treasurer, was am particularly grateful to Rabbi Danny Rich, our outstanding chief executive, and elected as a vice president.

Rabbi Richard Jacobi opened the AGM Rabbi Charley Baginsky, who has just by commemorating the anniversary finished her term as a phenomenal chair of 7/7, as well as paying tribute to two of our Rabbinic Conference.”

Liberal Judaism’s AGM also saw the re- prominent Liberal Jews who died in the election of officers Howard Cohen, Amelia last year - former youth director Tony Halle and vice president Jeremy Jessel.

Viney, Ed Herman, Tamara Schmidt, Those in attendance at the meeting David Hockman and Ruth Seager, as included Liberal Judaism president Rabbi well as the creation of a new music and Dr Andrew Goldstein, Leo Baeck College IT standing committee, which will be led principal Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris and by former LJY-Netzer movement worker visiting Israeli Rabbi Oded Mazor.

Graham Carpenter.

Page 2 LJ Today

Affirmations

September/October 2015

Jewish status and equilineal descent Rabbi Alexandra Wright on the welcoming of children of either a Jewish mother or father LIBERAL JUDAISM recognises equilineal descent: namely, that individuals born of a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother should be treated in exactly the same way as individuals born to a Jewish mother and non-Jewish father. The Affirmations of Liberal Judaism state that children of mixed relationships, between a Jew and a non-Jew, are to be treated alike “and considered Jewish if so brought up”.

Liberal Judaism’s welcome of children of either a Jewish mother or father, provided they have had a Jewish upbringing and education within the context of a synagogue, has been held since approximately 1955. The American Reform movement was talking about patrilineality as early as 1929.

That presumption of Jewish status for a child of one Jewish parent – whether mother or father – is confirmed when the child reaches the age of barmitzvah or batmitzvah.

There is no certificate, no conversion, no Beit Din, no rabbinic determination of the status of the child, but a quiet acknowledgement that this individual teenager is a full member of the Jewish community, that they have never been anything other than Jewish and that one parent – together with upbringing and education (and not the religion of the other parent) – determines Jewish status.

In time, if the child wishes to marry someone who is Jewish, the couple will be able to celebrate their wedding underneath a chuppah, with a ketubbah, in a Liberal synagogue.

Couples and families with mixed backgrounds are welcomed and included into the life of Liberal Judaism congregations, and “there should be the opportunity for mixed couples to solemnise their partnerships with an Act of Prayer conducted by a rabbi, and, where possible to be buried together in our cemeteries”.

The need to be inclusive in our attitude to Jewish identity, to welcome sincere converts and to make the process of conversion no more difficult than it needs to be, is central to Judaism’s values of compassion and justice.

The stories that follow are just several of the moving testimonies of children of one Jewish and one non-Jewish parent.

But for the support of their parents, they would be lost to the Jewish people forever. The names of these individuals have been changed.

--SAUL IS 12-years-old and has been attending religion school classes at a Liberal synagogue for nearly eight years.

His father, Marc, is Jewish, his mother a non-practising Catholic, but supportive of her son’s attendance at synagogue classes and his Jewish identity.

Sitting in my office a few weeks ago, Saul is nervous, but keen to become barmitzvah next year. Both his mother and father are present and we talk about the significance of barmitzvah and his Torah portion, which is from the Book of Leviticus. He is knowledgeable, sensitive and feels his Jewish identity deeply.

Saul’s parents separated soon after he was born. There is no possibility of his mother’s conversion, but she is interested and keen and wishes to help her son celebrate his barmitzvah.

In the eyes of more traditional members of the Anglo-Jewish community, Saul is not considered to be Jewish because his mother is not Jewish, even though he has had a Jewish upbringing and education and celebrates Shabbat and the festivals with his father and his stepmother, who is Jewish. He has never thought of himself as anything other than Jewish.

In the eyes of Liberal Judaism, Saul is presumed to be Jewish.

--BENJAMIN, aged 30, grew up outside London with a Jewish father and nonJewish mother. Theirs was a secular home, with little knowledge about Jewish practice and observance. He was not brought up as Jewish and did not attend religion school or become barmitzvah.

He did visit his Jewish grandparents regularly, and remembers going very occasionally as a boy with his father to synagogue on Yom Kippur.

Benjamin went to school in an area where there were few Jews. Even if he felt he couldn’t identify himself fully as a Jew, his peers were more discerning.

He was constantly taunted in the school playground with antisemitic jibes.

Benjamin has now met and fallen in love with a Jewish woman.

They sit in my office to talk about a mixed faith blessing – a ceremony conducted by a rabbi, following a civil marriage ceremony.

There is no chuppah or sheva berachot (seven blessings), but the couple are able to create the service themselves and shape a ceremony that has meaning for both of them – a practice in Liberal Judaism that dates back to 2003, when public ceremonies were approved by the Liberal Rabbis’ Rabbinic Conference.

In the course of the discussion, I ask Benjamin about his background and the seeds of his Jewish identity as the child of a Jewish father. “I wasn’t brought up in a Jewish household,” he says. “Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my family and I have always been aware of my Jewish heritage. At school, I was always seen as being Jewish. I was circumcised, but my father couldn’t really explain to me why.”

I ask him what he feels about conversion or affirmation of Jewish status, the former requiring a full year’s programme of study in Hebrew and Judaism, the latter adapted to the needs of the individual.

