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EXTREMIST FOUND GUILTY 22 February 2018/ 7 Adar 5778
@TheJewishWeekly 041
SOMALIAN FOUND GUILTY OF PLOTTING TO KILL JEWS, THE QUEEN AND SPURS FANS BY ADAM MOSES
A Somalian man who plotted to kill members of the Stamford Hill Jewish community has this week been found guilty of preparing for acts of terrorism at the Old Bailey. Aweys Shikhey was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on March 15th. The Dutch national had also discussed on WhatsApp about attacking the Queen and Spurs fans as they left Tottenham’s Hotspur’s White Hart Lane stadium. Commander Dean Haydon, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “To his friends and colleagues Shikhey was, on the face of it, leading a normal life here in London. But unbeknown to them and to his wife and family in Holland, he was a supporter of ISIS and had spent more than a year planning how he could leave the
UK and travel to join them in Syria. “Thanks to the information we received from the Kenyan authorities and the good work here by my detectives thereafter, we have been able to thwart his attempts and stop him from joining ISIS and committing terrorist acts over there.” Jurors were told that the 38-yearold delivery driver, who lived in north London, was stopped and arrested by Counter Terrorism officers as he prepared to board a flight to Turkey on route to Syria to fight for Islamic State last May. Officers launched an investigation 12 months ago after a tip off from Kenyan authorities. Through encrypted messages with a fellow Somalian from Kenya, it became clear that a UK-based man wanted to travel to Syria to join ISIS then allegedly carry out a number of firearms attacks. Officers became aware Shikhey
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had booked a flight from Stansted to Sarajevo via Istanbul in May 2017.
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2 NEWS
22 FEBRUARY 2018
THE JEWISH WEEKLY
Anti-Zionist Greenstein has Labour Party membership revoked BY LEAH WAXLER
The Board of Deputies has welcomed a decision to expel Labour activist and Palestine Solidarity Campaign founder Tony Greenstein from the Labour Party. The outspoken anti-Zionist’s membership was cancelled at a meeting of the party’s National Constitutional Committee (NCC) in Brighton. “This had to be the right decision,” said President Jonathan Arkush. “His long record of noxious behaviour makes him an unsuitable
member for any respectable political party. It is to be hoped that significant outstanding Labour Party disciplinary cases will follow swiftly and yield the same result. “The Jewish community has waited long enough for the Labour Party to show that it is serious about zero tolerance of anti-Semitism. “This result is a step in the right direction, but there is a way to travel yet.” Greenstein was expelled from the Party previously but allowed to rejoin. A Labour spokesperson noted it was proven that Greenstein had
Jewish Care and RNIB united in ‘Talking Books’ library BY ADAM MOSES
Jewish Care and the Royal National Institute of Blind People have united to provide ‘print impaired’ readers free access to 400 talking books of Jewish interest. The new service, supported by the KC Shasha Charitable Foundation, has been rebranded and relaunched as Jewish Care Connect. The new partnership enables Jewish Care to free up resources to produce a wider range of unique Jewish audio news, culture and current affairs content. “This is a win, win partnership,” enthused Sandi Wassmer, Jewish Care’s Digital Services Development Manager. “RNIB offers a far more comprehensive Talking Books service than we ever could. “RNIB’s extensive library now includes 400 talking books of Jewish interest and it is free to use. “Print impaired Jewish people will have access to a far wider range of audio content.” Scott Lynch, RNIB Solutions Managing Director commented: “For more than 80 years, our Talking Books library has provided a lifeline to people living with sight loss, helping to end isolation and opening up a whole new world. “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Jewish Care to make even more titles available to our customers and continue to grow this important service.”
Historically, Jewish Care has provided access to Jewish-related talking books, newspapers and magazines for over 40 years. Jewish Care will continue to provide weekly-abridged audio versions of Jewish interest from news outlets, a round table discussion of topical interest with members of the Jewish Extra team and topical experts, together with interviews and other features including audio described gallery and museum visits. The free service is available to print-impaired people living in the UK. RNIB’s collection of over 26,000 Talking Books is available in CD, USB and digital download formats. The charity provides over one million audio books each year to people living with sight loss. Jewish Care has supported its customers to transfer over to RNIB’s service. Details: www.rnib.org.uk/talkingbooks
breached all three charges of the Party’s rule 2.1.8. “The NCC consequently determined that the sanction for the breach of Labour Party rules will be expelled from membership,” said a statement. “The Labour Party will make no further comment on this matter.” Commenting on the decision, Joe Glasman, Campaign Against Anti-Semitism Head of Political and Government Investigations, said: “Even following the verdict, Tony Greenstein has continued to shamelessly call people ‘Zios’ on social media as he had done with impunity until today’s decision. “We are pleased the Labour Party has at long last begun to expel those it finds guilty of abusive conduct, but its action is more than two years overdue. “It must end Baroness Chakrabarti’s practice of secret hearings and urgently and transparently hear the hundreds of stalled cases awaiting decisions.” He added: “We must not forget that this is still a party that counts
Tony Greenstein
Jackie Walker, Ken Livingstone and hundreds of others like them among its members.” The Jewish Labour Movement also welcomed the pronouncement stating Greenstein’s membership was at “complete odds with our collective values of solidarity, tolerance and respect”. A spokesman added: “Deliberately harassing, intimidatory and hateful language of the kind Mr Greenstein has continually used has no place inside the Labour movement. “Despite the unacceptably long time it has taken to reach this conclusion, we are heartened that the party has sent out a clear message on this today. “We will continue to press the party to deal firmly and swiftly with anti-Semitism including the high
number of cases that are still waiting to be resolved.” Greenstein attacked the process, taking legal action to delay the hearing. According to a copy of the Labour Party’s legal arguments, the charges related to comments made by Greenstein on social media and his blog. Among comments found unacceptable were Greenstein inappropriately using the terms ‘zio’ and Zionist scum’ and “final solution”. Rule 2.1.8 states: ‘No member of the party shall engage in conduct which in the opinion of National Executive Committee is prejudicial, or in any act which in the opinion of the NEC is grossly detrimental to the party.’
El Al has launched a trio of economy class ticket prices for passengers.
Managing director for North Europe and Africa, Oranit Beit Halachmi announced exciting changes at a press conference in London. New ticket prices go on sale from April 30 and come into effect shortly after Succot on October 15. “Lite”, “Classic” and “Flex” fares will be available to customers. “Lite” offers a basic flight ticket with no seat choice and hand luggage (up to 8kg) only. A “Classic” ticket is a choice of seat and one item of baggage (up to 23kg) whilst a “Flex” option includes changing or cancelling tickets. All passengers receive a meal on flights. Ms Beit Halachmi outlined the airline’s fleet overhaul, which included the first of 16 new Boeing 787 Dreamliners last year with
B787 of El Al
seven expected to be in service by the end this year. El Al’s fleet totals 40 aircraft including 777s and 747s that will cease service as Dreamliners come on line. Currently, El Al has one Dreamliner operating between London and Tel Aviv. El Al also announced changes to its pilot programme. In addition to former Israeli airforce pilots, El Al has started a joint
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venture flight school in the US that includes candidates with no prior experience. All El Al pilots must hold Israeli citizenship. Other changes include USB ports on all airline seats and Wi-fi service on flights. Ms Beit Halachmi told the Jewish Weekly: “ Here at El Al, we have worked hard to make these changes and are excited to see them roll out in the next few months.” WHAT’S INSIDE THIS WEEK 02 News 08 Letters 12 Community News 18 Sports 20 Business 21 Supplement
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NEWS 3
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Somalian found guilty Board president defends Brit Milah on BBC of plotting to kill Stamford Hill Jews BY ADAM MOSES
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
officers arrested Shikhey before he could board the plane. On his arrest, officers seized electronic and mobile devices from Shikhey, both in his possession at the airport and also from his home address. On these, they found further evidence of his support for ISIS. Officers also found that he had been in touch with a woman in Norway. And through chat and audio files on his devices, they discovered further incriminating evidence. Leading up to his planned flight, Shikhey had applied for various loans to fund his desire to join ISIS. Most applications were unsuccessful, but he did secure a £10,000 loan claiming it was to pay for a wedding. Shikhey, who had two wives – one in Holland and another in Kenya
t. Es
was planning on eloping with his jihadi finance. He was charged on offences contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006 on 30 May 2017.
Aweys Shikhey
Board of Deputies President, Jonathan Arkush defended Brit Milah with gusto on BBC Newsnight on Monday night. His appearance followed news that Iceland’s parliament was considering legislation making non-medical circumcision to boys under the age 18 illegal. The Left Green Movement, Progressive Party, People’s Party and Pirate Party proposed the Bill. Iceland would be the first country to pass this legislation. Practitioners performing the surgical procedure could be jailed for up to six years. Jewish and Muslim leaders have condemned the proposal as an “attack on religious freedom”. Asked by Newsnight’s presenter Emily Maitlis whether parents went through circumcision because it was a “ritual”, Mr Arkush said he and his wife had “no doubt whatsoever” they wanted their son brought up in “traditional Jewish religious values” complying with Torah commandments. Questioned on his viewpoint on the procedures’ irreversibility, Mr Arkush noted that he did not know of any Jewish boy who would want to do so.
1983
Yo u r l i n k t o a w o r l d o f t r a v e l
A brit milah was “integral to our core values and identity,” he explained. Mr Arkush was asked his view if Iceland went ahead with the proposal. “Iceland as a liberal country is doing something illiberal,” he said. He suggested that simply banning something because you don’t approve of it, then why not ban smoking as it caused real harm including to people that do not smoke. Mr Arkush added: “This is an attack on religious freedom, it’s not a protection.” “The Bishop of Reykjavik and Catholic Bishops of Europe have criticised the ban as an infringement of religious freedom and they are absolutely right to do so.” Dr Anthony Lempert, a GP and Secular Medical Forum chair argued against circumcising boys too young to consent. The Icelandic bill says circumcision is incompatible with the United Nations convention on the rights of the child. The President of COMECE, the Commission of the (Catholic) Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community, condemned the bill by Progressive Party MP Silja Dögg Gunnarsdóttir and eight MPs to ban circumcision in Iceland.
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Jonathan Arkush
German cardinal Reinhard Marx, a confident of Pope Benedict, also slammed the ban. Marx cited the bill as attacking religious freedom and noted Jewish and Muslim boys are often circumcised. He urged European Union to help prevent the bill passing. It is thought that around 250 Jews live in Iceland. Jewish communities throughout Europe voiced concerns over the bill.
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4 NEWS
22 FEBRUARY 2018
THE JEWISH WEEKLY
Thousands attend Parkland funerals as Florida governor meets local Chabad leaders BY LEAH WAXLER Thousands of mourners attended the funerals of Jewish victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland. Four Jewish students and a Jewish lecturer were among 17 people killed by Nikolas Crus last Wednesday. Teenagers Meadow Pollack, Alyssa Alhadeff, Jamie Guttenberg, Alex Schachter and Geography teacher Scott Beigel lost their lives in the latest gun tragedy to stun America. Mr Beigal died whilst ensuring students took shelter in his classroom and in the immediate television coverage students told CNN how his actions saved their lives. Governor Rick Scott met with Chabad rabbis who serve the Parkland and Coral Springs communities to discuss initiatives in response to the tragedy in a private meeting on Monday. Govenor Scott asked for their thoughts to bring “moral values into
Children being led away from the scenes of terror last week
the school,” Rabbi Yankie Denburg of Coral Springs told lubavitch. com. Rabbis proposed a ‘moment of silence’ at the start of a school day offering a space to reflection. They also suggested creating ‘CLUB17’ in honour of the victims to promote thoughtful messages and a ‘Wall of Goodness’ buddy system for older and younger students. Rabbi Denburg said that the
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meeting was a call to action; the Governor was receptive and took notes. Rabbis Yankie Denburg, Yossie Denburg, Avraham Friedman, Yossi Biston, Shuey Biston, Moshe Rabin and Hershy Bronstein together with their families have been on hand for anyone impacted by the tragedy. “We need to deal with the fundamental moral void and emotional darkness that currently exists and is
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causing so much violence and suffering,” Rabbi Denburg added. At the funerals there was fury among mourners who called for more stringent gun controls. Thousands of students, parents, teachers and residents participated in a rally in Fort Lauderdale to vent their anger in the aftermath of the tragedy. President Donald Trump, despite being a strong supporter of gun rights and the National Rifle
Association, offered support for calls to strengthen federal gun background checks. As survivors stated they would become the “voice” of reviving gun control movement, Trump agreed to hold a “listening session” with an unspecified group. Trump criticised the FBI for missing signals of Cruz’s intentions, arguing agents focused more on attempting to prove “Russian collusion” during his successful presidential campaign earlier this week. As for the suspect, Cruz appeared in court with his lawyer stating he would plead guilty to killing 17 people if the state agrees not to seek the death penalty. There seems certain to be further repercussions in the coming days and weeks. Around 40 percent of students are Jewish at the Florida school.
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6 NEWS
22 FEBRUARY 2018
THE JEWISH WEEKLY
The Bibi Files – Part One of Three
BY JAMES MARLOW From the police chief over the Netanyahu allegations to the Prime Minister’s rivals in verbal warfare for the top job, many in Israel are just switching off and getting on with their lives which is probably not a bad thing to do. But Channel 2 News did come out with a new poll suggesting that the Likud, led by Netanyahu would still be the largest party, receiving 26 seats if an election was held today. That is 4 seats ahead of Yesh Atid and his nearest rival, Yair Lapid, who according to the police, happens to be the key witness in the corruption scandal. The anti-Netanyahu Channel 10 News network put the Likud on 27 seats closely followed by Yesh Atid at 25. Labour (aka Zionist Union) under their new leader, Avi Gabbay is way behind on 15 - 16 seats which is probably why Gabbay, who is not even a Member of Knesset, attacked Lapid earlier this week. Gabbay accused the Yesh Atid leader of being “friends” with the Prime Minister because they had previously served in the same
government and declared, “We need to replace not only Netanyahu” but the lot of them. Lapid of course hit back saying it was a “ridiculous claim” and that the Zionist Union has not even picked a side on where they stood on corruption. Then you had a Knesset Internal Affairs committee summoning police commissioner Roni Alsheich to answer accusations that a series of police leaks involving confidential information about the Netanyahu cases were coming from his office. Alsheich of course denied his office was leaking sensitive matters and claimed they were coming from suspects implicated in the probes. But judging by the reaction from members of the public present, many did not believe this. The investigation against the Prime Minister and the constant speculation in the media has raised many questions about the police force and its ability to do its job with its trustworthiness now being undermined. Alsheich has briefed journalists and appeared on Channel 2 News earlier this month discussing the case when the Attorney General has still not decided whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute Netanyahu. The police have so far recommended two indictments against the Prime Minister. Case 1000 relates to the acceptance of gifts from wealthy Israeli businessman and Hollywood movie producer Arnon Milchen. Police allege that between 2007 and 2016, Milchen showered Netanyahu and his wife Sara with
cigars, champagne and jewellery, often purchased at their request. In 2014, Milchen’s business partner, Australian businessman James Packer, who was also a friend of Netanyahu and his family, allegedly began giving similar gifts to the Netanyahu family. In exchange for those gifts, the police allege that Netanyahu supported extending a law passed in 2008, when Netanyahu was the head of the parliamentary opposition, that gave returning Israeli expatriates a ten-year exemption on income earned abroad. According to the police, after Netanyahu returned to office in 2009, Milchen lobbied Netanyahu’s Finance Minister at the time, Yair Lapid, to extend the tax and reporting exemption period from ten to twenty years. Lapid, who is the key witness against the Prime Minister and his chief political rival reportedly told investigators that Netanyahu asked him twice to advance Milchen’s request to extend the period of tax and reporting exemptions for returning expatriates and new immigrants. Lapid and the Finance Ministry opposed Milchen’s proposal and so it never happened. The move was also harshly criticized by the U.S. State Department who viewed it as a means to facilitate money laundering. But Israel wanted to attract a high volume of very wealthy immigrants, which Netanyahu believed would benefit society. By the way, Lapid has also spoken about his own relationship with
Arnon Milchen who the police also wish to indict, but Milchen’s lawyers say that the police have no evidence against their client. “I’ve known Arnon Milchen for 25 years,” said Lapid. “I worked for him for a few months 22 years ago.” The Yesh Atid leader also confirmed, “Of course I reported it,” when asked whether he told the police about advancing the tax exemptions for returning citizens. It has also been reported that Netanyahu intervened on behalf of Milchen in two proposed deals related to Israeli television networks that Milchen either owned or wished to own. But again, if this occurred, nothing came of it. The police further say that Netanyahu called then Secretary-of-State, John Kerry and asked him to intervene on Milchen’s behalf when the businessman was experiencing difficulty renewing his US residency. Milchen had a long-distinguished service within Israel’s Mossad and it has been noted that even the late Shimon Peres also intervened on Milchen’s behalf with U.S. authorities. However, the police claim that Netanyahu received more gifts from Milchen in return for this favour. The second possible charge is known as Case 2000 and involves collusion with the Yediot Ahronot newspaper boss which we will look at more closely next week. The third week will sum up the evidence on both these cases and The Jewish Weekly readers will get an opportunity to vote online whether Bibi should stay or go.
