Features

From the front line…

An end of restrictions is in sight. Proceed with caution!

BY JACQUELINE CURZON

Sophie Scholl is a name little known, but she is in fact an iconic figure in her native country of Germany, with an extraordinary story. This weekend would be the 100th birthday of this young lady who stood up to Adolf Hitler and ultimately paid for it with her life. Sophie was born in 1921 in the town of Forchtenberg, where her father was mayor. By the time she reached her teens, Hitler was running the country and, like many non-Jewish youths, Sophie and her older brother Hans joined the Hitler Youth movement and the League of German Girls, but they quickly grew disillusioned with fascism and the burgeoning antisemitism around them. Hans and Sophie moved to Munich to study at university and whilst there formed a small group of anti Nazi protesters. Their group of six were known as the "White Rose resistance," advocating non violent opposition. She was ultimately betrayed to the Gestapo and both she and Hans were interrogated and sentenced to death by guillotine. Despite being tortured, they refused to betray the rest of the group, but the authorities swiftly tracked them down and they were all executed. To commemorate the centenary of her birth a special German coin is being minted, which is a lovely way to remember such a special young woman.

An obituary of note this week was that of Yitzhak Arad (94), former chairman of Yad Vashem, the Jewish Holocaust Museum. Born in Świ ciany, 50 miles north of Vilnius, he and his family lived happily until the German occupation. In 1941 the 15 year old Yitchak Rudnicki managed to escape and flee to Belarus. Of a population of 3,000, most Jews were executed and the remaining 250 were forced to work as skilled tradesmen for the Germans. Arad and 10 friends decided to return some months later, but were captured. They were lucky not to be executed, and instead were tasked to clean confiscated Soviet weapons for the Nazis. In a massive act of bravery, he managed to smuggle some of these weapons out, which later came in useful when they met up - and fought with - Soviet partisans, known as the Markov Brigade. Ultimately 200,000 Lithuanians were murdered, mainly by collaborators. After the war he moved to Israel, where he changed his name to Arad, and after military service, he accepted the post of Director at Yad Vashem which he ran for 21 years. He was a highly academic individual, taking a BA in History, MA in Holocaust Studies, and laterally a PhD on the destruction of the Vilnius Jews. After retiring from Yad Vashem he taught Jewish history at Tel Aviv University and published extensively. We say Shalom, and thank you to an amazing man.

This week's data for covid deaths recorded figures in single digits, including zero deaths on Monday. Social distancing rules are now being replaced with guidance, restaurants and pubs will now serve food and drinks inside, overnight stays in hotels and B&Bs are back on the menu, and face masks are no longer compulsory in schools. Museums and cinemas will be reopening, and if you’re lucky, so might your doctor's surgery. To the return of these common sense steps, I can only say, Hallelujah. It is still unclear if any rules or guidance will differ between the vaccinated and the non vaccinated. Anyhow, you now have permission to hug your friends and relatives, although you are cautioned not to get carried away…. I can put money on Ms Sturgeon rejecting even a token Boris bump, far less acquiescing to a Hadrian hug. To those of us who have recently ignored the ban on the most minor of physical contact without misadventure, we say ‘about time, Mr J.’ Handshakes will now be timetabled for next January, with gender specific hand-holding at simchas, by 2023.

On a more serious note, a new enemy has emerged: mucormycosis. Ring any bells? Me neither, but pay attention because this is a seriously bad bit of news. (Skip the next few sentences if you are very squeamish.) It is a black fungus commonly found in soil and rotting vegetables. It can infect the sinuses, lungs and brain in immunocompromised individuals and is appearing in recovering covid patients in India. With 300,000 daily covid cases emerging, things are therefore looking very bleak. Before coronavirus the fungus was rarely seen, but hospitals in India are now seeing multiple cases each day. It has a mortality rate of 50% according to the CDC, and in the worst cases doctors have needed to remove eyes, the nose and parts of the jaw bone to save the patient's life. Dr Prashant Rahate, in Nagpur, says the Mucor ‘is playing absolute havoc.’ In Gujarat every hospital will have a dedicated mucormycosis ward. Medication to treat it {intravenous antifungal injections} is generally unaffordable for most Indians, at a cost of £33 per day. Maybe the UK could send some antifungal IVs and try and prevent further misery? In Nepal, climbers on Everest are being asked to bring empty oxygen cylinders back down, as the country’s healthcare system approaches collapse with a surge in covid cases. Given the season must be over by now, there should be no need for climbers to take them UP.