He hadn’t been sure whether it would be possible for him to be considered fully Jewish, but the couple leave the synagogue to think about what steps Benjamin might take next.

In Benjamin’s case, he chooses to convert. He wants to create a Jewish family, bringing up children as Jews in a way that he had not fully experienced as a child and teenager.

--IN THE CASE of another young man, the son of a Jewish father and Christian mother, and who has only ever seen himself as a Jew, attending synagogue regularly at festivals, never missing a Seder at home, lighting the Chanukkah candles and with a very strong sense of Jewish identity passed on to him from his father, the route is an affirmation of Jewish status.

Although he never attended religion school, never celebrated a barmitzvah and did not take part in a Kabbalat Torah ceremony at 15, there is no doubt that he feels Jewish through and through and that the role of the synagogue and the Liberal Beit Din is to validate and honour that strong sense of Jewish identity.

It is his heritage and no one can take it away from him.

• Rabbi Alexandra Wright is co-chair of Liberal Judaism’s Rabbinic Conference

Interview

September/October 2015

LJ Today Page 3

‘We are already working together closely’ Can you update us on the progress of the next Liberal Judaism prayer book?

RABBIS Alexandra Wright and Richard Jacobi are the new co-chairs of Liberal Judaism’s Rabbinic Conference - where rabbis meet on a monthly basis to support each other and to forge religious and spiritual messages to the movement and beyond. Below, they talk about their backgrounds, goals and passions.

Can you tell us a little about yourselves?

Alexandra: My connection with Liberal Judaism goes back to my grandmother.

She was an early member of The Liberal Jewish Synagogue (LJS) and was spellbound by the sermons of Liberal Judaism’s first rabbi, Rabbi Dr Israel Mattuck. My earliest religious and spiritual influences were formed at the LJS – I attended religion school and was ‘confirmed’ there. I was ordained at Leo Baeck College in 1986, worked at the LJS with Rabbis Dr David J Goldberg and John Rayner until the end of 1989 and then moved to Radlett & Bushey Reform Synagogue (now Radlett Reform), where I was the sole rabbi for 14 years. I returned to the LJS as senior rabbi in 2004.

Richard: Growing up in the home of a Liberal rabbi and rabbi’s wife – the ‘Harry-and-Rose’ partnership: one a paid role, the other not, but fulfilled every bit as much – I absorbed Liberal Judaism from a very young age. Through youth clubs at Southgate and then Wembley, I became deeply involved in ULPSNYC (the forerunner of LJY-Netzer). Then, after a career providing management development, I shocked my family by changing course and becoming a rabbi!

With the support of my wife Lyn and children Josh, Abigail and Hannah, I studied at Leo Baeck College, was ordained in 2008, and am still enjoying ministering to my first congregation – Woodford Liberal Synagogue.

Rabbi Richard Jacobi presents a farewell gift to outgoing chair Rabbi Charley Baginsky, and Rabbi Alexandra Wright (inset)

What are your aims for the new role and building on the work of previous chair Rabbi Charley Baginsky?

Alexandra: Charley worked hard keeping us all in order, building strong relationships with Liberal Judaism’s council and Board of National Officers and investing in the new Progressive Alliance with the Movement for Reform Judaism, as well as chairing our Day of Celebration and Biennial events and being a passionate advocate for Liberal Judaism. Richard and I are already working together closely, firstly just to listen and find out from Charley and Rabbi Danny Rich, as well as new chair Simon Benscher, what their concerns and aspirations are. We want to build on the relationships that Charley has developed during her two years and continue the support that she has offered colleagues.

We’d also like to see more rabbis engaged in leading Rabbinic Conference and the movement.

JOYCE ROTHSCHILD, a member of Birmingham Progressive Synagogue, has won a British Citizen Award for her charity work (pictured left).

Joyce was presented with the award at the Palace of Westminster, in recognition of the incredible result of the fundraising campaign she launched to provide cancer patients with vital equipment at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Joyce fulfilled a pledge she made to the hospital after she successfully underwent radical surgery for breast cancer, almost 20 years ago.

Richard: The current state of the project is that we are developing ways of finding out how Liberal Jews and their communities currently use Siddur Lev Chadash, and what other liturgies or bespoke services they also use. We also intend to explore what spiritual needs bring people to Liberal Judaism and to their synagogue communities. One way of doing that is through a study pack on prayer, which we hope most, if not all, Liberal communities will explore over four or five sessions. Not everyone is convinced that we need a new prayer book, us included. I am confident we won’t need to make a decision – the way forward will emerge from study and reflection together.

Finally, what are you passionate about when it comes to Liberal Judaism?

Alexandra: I’m passionate about Judaism, full stop. It starts with the Torah and the prophetic books of the Bible – I have to keep reminding myself that the act of reading and re-reading weekly parashiyot from the Torah explaining, learning from commentaries and re-interpreting these texts for our own time - is something that has been happening for more than two millennia.

I’m also inspired by LJY-Netzer and the inextricable connection between our spiritual work as communities at prayer and the pursuit of social justice.

Richard: We are the latest stewards of a wonderful heritage – Judaism as a whole, and Liberal and Progressive Judaism in particular. The more we learn of it and from it, the better we will live our lives and influence others towards a better home, street, area, country and world.

Joyce then committed herself to raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support, to help provide more care and respite for cancer sufferers and their dependents. Starting with a small quiz, her annual brain-teaser is now a huge event, raising more than £100,000.