Netanyahu advisor to give evidence against PM
Shlomo Filber, the long-standing confidant of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, signed a state’s witness agreement last night to give evidence against the Prime Minister. Filber was suspended from his role of Director General of the Communications Ministry four months ago. He is expected to give evidence about the links between Netanyahu and business leaders when the Prime Minister also served as communications minister. Israel’s Channel Two News reported that Filber’s lawyers told Police that he could provide information that will incriminate Netanyahu in the Bezeq affair and possibly other cases involving the Prime Minister. The deal will reportedly allow Filber to avoid any prison sentence. Responding in a video clip,
Netanyahu dismissed the suspicions against him, insisting that the allegations are groundless and false. He said that they are part of “the persecution campaign” that he believes has been waged against him and his family for years. Netanyahu added that all the decisions pertaining to Bezeq were made by professional committees and officials under close legal supervision. In a separate development yesterday, Supreme Court President Esther Hayut gave a statement to the police claiming that retired judge Hila Gerstel told her that Nir Hefetz, another close associate of the Prime Minister, had inquired about the case against the Prime Minister’s wife Sara Netanyahu. Gertsel was on the short list to be appointed Attorney General at the time the conversation is meant to have happened. It is alleged that Hefetz told
Shlomo Filber
Gertsel that she would be appointed Attorney General if she promised to drop the case against Sara Netanyahu. On Sunday, Gerstel gave a detailed statement to the Lahav 433 detectives about the discussions. In her statement to the police, the Supreme Court President said that she had not taken action on the matter due to the paucity of details provided by Gerstel. Last night Netanyahu said that
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he had never reached out to Hefetz on the matter, Hefetz never offered him anything on the matter, and he did not believe that Hefetz had proposed such a thing to anyone. Zionist Union Chairman Avi Gabbay called upon the members of his party to prepare for elections in the near future. Gabbay tweeted that the latest events had made it clear that the Netanyahu era was over.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Israeli reservists visits London shul BY ISAAC SHERMAN
An Israeli reserve combat delegation visited Chigwell & Hainault Synagogue on Wednesday. The first UK tour for Reservists on Duty (RoD) coincided with Israel Apartheid Week. Reservists established the non-profit organisation to expose and counter the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and anti-Semitism on campuses. “Since its establishment, the State of Israel has faced terrorism,” a spokesman said. “The Israeli Defence Forces are doing their best to protect civilians while maintaining the most ethical standards. However, there is a major effort being taken by many organisations to damage Israel and doubt its legitimacy. “We bring Israeli reservists to campuses to counter lies with the truth. In addition, we train Jewish students to speak with knowledge and confidence on behalf of Israel.” The organisation was formed in 2015 and holds international seminars. RoD presents facts, personal testimonies and debates ethical dilemmas. All members are active service personnel in reserve units in the IDF.
Trade between Israel and the United Kingdom has reached a record high.
Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt and Trade Minister Graham Stuart announced the news in Parliamentary questions last week. Highlighting Israel’s technological expertise, Mr Burt and Mr Stuart brought attention to a burgeoning trading relationship built over decades. Bilateral areas included education, hi-tech, business, culture and medical research. The two Ministers also praised the UK-Israel Tech Hub where British and Israeli innovators had generated over £60m deals over five years. Partnerships included the healthcare and technology sectors.
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8 LETTERS
22 FEBRUARY 2018
THE JEWISH WEEKLY
Letters to the Editor
Send in your comments to letters@thejewishweekly.com
Out of date food
In response to Frank Adam ‘Why do bad things happen’? 15 Feb 2018
Dear Editor,
Dear Editor,
Having just returned from holiday, I have been catching up with my back copies of The Jewish Weekly and I am responding to the letter titled ‘Kosher Food’, published on 1 Feb.
If we look at the words of our Sages we can see part of why things happen, both good and bad. Our Sages tell us that we were redeemed from Egyptian slavery because we did not change our style of dress, our names, or our language. The Gaon Reb Aaron Kotler of Lakewood explained this Midrash to mean Israelite women and men dressed modestly, unlike the Egyptians who were more uncovered. We did not name our children after Egyptian deities and heroes . Our language reflected our awareness of G-d and Providence. The Destruction of the First Temple was caused by idolatry, bloodshed and immorality such as adultery . The Destruction of the Second Temple and Jerusalem by the Romans was caused by groundless hatred.
For many years I worked in the famous ‘Titanic’ deli here in Manchester, and I can assure your reader R. Katz that any short dated or even slightly out of date goods were sold as such, clearly ticketed as such, this is true because I wrote the tickets, and if any items were returned, which wasn’t very often, we would offer a refund, a credit note or an exchange without exception or argument, as any reputable retailer never won an argument with a customer and with over a 100 years of trading the four generations of the Hyman family stood by this old but true adage. Yours Sincerely Brian Cohen, Manchester
The tragedy of 1648, according to Sages of that time was caused by the desecration of their synagogues by talking about secular affairs and not focusing on Prayer alone. How Jews dressed in various societies depended on the local laws which limited certain fabrics, colours and ornaments to certain noble classes. Jews may have had to wear specific clothes to identify them as Jews. What Jews ate depended on what was available locally and there was wide variation from parts of Europe to the Muslim world and the Middle East. Languages also varied. Judaeo-German developed into Yiddish and Spanish Jews developed the Ladino language. A Jewish lifestyle has meant in most times and places that you keep Shabbat, Kashrut, Limmud HaTorah, Tzeniut and Mikveh – not that you wear black and eat kugel. Joe Feld London NW11
Architectural heritage Dear Editor, Wonderful to see that Simon Schama, Natasha Kaplinsky and the other celebrities who attended last week’s Parliamentary reception, have now discovered the Jewish architectural heritage (Jewish Weekly Report, 15 February, p.2). Efforts to research, document and preserve historic synagogues, cemeteries and other sites of Jewish interest in Britain and across Europe have been going on for nearly 40 years. I founded the Working Party on Jewish Monuments in 1991. Between 1996 and 2001, I initiated and led a comprehensive ‘Survey of the Jewish Built Heritage’ all over England, Scotland and Wales (including, of course, Merthyr Tydfil and Sunderland synagogues), mainly supported by the then English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund. With funding from the Arts & Humanities Research Council through the University of Manchester, the Survey was extended to the island of Ireland (including Cork), the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands - and even reached Gibraltar. In total, I raised over £1 million for this project that has done much to raise awareness of the existence and vulnerability of historic Jewish buildings and sites locally. Resulting publications include The Synagogues of Britain and Ireland: An Architectural and Social History (Yale University Press 2011) and companion architectural guidebooks Jewish Heritage in Britain and Ireland (1 st edn English Heritage 2006, 2nd edn Historic England 2015) and Jewish Heritage in Gibraltar (Spire Books 2007), all by Sharman Kadish. 2004 saw the formation of Jewish Heritage UK , with myself as Founder-Director. This was the first organisation solely dedicated to protection, preservation and public access to historic synagogues and sites nationwide ( www.jewish-heritage-uk.org/ ). The charity has carried out two Quinquennial Synagogues At Risk? Surveys, published in 2010 and 2015 respectively (both are available online). So far, some £5 million of public funding, thanks mainly to the generosity of the Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage (now re-branded Historic England) has been secured for Jewish restoration projects. In contrast to most of mainland Europe, whose Jewries were decimated during the Nazi Holocaust, Britain possesses a small but vibrant Jewish community (c.270,000 [2011 Census]) that has worshipped in freedom and without interruption for over 350 years. We are in the fortunate position not only of being able to repair and restore historic synagogues, but also to keep them in use by living congregations. Yours sincerely, (Dr) Sharman Kadish (Director, Jewish Heritage UK 2004-2016) Manchester Please note: The views of the letters do not necessarily reflect the views of this newspaper. Letters may be edited and publication is at the discretion of the editor.
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10 LETTERS
THE JEWISH WEEKLY
Letters to the Editor
22 FEBRUARY 2018
Send in your comments to letters@thejewishweekly.com
OFSTED consultation Dear Editor,
Some of your readers will know about the so-called “Consultation” concerning the changes in the teaching of various sensitive topics in our Orthodox Jewish schools that the Department of Education and OFSTED intend to impose upon the Jewish community. In this “Consultation” there are a number of questions and the Department has said that they cannot read more than 250 words per response. That the Department should demand that parents should have to explain, or at all justify, their basic right to educate their own children in their religion, in their values, in their culture, in their traditions, is itself gravely offensive. To us, the right to teach our children our Torah and Judaism is of paramount importance, almost as important as life itself. This is the sole reason for setting up our own schools, at great effort and expense: so that we should be able to pass on to our children our special heritage of HaShem’s Torah and true Jewish values, Orthodox Jewish tradition, our history and culture. Yet this fundamental right is under threat from an antiJewish band of secular hooligans. Apparently precisely because they find us Jews and our Jewish religion so hateful to them, they are therefore determined to close those schools, or ruin those schools, or so dilute the Jewish ethos of those schools with ideas that are against the spirit of Judaism — in fact they will try anything to stop the Jews teaching their children about being Jewish. This Crusade of constant harassment and interference from the Department of Education, in cahoots with OFSTED, seeks to stop our schools teaching just what they have been set up to teach, that is, the Orthodox Jewish religion, our heritage of Orthodox Jewish values and Orthodox Jewish culture. The cheek of it! This so-called “Consultation” orders us to make our case for being allowed to keep our own schools, which we ourselves have set up, at our own cost, in which we teach our own children to be Jewish — but we must explain why we want to be Jews — in 250 words or less! This is almost like telling a man to plead for his life in 250 words or less. “So sorry, old chap, we cannot read more than 250 words, so be short!” The like of this harassment and interference has not been seen since the hateful assault on our Schools and Yeshivos in Czarist Russia. For all the hypocritical talk about “British values,” this Crusade against our Orthodox Jewish schools is a million miles away from the fairness and tolerance which in the past made Great Britain such a pleasant home for the Jewish people who came here to escape from another tyranny. Jewish schools must be in charge of teaching the Jewish religion to their children without fear of being harassed by the non-Jewish government, whether it be Russia under the Czars or under Stalin, or indeed the secular, post-Christian United Kingdom. By all means, the Government can make sure that our children are not being taught to hate as some others teach their children to hate the infidel Westerner or instruct them to blow up public concerts in Manchester or kill British soldiers in Woolwich. But once you have seen that we do not hate you nor do we advocate doing you any harm, and to the contrary, we are loyal and grateful and seek only peaceful co-existence with all peoples, then leave us in peace! We do not seek to convert anybody to Judaism and nor should the Department of Education with OFSTED seek to convert us and our children from our Torah and heritage to the secular, anti-religious “humanism.” The secular Department of Education claims that “faith schools” must include in their teachings the latest sick obsessions of the most immoral kind because, they say, the time-honoured religious teachings are “offensive” to the modern world. Yet they cannot see how their bullying imposition of their secular anti-religious flood of filth is even more offensive to those who wish to live according to their disciplined moral standards.
The Department of Education will be perfectly aware of the extensive research and statistics that show that faith schools — especially Jewish Orthodox schools — have brought only blessing and good to the United Kingdom. Leave us be! Let us teach all the Torah’s ethical ideas and noble values to our children without the continual harassment instigated by an offensive vociferous secular minority who, by their own admission, are descended from apes, and let us who loyally live by the Torah teach, to our own children, of the dignity of all human beings created by G-d in His Divine Image. This “Consultation” is a sham and a swindle. The Department of Education and its side- kick OFSTED are cruelly intent on destroying Orthodox Jewish schools. If, by some miracle (or because of public pressure) the Department is forced to relent in its imposition of these new “regulations,” it will only be a postponement. As the Department has done in the past, even when they are shamed to shelve some new imposition, nevertheless, a few months down the line, exactly the very same impositions are then quietly smuggled in, this time without any so-called “Discussion Document” or pretend “Consultation” but as a “new requirement” under “Safety Guidelines” or some other such swindle. Many Orthodox Jewish Schools have tried their utmost to comply with the new demands. More fool they! Each Inquisitorial visit by OFSTED involves a great strain on the nervous energy of the teaching staff and the governors and the school leaders, energies that could so much more usefully have been used for the benefit of the children. But even with the best will in the world, it is impossible to satisfy a band of malcontents whose sole purpose is to find fault and criticise and demolish. With all that, the Orthodox Jewish schools make every effort to comply, with a pathetic trust in the British sense of fairness. It doesn’t help. Even after they have passed one Inquisition, they are very soon tormented with another, and then another, and another. Well, we have now to face the truth: the British sense of fairness no longer exists. The secular humanistic tail is now wagging the whole dog. It is time for us to face up to the fact that they hate us and our way of life which teaches of sanctity, dignity and decency. Sadly, more in sorrow than in anger, we have to come to the realization that the new much-vaunted “British values” are now the exact antithesis of everything decent that we, the People of the Torah, stand for. They have exposed themselves to be as hateful of our Jewish values and standards of decency as any other enemies of the Jewish People have ever been. It is high time to state clearly that we will stand firm in our Jewishness and our Torah. That is why we were called into existence as HaShem’s Chosen People. O Y Baddiel Golders Green
Please note: The views of the letters do not necessarily reflect the views of this newspaper. Letters may be edited and publication is at the discretion of the editor.