Someone is always in charge, be it in business, education or politics, but not all those in charge are leaders. Sir Keir Starmer, rather more parve than fleishig in the kaleidoscope of politics, is unfortunately proving such an anomaly:- Captain of a struggling ship which has set a course for collision. His reluctance to prescribe meaningful change since he took over in opposition, has rankled with supporters, who have voted with their feet. For a former DPP without natural political acumen to put forward a pro-Remain candidate in Hartlepool was surely a suicidal mission in a town with one of the highest Leave electorates. Misjudgments and his general lack of concrete policy and political gravitas has resulted in the loss of 300 Labour council seats. Angela Rayner has now been promoted to Deputy Leader [also Shadow first Secretary of State, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Shadow Secretary of State for the future of work]. Despite this catalogue of portfolios, she has been replaced as Party Chairman by Anneliese Dodds. Now, they do say ‘if you want a job done, ask a busy woman,’ so Ms Dodds and Raynor may find themselves being promoted even higher, if Starmer doesn’t get his act together.

E-scooters are becoming all the rage. Who hasn’t had to swerve to avoid a collision from the silent pavement predator? This week a 3 year old child was seriously injured after a pavement ‘hit and run’ from a scooter. He was struck from behind, the rider fell off but quickly remounted and rode off without stopping. To clarify the position on e-scooters, they are legal to buy in the UK, but illegal to be ridden on pavements or roads, and may only be ridden on private land. Those joyfully and selfishly meandering along roads and pavements do take note of this, and also of the £300 fine which you might receive, plus points on your driving license if you are a driver. Let’s wish the little lad a full recovery. In another unbelievable incident, James Gibbons (34) was stabbed by a youth of 16. The self employed plumber had gone to the aid of another man, and then died in an altercation. Mr Gibbons' family said ‘he had spent the day celebrating the second birthday of his twin daughters.‘ How sad that so often the Good Samaritan loses their life, defending others. A posthumous award would surely be appropriate in such cases.

I am sad to mention the passing of my good friend Nan, from Glasgow, whom my mother had known since school (1940s), and who later was her bridesmaid. Over the lifetime they had known each other Nan had proved an enigmatic and outgoing lady, talented in the dramatic arts and dance, and who was still active in her 80s. Whilst many might boast of having a long life, few can claim to have had such a full and happy life. She was simply put, a whirlwind of activity and positivity. The last time I visited her, some months back, she spontaneously broke into a song and dance routine she had choreographed some years back. Like so many people today, her book of life was summarily snapped closed by an advancing cancer. Whilst looking through their 1947 yearbook, I came across a poem which she had written, aged 15. The poem is called: “Ssh! Don’t Tell!”

Jacqueline Curzon

PHOTO: LARA MINSKY PHOTOGRAPHY

There was a young lady called Ellen, who enter’d a contest at spellin’, when once she got stuck, she had awful luck, for one of the rules was ‘no telling’.

I will struggle to move these little mementos on as they feel too personal to just drop into recycling, but I might offer them to her extended family. And, of course, I still have jotters and notebooks of my own. !! Poignantly, I wonder if any of my own family will keep these or the souvenir journals I compiled of my travels across Europe and Africa. My Russian trip is still provisionally on the cards, and all being equal, I fully intend to document my {likely hilarious} exploits and experiences of that journey also.