She said: “I feel very honoured to be given this award. The whole day was a wonderful experience. I was invited to speak and it was humbling to hear stories of how all the other recipients, aged from 16 to 100 years old, had done remarkable things for the benefit of their communities.”

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News

September/October 2015

The Jews Return to Kolín Michael Heppner on a moving visit to a Czech town

THEY CAME from five congregations on three continents, 70 Jews united by their common bond of each having a Torah scroll dedicated to the lost Jews of Kolín, in the Czech Republic.

Members of my own Northwood & Pinner Liberal Synagogue were joined by our friends at South London Liberal Synagogue, as well as Jews from America and Israel, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the return of Kolín’s Jewish survivors in 1945.

Events covering three days proved that although the town had lost 480 members of its population when the Nazis deported its Jews in June 1942, there were people from around the world who felt a bond with Kolín and that, once again, its historic synagogue would be alive with the sounds of Jewish life.

Three senior schools in Kolín had been set a challenge in 2013; to undertake projects that would commemorate the lives of some of the Jewish children of Kolín who had died at the hands of the Nazis. Working with the local museum, the amazing exhibition included the work of 57 teenagers who had previously known little about the Jewish children who had once lived in their town.

Apart from the presentation of the students’ projects, there were other moving events in the programme.

• MOSAIC JEWISH PRIMARY SCHOOL has been judged ‘Outstanding’ in every area, following its recent Ofsted inspection. The cross-communal free school, which opened in September 2013, will be moving from its temporary location in Wimbledon to new purposedesigned premises in Roehampton during September.

There was the dedication of a trail of brass Stolpersteine pavement memorials that wound its way round the centre of the town and former ghetto, passing the houses where Jews had lived and ending up in front of the 17th century synagogue that had been restored - with a large crowd showing the town’s commitment.

There were two packed Shabbat services in the restored synagogue, focusing on the stories of the Jewish survivors that had returned from the camps after defeat of the Nazis.

Then there was the launch of the English translation of the book by Rabbi Dr Richard Feder, the last rabbi of Kolín, who survived and wrote his account of what happened to the congregation.

A final act of remembrance took place at the New Cemetery, where Rabbi Feder had erected a memorial. On this memorial are the names of the 480 Jews of the town and, at the ceremony of remembrance, each person present represented one of the lost families of Kolín. As the Kaddish ended, each instinctively went up to the memorial to find their family.

Three powerful days that united Jews from three continents with the Jews of a small town in Bohemia that few would ever have heard of had it not been for their Czech Memorial Scroll.

• SOUTHGATE PROGRESSIVE SYNAGOGUE held an innovative Shabbat service open to all of God’s creatures – a pet service. A busy morning saw the congregation, which spanned three generations, come with their dogs, rabbits and guinea pigs. The outdoor service included prayers with guitar and flute accompaniments.

NPLS gets wired NORTHWOOD & PINNER LIBERAL SYNAGOGUE (NPLS) is now broadcasting its Friday and Saturday Shabbat services on the internet. The new initiative allows anyone who can’t get to a service to watch and listen from wherever they are.

Access to the streamed services are available through any internetenabled device - including computers, smartphones, tablets and televisions – from www.npls.org.uk/streaming.htm NPLS is the second Liberal community to stream Shabbat services, following on from the success of a similar programme run by The Liberal Jewish Synagogue.

Richard Conradi, leader of the NPLS streaming group, said: “This new facility has been enthusiastically received by many including the elderly, who are helped to view the services by the synagogue’s care group; by those in hospital or convalescent at home; by those who live too far away; by relatives of families celebrating special occasions; and finally by members on holiday.”

Liberals elected to Board divisions A NUMBER of Liberal Jews have been elected to the Board of Deputies’ divisions (subcommittees). New LJY-Netzer movement worker Sam Alston joins Shelley Salter on the division looking at community issues, while Janet Tresman is part of the defence and group relations committee. Stuart MacDonald chairs the finance and organisation group, which Karen Newman will serve on.

Finally outgoing LJY-Netzer movement worker Gabriel Webber is part of the international division.

Gabriel said: “I’m looking forward to supporting the Board’s excellent work in looking after our fellow Jews abroad.”

Enter the LJ Quiz LIBERAL JUDAISM’S annual InterSynagogue Quiz will take place at The Liberal Jewish Synagogue (LJS), 28 St John’s Wood Road, London, NW8 7HA, on Sunday November 8 from 3-6pm.

The competition is open to all Liberal Jewish communities, who can each enter one team of up to eight people. Members and congregations who wish to come in smaller groups, or alone, will be put together to make combined teams. For more details, and to confirm your place, email Judith Diamond at ljs@ljs.org

News

September/October 2015

LJ Today Page 5

Finally, a place forever theirs Remembering Srebrenica

By Rabbi Dr Margaret Jacobi

Three generations of the Jacobi family went to Berlin to remember relatives they lost (inset)

By Rabbi Richard Jacobi DURING a pavement ceremony attended by more than 40 people, five members of my father’s family, who had perished at the hands of the Nazi regime, were given a place where their names will be remembered. Stolpersteine, or stumbling stones, are the brainchild of artist Gunter Demnig, who fashions each block and heads it with a brass plate engraved with the name of a Shoah victim. These are mainly people who were killed in that fateful period, but Demnig’s wishes are that displaced survivors, such as my father Harry – who has just turned 90 – are also named. Their lives, he argued, were so radically changed that their dislocation must be remembered.