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Southend and Westcliff MDA UK Emunah success with mums and daughters trip New The newly formed MDA UK Sou- in Tel Aviv is not missile protected “Seeing is believing,” said British Emunah co vice-chair Sharon Dewinter who led a Mother and Daughter Israel Tour of Emunah projects and places of interest. “It was a chance for pre and post bat mitzvah girls and mothers to make friends, while learning about Emunah’s work supporting vulnerable or at-risk children through residential homes, day care, high schools and therapy and counselling services.” The 22-strong group comprised ten mothers, one grandmother, and 11 school girls aged between ten and 12, with Mrs Dewinter’s daughter Liora, 11, among participants. Also present was Rochelle Selby, chair of the British Emunah trustees and granddaughter Ella Isaacson, 12. They were joined by British Emunah events executive Alison Cohen and director Deborah Nathan during the five-day trip. Such was the tour’s impact that this week, Raffaella Rubens, aged ten, gave a talk on Emunah at Highgate Junior School, addressing pupils and staff. “I heard about Emunah on a Bar and Bat Mitzvah Facebook group,” explains her mum Danielle Rubens. “As it was during half-term, I thought why not? This isn’t Raffaella’s bat mitzvah year but we’re setting up a Just Giving page and asking for donations to Emunah instead of birthday presents. Before the tour, we were in contact with a girl at Emunah Afula day centre who will be her “twin” – we took her gifts and the girls hugged each other – they were very happy to be able to meet. “The mother and daughter tour affected us deeply… it has shown Raffaella that there’s more to life outside of our north-west London bubble and to appreciate how privileged our own lives are. I think
Kotel visit for British Emunah Mother and Daughter tour participants
that more Jewish children [and their families] should find out about Emunah.” Sharon Dewinter adds, “It is hard to comprehend the tragic reasons that bring children into Emunah’s care, and we were very honest about that. The young tour members showed maturity beyond their years and asked insightful questions. This was my fourth Emunah mother and daughter tour; my second time as a leader. The first time that I visited Israel with Emunah it changed me, that’s how I got involved.” On their first trip to Israel, Lauren Matlock and daughter Shelby, 11, said the “mother and daughter tour has affected us beyond belief. I am amazed by the phenomenal work that Emunah does – how it gives children who have lost their way the chance of a better future. As someone who didn’t know what this charity does, it will be with me for life.” Mrs Matlock was overcome with emotion in Jerusalem and her eyes welled up when visiting the Kotel. “I had waited 35 years to reach this very special place.” At Neve Landy Youth Village both mother and daughter were moved by the boys
– and each young girl received a pair of Shabbat candlesticks. Returning to the UK, Shelby, a Moriah Jewish Day School student made her own plans. “Shelby has rung round a few of her friends and wants to do a fun run to raise money for Emunah. She has done that off her own back,” explains Mrs Matlock.” The last word goes to Jamie Rubin and daughter Eden, 11, who described the Emunah Mother and Daughter Israel as “incredible… and a special time for me to be with my daughter. It has given Eden food for thought about social responsibility and what she can do to make a difference.” The British Emunah Mother & Daughter 2018 tour participants were: Devorah and Lili Albert; Sharon and Liora Dewinter; Zivit and Liat Ezekiel; Limor and Yael Goldberg; Shelley and Olivia Herman; Gail Lamb and Katie Hilburn; Lauren and Shelby Matlock; Lucy and Tehilla Rome; Danielle and Raffaella Rubens; Jamie and Eden Rubin; Rochelle Selby and Ella Isaacson; and Alison Cohen (events executive).
Nightingale Hammerson host ‘Innovation in Care: Stories of Intergenerational Action’
Last week, Nightingale Hammerson hosted a one-day conference, entitled Innovation in Care: Stories of Intergenerational Action. The conference was attended by practitioners, researchers, and change-makers who are invested in the progress of intergenerational activities. The conference follows the opening of Apples and Honey Nightingale, based on the site of Nightingale House in South London. Talks at the conference explored the benefits of intergenerational activity and the powerful fusion between children and older people, with a wide range of professionals showcasing their examples of social
innovation, ranging from projects in care homes, early years nurseries, hospitals as well as small community-based and larger scale initiatives. Reflecting on the conference, Judith Ish- Horowicz, Principal of Apples and Honey Nightingale, said: ‘It was so exciting to be part of the Innovations in Care conference where pioneering models of Intergenerational action were shared. The variety and quality of the projects was inspirational from Apples and Honey Nightingale where babes in arms and centenarians are learning together, to sustainable skills cafes where the elderly share traditional skills and crafts like
thend and Westcliff Committee held their inaugural event attended by close to 100 Community members and out of towners. Following on from the work of SWHC members and fund raisers Marilyn and Stephen Salt, committee member Linda Burns said the first and primary objective is to raise £30,000 for a room in the new National Blood Centre in Ramla (not Ramalah!) Guest speaker Professor Eilat Shinar, Director of Blood Services for MDA Israel said, ”In Israel the Blood Services are MDA`s responsibility under the Magen Dovid Adom Law passed in 1950 but are not supported by the Government. Funding comes from voluntary donations. Our existing building
and that when neighbours say they can bombard Tel Aviv they mean it.” The professor went on to say, “Israel is also in an earthquake prone area and the new Blood Centre services will be south of the Airport and will be built 50 metres underground. Daniel Burger, Chief Executive of MDA UK said the organisation has helped put Israel on the World Stage, they work alongside and are recognised by the International Red Cross in disaster areas abroad and that “Israel is a shining light among the nations.” A sponsored Israeli Style Breakfast was organised and more fund raising events are planned for the future.
Over 200 students and staff from 18 university campuses across the UK gathered at the Hilton Metropole in Birmingham last week for the annual Genesis National Weekend – the UK’s largest Jewish student event of the year, run by Aish UK. The weekend included a range of inspiring educational and social activities including talks from top speakers, Q&A panels and entertaining performances. Over three days students enjoyed a choice of 40 engaging and thought-provoking classes on
topics including self-development, Torah and science, mindfulness, leadership and Jewish medical ethics. Special guest speakers included Rabbi Dr Akiva Tatz, Rabbi Shlomo Farhi, Rabbi Daniel Rowe, Rebbetzin Shalvie Friedman and Rebbetzin Liat Mayerfeld. After an uplifting Shabbat, Eli Tamir provided an electrifying and inspiring musical Havdalah experience, which was followed by an evening of entertainment, including a live concert from world renowned Jewish rap star Nissim.
Art in Residence is a long term collaboration between Ben Uri Gallery and Museum, Nightingale House and The University of West London. Opening with an exhibition of highlights from the Ben Uri collection, open to all residents, staff and relatives, the works will go on a tour of Nightingale. In addition to
this, Ben Uri’s Learning and Wellbeing Officer Emma Hollamby, supported by the Nightingale Activities Engagement team will run a series of workshops with two small groups of residents, exploring and evaluating the differing impacts of practical art making and art discussion on wellbeing.
Genesis national weekend
Ben Uri highlights
darning and knitting with young families. I learnt so much and have come away bursting with new ideas and enthusiasm.’ Stephen Burke, Director of think tank United for All Ages, said: “Britain is one of the most age segregated countries in the world. Care-home nurseries like Apples and Honey Nightingale can bring older and younger people together, benefiting them and other generations. That’s why we want to see 500 care-home nurseries developed over the next five years across the UK.” A selection of Ben Uri’s art
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Norwood Chair David Ereira to retire; Neville Kahn named as successor
David Ereira
Norwood earlier this week announced that David Ereira has informed the charity’s board of trustees of his intention to retire as chair and trustee at the end of five years in office. Mr Ereira will remain in position until 31 March, 2018 when he will be succeeded by Neville Kahn, who currently serves Norwood as Chair on a Norwood fundraising committee and has previously served seven years as a Trustee. Mr Ereira, who this year celebrates a 25 year service with Norwood, will remain involved in many aspects of Norwood’s fundraising and service provider activities.
During his tenure as Chair, Mr Ereira was a collaborative presence, encouraging innovation, and a driving force that ensured a continued focus on improving the lives of the people Norwood supports. Mr Ereira will leave a lasting legacy, having played a key role in establishing Young Norwood (YN), a network of lay structures of fundraisers and volunteers he founded in 1993. It is currently the largest professional young lay network within the Jewish community with 3,500 active members. Mr Ereira was heavily involved with Norwood’s services as a member of the Operational Service Committee, the Special Educational Needs Group, Adoption and Fostering Services and as Chair of the Adoption Management Committee. Mr Ereira also chaired the Property Committee, and sat on various fundraising committees including the Property Lunch and Annual Dinner. Aside from trail blazing YN, Mr Ereira held an unwavering focus on instilling practices that lead to giving a voice to children who were made vulnerable by
difficult life experiences and learning disabilities. “It has been a tremendous privilege to lead the Norwood board over the past five years as well as being Deputy Chair under the two past Chair’s terms [spanning a ten year period]. Norwood is such an outstanding charity and I will continue to serve as its advocate and ambassador. Even after 25 years at the coal-face of communal service at Norwood, I am still proud to serve in whatever capacity I can. I look forward to many more years of being able to work with the people we support in our community,” Mr Ereira said. “I am now delighted to hand the baton over to Neville Kahn and I feel confident that Neville will continue to build on our long history of communal service and encourage the very highest standards, so we continue to meet the future needs of the people we support,” he continued. Lord Jon Mendelsohn and Lady Nicola Mendelsohn CBE, Norwood Joint Presidents said: “We want to thank David for his exemplary service as Chair of the charity. During
GIFTing Purim parcels
Children in Highfield Gardens, Golders Green had a wonderful time this week making up hundreds of Mishloach Manot packages for recipients of the Charity GIFT. An initiative of Family Maierovitz, this has become a yearly event that involves many children in the street during the half term prior to Purim. Ilana Maierovitz, aged 14 said- “Packing for GIFT was so much fun! We wait a whole year for it” In addition to educating thousands of students in schools across London and Manchester about the importance of giving and providing numerous meaningful volunteering opportunities; GIFT also distributes food packages and provides practical help to
hundreds of families in our community, referred through local welfare organisations. This year’s GIFT Post Purim Food Collection will take place in the GIFT warehouse, Hendon on Friday 2nd March 9am-12 noon; and Sunday 4th March 11am - 2pm at Pai House, Golders Green, the GIFT Warehouse, Hendon and addresses in Edgware, Borehamwood and Stamford Hill. GIFT is also providing a text code donation service for Matonot Le’evyonim. Text LOTS18 £10 to 70070 now! and GIFT will guarantee your full donation arrives with the recipient on Purim day. For more information contact info@jgift.org or 0208 457 4429.
his leadership and over the many more years of his involvement, Norwood has developed and grown into the truly outstanding and significant organisation that it is today. We are truly thrilled that although he will step down as Chair he will remain strongly involved.” Elaine Kerr, Norwood Chief Executive, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank David for his passion and dedication, not just during his five year tenure as Chair, but over the past 25 years of unrivalled service. Under David’s superb leadership Norwood has gone from strength to strength and I know that I echo the sentiment of the board when I say that Norwood looks forward to continuing our relationship with David well into the future.” Neville Kahn said: “It is with great pride that I take over the Chair role from the incredible David Ereira who has dedicated much of his life to communal service and in particular Norwood.” “Norwood is seeing an ever increasing demand for our services and is committed in its duty to meet the future needs of our community.
We are focused on the development of Ravenswood village, a new services strategy and a programme to ensure that we continue to provide the highest-quality services in the best environment. Whether it be from our own homes and facilities, or delivered inside schools, our focus remains on ensuring we continue to meet the needs of those who most desperately need it in our community: young children and their families coping with emotional and social challenges.” “The care sector is evolving quickly and I look forward to working with the wonderful staff and trustees to make sure Norwood is doing what it does best in helping the most vulnerable in our community,” he continued.
Neville Kahn
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Side By Side Celebrates 20th Anniversary at Lord’s Cricket Ground Some 200 guests gathered at Lords Cricket Ground in St John’s Wood to celebrate and support 20 years of the integrated nursery and Special Needs’ School, Side by Side with an exclusive fundraising dinner, raising over £320,000. Guests were escorted on a tour of the world-famous stadium, taking in the dressing rooms and famous Long Room. Throughout the evening guests were treated to entertainment by leading magicians whilst enjoying vintage whiskies from Scotland’s legendary distilleries. Catering by Ezri delivered a tailor-made banquet and entertainment was provided by US comedian Modi making his UK debut. Modi is an established headliner at comedy clubs and colleges across the United States and regularly performs at the Comedy Cellar in Manhattan, sharing the stage with other top New York comedians. Voted as one of the top 10 comedians in New York City by the Hollywood Reporter and BackStage,
Belmont Bridge Club
Members of the Belmont Bridge Club enjoying one of their monthly games. This thriving club has been meeting for four years and has around twenty regular players and visitors each month. The dinner guests enjoying the evening
Modi’s upbringing has allowed him to create a niche within the Jewish community. Modi has appeared in several feature films and TV series, most recently, Madam Secretary, an American political drama television series, produced by Morgan Freeman. His creative comic sketches provoked great laughter and applause from the dinner guests, who were captivated by Modi’s unique observations of the Jewish
community. His Honour Judge Nigel Lithman QC, who has been a supporter of the school for a number of years gave an entertaining address covering his life time in the law and paid tribute to the dedication of the staff at Side by Side. Long-time supporter and dinner chairman, Shimon Cohen gave an emotional appeal, calling for support: “our community’s special children need us side by side with them.” Jacob Sorotzkin, Chairman of Side by Side commented: “We have been absolutely overwhelmed by the unprecedented support and generosity that the community has shown for the wonderful children at Side by Side. This fantastic event has been a tribute to them and to the school over the last 20 years.” Donations to Side by Side can be made by contacting the Side by Side office on 020 8211 0901 or through the website: http://www.sidebyside. org.uk/
Jacob Sorotzkin- Side by Side Chairman
Shabbat morning saw Rabbi Silkin give the sermon in the main shul, while Rabbi Kelemen give a youth session about defining and conquering evil, plus a hugely popular parenting session for the young families. Kiddush was followed by Rabbi Kelemen giving a key note address to the entire community entitled, Body and Soul in Relationships. This was followed by a communal lunch with further words from Rabbi Silkin. The post-lunch activities included Family Fortunes, the incredible story of Rabbi Kelemen’s son’s birth, whisky tasting and a panel on Effective Communication in a Social Media Age. This culminated in a seudah and then a special edition, glow in the dark
Young professionals party Last Thursday evening a new Young committee who seek to bring together young Jewish professionals in a fun relaxed environment, ran their second sell out event. The evening had a Moroccan theme and was held at Souk Medina in Covent Garden. Nearly 200 attended and the event raised over £2000 which will be given to the United Synagogue Chesed Department and will go
towards projects aimed to help the elderly and low income families. There was a raffle with a holiday to Israel on offer which was won by Tom Assouline Popular DJ Ben Gabay played the music and the crowd enjoyed a great atmosphere. The committee announced that their next event would be a Israel 70 party on Israel Independence Day on Wednesday 18th April.
The group mingling together
Stanmore hostsandits own in-house shabbaton Havdalah. wisdom.