And sadly, I end with a story of a baby minke whale which got lost and ended up 100 miles out of its usual habitat. As our smallest whales in UK waters, minkes can grow to 10 metres, and are common in the North Sea, so it is unclear how it then ended up in the Thames, near Richmond Lock, stuck on boat rollers. Teams from RNLI and British Divers Marine Life Rescue did their utmost to save the whale, but it managed to wriggle free and swam off, ending up in Teddington Lock. It was then obvious that it was seriously injured from being stranded amongst vines and weeds, and pushed up against the brick wall of the river. After assessment from experts and a vet at London Zoo, the decision was made to put the whale down. Dan Jarvis, field support officer at BDMLR, said that whales usually come ashore for good reason; other than very occasionally getting lost, they would normally be ill or injured. An autopsy is planned to find out more, especially to ascertain if any environmental factors came into play.

Love

Jacqueline x

Jewish Women’s Aid launches fundraiser

BY MICAELA BLITZ

Jewish Women’s Aid launch fundraiser

This week, Jewish Women’s Aid launched a fundraising drive to expand its education department for Jewish youth. This was in response to nationally reported allegations of widespread harassment and abuse of young women and girls by their peers posted on the Everyone’s Invited website.

Over 15,000 anonymous testimonies have been submitted to the Everyone’s Invited site since March 2021, all of which share personal experiences of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault within UK schools. Included in this number were over 30 posts relating to Jewish schools and Jewish Societies, and as a result of these reports, Jewish Women’s Aid have been proactively meeting with school leaders and offering schools and youth movements support to develop a culture of respect within the community’s educational settings.

Since schools re-opened in March, Jewish Women’s Aid have run 26 sessions on healthy relationships in three London schools, and have further sessions scheduled for five schools in London and Manchester over the coming weeks.

In order to increase the capacity of their education team to allow more sessions to be planned and delivered, Jewish Women’s Aid need to urgently raise £200,000. Their existing education programme has reached over 3,000 Jewish young people and educational professionals, but whilst this is considerable reach, this is often only for one-off sessions. They are keen to develop a more ‘whole school approach’ which will reflect each school’s own ethos and needs. Money raised will also help to expand the number of schools leaders and education professionals they are able to support, and to begin to directly interact with parents, many of whom have contacted the organisation for information and support in light of these recent reports.

Naomi Dickson, CEO of Jewish Women’s Aid, feels that these reports have highlighted many issues facing young people, and as a result there has been an increase in calls received from schools, and parents, as well as young women and girls.

“What we’re hearing is that some girls feel scared, unheard and preyed upon, and boys feel accused and unsure how to respond. We have the experience and expertise at Jewish Women’s Aid to provide them with what they need: the tools to shape a culture of consent and respect, where sexual harassment has no place. But we can’t do that without additional funding, which is why we’ve taken the decision to call on the community for their support.”

If you would like to make a donation, please go to: jwa.org.uk/donate For anyone seeking help or advice, please contact the JWA helpline – 0808 801 0500 or contact via JWA web chat at jwa.org.uk

Fiamma Aromas

BY MICAELA BLITZ

For Sarah David and Emma Rosenblatt what started off as a sociable brunch between friends ended up becoming more of a business meeting, which led to the pair starting a company together. When the two friends started discussing life, work and Covid, Sarah, who had worked in the events industry for many years, shared with Emma that she was looking for a new challenge.

“I had thought about setting up a company making and selling wax melts for a while but had no idea where to start with it. I have used them myself for a long time and wanted to make others aware of how beneficial they can be to wellbeing. Emma managed to persuade me to think more seriously about it, and by the next day we had created Fiamma Aromas together.”

Sarah came up with the idea to use the word Fiamma which means ‘flame’ in Italian, in honour of her own Italian heritage. Fiamma Aromas relates not only to the wax melts themselves, but also to the ethos and long-term vision of the company they have created. As Emma explains, “A flame is always reaching higher, shining its light for the benefit of others and a flame is neither physical nor spiritual. We want to encourage a more mindful and conscious world, bridging the gap between the physical and digital wellbeing space, giving people the tools to quieten their minds and tap into their own being through our products.”