Nine members, spanning three generations, of the Jacobi family were part of the gathering outside Kantstrasse 59 in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin that morning. In total there were seven Progressive rabbis present, including my father, my sister Margaret and me.

An initial bilingual address was given by two representatives of the Stolperstein Institute. The Mayor of CharlottenburgWilmersdorf, Reinhard Naumann, spoke of the importance of the stones and of his joy in meeting my father again at this special time. My father paid tribute to the artist and thanked him, as he and a colleague had just finished setting the Stolpersteine into the cobbled part of the pavement, in two collections of three.

My great grandparents and great aunt formed one trio, while my grandparents’ and father’s stones made up the other group. Dad recalled the frequent Saturday morning walks with his 80-plus year old grandfather from Kantstrasse 59, down three flights of stairs and then on to the synagogue in Pestalozzistrasse, where they would sit together in the second row.

As my father stated, these Stolpersteine meant that, for the first time, he felt that there was “a place forever theirs”. Later that evening, the family joined the Kabbalat Shabbat service at Pestalozzistrasse Synagogue.

After the speeches, each inscription was read and white roses were placed around each set of stones. I chanted the El Malei Rachamim (‘God, full of mercy’ – the memorial prayer), and Margaret repeated this (bravely) in German. We ended by inviting those who could to join us in reciting Kaddish.

As the gathering began to disperse, two groups made themselves known.

One young couple, who had been present throughout, realised they currently rent the flat in which my great-grandparents lived until 1938. They invited us up and showed us round, which was very emotional for Dad. As we knew, it was from that balcony that he, his grandparents and other family members had watched the adulation of vast crowds on August 1, 1936, as Adolf Hitler’s motorcade swept him to the Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony.

The other group were a couple and the wife’s sister. It turns out that the sisters inherited Kantstrasse 59 from their aunt, who was the third generation of the family to own the building. Their relatives knew my great-grandparents quite well, and we were invited in to the couple’s flat in the block as well.

Two more lovely people were the volunteers of the Charlottenburg Stolperstein Institute, Evelyn KrauseKerruth and Gisela Morel-Tieman whose commitment to installing and maintaining Stolpersteine is incredible.

The commitment to remember, 70 years on from 1945, is shared by us and ‘them’, and is shown in a tangible way by the newly-laid Stolpersteine.

‘WELCOME TO HELL’ says the graffiti.

That sums up the situation in Sarajevo and Bosnia during the years from 1992-1995. I was privileged to visit there recently, as part of a multi-faith delegation organised by Birmingham City Council and the charity Remembering Srebrenica. It revealed to us the horror and complexity of a genocide which, 20 years later, remains unresolved.

We arrived in Sarajevo in late afternoon and went into the city centre. We visited the Tunnel Museum, based around the one tunnel through which supplies were smuggled for the entire city, and were introduced to the work of the International Commission for Missing Persons (ICMP) - which has the gruesome task of matching human remains with relatives to identify the missing.

We saw more of the ICMP’s work in Tuzla, before heading to Potocari, just outside Srebrenica, the site of a United Nations base. By 1993, 50,000 refugees from the surrounding area had fled to Srebrenica, which had formerly had population of 3,000. In March of that year, United Nations troops arrived and assured the refugees of their protection.

However, this protection proved illusory.

When air strikes finally began, Serbs threatened to kill the Dutch soldiers they had taken hostage if the bombing continued. The UN stopped the bombing.

Some 15,000 men started the journey on foot to Tuzla, 63 miles away. They were relentlessly pursued by the Serbs and murdered. The men who remained were separated from the women and children and shot. Around 8,500 men were killed.

Meanwhile, the women and children were expelled by the UN troops from the centre and piled into buses to be taken to Tuzla.

Throughout Bosnia, there were similar atrocities. Women were raped, men and boys were forced into concentration camps, beaten and starved and hundreds of thousands were murdered.

I left Bosnia understanding more about the conflict yet having many more unanswered questions. What does it mean to say ‘never again’ when you know that genocide has happened again and again? How can you repair a society torn apart by genocide? And how can human beings be capable of such evil and what does it say about God who created them?

These are questions which will remain with me but I know that in the meantime I have a duty to tell of what I have learnt.

Page 6 LJ Today

September/October 2015

Liberal Jewish youth in

Israel Tour 2015 was a rollercoaster month exploring Israel from top to bott Jewish-Arab youth circus. In the south, they visited the Progressive Jewish e discovered the world of Israeli technology and science. In the east, they expl besides. If you’re just starting school year 11, then please keep an eye on ww

Shnat Netzer is LJY-Netzer’s gap year programme in Israel for 18 year olds. Participants spend eight months exploring Israel’s diverse geographical lan

September/October 2015

LJ Today Page 7

Israel with LJY-Netzer

tom. In the north, LJY-Netzer members practiced their circus skills with a eco-Kibbutz Lotan. In the west, they relaxed on the beaches of Tel Aviv and lored Jerusalem and kayaked down the Jordan River. And so much more ww.ljy-netzer.org for details of next year’s Israel Tour‌

ndscape, learning Hebrew, studying Zionism, living as part of an ideological community, training to become leaders and having lots and lots of fun.