Stanmore & Canons Park Synagogue had the most incredible Shabbat, since their award-winning ShabbatUK. Endearingly commonly referred to as “Mini-ShabbatUK”, the in-house Shabbaton saw 250 members of the community come together for food, social activities and inspiration from the two scholars in residence: Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen and Rabbi Shimshon Silkin. Friday night started with a packed service and a meal for the 20-30s with and the Silkins. Meanwhile, Rabbi Kelemen gave a Friday night oneg session entitled, My Three Objections to Orthodox Judaism – an audience of approx. 50 people enjoyed hearing Rabbi Kelemen’s own life-story and nuggets of wit
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Rabbi Fine, Community Rabbi concluded, “In many ways this was a classic Stanmore event - the social element, the fun, the buzz by the committee members and community at large, really made it special, but it was also my absolute pleasure to welcome two world-class educators to provide practical inspiration. We received such fabulous feedback, especially about the variety of activities: for young families, a crèche for children, Bnei Akiva sessions for youth, and a feeling that people had a lovely time and came away with practical inspiration about how to be better parents and improve relationships. It was a pleasure to run and help organise.
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JRoots in Morocco
37 participants retraced the steps of Moroccan Sephardic Jewish history, led by JRoots Educator Rabbi Raphy Garson and accompanied by Holocaust survivor Yisrael Abelesz. This is the first of 6 JRoots Morocco journeys scheduled for this year.
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Solidarity through song in Israel ‘The Shabbaton choir have just returned from their latest Solidarity Through Song mission to Israel, where they sang at 17 different events across the country over a 5 days period. They were joined by Marble Arch’s Rabbi, Lionel Rosenfeld, Stanmore’s Chazan, Jonny Turgel and Shimon Craimer from Riverdale, New York. They began their mission by entertaining both paediatric and geriatric patients at the Laniado Hospital and Dorot Medical Centre in Netanya. Over Shabbat, there was standing room only in both the Young Israel and McDonald Shuls where they led their unique ‘Shabbaton’ services followed by a full concert programme on Motsei Shabbat. The next morning, the choir and soloists raised the roof at the Netanya Municipality Event, where they entertained an extremely lively and appreciative audience, comprised of residents who would otherwise be unable to attend concerts. They brought cheer to patients from all backgrounds, religions and walks of life during their awaited return visit to Reuth Medical Centre in Tel Aviv. From there they took the coach to Bet Moriah, Be’er Sheva, to sing and dance with children in refuge from neglected backgrounds and abusive homes. That evening, they uplifted the spirits of disabled war veterans at the state of the art Beit Halochem centre in Be’er Sheva, performing a new rousing and uplifting composition of ‘Mi Shebeirach’ for the soldiers of the IDF composed by the choir’s talented musical director, Stephen Levey. They commenced the following day with a visit to the Hadassah Hospital, Ein Kerem. By the end of their first performance,
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collaborating with Dush, Hadassah’s head Medical Clown, patients on all floors of the hospital had come out of their rooms to clap along as they looked down to the floor of the atrium where the choir were performing. Frowns were literally turned upside down as the music of BaShana Haba’ah and the voices of boy soloists Rafi Sweiry and James Hart delighted all those who heard them. They ended their visit in the hospital entrance, where song turned to prayer, as they pleaded to the Almighty with the evocative words and music of Ana B’koach in the presence of a tearful mother and father whose child was about to go in to dangerous surgery following a terror induced injury. The choir were in turn inspired themselves at an emotionally challenging visit to Aleh, where they sang and danced with residents with severe congenital and acquired disabilities. It was later that afternoon, at the Hertzog Hospital, where they were applauded for fulfilling the mitzvah of ‘Al Tashlicheinu L’eit Zikna’, not forsaking those in their old age as they entertained elderly patients on the rehabilitation wards. They were thanked for using the gift they had been given to provide a few moments of joy for the patient in need of escaping his troubles and bringing a smile to a face which had not smiled in months through their entertaining renditions of ‘Shehecheyanu’ and ‘Tsur Mishelo’. They concluded the afternoon singing and dancing with children at the Shalva Centre, many of whom with Down’s syndrome and other severe learning difficulties. That evening, they performed at a fundraising concert, where they were privileged to perform Levey’s YouTube sensation ‘Ose Shalom’,
viewed over 3 million times, this time together with the mesmerising ‘Shalva Band’, comprised of Shalva’s own multi talented students, who demonstrated their ability to transcend their impairments through the medium of music. On their final day, they woke up early to sing to retirees in Protea Village in Shoresh. From there they concluded their mission headed by choir chairman Simon Hochhauser, by travelling down south to Ashkelon where they provided comfort and hope to the parents of Avera Mengistu, an Ethiopian Jew with mental health difficulties who walked from his home and crossed the Gaza border fence in 2014, where he was captured by Hamas. He has been held captive ever since and his exact whereabouts and status is still unknown as is his story amongst the vast majority of the national and international community. Indeed, it was that final visit to sing to Avera’s community, which truly exemplified what the Shabbaton Choir’s Solidarity Through Song mission was all about. Jonathan Arkush, President of the Board of Deputies tweeted ‘It has been an inspiration to join @ ShabbatonChoir for 4 days of performances bringing a little joy and comfort to hundreds of very unwell and disadvantaged people from all backgrounds in Israel. One of the UK Jewish community’s finest exports and they should make us proud’. Both the choir and the numerous people they touched through their music remain forever grateful to the extremely generous donors who enabled this life-changing mission to take place.
1 Million Pennies As 2017 came to a close Pinchos Sudak finally reached his goal. Six years after he started his Bar Mitzvah Project to raise 1 Million Pennies for Lubavitch of Edgware, with the help of hundreds of generous contributors, he had them all. The money is being donated to purchase a Marquee for the overflow of the Shul, particularly over the Yom Tov times, as the building is just too small. If you still have a penny container at home or would like to add to his donation, it will help to outfit the Marquee to make it more suitaPinchos Sudak proudly presenting the cheque to Rabbi Sudak ble to use on a regular basis.
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Board urges community to support increased organ donation but share their concerns about opt-out proposals BY ISAAC SHERMAN The government is consulting on the introduction of an “opt-out” or “presumed consent” system of organ donation, whereby, unless a potential donor has actively made their wishes known, they are assumed to be content to donate organs. This is a threat to Jewish freedoms and family rights around burial and mourning rites. The majority of Jews in the UK follow Rabbinical authorities that define death as involving the cessation of heart functions as well as brain functions. Both definitions of death are recognised by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. However, in practice, under a presumed consent system, organs may be removed from a donor whose wishes are not known while being considered to still be alive in
the eyes of their Jewish family. It should also be noted that there is no robust evidence that presumed consent systems raise organ donation rates. However, public information campaigns and transplant co-ordinators in hospitals can and do raise donation rates, and the Board of Deputies fully supports these measures. The position of maximum religious freedom and exercise of religious conscience for the UK Jewish community is to develop an organ donation that increases donor rates and protects family rights. Therefore, the Board of Deputies supports the retention of an opt-in system with reforms that have been shown to increase organ donation.
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Wishing all my clients a Happy New Year
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Belmont knitting circle United Synagogue to set up new drop-in
BY REBECCA CHARLES
The perfect antidote to social media is the Belmont Knitting Circle, where you have to be mindful of the present moment if you don’t want to drop a stitch. Starting about eight years ago, the Belmont Knitting Circle has raised over £10,000 for various charities in the UK, Eastern Europe and Israel, whilst providing a calm and friendly forum for people from local shuls and the Stanmore Baptist Church. Working together, members of the BKC create beautifully designed blankets, hats and teddy bears – each item with its own BKC designer label, “Made with love by Belmont Knitting Circle’. The knitting circle was conceived as a result of the ‘Pomegranate’ committee, a part of World Jewish Relief, which helped vulnerable women in Eastern Europe. Some members of the Pomegranate committee formed ‘PomKnits’ whose members came together to create colourful blankets, which were sent by World Jewish Relief to keep warm elderly communities in parts of Eastern Europe, such as Ukraine and Moldova. ‘PomKnit’ members and local knitters from various local shuls (Belmont, Bushey and Stanmore) as well as the Stanmore Baptist Church, formed the Belmont Knitting Circle. BKC members meet on the first Monday of each month at 8pm (unless it’s Rosh Chodesh) in the home of Belmont shul member Jacqui Segal. Her home is crammed with baskets of knitting wool, blankets, hats, teddy bears and knitted squares. The latter are sent to volunteers who crochet them into richly coloured blankets and then Jacqui vacuum-packs quantities of knitted products and delivers them to Israeli charities. The Belmont Knitting Circle also works with AKIM in Haifa, which was set up to help people with mental and physical disabilities with employment, housing, welfare and education. BKC provides AKIM’s severely disabled children with brightly coloured bed blankets. The BKC recently branched out to provide the neonatal unit at St Thomas’s Hospital with ‘bonding squares’ used for premature and sick babies who cannot nursed. One square is placed with a premature baby and another worn against the mother’s skin, then the squares are swapped round every 12 hours or each time the mother visits. These knitted squares help
mothers to bond with their premature babies in an incubator, as they can smell their mother’s scent even when she isn’t there. Mothers say that bonding squares can also help them to express milk, as their baby’s scent can trigger the hormones needed to produce and express milk. As word of the BKC’s knitting exploits got out on the charity grapevine, the group met Rabbi Eitan Kupietzky based at Israeli charity the Gimmel Foundation, which sponsors after school activities and provides disadvantaged and ‘at risk’ children with the skills needed to fully integrate into society. BKC provided knitted items for the Gimmel Foundation and in turn, Rabbi Kupietzky was a guest speaker at BKC’s regular Knit One Nosh One (KONO) events which helped raise £1,500 for World Jewish Relief and St Luke’s Hospice. As a result of their association with Rabbi Kupietzky and the Gimmel Foundation, the Belmont Knitting Circle also creates hats for children in cancer wards in two hospitals: Tel Hashomer and Sheba; as well as for Israeli soldiers on active service. In 2015, 60 people joined in the fourth KONO evening to raise funds in memory of Belmont member Janis Isbitt z’l for Chai Cancer, which was then able to buy a multigym and two therapy chairs. The Belmont Knitting Circle has provided over 80 multicoloured blankets, not only to AKIM Tzfat, AKIM Haifa and the needy community in Kiryat Malachi, but also to Kishorit which provides a home for adults with special needs in Western Galilee. Hearing that one of the residents at Kishorit was an ardent Arsenal fan, Betty Arnold created an Arsenal FC blanket for him - but the BKC stressed that it would also be happy to design a blanket for a Kishorit Spurs fan!
A selection of the knitted goods
centre for asylum seekers in Hendon The United Synagogue is to set up a new drop-in centre for asylum seekers which will be opened at the Hendon Synagogue Community Centre for two hours a month. This centre will work with similar centres in the area to ensure that more assistance is provided to those who have come to the UK after being forced to flee their own country. The drop-in centre is part of the community-wide efforts to aid those seeking asylum in the UK and will help up to 12 families with young children, offering various methods of support for asylum seekers. These will include professional mentoring, providing food and friendship as well as a play area which will be run by Tribe. The centre’s services will be coordinated centrally and run by volunteers from across the wider US community. US Chesed will be collecting items such as warm winter clothes, shoes and toys that will be donated to those using the centre. All families wishing to use the drop-in centre will have been approved by the Home Office and their Case Worker before attending. Speaking about the announcement, Rabbi Michael Laitner of the Jewish Living Division, said: “Chesed (kindness), is one of the pillars of Judaism. As such, the United Synagogue believe that we have a duty to support all those who need our help. This has been a major issue in the UK in recent years and all at The US are now delighted that we are able to do our part and
Rabbi M Ginsbury and Rabbi J Rubinstein
join the communal effort to make those seeking asylum feel welcome in Britain.” Tim Cowen, Co-Chair of Highgate US, said: “Our grandparents came to this country as refugees fleeing from danger, unable to speak the language and in need of help. Through the efforts of Yael Peleg and others at the United Synagogue, we now have the opportunity to offer support to others in the same desperate situation – and we should.” Rabbi Mordechai Ginsbury of Hendon US commented: “I look forward to welcoming, both personally and on behalf of our Synagogue, those asylum seekers who will be attending US Chesed’s planned monthly support facility in our Community Centre. My own late maternal grandparents, Ernst and Lotte Frohwein a”h came to this country as refugees from Nazi Germany in 1938 and had they not
been granted sanctuary in the UK, I and many, many dozens of their other descendants would, in all probability, not be here to ‘tell the tale.’ It is a privilege to be part of an unfolding tale of Jewish destiny and responsibility when, within two generations, those who are direct descendants of once vulnerable asylum seekers, can take part in a project to extend support to others who are today’s unfortunate and vulnerable asylum seekers. My grandparents, like so many other Jewish immigrants to this country, more than made good on the opportunity afforded them, becoming loyal integrated highly functional charitable and caring members of Jewish and British society. I hope that US Chesed’s new project, hosted on our Shul’s campus, will lead to today’s asylum seekers achieving similar success with their lives.”
Israel trips with a difference! ‘Itineraries with a difference’ were the focus of the latest trips from Seed, the Jewish family education charity. Last week 25 mums with their 26 Bat Mitzvah aged daughters spent five special days in Israel experiencing quality one-to-one time together along with an exhilarating array of activities. Through this Israel trip Seed aims to deepen the girls’ connection with Judaism and the Land of Israel as they reach the milestone of their bat mitzvah. The trip is part of Seed’s ‘LINKS’ Bat Mitzvah programme, which includes 10 weeks of educational sessions run at the Seed centre in Edgware for mums and their daughters. The trip’s inspirational speakers included Holocaust survivor Mrs Leah Kauffman, who was only 9 years old at the time of the Sho’ah, as well as a visit to Yad Eliezer to
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pack food for families struggling to make ends meet. The head of Yad Eliezer is Mrs Kauffman’s son – highlighting the connection between generations – a key message of the LINKS Israel trip. The girls and their mothers also rode camels, made their own chocolate, visited the beach and heard inspirational speakers. The trip included singing and dancing at the Kotel by night and experiencing first-hand a glimpse of what it is like to be deaf or blind during a visit to the Holon Children’s museum. As Rebbetzen Joanne Dove says: “We hope that these trips and the varied activities, locations and speakers will help these mums and girls to want to grow in their Jewish learning and be proud members of the Jewish community.” Jane Pearl, a trip participant, commented on her return: “We will
all take some life lessons from this very special trip. To spend all that time with my daughter and experience Israel in such a unique way was truly special. We now need to find ways for this experience to have an impact on our daily lives.” Seed also recently took a group of women on the Seed Ladies Israel trip, also led by Rebbetzen Dove. The focus was on taking time away from their everyday busy lives to focus on their connection to their Judaism. The tunnel tours and a visit to a winery sat alongside fantastic speakers, music and inspiring talks. As participant Rebecca Shenkin enthused: “There was a beautiful group of women on this trip who bonded straight away. Together we have laughed and cried, learned together and supported each other. And we have had so much fun together too!”
22 FEBRUARY 2018
NEWS 17
THE JEWISH WEEKLY
Tashbar year 6 Purim Fair Leeds Lubavitch holds successful Pre-Purim event
The Jewish Women’s Circle held a pre-Purim event at the Lubavitch Centre of Leeds on Monday. Organiser Dabrushy Pink gave insights into the Megillah to a 50-strong group. Essex-based Kennard’s Artisan Chocolates presented an interactive demonstration interspersed with tastings. Participants praised a peanut butter and raspberry caramel chocolate soon to be launched and Wendy Fiddler won a box of assorted chocolates in the raffle.