All of their products are handmade by Sarah and Emma themselves using organic, vegan materials which reflect the three core principles of their business, wellbeing, sustainability and consciousness. All the packaging used for their products is plastic-free and eco-friendly and each product comes with a small handwritten gift tag with an inspiring note of wisdom.

Producing soy wax melts can take around two weeks to cure once they have been made to ensure the fragrance is at its optimum and are available in four different fragrances which capture different moods – comfort, relax, spirit and warmth. Compared to scented candles, the fragrances of wax melts last around 40% longer, and they generally burn for around eight hours which is double the amount of time of most candles making them more cost-effective. Furthermore, as the melts are made from organic soy wax, unlike regular candles which are made out of a paraffin wax, Fiamma Aromas wax melts won’t emit any nasty paraffin

Sarah David and Emma Rosenblatt

and petroleum derivatives into your home - making them safe for babies and pet-friendly.

Since launching their company in November 2020, they have been overwhelmed with the response they have received for their products. When their website went live, they sold out three times over. A recent post by a major influencer has also helped to increase people’s awareness of their company and has helped boost orders. Now that lockdown restrictions are starting to ease, they are looking forward to being able to take their products out to markets and fairs. They recently did their first market and had a great response to their products. As Emma explains, “The reaction we had was amazing and it was great to be able to share our products with a wider audience and speak to other people about them rather than just friends and family!”

The pair have also been busy launching a new product to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week (10th – 16th May). ‘A Moment to Pause’, is a gift set consisting of 14 mini mindfulness candles (with an approx burn time of 20minutes), a handmade gold clay candle holder and 14 cards with thoughtful and mindful thoughts and messages to encourage reflection and some quiet space to ‘fuel the soul’.

Emma and Sarah believe that one of the reasons that they work so well together as a team is that they have different skills that they bring. Emma’s marketing back-

ground has helped to develop a brand, including its mission and purpose, designing and building the website and marketing the business. Whilst Sarah’s events management skills means that she is the creative, ensuring every last detail is thought of and is responsible for the wellbeing content. They also have a shared vision that is central to everything that they do which relates to self-care and wellbeing, and they think particularly at the moment these are important. As Sarah explains, “We aim to give our customers the tools to be able to tap into their own innate wellbeing, and channel this to be able to fuel their mind, body and soul. The aromas that we use have great healing properties, as well as filling people’s homes with these powerful, uplifting, and calming fragrances.”

To find out more about their products, visit www.fiammaaromas.com

If you are a businesswoman and would like to tell us more about your business, please contact Micaela micaela@thejewishweekly.com

Meaning and Purpose Part 1

This article is part of a serialisation of the book ‘Go to Yourself’ transformation through Jewish wisdom and Psychology’. The author Aryeh Sampson is a psychotherapist based in North London and counsel’s online. It combines approaches from psychotherapy and Jewish wisdom to address many psychological issues that modern man is faced with. This includes overcoming anxiety, low self esteem, improving relationships and creating a greater sense of meaning and spirituality.

BY ARYEH SAMPSON

If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?

(Ethics of the Fathers 1:14)

We all have a drive to express ourselves in a meaningful way, to make the world a better place — to make a difference. Jewish thought teaches that everyone has a unique role to play, and that one should view the world as their own personal responsibility. The Talmud explains, a person is obligated to say, “the world was created for me,” which means the world is my responsibility.

One of the reasons why Kaddish, is said for a person who passes away is that there is something missing in the world without his or her unique contribution. Kaddish re¬minds and motivates the congregation to draw inspiration from the life of the deceased in order to fill that gap.

Victor Frankl, a psychotherapist and Holocaust survivor, proposed that the drive for meaning is mankind’s primary motivation. While in Auschwitz, he observed that fellow prisoners who had a sense of purpose showed a greater propensity for survival. He expressed a similar sentiment to that held by Jewish thought. “Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life. He cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus everyone’s task is unique as his specific opportunity.”

But when we don’t express our talents in a purposeful way, inner turmoil results; this can cause psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.