Page 8 LJ Today

Communities

Faiths gather for Anne Frank

ANNE FRANK DAY in Hereford was marked by the dedication of a tree and a moving interfaith service, attended by representatives of the Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths, local organisations and civic dignitaries. Liberal Judaism’s Rabbis Danny Rich and Anna Gerrard, pictured above left, led a short service to pay tribute to Anne’s life and the inspiration which she gave to countless generations.

Herefordshire Jewish Community chair Mark Walton said: “This was a wonderful occasion which brought together so many people of different backgrounds to commemorate Anne Frank and all the children who have died through conflict.”

September/October 2015

60 years of happiness

JOAN AND NATHAN ROSEMAN celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a card from the Queen and a special Shabbat service at Wessex Liberal Jewish Community. Rabbi Rene Pfertzel, pictured above (left) with Joan and Nathan, led the service, which was followed by a lavish kiddush enjoyed by a full house of well-wishers.

Dublin appoints rabbi emeritus RABBI DR CHARLES H MIDDLEBURGH has been appointed as the rabbi emeritus, and interim congregational rabbi, at Dublin Jewish Progressive Congregation (DJPC).

As rabbi emeritus, Charles will always be available to DJPC for spiritual and religious guidance and to offer rabbinic support in times of need.

He will also fill the position of interim congregational rabbi for a period of 1820 months from September 1, leading services on a regular basis, playing a central role in adult and youth education and helping the community address its long-term rabbinic requirements.

Obituary: Michael Reese

By Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah MICHAEL REESE, chair of Brighton & Hove Progressive Synagogue (BHPS), died on May 16 at the age of 72. Actively engaged in the project to redevelop our synagogue building, Michael always gave generously of his time and energies for the benefit of our community.

Michael drew on his wonderful skills as a recently retired set designer to contribute a very special gift to the synagogue, which has been at the heart of congregation life at our temporary home during the past three and a half years – a beautiful Ark. Michael took the bookcase, donated by Aubrey and Yetta Milstein, which had stood in the foyer of the synagogue, filled with books, and transformed it into a work of art, complete with carefully crafted glass doors.

At the first council meeting after Michael died, we paid tribute to his memory by reading: “Who among you loves life, and longs to enjoy good for many days? / Then guard your tongue from evil, and your lips from deceitful speech / Turn away from evil, and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”

Michael loved life and lived with creativity and zest, enjoying all that is good in life. He never said a bad word about anyone, and always spoke the truth as he saw it. Steeped in liberal and humane values to his core, Michael also acted humanely, and contributed in his own unique way to the task of increasing peace and well-being in the world.

Michael is survived by his wife, Sandria, his children, Aaron, Tabitha and Ben, and his grandchildren, Charlotte, Joseph, Emily, Georgie, Jack, Duncan and Anna.

Elli Tikvah Sarah is rabbi at BHPS

Communities

September/October 2015

LJ Today Page 9

Stevenage celebrates five years of success

Ed Herman, Yael Shotts, Rabbi Harry Jacobi, Gillian Wolfe, Terry Wolfe, Rabbi Lisa Barrett and Linda Paice enjoy a special anniversary lunch

GUESTS INCLUDING Rabbis Harry Jacobi and Lisa Barrett enjoyed a commemorative anniversary luncheon, as Stevenage Liberal Synagogue (SLS) turned five. The event, held at the Cromwell Hotel, saw guests toast a congregation that began life in 2010 as North Herts Liberal Jewish Community.

Liberal Judaism officer Ed Herman spoke at the lunch, congratulating the community on their growth from 19 members in 2010 to more than 50 today.

He said: “Stevenage Liberal Synagogue is flourishing, with an active and passionate council and membership. I look forward to many more anniversaries to come.”

Brighton at 80

SLS chair Gillian Wolfe then thanked Ed and Liberal Judaism, before paying tribute to the community’s hard-working council and members for their support at every service and event, which take place in various community centres around the area. She concluded: “Together we go forward for the next five years and more.”

of Adult LEHRHAUS Home Jewish Learning

Leo Baeck College At the heart of Progressive Judaism

COURSES 2015-2016 • Biblical Hebrew: Beginner and Intermediate Dr Alinda Damsma

MEMBERS OF Brighton & Hove Progressive Synagogue (BHPS) enjoyed a busy summer, as they held a siyyum on the return of their Sefer Torah and celebrated the community’s 80th anniversary. They also remembered late president Derek Jay, who first donated the Torah, which was sent away to have a section replaced due to a tear.

Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah, pictured above (centre) with her wife Jess Wood Sarah and Sofer Marc Michaels, said: “From the little ones making mezuzot, through the older children practising Hebrew calligraphy, to all ages participating in the writing of the last verses of our Torah scroll and dancing in procession, the siyyum was a wonderful, joyous occasion.”

BHPS secretary Louise Mordecai added: “As we celebrate the synagogue’s anniversary, we remember all of those who have contributed to our community. At this time, we are particularly grateful to those who have worked so hard on the redevelopment of our building and those who have generously donated. We are very excited about returning in December.”

• The Sound of Torah and Prayer Dr Annette Boeckler • Who is a Jew? Jewish Identities Dr Laliv Clenman • Martin Buber’s: ‘Eclipse of God’, and its contemporary relevance Rabbi Dr Judith Rosen-Berry

(Lectures in honour of Rabbi Sheila Shulman z’’l)

• Shoah through film: The Impact of WWII on Jewish Children and Families Dr Joanna B Michlic • Maimonides’ Radical Judaism: An enduring intellectual heritage Rabbi Mark L Solomon • Reading between the lines: A literary approach to Jonah and Ruth Rabbi Professor Jonathan Magonet • Who are we? A toolkit for understanding the British Jewish Community Dr Keith Kahn-Harris • ‘Jews don’t do art......’ - or do they?