A fun time for all the family with the NEW Uncle Moishy
Tashbar Manchester boys in Purim gear!
Time for a lucky dip!
Jewish Women’s Circle held a pre-Purim event on Monday
Fifty years of making Half Term fun learning so many people smile
Mrs Edwina Rosenberg 74, Great grand mother from Prestwich, dressed up ahead of Purim
Siyum held at MH
A Siyum was held at MH on Mesesches Megilla le’iluy nishmas, Reb Shimon Lipshutz z’’l and Reb Mark Schwinger z’’l. The guest speaker Rabbi Avrohom Moshe Lampin.
Thee top table at the Siyum on Motzei Shabbos
The New Uncle Moishy vsited London to entertain a crowd of children at the JFS hall on Sunday
The Show must go on
An idea a few years ago by Mrs Simone Pinkus, (and with Steph Wilks assisting) to keep her children occupied during the half term holidays has grown from her kitchen to the Manchester Maccabi Sports and Social club with now over 40 children
Israel at 70 project at BJCFP Sally Halon, the Manchester, UK UJIA programme Director visited Friday morning the Broughton Jewish Cassel Fox primary school to collect a unique family recipe book made by the children, parents and grandparents with recipes relating to their places of
birth and the food they were eating in the various parts of the World. This Recipe book will end up on display at the Babylonian Museum Jewry Heritage centre in Israel to mark Israel at 70. Other schools locally are also joining in making more unique items.
BJCFP School teacher C. Davies, with Sally Halon, Manchester UK Programme director,(L)
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The show must go on even when you’re 95 , for Sonny Warner MBE, Sonny will be 96 this weekend, A charity veteran for over 50 years with his.’’Sonny Warner Show’’ raising money for many charities.
Jewish Cop awarded the top prize of Special Constable of the year
Special Police Constable Moshe Rothstein has been given top award for his hard work of bringing religions together PHOTO CREDIT: LAWRENCE PURCELL
18 SPORTS
22 FEBRUARY 2018
THE JEWISH WEEKLY
SPORTS
ONE NATION... ...MANY TEAMS
W E E K LY
Four-goal Hendon back on top of Premier Division BY DAVID SAFFER
Hendon United Sports are top of the Premier Division after a 4-0 win against Brady Maccabi. Hendon edged back ahead of Oakwood A by two points with the win. Rocky Spitzer, Zac Lewis, Ari Last and Dovi Fehler scored for the visitors in a clinical display. Player-manager Greg Corin said: “It was another dominant display from our team and we’re delighted to have a third win in four games against a good Brady side. “Our attitude was to be really focused from the first minute and we didn’t relent, pressing and keeping up the pressure all game. “I’m really pleased with how we performed. It’s easy to slip up and be complacent when you have a fixture situation where you play the same team a few times in quick succession. “We now head in to a big league fixture against Redbridge off the back of a couple of really good team performances. “Hopefully we can take that level of confidence through to our next game and make a good account of ourselves against a team who will no doubt be a real challenge for us.” In Cup competitions, Premier outfit Maccabi London Lions Blue came from behind to knock out Sedgley Park in the Peter Morrison Trophy. Michael Kenley scored a last
minute winner to book a quarterfinal place for Samuel Marchant’s cup battlers in a five-goal thriller at Rowley Lane. Jordan Aspis scored a first half goal for Lions who found themselves 2-1 behind at half time. Ben Winters equalised 10 minutes from time with a superb strike. Picking the ball up from a short corner on the left hand side of the box, Winters beat an opponent before firing home. A feisty affair saw Manchester-based Sedgley finish the match with eight players “This was a strange game to say the least,” said Lions boss Samuel Marchant. “We expected a tough physical battle from the Manchester side and they definitely showed that. “We weren’t at our best at all today but at the end of the day we’ve won the game. We are in the quarters of the Cup and have an away day in Manchester, so can’t really complain. “We found it difficult to break down the 10 men of Sedgley after an early red card but dug deep and kept our composure. “Going 2-1 down after half time was difficult to take but we reacted well and took more control of the game. “Two further red cards followed for Sedgley, both for bad challenges, so the game of course was there for us. We had to work hard and grind it out.
Full commitment in the Hendon versus Brady clash
“It was a struggle at times for us but we did what had to be done and that is all that matters.” Back to league action and Maccabi London Lions White thumped Camden Park 5-1 The Lions edged ahead of Brady into third place after routing bottom club Camden who are now 10 points adrift at the foot of the table. Sam Hammerton, Ollie Craig, Kiki Levin, Connor Perl and an own goal sealed the points. North London Raiders A pulled out of their clash with Redbridge Jewish Care A. Division One leaders Faithfold A strengthened their grip on the title without kicking a ball with Redbridge Jewish Care B pulling out of the fixture. Nearest rivals North London Raiders B lost 3-2 at Los Blancos. Raiders travel to Faithfold on Sunday for a match which takes added significance. Two Oli Sade goals including a solo effort from the halfway line and a Jamie Kutner goal settled a hard-fought match. David Dinkin scored from closerange and Anthony Goodmaker nodded home a Mark Leader freekick for Raiders. “We were our own worst enemies today,” said disappointed Raiders manager Doron Salomon. “We gifted Los Blancos all three of their goals and put unnecessary pressure on ourselves but it would be remiss not to acknowledge the goals still had to be finished and they were very well taken.” He added: “There are only so many times we can rely on a second half performance to fix our first half errors and today no matter what we tried we couldn’t make anything click. “It was a bad result and a bad performance. After a good run it halts our momentum but we’ll be ready for a huge game next weekend against Faithfold.” Oakwood B moved to within three points of Faithfold with a routine 4-0 win against bottom side Temple Fortune A.
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Brady Maccabi clear a Hendon corner
A Sam Modlin brace, a Tom Prais strike and own goal earned the win. Oakwood manager Jason Stein commented: “A thoroughly professional job from the team today. It was a must win game for us. We couldn’t afford to drop points. “We moved the ball around really nicely. As always with us we left some goals out there but the ones we did score were all nicely taken. “We don’t have a game for a few weeks, so we’ll keep fit and prepare for the remaining three games when we do get them.” Scrabble relegation battle with Redbridge Jewish Care C was postponed due to an unplayable pitch. Fairlop FC moved ahead of Catford & Bromley Maccabi into fourth place in Division Two. Daniel Garfinkle and James Jaconelli hit the target in a 2-0 victory. “I’m sure Jeff will agree when I say the score line flattered Catford,” Fairlop boss Aaron Dias said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game after the draw earlier in the season and the last minute change of pitch to a muddy bobbly pitch was never going to help. “We started fast, went a goal up in 10 minutes then came again in the second half. After wasting a number of chances we got the second, which killed off a late surge for Catford. “Overall, I’m really happy with our performance, today showed how far the team has matured since
our incorporation. At no stage did the boys panic.” Dias added: “Daniel Rosen played 30 minutes in the second half, was superb and deserved a goal. He changed our angle of attack to good effect. “Matt Berkeley in midfield was magnificent throughout and left back Ryan Cole defensively was solid as you get, nothing got past him.” Real Hendon moved up the Division Two table following a 3-0 win against Straw Hat Pirates. Jordan Alex, Lolu Hibbert and Gav Noe struck the Hendon goals. “We had strong performances all over,” said Hendon boss Rafi Addlestone. “Joe Metliss controlled the game from the middle of the park and Raffy Zysblat made three outstanding saves at crucial times to keep a clean sheet. “Defensive rock Yossi Goldberg and midfield maestro Motty Korman rolled back the years to teach the young opposition a lesson. “Left back Gali Kolt had a typically solid and committed defensive performance. He also had an amazing assist for the crucial second goal with a 60-yard throw in.” Mill Hill Dons match was postponed due to an unplayable pitch against North London Raiders C. Faithfold B enjoyed a 2-1 win at Temple Fortune B in the bottom of the table clash. PHOTO CREDIT: DAVID SAFFER
22 FEBRUARY 2018
THE JEWISH WEEKLY
SPORTS 19
Reich v Leeds Macabbi (1-3)
Challenge coming in
Fast turn and moving forward
Eyes on the ball
PHOTO CREDIT: LAWRENCE PURCELL
Fixtures for Sunday 25th February
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20 BUSINESS
22 FEBRUARY 2018
THE JEWISH WEEKLY
CURRENCY US DOLLAR.......... 1.41
UNITS/1GRBGBP / 1 UNIT
0.70
EURO............................... 1.14 SWISS FRANC.. 1.32
0.87
0.75
SHEKEL....................... 4.84
0.20
10 steps to avoid 40% inheritance tax BY MARC OVITS
BA (HONS) APFS CERT PFS (DM)
With inheritance tax payments hitting a record high at the end of 2017, the new year is a good time for you to ensure your wealth is in a position to be passed on to future generations, as tax efficiently as possible. According to HM Revenue & Customs, IHT receipts hit £5.3bn ($7.2bn, €6bn) in the year to November 2017, up from £4.7bn for the whole of 2016, as more estates than ever fall within its scope. Failure to take advantage of the tax breaks available when transferring wealth from one generation to the next can see families being hit by the maximum IHT rate of 40%. This can come as a big blow – especially for individuals who are asset rich but cash poor. However, there are a number of easy steps individuals can take in 2018 to ensure they or their families do not pay IHT unnecessarily. Below are 10 potential steps you could take to reduce the inheritance liability for your beneficiaries. 1. Take advantage of lifetime
gifts and “potentially exempt transfers” Consider gifting cash or assets during your lifetime to reduce or potentially exempt them from IHT. The liability on such gifts reduces by 20% each year if you survive by more than three years after making the gift, down to zero after seven years. 2. Make gifts to friends and family out of excess income Individuals are allowed to make the following gifts, exempt from IHT, each year: • £3,000 (one year’s unused allowance can be carried forward to the next, accruing a total allowance of £6,000) • Wedding gifts worth up to £5,000 for a child; £2,500 for a grandchild; or up to £1,000 for anyone else, can also be made free of IHT. • Multiple small gifts of up to £250 per person can be made each year, as long as they have not already benefitted from other gifts made. • Gifts made out of excess income as part of a regular pattern of giving are exempt – with no limit
to the amount which can be gifted. 3. Check your will is up-to-date Write a will and review it will periodically to ensure that your current wishes are reflected; that changing family circumstances are taken into account; and that IHT is minimised. 4. Monitor whether your estate’s value is likely to exceed the nil rate band Keeping an eye on the approximate value of your estate means you will be able to take timely action to reduce the amount of IHT beneficiaries could have to pay, using the steps outlined below. Estates worth £325,000 can be passed on free of IHT. For married couples and civil partners, this nil-rate band can now be transferred to a surviving spouse – effectively doubling the nil-rate band to £650,000. Plus, there’s an additional nil-rate band where individuals wish to pass on a property to direct descendants, worth an extra £100,000 free of tax in 2017/18, rising to £175,000 by 2020/21. 5. Consider setting up a trust Individuals whose estates are likely to exceed the nil-rate band may want to consider setting up
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a trust to shelter assets from IHT. Effectively this means handing over assets to trustees to look after for the benefit of beneficiaries, so they no longer form part of your estate for IHT purposes. Investing through investment bonds can be a tax efficient way of mitigating tax when using trusts. 6. Identify assets to sell or give away free of CGT Assets worth less than £6,000 can be sold or given away free of capital gains tax (CGT). This can be an easy and simple way of reducing the value of your estate. 7. Take out life insurance and ensure it is tax efficient It is important to make sure that life insurance benefits are assigned into trust rather than being paid to the (taxable) estate of the insured. 8. Make a bequest to charity Bequests to charity will be taken off the total value of your estate before IHT is calculated. If you leave more than 10% of the total value of your estate to charity, the IHT rate will be cut to 36%. 9. Make sure cash is accessible Having an emergency pot of cash for families to fall back on after death is important. It can help in the short and medium term by, for example, enabling spouses or children to settle outstanding bills. 10. Investigate the possibilities of Business Property Relief Business Property Relief (BPR) is available on the shares of family trading businesses. However, it is also available on unquoted shares generally – meaning that investments in many AIM or EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) shares may qualify for 100% relief. Investments in AIM shares or EIS should only be made for sound investment reasons rather than for tax purposes. However, for those with the right experience and risk appetite, this could be a way to drive investment portfolio returns as well as reducing IHT. The new year can be a good time to re-evaluate your position and
The Writer is the owner and Managing Director of Alpha Wealth Management Limited. Drawing on over twenty years’ experience in financial services, Marc helps private clients, businesses, charities, and trusts optimize their finances. He is a Chartered Financial Planner providing ‘Independent’ financial advice. Prior to being a financial adviser, Marc was a Director at several global investment banks, providing investment advice to Europe’s leading institutional investment and pension fund managers. For advice on inheritance, investment, protection, or retirement planning, please contact Marc on 020 8203 6920 or 07866 503 898 or marc@alphawm.co.uk.
identify any sensible tax planning steps that could be taken. A pro-active, forward-thinking approach is key. Identifying opportunities to trim your assets down is really important. A review also allows you to consider how much of your exemptions you have used up – and how much more you have to go before the end of the financial year in April. Inheritance tax planning can be complex as it can often result in some competing targets for your assets – such as your potential need for care. You are likely to find it helpful to discuss your situation with an adviser that can guide you through this maze of choices ensuring your objectives are met. After all, many people would have a preference to pass on their wealth to their family or a charity rather than HMRC.