A story is told about Reb Zusha. One day, his students found him crying. “Why are you crying?” they asked. He answered, “When I die, God won’t ask me why weren’t you Abraham, Isaac , or Jacob, but I will be asked, why weren’t you Zusha?!”

Victor Frankl explained that without a sense of purpose, a person will feel an emptiness, an existential vacuum. He gives the example of someone who has free time on the weekend and experiences a void, as he becomes aware of the lack of content in his life. This experience is also common at birthdays and other life milestones. Midlife crises, a lack of fulfillment at work, and the empty nest syndrome can also be manifestations

of the pain of a lack of purpose.

When the renowned psychiatrist Carl Jung experi¬enced an acute midlife crisis, it prompted him to develop theories which proposed that the passage through midlife is a spiritual/religious journey, and embodies a search for a deeper meaning, value, and purpose in life.

We are now going to look at how we express our drive for mean-ing, and how this alleviates psychological suffering.

A child who receives critical feedback and discouragement about his aspirations and abilities may then lack the confidence to pursue his dreams and goals later in life.

STAGE 1: AWARENESS

To begin, we need to gain awareness into our drive for meaning and what is holding us back from expressing it more deeply. Let’s look at a few common examples.

Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto explained that people avoid facing the deeper issues of life, such as expressing themselves more meaningfully, by keeping themselves so busy that they never have the time to think about such things. Frankl described this phenomena as “an un¬heard cry for meaning,” wherein people mask their inner void by pursuing power, status, material success, and physical pleasure. Laziness can also play a role in creating an inertia that prevents us from pursuing a more meaningful life. We may think, “Why should I bother to strive to contribute more?” As King Solomon explained, the lazy person invents many rationalizations. As he wrote in Proverbs, “The lazy man rationalizes, saying, ‘There is a lion on the road, a lion is on the highways,’ as an excuse not to travel to study from his teacher.”

Fear, worry, and a lack of self-confidence are other causes, which may have their roots in the person’s upbringing. A child who receives critical feedback and discouragement about his aspirations and

abilities may then lack the confidence to pursue his dreams and goals later in life.

Aaron, a tax lawyer, had a loving family and was well-respected by his peers. At the age of forty, he started to gamble and drink. After losing large sums of money, he decided to enter therapy. Aaron discovered that although he appeared to be externally happy, he was unfulfilled. His unhappiness was rooted in the fact that he found his work very boring and that he had never wanted to go into law in the first place. As a child, he possessed a strong sense of social justice and wanted to become a social worker. But he was ridiculed by his parents who didn’t consider it a sufficiently well-paid and prestigious job for their son. As a result of this ridicule, Aaron developed a terrible fear of doing things that would bring him ridicule from others, and he ignored his desire to become a social worker.

Once we have become aware of what is holding us back, we can move on to the stage of control, where we look at how to overcome the obstacles.

STAGE 2: CONTROL

2(a) Thought

Taking time to introspect and to think about these issues is an important way to move forward. Rabbinical thought recommend setting aside daily and weekly times for soul searching and contemplation.

Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto writes that just as a businessman sets aside regular times to evaluate if his business is succeeding and how it can be improved, we too should set aside regular times to introspect and evaluate our own lives.

Here are two important questions that might be helpful to contemplate:

1. What are your dreams, aspirations, and passions?

2. In which way could you more fully express your talents and benefit others?

Rabbi Noach Weinberg, zt”l, was fond of asking people two other questions to focus their attentions on addressing these issues.

“Are you eating to live or living to eat?” People would answer adamantly, “Eating to live!” He would then reply, “If you are eating to live, what you are living for?” He would also ask, “Do you know what you are willing to die for?” And then continue, “If you don’t know what you are willing to die for, you haven’t begun to live, and if you do know, live for it!”.

If you are interested in viewing a webinar on Love, Communication and Marriage, or receiving a free download copy of Go to Yourself, email aryeh.sampson@gmail. com. He also has a YouTube channel, ‘Aryeh Sampson’ where he shares insights on a range of psychological issues. For more information about counseling view www.ascounsellinginnorthlondon.co.uk