Rabbi Colin Eimer

ABOUT US The Leo Baeck College Lehrhaus follows in the footsteps of the Berlin Lehrhaus established in 1920 by Franz Rosenzweig.

Leo Baeck College’s outstanding faculty teach subjects about which they are passionate and deeply knowledgeable.

The Lehrhaus marks an exciting time in the development and growth of adult Jewish learning for 21st Century Jews.

ENROL NOW LIMITED PLACES AVAILABLE All courses are held at Leo Baeck College on week-day evenings

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Page 10 LJ Today

High Holy Days

September/October 2015

Machzor goes round and round Spare a thought

By Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein President of Liberal Judaism PREPARING for the coming High Holy Days, I opened my Machzor Ruach Chadashah, saw it was published in 2003, and was amazed to realise and that this year will be the 13th year of its use. How time flies and where have the years vanished since, as a newly ordained rabbi, I joined the committee to edit its predecessor Gate of Repentance, which was originally published in 1973?

The first Liberal Jewish Prayer Book Volume II (for High Holy Days) was published by our founding Rabbi Dr Israel Mattuck in 1923 - and was used for 51 years. I wonder how long our current machzor will last? Will it need revising once our new siddur appears, whenever that will be? Intriguing how a year ending in three seems to mark the publishing of our High Holy Days prayer books.

I have been honoured each year, along with Rabbi Dr Charles H Middleburgh, my co-editor of Machzor Ruach Chadashah, to submit an essay to Rabbi Laurence A Hoffman’s volumes on aspects of High Holy Days liturgy.

As well as good for our ego, for among the other contributors are names far more well-known internationally than ours, we would like to think that it has been an opportunity to make known to a wide readership the creativity of the British Liberal Jewish liturgy. This year’s volume, the sixth, has over 40 essays, all on just one prayer - Avinu Malkeinu.

You might be thinking: how could so much be written on just one prayer? Most of the essays seek to solve the problem of the opening words; how could a modern non-Orthodox Jew appeal to “Our Father, Our King”?

Charles and I explain how we considered various alternatives to that literal translation. We rejected the easy way out of just transliterating the Hebrew, as some have done, making the opening verse “Avinu Malkeinu, we have sinned before you”.

An easy change was from ‘King’ to ‘Sovereign’. After all, as we wrote, we live “in a country whose head of state is

our Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth II”.

An alternative for ‘Father’ was not quite as easy. We chose ‘Creator’, based on the fact that both parents have a part in creating us, but we have to admit that it does not quite convey the aspect of God as the close and caring parent.

I wonder how Liberal Jews will feel these High Holy Days, after 13 years of use? Did we get it right, or do they miss the literal translation? Do they prefer the alternative formula we have added “Shechina Mekor Chayyeynu - Divine Presence, Source of our lives”?

Several essays in Hoffman’s book come to the conclusion that more important than the actual words is the melody to which they are sung. Think of Kol Nidrey... the traditional words are unacceptable to a Liberal Jew with its claim that just by reciting the formula our promises in the year past are cancelled.

We happily use an alternative – which I suspect few read through – but change the music and so many would object.

As you prepare for the High Holy Days, please think about what is most important for YOU: the intellectual thoughts, the traditional words, the creative themes, the music? Which prayer works best for you, which troubles you the most?

The Hebrew word “machzor” conveys the idea of a book that keeps coming round and round, just like the festivals.

I hope that Machzor Ruach Chadashah and the services you attend help you find meaning in these High Holy Days and I wish you a good, healthy and successful New Year.

• Naming God: Avinu Malkeinu, “Our Father, Our King” by Rabbi Lawrence A Hoffman is available now from Jewish Lights Publishing.

Memorial Services To be held on Sunday September 6: • The Liberal Jewish Cemetery at 11:00am (officiated by Rabbi Alexandra Wright) • Edgwarebury Cemetery at 1:00pm (officiated by Rabbi Aaron Goldstein) • The Western Cemetery at 3:00pm (officiated by Rabbi Yuval Keren) • Golders Green Crematorium at 3:00pm (officiated by Rabbi Lea Mühlstein)

By Simon Benscher Chair of Liberal Judaism AS WE SPEED swiftly towards the High Holy Days, I wonder if during our hours of communal spiritual refreshment we could give some consideration to the near 40 chairs of our Liberal congregations who would have probably spent days preparing what, for many of them, is the most important speech of their year.

For some, including me, to stand on the bimah in front of fellow congregants and friends is a daunting experience, while for others public speaking doesn’t cause even the slightest concern. But the one thing they all have in common is a desire to give a heartfelt and passionate appeal, not just for money to be donated to worthy and deserving charities, but also for everyone to give more of themselves.

For the vast majority of our communities the day to day functions and maintenance falls on the shoulders of a small number of willing helpers. In my experience, all of these volunteers are busy, hardworking people with either full time commitments to their work or their families, or possibly even both.

None the less, they still find the capacity in their busy lives to work for their extended family.