Purim Supplement
S22 INTERVIEW
22 FEBRUARY 2018
THE JEWISH WEEKLY
Nissim Black
A miraculous journey Publisher Yossi Saunders interviews world famous rap star Nissim Black, to get the inside view on his remarkable transformation from the gangs of Seattle to the streets of Mea Shearim. You certainly have had an interesting journey! So how did it all begin? I grew up in Seattle as a Sunni Muslim, in a house with lots of violence, where there were kilos of dope on the table, and bags full of marijuana. From the tender age of 9, I started smoking pot, and by 13, I was selling it. My parents were proud of the drug culture, and never hid anything from me. I knew it was technically illegal, yet I didn’t see it as abnormal since everyone around me was doing it. I was also catapulted into gang life under the notorious Larry Hoover, who went on to serve six life sentences. I would walk around with a black bandanna hanging out of my pockets, and these were the type of groups I associated myself with in my early days. When was the first time you started to see the extreme dangers of the drug world and gang life? When I was just 8, we were ‘battle rammed’ by the FBI, woken up with a loud boom at 6am, with a gun pointed at my face. Police were covering the front and back of the house, blocking all possible exits. This was just after President Clinton had declared a war on drugs. My uncles were big drug lords at the time, and after they were arrested, I never saw them again until I was 17. To make matters worse, my mother died at 37 from a drug overdose when I was 19, and the saddest part is that she never got
to see my 5 beautiful children, and my transformation into who I am today. You then change from being a proud Sunni Muslim, to a bornagain Christian. Not something you hear of every day... I was just a “chemically imbalanced teenager” and by definition teenagers are always changing their minds from one day to the next! In all seriousness, my arrival as a born-again Christian was my way of escaping the gang culture that nearly killed me. I was hanging out with some very dangerous people, and a rival nearly ended up killing me because he thought I was trying to kill him. In addition, after signing my first big music contract at the age of just 13, my producers kept wanting me to change the words and lyrics, to ‘spice it up a bit,’ by adding in more curses and the like, and to enter into verbal battles with other rap stars. I began to question what the real purpose of life was, and if my upbringing had all been a lie. This led me to change religion and I became so devout. I would read my Bible every day and was really into Christianity. I would go around preaching, trying to convert all my friends! You had a major encounter with the police during this period of your life. Where did it lead you to? I was meeting my friends for a game, and we saw loads of minivans surrounding the pitch. Their
lights were all flashing, and suddenly the US Marshalls jumped out, guns in hand. The Marshalls are very high-ranking police officers, they haven’t showed up because we stole a candy bar! They had us surrounded, with all the guns aimed at us, as we had been travelling in my uncle’s car, who was in big trouble with the law, and it had flashed up on their system. When they ran our ID’s, they saw I had an outstanding warrant from when I skipped court a few years previously, so I was arrested and spent 2 days in a juvenile centre. It was like an insane asylum with irrational teens being held down by guards, it was so crazy. But I went inside with such peace and confidence, into my small room, with just a Bible for company. After spending the first night
Nissim being interviewed at The Jewish Weekly offices
letters to the Judge and it was simply dismissed. After this incident, I joined a missionary trip to help build an orphanage in Mexico. Would you say your years as a born-again Christian were crucial to your eventual arrival at Judaism? Looking back, I would say this phase was crucial. I started to feel a tremendously deep connection with G-d during this time, and even though it was not Judaism, it was definitely a vitally important step on the right path to truly finding Hashem. Ultimately the force of spirituality I was engaging with, which was not yet the real truth, truly helped me to escape the big mess my life was in at the time. Yet you were still not satisfied?
preaching G-d with other prisoners, my old mentor from the Christian club showed up to visit. “When he saw me, he burst out laughing. He laughed so hard, that I started laughing as well, as his laughter was so contagious. Eventually I asked him what an earth he was laughing about? He told me that when he would take me home from club, and discuss G-d in the car, I used to tell him I longed for the time to quietly study all about G-d. Be careful what you wish for he told me! Look at you in here - you must be so specific with G-d!
Something was missing. Christianity was simply not doing it for me anymore Looking back, I now see that Christianity was far too foggy, it had much less “seichel,”(intellect) than Judaism, and that the Torah is much more descriptive in regards to what takes place between man and Hashem. I lived in a Jewish neighbourhood, and started asking lots of questions to my Rabbi; Rabbi
Google. Not that I would recommend this to everyone, as there is a lot of incorrect information online. I first experimented with Messianic Judaism before the real thing, however, for me at the time, I still learned a lot. I then started asking many questions to Rabbi Shmuel Brodie, who gave me Torah books to start upgrading my learning. I was specifically inspired by the Garden of Peace by Rabbi Shalom Arush, and the rest of this brilliant series. I kept talking to G-d, crying to him, asking so many questions. Eventually, I arrived at the truth. Reb Nachman did his fair share too. Judaism allowed more true feelings to develop and gave me extra clarity and enabled me to have true inner peace. How did you manage to persuade your wife to convert to Judaism too? I sat down on a couch opposite her, to make sure there was space in case she threw something at me! She had seen me spending many hours researching, reading and crying, but she just thought I was going through a phase. It was made even more tricky, as she naturally felt it was an attack on her entire family and a challenge to her entire Christian upbringing. And the fact that our first baby had been born the week before probably didn’t help either. CONTINUED ON PAGE 23
What happened with the court case?
Yossi Saunders with Nissim
At the court hearing, the big, tall and imposing guards outside told me that they could see that I didn’t belong here, as there was too much of a shine coming from my face..! I eventually got off as they threw out the case. My entire community showed up, and they had all written
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Making the crowd go wild at one of his sold out live performances
22 FEBRUARY 2018 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22 Yet you managed to persuade her and you both ultimately converted to Judaism... Baruch Hashem she saw the light with me. The whole conversion process took 2 and half years, and was extremely intense. I chose the name Nissim because of the many miracles that I saw. I retired from music and moved to Israel, living in the Jerusalem neighbourhood Sha’arei Chesed, in the heart of Rechavia. At the beginning, none of my
INTERVIEW S23
THE JEWISH WEEKLY family accepted my change, they all thought I was going mad, going crazy. They were all very upset when I left music for a while; they saw it as a rejection of where I had come from. After relaunching my music career under my new name Nissim, thank G-d everyone is just so proud of me. I have returned to singing again, and they have seen that I am using my talents, enjoying what I love and utilising Hashem’s gifts, they are so proud of who I am and who I have become. I am now a Breslov Chasid, yet I still produce
great rap music. And you now live in Mea Shearim –a far cry from the days of your youth! Yes, I moved near the Mir Yeshiva, and every Friday night, we host many students at our home for dinner. My wife has a cut off of 50 guests, otherwise it becomes too much for her! I now use my music as kiruv and go around the world telling my story. Perhaps it doesn’t make as much money as rapping full time, yet I see it as my clear mission from Hashem to spread
the light of Torah around the world, and to inspire people to change, no matter where they have come from. What would your final message be to Jewish Weekly readers? As a Breslover, you see at Reb Nachman’s kever (tomb) in Uman on Rosh Hashanah, all sorts of people who were the furthest away, people who were so incredibly far from Hashem. Yet, at some point they suddenly saw the light and returned. No matter how far you may feel, you just need the desire and you
can achieve great things. My story is truly miraculous, just like the story of Purim, and it has been a pleasure to share it with you. Wishing all Jewish Weekly readers a Happy Purim! Nissim has a huge following on YouTube and his latest album ‘Lemala’ is available now on iTunes. Visit nissimofficial.com for more details
PHOTO CREDITS: ADRIAN KORSNER, SOUND IMAGES
Trip
FARMING AND AGRICULTURE
to the Why is this day trip different from all other day trips?
Join JNF UK for an inspirational day trip to the Negev this Pesach.
Learn the fascinating history of Israel’s first farmers and hear first-hand about the challenges faced by 21st Century pioneers. • • • •
Tour Mikveh Israel, Israel’s first agricultural school, established in 1870 Travel to Shekef Farm to take part in an activity on the land Hear from JNF UK-supported grassroots organisation HaShomer HaChadash Experience cheese making and sample artisanal cheeses at a boutique dairy farm
£30 including transport & kosher for Pesach lunch
WEDNESDAY 4 APRIL (CHOL HAMOED) | Various pick up points LIMITED AVAILABILITY. BOOK NOW TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT: WWW.JNF.CO.UK/EVENT/DAYTRIP | EVENTS@JNF.CO.UK | 020 8732 6100
S28 FOOD
THE JEWISH WEEKLY
22 FEBRUARY 2018 15 min Prep Time 30 min Cook Time 105 min Duration 20-24 Servings
joyofkosher.com Cancel the pizza delivery! We have pizza hamantaschen for the holiday. Now you can eat hamantaschen for dinner!
INSTRUCTIONS
Dough • 2½ cups flour • 4 ounces butter • 1 egg yolk • 1 tablespoon sour cream or yogurt • 1 teaspoon kosher salt • ½ teaspoon sugar
• ⅓ cup cold water • 1 tablespoon white vinegar Filling • ½ cup marinara sauce • ½ cup shredded Tnuva Mozzeralla Loaf Cheese • ¼ cup Tnuva Parmesan Cheese
PREPARATION
Dough: 1. In a food processor pulse flour butter egg yolk sour cream salt and sugar until a coarse meal is formed. With machine running, add water and vinegar, a bit at a time, until dough pulls together. 2. Turn dough out onto counter and knead a few turns to combine. Flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic or parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or for up to 2 days. Assembly: 1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 2. Roll dough out to quarter-inch thickness. Cut dough into 3-inch circles. Spoon sauce into center. 3. Sprinkle cheeses over sauce. 4. Brush edges with egg wash and fold over into a triangle, seal tightly, be sure corners are firmly pressed together. Place hamantaschen on prepared pan and leave about 2 inches between for dough to expand. 5. Bake at 170°C for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
PIZZA HAMANTASCHEN
WATERMELON WINE SPRITZERS INGREDIENTS • • • •
6-8 Servings
2 cup small cubed chilled seedless watermelon 1 bottle chilled Chardonnay 2 tablespoon grenadine syrup 12 ounce chilled sparkling mineral wate
PREPARATION 1.
2.
Divide the watermelon among 6 to 8 white wine glasses, then divide the wine, grenadine, and sparkling water among the glasses and give them a quick stir. Serve immediately.
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S30 FOOD
22 FEBRUARY 2018
THE JEWISH WEEKLY
denise’s kitchen
modern jewish cookery with style
Hamantaschen can be made with yeast dough, a sour cream dough, a rich short crust or biscuit pastry. I have chosen to use a rich
short crust pastry. This is made using 4 colours of pastry, patch worked together, rolled out and then shaped into Hamantaschen.
INGREDIENTS
Apricot filling
In addition to the colour, I have flavoured each colour pastry with a different flavouring ~ this is optional but certainly fun!
For more recipes and inspiration visit my website at: www.jewishcookery.com I have given you 4 different types of fillings. Make these before you make the pastry as they need to be cool before using.
NB: The quantity of pastry is quite substantial – it does work using half!
RAINBOW HAMANTASCHEN
• 250g dried pitted apricots • 60ml water • 570g plain flour • 300g unsalted butter or margarine • 60ml orange juice • 25g caster sugar • Zest of 2 lemons • 1 tablespoon lemon juice • 4 teaspoons lemon juice • Pinch of salt • 2 eggs Chocolate filling • 100g caster sugar • Use 1 teaspoon of Nutella in the Second stage middle of each hamantaschen. • Food colours – 4 different eg red, Traditional Poppy Seed filling orange, green and purple • 150g poppy seeds • Food flavours – 4 different eg • 120ml honey vanilla, rose water, orange, chocolate • 120ml milk / soya milk/ coconut milk Fruit filling • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice • 75g sultanas • 1 tablespoon sugar • 50g chopped walnuts • ¼ teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon For the Glaze • 1 eating apple – peeled and grated • 150g poppy seeds • 50g soft brown sugar • 120ml honey • 50g unsalted butter or margarine • 120ml milk / soya milk/ coconut milk For the pastry
PREPARATION
For the Fruit filling 1. Add the sultanas, cinnamon, chopped walnuts, sugar, and butter to the food processor and pulse gently to combine. 2. Stir in the grated apple. For the Apricot filling 1. Make the apricot filling by combining all the ingredients together in a saucepan. Stir and bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes. When there is about 1 tablespoon of liquid left, transfer to the liquidiser or food processor. Remove and transfer to a dish. 2. Leave to cool and then leave in the fridge until ready to use. It is easier to use when it is completely cold. For the traditional Poppy Seed filling 1. Finely grind poppy seeds in spice mill. 2. Transfer to a medium saucepan and add honey, milk, lemon juice, sugar, and salt. 3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, until thickened and a spatula holds a trail when dragged across bottom of pan, about 4 minutes; stir in vanilla. Let cool. Final preparation 1. Pre-heat the oven to 400ºC/200ºF/ Gas mark 6. 2. Make the pastry by mixing all the ingredients together in a food
processor. Divide the pastry into 4 portions. 3. Flavour and colour each portion of pastry separately. Add a teaspoon of colour and a teaspoon of flavour –optional to each batch. ( Ensure the food processor is very clean before adding the next pastry dough.) 4. Wrap each pastry batch in cling film and flatten. Leave to rest for 30 minutes. 5. To make rainbow hamantaschen, roll out the coloured pastry taking a little of each colour dough and roll so it is about 2cm thick. ~ a patchwork effect is what you want to make. 6. Using a 7.5 cm (3 inch) cutter make round templates. Repeat with the remaining pastry. 7. Now add a large tea spoonful of your choice of filling into each circle. 8. Draw up the sides to form a triangle, pinching the edges firmly together in the shape of a tricorn hat. 9. Line a baking tray with baking parchment paper. 10. Transfer the Hamantschen to the baking tray and bake for 20 minutes. 11. Remove and leave to cool for 5 minutes. 12. Glaze with egg white and then sprinkle with poppy seeds and hundreds and thousands for a magnificent finale. To serve the stylish way: Dust with icing sugar.
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22 FEBRUARY 2018
THE JEWISH WEEKLY
The Four Mitzvot of Purim
1
MEGILLAH READING BOOK OF ESTHER The Megillah is read twice on Purim, once at night and once during the day. In order to properly fulfill the mitzvah of Megillah, it is necessary to hear every word during the reading. For this reason it is imperative that people do not talk to each other during the Megillah reading.
2
The Megillah
MISHLOACH MANOT/SHALACH MANOS SENDING GIFTS Every Jew is obligated to give at least one Mishloach Manot gift containing at least two different types of ready-to-eat food items.
3
SEUDAH - FESTIVE MEAL
One is obligated to partake in a festive meal on Purim day. The bare minimum to fulfill this mitzvah requires that one ritually wash (netillat yadayim), eat bread and then recite the Birkat Hamazon , the Grace after Meals. 4
MATANOT LA’EVYONIM - GIFTS TO THE POOR Giving to the poor is a mitzvah all year round. However, the mitzvah to do so on Purim is in addition to the general mitzvah of tzedakah (charity). To properly fulfill the mitzvah of Matanot La’evyonim one must give to two poor individuals. Although one may fulfill this mitzvah by giving a very minimal amount of money to each person, the sages noted that the highest form of fulfilling this mitzvah is by giving enough money for a meal, or the equivalent in food. This mitzvah may be fulfilled by donating beforehand to an organisation that will distribute the money or food on Purim day. GIFT is providing a text code donation service for Matonot La’evyonim. Text LOTS18 £10 to 70070 now! and GIFT will guarantee your full donation arrives with the recipient on Purim day.
JUDAISM S31
Shabbat ends
London Jerusalem
S32 JUDAISM Volume 30 No. 23
6.19pm 6.09pm
22 FEBRUARY 2018
THE JEWISH WEEKLY
Tetzaveh
Artscroll p.464 | Maftir p.1066 | Haftarah p.1214 Hertz p.339 | Maftir p.856 | Haftarah p.995 Soncino p.519 | Maftir p.1114 | Haftarah p.1192 Parashat Zachor. Purim is on Wednesday night and Thursday. The Fast of Esther is on Wednesday, starting in London at 5.11am and ending at 6.19pm.
Parshat Tetzaveh In loving memory of David Yochanan ben Moshe
In loving memory of David Yochanan ben Moshe “Now you shall command the Children of Israel that they shall take for you pure olive oil, pressed, for illumination, to kindle a lamp continually” (Shemot 27:20-21).
A Carefully Calculated Absence
by David Frei, Director of External and Legal Services for the United Synagogue The opening passage of parashat Tetzaveh focuses on the oil used for the daily lighting of the Menorah in the Mishkan (Tabernacle). It is introduced with words spoken to Moshe: "And you shall command the Children of Israel" (Shemot 27:20).
Rabbi Eliyahu Kramer (known as ‘the Vilna Gaon’ d. 1797) answers that in most years, 7 Adar, Moshe's yahrzeit (anniversary of death), falls during the week at the end of which Tetzaveh is read. The omission of his name reflects the national sense of loss at the passing of the greatest Jewish leader.