Ask any of these unsung heroes “why do you give yourself this extra burden” and I’m reasonably sure in most cases they won’t be able to give you a definitive answer. Our commitment to our communal Jewish homes is, for many of us, part of our DNA. It can’t be defined or labelled, but it gives the individual as much in the way of fulfilment, as they hope it gives to their congregation.

Where would we be without these stalwart members - organising and supporting without (much) complaint or expectation of praise? The answers are easy. Liberal Judaism wouldn’t be where it is today at the forefront of Progressive Jewish life.

Our inspirational Rabbis would not be able to lead us through our Jewish journeys. The Board of National Officers would have little value.

This year when you hear the annual appeal maybe, just maybe, make the commitment to play your part in the future of Liberal Judaism in the UK. L’shanah tovah!

Youth

September/October 2015

LJ Today Page 11

LJY-Netzer is Liberal Judaism’s Zionist youth movement. It gives young people the opportunity to develop a strong Progressive Jewish identity, make lasting friendships and have loads of fun

Your new movement workers are...

EACH YEAR LJY-Netzer and Liberal Judaism take on three movement workers, a team of salaried professionals based at our Montagu Centre head office, to run the youth movement. For 2015/16, we are delighted to introduce you to new team members Sam Alston and Anna Craven and re-introduce Tom Francies, who is staying on for a third year in the role: Name: Sam Alston Age: 22 Community: Kingston Liberal Synagogue Secret skill: I can jump over my own leg (though there is a chant associated with it, so I am not sure it counts as secret).

What do you feel passionately about: Cricket, climate change action, Jewish stories and cheese and lentil wedges.

Why do you love LJY-Netzer: LJYNetzer allows young people to access this brilliant Jewish tradition that we call Liberal Judaism, which is not only incredibly important to the Jewish people and faith, but also to so many individuals.

LJY-Netzer also has a wonderful effect on the people who participate, and lead, on events, allowing them to grow in confidence, understanding, faith and ability. It is also, 97% of the time, incredible fun.

What are you most looking forward to in 2015/16: Machaneh Kadimah summer camp, which will be taking place as you read this and is going to be the biggest and best in years. Also, in September, we have events lined up for the High Holy Days, as well as a Sukkot trip to Liberal Judaism’s newest community in York, to kick start an exiting new year.

Name: Anna Craven Age: 23 Community: New Stoke Newington Shul Secret skill: Telling cheese jokes and leading unusual meditation sessions.

What do you feel passionately about: Food and cooking.

The new team of Anna Craven, Tom Francies and Sam Alston on their first day in the office

Why do you love LJY-Netzer: Because there are so many opportunities and events for everyone, from the ages of five to 25, where we build people’s relationships with Judaism and Israel in a way that is both fun and meaningful.

What are you most looking forward to in 2015/16: Getting to know the movement and community and, above all, spending time with inspiring young people Name: Tom Francies Age: 24 Community: Northwood & Pinner Liberal Synagogue Secret skill: I can play the ukulele, but only Jewish songs.

What do you feel passionately about: Cooking, reading, long walks on the beach, cocktail making and monkeys.

Why do you love LJY-Netzer: It improves young people’s lives and gives them a better connection to their Jewish identity.

What are you most looking forward to in 2015/16: Going into a third year of movement work, as it gives me the opportunity to continue to work on LJYNetzer’s long-term strategic goals and build on the successes of my first two years. I’m really excited to be working with Anna and Sam, who have already brought new and exciting ideas to the table and will enthuse the movement with their creativity, passion and hard work.

Contact the LJY-Netzer team: Anna Craven (annac@liberaljudaism.org), Sam Alston (sam@liberaljudaism.org) and Tom Francies (tom@liberaljudaism.org); office telephone 020 7631 0584

Page 12 LJ Today

September/October 2015

Liberal Judaism congregations Edinburgh Liberal Jewish Community T: 0131 777 8024 E: info@eljc.org W: eljc.org

Beit Klal Yisrael (Notting Hill) E: bkymailing@gmail.com W: bky.org.uk

Finchley Progressive Synagogue T: 020 8446 4063 E: fps@liberaljudaism.org W: fps.org

Manchester Liberal Jewish Community T: 0161 796 6210 E: mljc@liberaljudaism.org W: mljc.org.uk

Gloucestershire Liberal Jewish Community T: 01242 609 311 E: shalom@gljc.org.uk W: gljc.org.uk

Mosaic Liberal Synagogue (Harrow) T: 020 8864 5323 E: office@mosaicliberal.org.uk W: mosaicliberal.org.uk

Herefordshire Jewish Community T: 01594 530 721 E: hjc@liberaljudaism.org W: herefordshirejc.org

Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue T: 01923 822 592 E: npls@liberaljudaism.org W: npls.org.uk

Kehillah North London T: 020 7403 3779 E: knl@liberaljudaism.org W: nlpjc.org.uk

Norwich Liberal Jewish Community E: nljc@liberaljudaism.org W: norwichljc.org.uk

Bristol and West Progressive Jewish Congregation E: bwpjc@bwpjc.org W: bwpjc.org

Kent Liberal Jewish Community T: 07952 242 432 E: enquiries@kljc.org.uk W: www.kljc.org.uk

Nottingham Liberal Synagogue T: 0115 962 4761 E: nls@liberaljudaism.org

Crouch End Chavurah E: info@crouchendchavurah.co.uk W: crouchendchavurah.co.uk

Kingston Liberal Synagogue T: 020 8398 7400 E: kls@liberaljudaism.org W: klsonline.org