There is another reason given for Tetzaveh being Sidrah Summary: Tazria-Metzorah
Ancient olive oil press, Beit Guvrin, Israel
SidrahSummary: Summary:Tetzaveh Tetzaveh Sidrah “Now you (Kohen) shall command Children of Israel that take– 29:1-18 for you pure olive oil, pressed, 1st Aliya – Shemotthe 27:20-28:12 4ththey Aliyashall (Revi’i) for illumination, to to kindle a lamp (ShemotThe 27:20-21). G-d tells Moshe instruct thecontinually” people to bring command to consecrate the Mishkan is given. pure, pressed olive oil for lighting the Menorah in the Mishkan. Aharon and his sons will take charge of setting up and lighting the Menorah. Moshe will guide “wise-hearted” workers to make the special garments for the Kohanim, “for glory and splendour”. The first four of the eight garments listed were worn exclusively by the Kohen Gadol, the first of whom was Aharon. (1) The Ephod was worn over Aharon’s tunic and robe. It was woven from coloured wool and linen, with two shoulder straps (ketefot) and a belt (cheshev) attached. Precious shoham stones (avnei shoham) were placed on each shoulder strap. Each stone was engraved with the name of six tribes. Question: What were the names of Aharon’s sons? Answer on bottom of next page. 2nd Aliya (Levi) – 28:13-30 (2) The breastplate (Choshen) was placed above the Ephod, and with a similar weave. The front of the breastplate contained 12 different types of precious stones (avnei miluim), each one engraved with the name of a different tribe. Golden rings on the four corners allowed it to be attached to the Ephod. The Choshen ‘folded out’ to allow the insertion of a piece of parchment called the Urim Ve’Tumim, which had the Ineffable Name of G-d written on it (see Rashi). 3rd Aliya (Shlishi) – 28:31-43 (3) The robe (Me’il) was worn under the first two garments, made of turquoise wool. Golden bells (rimonim), placed between multicoloured woollen ‘pomegranate’ shapes, hung from the bottom hem. (4) The headplate (Tzitz) was made of pure gold and had the words ‘Kodesh L’Hashem’ written on it. It was placed on Aharon’s forehead. Every Kohen wore (5) a tunic (Ketonet) with a gridlike patterned knit, as well as (6) a linen turban (Mitznefet), (7) an embroidered sash (Avnet) and (8) linen trousers (Michnasayim).
Every day for seven days, Moshe is to bring animal and bread offerings, dress Aharon and his sons in their priestly clothing and anoint Aharon’s head with oil. The blood from the offerings is to be placed on the altar to inaugurate it. 5th Aliya (Chamishi) – 29:19-37 Moshe is to place the blood of the second ram offering on the ears, thumbs and toes of Aharon and his sons. Blood and oil are to be sprinkled on their garments. Moshe is to assist the Kohanim in waving their inauguration offering.
6th Aliya (Shishi) – 29:38-46 Once the Mishkan is functional, the twice-daily Tamid (continual) offering is to be brought, one sheep in the morning, one in the afternoon, together with a flour offering and a wine libation. 7th Aliya (Shevi’i) – 30:1-10 The Mishkan also housed a gold-plated wooden mizbeach (altar), upon which the twice-daily incense offering was brought. Maftir (Devarim 25:17-19) The special reading for Parashat Zachor is from the end of Parashat Ki Tetze, commanding us to remember how the Amalek nation started a war against the Israelites after they left Egypt, as well as the imperative to eradicate Amalek. Point to Consider: The Torah recalls Amalek’s approach using the term ‘asher karcha’ (Krq rwa) – what does this term mean? (see Rashi to 25:18) Haftarah The prophet Shmuel (Samuel) relates how King Shaul (Saul) defeated Amalek, but took pity on their king, Agag. In defiance of a Divine command, Shaul refrained from killing Agag, as well as sparing his cattle. Shmuel rebuked Shaul and told him that he would lose the monarchy because of this misplaced mercy. Shmuel himself then killed Agag.
United Synagogue Daf Hashavua Produced by US Living & Learning together with the Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue Editor: Rabbi Chaim Gross Editor-in-Chief: Rabbi Baruch Davis Editorial Team: Ilana Epstein, Michael Laitner, Sharon Radley Available also via email US website www.theus.org.uk ©United Synagogue To sponsor Daf Hashavua please contact Loraine Young on 020 8343 5653, or lyoung@theus.org.uk If you have any comments or questions regarding Daf Hashavua please email rabbigross@theus.org.uk
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Rabbi Yaakov Ben Asher (d. 1343) in his work Ba’al HaTurim points out that from parashat 1st Aliya (Kohen) – Vayikra 12:1-23 Shemot, where we readwould of Moshe's birth, until the After childbirth, a lady wait several weeks end of the Book of Devarim, Tetzaveh is the only before bringing an elevation offering (olah) and a parasha in which there is no mention of Moshe's sin offering (chatat). This completed her post-birth name. To emphasise this, in the verse quoted purification above, the process. Torah deliberately omits his name, God told Moshe and Aharon thatyou". someone who replacing it with the phrase, "And had the appearance of a particular type of skin disease (tzara’at) would have that to show white The Ba’al HaTurim explains nextthe week's parasha,toKia Tisa, includes the incident of the blemish Kohen. The Kohen would evaluate Golden Calf.ifThis invokedwas Divine angertzara’at, to the and decide thesin affliction clearly extent that G-d destroying all Ifthe thus rendering theproposed person impure (tameh). the Israelites fromthe Moshe, starting a new case was apart unclear, Kohenand would quarantine nation with atseven its head. Moshe's the person in aMoshe house for days, after which impassioned plea in defence of his people the Kohen would re-inspect the afflicted area and included the request that G-d should forgive their declare whether the person was tameh or tahor sin, “and if not, erase me from Your Book that You (pure). have written” (ibid. 32:32). Question: what were the three types of blemish Moshe's(13:2) prayers were on accepted G-d did called? Answer bottomand of page 6. not carryAliya out His threat. Nevertheless, says the Ba’al 2nd (Levi) – 13:24-39 HaTurim, when a Torah scholar utters even a It was also possible for tzara’at to develop from a conditional statement, even when the condition burn. Tzara’at could erupt on the scalp or on the is not fulfilled, some element of what he said will beard area, In causing a loss of Moshe's hair. take effect. this case, while name did 3rd (Shlishi) – 13:40-54 not Aliya need to be deleted from the Torah, it was still this form week’s partial Aomitted slightlyfrom different of parasha, tzara’at isin detailed, fulfilment of Moshe's which caused a morecurse. substantial loss of hair. A metzora (one who has been contaminated with Yet why was parashat Tetzaveh selected for tzara’at) was sent outside of the camp and had to omitting Moshe’s name? Logic might dictate that tear his/her garments (see p4 article). Tzara’at since the incident of the Golden Calf and its could also infect clothing. A suspected garment aftermath are recounted in Ki Tisa, Moshe's name was quarantined before the Kohen parasha, made a should be omitted from the subsequent decision about whether it was tameh. If it was namely Vayakhel. declared tameh, the garment was burnt.
4th Aliya (Revi’i) – 13:55-14:20 The Torah details the process through which a In memory of Devorah Bat Avrahamafter the period metzora purified himself/herself of isolation and the healing of the affliction. This involved a Kohen taking two birds, cedar wood, a crimson thread and hyssop. The Kohen would slaughter one of the birds and – using the wood, thread and hyssop together in a bundle – sprinkle In of Devorah its memory blood seven times Bat on Avraham the metzora. The
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chosen. Parashat Shemot records the dialogue between G-d and Moshe at the burning bush, in which G-d tried to also persuade reluctant metzora would bringthe three animalMoshe offerings toand return to meal Egyptofferings. to lead the Israelites out of three slavery. Moshe did not feel worthy of the mission Point to Consider: what is the significance of the and implored G-d: “send now (Your message) cedar wood, crimson thread and hyssop? (see with whom You would send”. Rashi (d. 1105) Rashi to 14:4) understands this to mean that G-d should send 5th Aliya (Chamishi) – 14:21-32 Aharon in Moshe’s place, as the established A metzora who afford4:13). three animal representative of thecould peoplenot (Shemot offerings could instead bring one animal offering, The next verse records anger at Moshe's one meal offering andG-d's two birds. response, in which G-d makes reference to 6th Aliya (Shishi) Moshe's brother as– 14:33-15:15 “Aharon the Levi”. The Tzara’at also affected The house owner Talmud (Zevachim 102a)houses. remarks that calling would report the suspicious signs to a Kohen. Aharon “the Levi” was a reflection of G-d's upset The house would before with Moshe. He be wasevacuated telling Moshe thatthe he Kohen’s was arrival. Ifdestined the Kohen a deeptogreen or deep red originally for saw his family be Kohanim ‘affliction’, he family would toorder the house and for Aharon's be Levites. Yet astoa be result of Moshe's initial He refusal lead the quarantined for a week. wouldtothen re-inspect mission, Aharon be given the Priesthood the house. If thewould affliction had spread, the infected (Kehuna) Moshe's family would be Levites. stones and would be removed and replaced. If the Since the main theme of returned, this week’s is affliction nevertheless theparasha house would thebePriestly clothing,However, it would be unkind for the Moshe demolished. if replacing stones tosolved have his associated with a gift originally thename problem, the Kohen would declare the destined for him. For this reason his name does house tahor (pure). not appear in our parasha. The Torah lists specific discharges that would cause a man to be considered tameh, and details the purification procedure.
7th Aliya (Shevi’i) – 15:16-33 A similar set of laws is listed for a lady who has specific discharges, as well as the laws of niddah (menstruation), which form the basis of the laws of family purity. Haftarah From the Book of Melachim (Kings II), the haftarah takes places upon the background of the long siege and ensuing famine of the Shomron area 3 (Samria) by the King of Aram. Four metzora’im were put outside the city gates because of their affliction. They discovered and reported that the Arameans had actually left their camp, which allowed the Jews to plunder the camp and thus end their famine.
Produced by US Living & Learning together with the Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue Editor: Rabbi Chaim Gross Editor-in-Chief: Rabbi Baruch Davis Editorial Team: Ilana Epstein, Michael Laitner, Sharon Radley
22 FEBRUARY 2018
JUDAISM S33
THE JEWISH WEEKLY
Bein Adam Lechaveiro Part 27: The Ramban’s Letter
Bein Adam Lechaveiro Part 27: The Ramban’s Let(Igeret HaRamban) ter (Igeret HaRamban) by Rabbi DanielLechaveiro Fine, CommunityPart Rabbi, Stanmore & Canons Park United Bein Adam Lechaveiro Part 27: The Letter Bein Adam 27: The Ramban’s Ramban’s Letter Synagogue by Rabbi Daniel Fine, Community Rabbi, Stanmore & (Igeret HaRamban) Bein Adam Lechaveiro Part 27: The Ramban’s Letter (Igeret HaRamban) byRabbi RabbiDaniel Daniel Fine, Community Rabbi, && Canons Park In covering the Synagogue theme of Stanmore thoughts, gives us an indication of his humility. (Igeret HaRamban) Canons Park United by Fine, Community Rabbi, Stanmore Canons ParkUnited United
Synagogue mitzvotRabbi, (mitzvotStanmore & Canons Park United by Rabbi Daniel interpersonal Fine, Community Synagogue quotation (“Hear, my son, the instruction of beincovering adam lechaveiro), is This In the themeit of Synagogue thoughts, gives us an indication of his humility. In covering the theme of
thoughts, of his humility. fathergives and us do an notindication forsake the teaching of fitting to touchmitzvot upon a(mitzvot classic your interpersonal In covering the theme of thoughts, gives us an indication of hisinstruction humility. of interpersonal mitzvot (mitzvot mother”) implies thatson, parental involvement This quotation (“Hear, my the bein adam it in is your text that haslechaveiro), been printed This quotation (“Hear, my son, the instruction of interpersonal mitzvot (mitzvot bein adam lechaveiro), it is is your fatherinand do not forsake the teaching of central the instruction and upbringing fitting to touch upon classic manyadam siddurim, and aone (“Hear, my son, the instruction of of yourquotation father and do not forsake theinvolvement teaching bein lechaveiro), it that is This fitting to touch upon a classic your mother”) impliesbethat parental text that has beenatprinted in your children. This could broken down into three is etched on glass the front father and do not forsake the teaching of your mother”) implies that parental involvement fitting to touch upon printed a classicin is text that has been centralfacets: in the instruction and upbringing of many siddurim,Synagogue and one that different mother”) that parental involvement of the Ramban text that has been printed inin your is central in implies the instruction upbringing many siddurim, and that children. This could be brokenand down into threeof is etched on glass at one the front is central in thecould instruction and upbringing of many siddurim, andatone that children. This be broken down into three the Old City of Jerusalem. isofetched on glass the front different facets: the Ramban Synagogue in children. 1. Parents have a mitzvah known asinto chinuch This could be broken down three– is etched on glass at the front different facets: of the Ramban Synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem. facets: the responsibility ensureknown that their children– ofofthe in it different 1. Parents have a to mitzvah as chinuch It appeals allRamban ages andSynagogue backgrounds; the Old Citytoofpeople Jerusalem. perform mitzvot at the appropriate age, so as to – 1. Parents have a mitzvah known as chinuch the Old City of Jerusalem. responsibility to ensure that as their children a universally classic piece ofit 1.the Itisappeals to peoplecelebrated of all ages and backgrounds; Parents have a mitzvah known chinuch – the responsibility to ensure that their children get used to mitzvah practice even before perform mitzvot at the appropriate age, so as to It is appeals toliterature people celebrated of– all ages and backgrounds; it Rabbinic the Letter of the piece Ramban a universally classic responsibility to ensure that their children It appeals to people of all ages and backgrounds; itof the perform mitzvot at the appropriate age, so as to get used to at mitzvah practice even before halachic adulthood (barmitzvah and batmitzvah). isRabbinic a universally celebrated classic piece ofperform literaturecelebrated –This the Letter of the Ramban HaRamban). letter was sent by of the mitzvot the appropriate age, so as to is(Igeret a universally classic piece get used to mitzvah practice even before halachic adulthood (barmitzvah and batmitzvah). Rabbinic literature – the d. Letter of to the Ramban (Igeret HaRamban). letter was sent by the used to mitzvah practice even before Ramban (Nachmanides 1270) his son in get Rabbinic literature – This the Letter of the Ramban halachic adulthood (barmitzvah and batmitzvah). 2. Beyond chinuch, the Rambam (Maimonides (Igeret HaRamban). This letter was sent by the Ramban (Nachmanides d. 1270) to his son in halachic adulthood (barmitzvah and batmitzvah). Catalonia in the 13thThis century, thesent topic the 2. Beyond (Igeret HaRamban). letterand was byofthe chinuch, the Rambam (Maimonides Ramban (Nachmanides d. 1270) to topic his son in d. 1204) writes that parents have a responsibility Catalonia in the 13th century, and the of the Ramban (Nachmanides d. 1270) to his the son first in d. letter is humility. We shall be exploring 2. 