Peterborough Liberal Jewish Community T: 020 7631 9822 E: info@pljc.org.uk W: pljc.org.uk

Bet Tikvah Synagogue (Barkingside) T: 020 8554 9682 E: bttkv@liberaljudaism.org W: bettikvah.blogspot.co.uk Birmingham Progressive Synagogue T: 0121 634 3888 E: bps@liberaljudaism.org W: bpsjudaism.com Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue T: 01273 737 223 E: info@bhps-online.org W: brightonandhoveprosynagogue.org.uk

Crawley Jewish Community T: 01293 534 294 Dublin Jewish Progressive Congregation E: djpc@liberaljudaism.org W: djpcireland.com Ealing Liberal Synagogue T: 020 8997 0528 E: els@liberaljudaism.org W: ealingliberalsynagogue.org.uk Eastbourne Liberal Jewish Community T: 01323 725 650 E: eljc@liberaljudaism.org W: eljc.org.uk

Lincolnshire Jewish Community T: 01427 628 958 E: ljc@liberaljudaism.org W: lincolnshirejc.co.uk

Bedfordshire Progressive Synagogue T: 0845 869 7105 E: bedsps@liberaljudaism.org W: bedfordshire-ps.org.uk

Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation T: 0116 271 5584 E: lpjc@liberaljudaism.org W: lpjc.org.uk The Liberal Jewish Synagogue (St John’s Wood) T: 020 7286 5181 E: ljs@liberaljudaism.org W: ljs.org The Liberal Synagogue Elstree T: 020 8953 8889 E: tlse@liberaljudaism.org W: tlse.org.uk

The Montagu Centre 21 Maple Street London, W1T 4BE T: 020 7580 1663 E: montagu@liberaljudaism.org W: liberaljudaism.org

Liberal Judaism is the dynamic, cutting edge of modern Judaism. It reverences Jewish tradition, seeking to preserve the values of the past, while giving them contemporary force.

Charity Number: 1151090

lj today is edited by Simon Rothstein Send your news to ljtoday@liberaljudaism.org Printed by Precision Printing. www.precisionprinting.co.uk

W: nottinghamliberalsynagogue.com

Reading Liberal Jewish Community T: 0118 942 8022 E: readingliberaljewishcommunity@ gmail.com W: www.readingljc.org.uk

Shenfield & Brentwood Synagogue T: 01277 888 610 E: tikvahchadasha@gmail.com W: roshtikvah.com South Bucks Jewish Community T: 0845 644 2370 E: sbjc@liberaljudaism.org W: sbjc.org.uk

South London Liberal Synagogue (Streatham) T: 020 8769 4787 E: slls@liberaljudaism.org W: southlondon.org Southgate Progressive Synagogue T: 020 8886 0977 E: sps@liberaljudaism.org W: sps.uk.com Stevenage Liberal Synagogue T: 01438 300 222 E: stevenageliberalsynagogue@gmail.com W: stevenageliberalsynagogue.org.uk Suffolk Liberal Jewish Community (Ipswich) T:01473 250 797 E: sjc@liberaljudaism.org Wessex Liberal Jewish Community (Bournemouth) T: 01202 757 590 E: info@wessexliberaljudaism.org.uk W: wessexliberaljudaism.org.uk West Central Liberal Synagogue (Central London) T: 020 7636 7627 E: wcls@liberaljudaism.org W: wcls.org.uk Woodford Liberal Synagogue T: 020 8989 7619 E: info@woodfordliberal.org.uk W: woodfordliberal.org.uk York Liberal Jewish Community T: 07922 683 787 E: york@liberaljudaism.org W: jewsinyork.org.uk Developing communities and affiliated congregations Beit Ha’Chidush (Amsterdam) T: 00 31 23 524 7204 E: bhc.informatie@gmail.com W: beithachidush.nl Oxford Jewish Congregation T: 01865 515 584 E: progressive@ojc-online.org W: ojc-online.org

President Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein Chair Simon Benscher Deputy Chair Lucian J Hudson Vice Chair Jackie Richards Treasurer Rosie Ward Israel and the Diaspora Tamara Schmidt Communications Ed Herman Social Justice Amelia Viney Youth and Education Robin Moss Music and IT Graham Carpenter National Officers Dr Howard Cohen, David Hockman and Ruth Seager Vice Presidents Monique Blake, Henry Cohn, Nigel Cole, Geoffrey Davis, Lord Fink, Jeromé Freedman, Louise Freedman, Rabbi Dr David Goldberg, Sharon Goldstein, Rabbi Harry Jacobi, Willie Kessler, David Lipman, Corinne Oppenheimer, David Pelham, David Pick, Rosita Rosenberg, Tony Sacker, Harold Sanderson, Joan Shopper, Beverley Taylor and Clive Winston Co-Chairs of Rabbinic Conference Rabbis Richard Jacobi and Alexandra Wright Senior Rabbi and C hief Executive Rabbi Danny Rich Student & Young Adult Chaplain Rabbi Leah Jordan Education Rabbi Sandra Kviat Music Cantor Gershon Silins Interfaith Rabbi Mark Solomon Operations Director Shelley Shocolinsky-Dwyer Archivist Alison Turner Director of Youth Becca Fetterman LJY-Netzer Sam Alston, Anna Craven and Tom Francies