1204) Beyond chinuch, the Rambam (Maimonides writes that the parents have (Maimonides a responsibility chinuch, Rambam train their children towards good character Catalonia in 13th century, and thetopic topic the2.toBeyond letter is humility. Wecentury, shall be exploring the first Catalonia in the the 13th and the ofofthe part of the letter over the course of the coming d. 1204) writes that parents have a responsibility to train their children towards good character 1204) writes that parents have a responsibility letter humility. We shall be exploring the firstd.traits. part is of the letter We overshall the be course of thethe coming letter is humility. exploring first traits. to train their children towards good character weeks. Here is the (translated) text of the first few weeks. Here is the (translated) textof ofthe first few to train their children towards good character part of letter over the course course of thecoming coming part of the the letter over the traits. paragraphs: traits. paragraphs: weeks. Here (translated) text textof ofthe thefirst firstfew few 3. 3. In In addition, addition, the the Meshech Meshech Chochmah Chochmah (Rabbi (Rabbi weeks. Here is is the the (translated) paragraphs: Meir Simcha of Dvink d. 1926) writes that parents Meir Simcha of Dvink d. 1926) writes that parents paragraphs: 3. In addition, the Meshech Chochmah (Rabbi In addition, the Meshech Chochmah (Rabbi “ ‘Hear, my son, the instruction of your father and 3.provide a link toDvink thed.previous generation in the MeirSimcha Simcha of d. 1926) writes that parents Meir of Dvink 1926) writes that parents forsake the teaching of and your ““do ‘Hear, my the instruction ofyour yourfather father and golden ‘Hear,not my son, son, the instruction of oftothe Torah transmission dating provideachain alink linkto the previous generation in the previous generation in back the mother’ 1:8). into the provide mother’ (Mishlei/Proverbs 1:8). Get Get ofof intoyour the teaching your do not forsake the the teaching do not (Mishlei/Proverbs to Har chain Sinai. golden chainofofTorah Torah transmission dating back to Har Sinai. golden transmission dating back habit always calmly to everyone. mother’ 1:8). Get into the thetotoHar mother’ (Mishlei/Proverbs habit of of(Mishlei/Proverbs always speaking speaking 1:8). calmlyGet to into everyone. HarSinai. Sinai. This of willalways prevent you from anger, a serious One can suggest that these three facets – habit speaking calmly to everyone. everyone. habit speaking calmly to This of willalways prevent you from anger, a serious One can suggest that these three facets – character flaw whichyou causes people to asin. As our One mitzvah instruction, character traits and the This will from anger, This will prevent you from anger, a serious suggest these facets – – Onecan caninstruction, suggestthat that thesethree three facets character flaw which causes people to sin.serious As our mitzvah character traits and the Rabbis said: ‘Whoever flares upto insin. anger is mitzvah passage of Torah transmission – are contained character flaw causes people As our character flaw which causes people to sin. As our instruction, character traits andand thethe mitzvah instruction, character traits Rabbis said: ‘Whoever flares up in anger is passage ofthe Torah transmission – are contained subjectsaid: to the disciplineflares of Gehinom [a place within the verse that the –Ramban uses to Rabbis said: ‘Whoever up isispassage Rabbis ‘Whoever flares up inin anger anger ofofTorah transmission are contained passage Torah transmission – are contained subject souls to the discipline of Gehinom [a place within theletter. the verse that the Ramban uses to where suffer in the afterlife for their open the Purim: “Jewish” Identity –uses the subject to the discipline of Gehinom [a place that thethe Ramban uses to toEtymology of a Nation subject to the discipline of Gehinom [a placewithin withinthe thethe theverse verse that Ramban where souls souls suffer suffer in the the (Talmud afterlife for their open the letter. misdemeanours on in Nedarim where their the letter. where souls suffer inearth] the afterlife afterlife for for theiropen by Rabbi Chaim Burman, US Rabbinic Fellow open the letter. 22a); as it is says, ‘Cast (Talmud out anger from misdemeanours on earth] earth] (Talmud Nedarim misdemeanours on misdemeanours on earth] (Talmud Nedarim Nedarim your heart, doing 22a); as as says,[by ‘Cast out this] angerremove from out anger from 22a); as isisand says, ‘Cast 22a); ititit is says, ‘Cast out anger from evil from (Kohelet/Ecclesiastes your heart, and [by this] your heart, heart, your and flesh’ [by doing doing this] remove remove There is a ‘missing character’ oneness of God. It was in this sense that your and [by doing this] remove 12:10). ‘Evil’ hereflesh’ means Gehinom, as we evil from your (Kohelet/Ecclesiastes evil from from your flesh’ (Kohelet/Ecclesiastes in the Purim story. Mordechai was a Yehudi. evil your flesh’ (Kohelet/Ecclesiastes read: ‘...and the wicked destinedasfor we the 12:10). ‘Evil’ here Gehinom, 12:10). ‘Evil’ ‘Evil’ here here means meansare Gehinom, Throughout the Megillah, we 12:10). means Gehinom, as we day of evil’ the (Mishlei 16:4). Once youfor have read: ‘...and are recall the miracles that the The story of the Megillah unfolded when the read: ‘...and ‘...and the the wicked wicked anger, are destined destined read: wicked are destined forthe the distanced quality day of evil’yourself (Mishleifrom 16:4). Oncetheyou haveof Jews experienced as they Jewish people were in exile and at a time when day (Mishlei 16:4). Once have day ofof evil’ evil’ (Mishlei 16:4).heart. Once you you radiant humility will enterfrom your distanced yourself anger, theThis quality of were saved from annihilation. G-d's interaction with His world was no longer distanced yourself the quality of distanced yourself from anger, the quality of quality iswill the finestfrom of allanger, admirable (see humility enter your heart. Thistraits radiant But God is not mentioned through open miracles, but in a quiet and humility enter heart. radiant humilityis will will enter ofyour your heart. This radiant Talmud Avodah Zarah 20b),This because, quality the finest all admirable traits (see once in the narrative, at least hidden fashion, like we experience today. quality finest all traits qualityisisthe the finest of ofcomes all admirable admirable traits (see ‘Following humility the fear of (see GOur task is to demonstrate through our actions Talmud Avodah Zarah 20b), because, not overtly. Yet, He is undoubtedly the silent Talmud Zarah 20b), d’ (MishleiAvodah 22:4)”. Talmud Avodah Zarah the 20b),fear because, because, ‘Following humility comes of G- protagonist of the story. As we noted in last that although God remains hidden, such that ‘Following humility comes the fear of Gd’‘Following (Mishlei 22:4)”. humility comes the fear of G- week’s article, when we come to the end of the personal and world events may seem random, d’The (Mishlei 22:4)”. fact that the Ramban begins his letter with a ultimately it is God who remains the One, everd’ (Mishlei 22:4)”. quotation someone else,hisKing The fact thatfrom the Ramban begins letter Shlomo with a Megillah and look in hindsight at how the present orchestrating force. The fact that Ramban begins letter with (Solomon) inthe Mishlei, rather than his from his own a narrative unfolded, we realise how even the quotation from someone else, King Shlomo The fact that the someone Ramban begins his letterShlomo with a seemingly insignificant and inconsequential This is why the Megillah has no overt reference quotation from else, from King (Solomon) in Mishlei, rather than his own In memory offrom Haravsomeone Avraham Yitzchak Yaakov ben Harav Nata Gershonwere actually essential steps 4 quotation else, from King ‘coincidences’ (Solomon) in Mishlei, rather than hisShlomo own to God, but is replete with references to Jews. 4 In(Solomon) memory ofinHarav Avraham Yitzchak Yaakov ben Harav Nata the ultimate saving of the Jews. Mishlei, rather than from his own towardsGershon The Megillah is setting the paradigm of Jewish 4 In of of Harav Avraham Yitzchak Yaakov ben Harav Gershon Inmemory memory Harav Avraham Yitzchak Yaakov ben Nata Harav Nata Gershon existence in exile. Even when G-d's interactions In Nata directGershon contrast to the absence of G-d's 4 In memory of Harav Avraham Yitzchak Yaakov ben Harav Name, there is an abundance of references to with the world are hidden, the Jewish people are endowed with the responsibility of showing “Jews”. In fact,of thea Megillah Purim: “Jewish” Identity – the Etymology Nationuses the term “Yehudim” to refer to the Jewish people more that the world is more than random trappings by Rabbi Chaim Burman, US Rabbinic Fellow times than all the other books of the Tanach of nature, that human relationships are not (Hebrew Bible) combined. Why is this so, and just temporal. Our raison d’etreis to attest to another dimension that we know exists, the what does the term Yehudi, Jew, really mean? There is a ‘missing character’ oneness of God. It was in this sense that spiritual. was a Yehudi. in the Purim story. Mordechai The simple and most obvious answer, is that This is our way of performing Kiddush Hashem Throughout the Megillah, we Yehudicomes from the word Yehuda, and is story of the Megillah unfolded when the recall the miracles that the The used to describe the Jews that came from the (sanctifying G-d's Name). Chillul Hashem people were in exile and at a time when Jews experienced as they Jewish tribe and lands of Judah. However, the Midrash (profaning G-d's Name) comes from the root G-d's interaction with His world was no longer were saved from annihilation. (Esther Rabba 6:2) raises a problem with this ‘chalal’ which means empty and void. When open miracles, but in a quiet and But God is not mentioned through understanding. The first time the term Yehudiis G-d's Name is profaned, it is as if we say, “He’s fashion, like we experience today. once in the narrative, at least hidden used in the Megillah is in reference to not really there and that the world is void from Our task is to demonstrate through our actions Him”. Kiddush Hashemis the opposite. Through not overtly. Yet, He is undoubtedly the silent Mordechai: that although God remains hidden, such that living a good, examined and honest life, our protagonist of the story. As we noted in last personal events(Yehudi) may seem random, “There and was world a Jewish man named actions attest to the presence of G-d. week’s article, when we come to the end of the ultimately it is who of remains the One, everMordechai in God the town Shushan…of the tribe Megillah and look in hindsight at how the present orchestrating force. of Binyamin” (Megillat Esther 2:5). narrative unfolded, we realise how even the seemingly insignificant and inconsequential ‘coincidences’ were actually essential steps towards the ultimate saving of the Jews. In direct contrast to the absence of G-d's Name, there is an abundance of references to “Jews”. In fact, the Megillah uses the term “Yehudim” to refer to the Jewish people more times than all the other books of the Tanach (Hebrew Bible) combined. Why is this so, and what does the term Yehudi, Jew, really mean? The simple and most obvious answer, is that Yehudicomes from the word Yehuda, and is used to describe the Jews that came from the tribe and lands of Judah. However, the Midrash
This is why thewas Megillah no overt reference If Mordechai from has the tribe of Binyamin, towhy God, buttois him replete with of references refer as ‘one Yehuda’?toInJews. light The is setting paradigm of Jewish of Megillah this question, the the Midrash explains that existence in exile. when G-d's interactions Yehudi(ydvhy) can Even be related to the word with the world are means hidden,‘one’ the orJewish people Yechidi(ydycy) which ‘unified’. The are endowed the responsibility of showing term Yehudiiswith understood to be a reference to that world is more than random trappings the the ultimate essence and mission of the Jewish ofpeople; nature,to that are the not find,human reveal relationships and demonstrate just temporal.onOur raison Continued next paged’etreis to attest to another dimension that we know exists, the spiritual. This is our way of performing Kiddush In memory of Shmuel Nissim ben YaacovHashem (sanctifying G-d's Name). Chillul Hashem (profaning G-d's Name) comes from the root
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Name, there is an abundance of references to “Jews”. In fact, the Megillah uses the term “Yehudim” to refer to the Jewish people more FEBRUARY 2018 – the 22 Etymology of other a Nation times than all the books of the Tanach (Hebrew Bible) combined. Why is this so, and nic Fellow what does the term Yehudi, Jew, really mean?
G-d's es to term more anach , and ean?
s that nd is m the drash h this udiis e to
amed tribe
amin, light that ord . The ce to ewish e the
The simple and most obvious answer, is that oneness of God. It was in this sense that Yehudicomes from the word Yehuda, and is Mordechai was a Yehudi. used to describe the Jews that came from the tribe and of lands Judah. However, Midrash The story the ofMegillah unfolded the when the (Esther Rabba 6:2)inraises a problem this Jewish people were exile and at a timewith when understanding. The first time the term G-d's interaction with His world was no Yehudiis longer used inopen the miracles, Megillah but is in in areference through quiet andto Mordechai: hidden fashion, like we experience today. Our task is to demonstrate through our actions “There was a Jewish (Yehudi) man named that although God remains hidden, such that Mordechai in the town of Shushan…of the tribe personal and world events may seem random, of Binyamin” (Megillat Esther 2:5). ultimately it is God who remains the One, everpresent orchestrating force. If Mordechai was from the tribe of Binyamin, why refer to him as ‘one of Yehuda’? In light This is why the Megillah has no overt reference of this question, the Midrash explains that to God, but is replete with references to Jews. Yehudi(ydvhy) be the related to the word The Megillah iscan setting paradigm of Jewish Yechidi(ydycy) whichEven means ‘one’ or ‘unified’. The existence in exile. when G-d's interactions term Yehudiis understood to be a reference to with world are hidden, the Jewish the the ultimate essence and mission of the people Jewish are endowed with the responsibility of showing people; to find, reveal and demonstrate the that the world is more than random trappings of nature, that human relationships are not just temporal. Our raison d’etreis to attest to another dimension that we know exists, the spiritual. In memory of Shmuel Nissim ben Yaacov
This is our way of performing Kiddush Hashem (sanctifying G-d's Name). Chillul Hashem (profaning G-d's Name) comes from the root ‘chalal’ which means empty and void. When G-d's Name is profaned, it is as if we say, “He’s not really there and that the world is void from Him”. Kiddush Hashemis the opposite. Through living a good, examined and honest life, our actions attest to the presence of G-d.
5
This is our way of performing Hashem In memory of Shmuel NissimKiddush ben Yaacov (sanctifying G-d's Name). Chillul Hashem (profaning G-d's Name) comes from the root ‘chalal’ which means empty and void. When G-d's Name is profaned, it is as if we say, “He’sPart 97: A Shift for the Better Insights into Jewish History not really there and that the world is void from by Rebbetzen Ilana Epstein, Cockfosters Him”. Kiddush Hashemis the opposite. Through & N Southgate United Synagogue; Head Project Development, USlife, Living living a of good, examined and honest our & Learning actions attest to the presence of G-d. The first paragraph of the Regarding Yehoshua ben Gamla, the Talmud Shema, read twice daily states: “If not for him, the Torah would have (see for example, green been forgotten in Israel” (Bava Batra 21). Initially siddur, p. 68) states a child would have been taught Torah by his that we are obligated to father, and if he had no father and was fortunate teach children Torah. Yet enough to live in Jerusalem, then he would be by the time of Shimon ben taught in an institution – a yeshiva. However, Shatach and King Yannai, these yeshivot were only for boys in their latter the system of fathers teaching their children teen years, by which time they may have been Torah, an ancient and established practice, less inclined to learn. Addressing this problem, had broken down. This was due to the Greek Shimon ben Shatach instituted teachers for the decrees against Torah study, nearly 65 years very young, most probably from the age of six or prior to King Yannai’s reign. seven, in every town.
Despite King Yannai being allied to the Sadducees, the Torah-observant Pharisees were able to gain a foothold and revitalise Torah learning, largely because of the resilient leadership of Queen Shlomtzion (Salome) and her brother Shimon ben Shatach, the president (Nassi) of the Sanhedrin (high court).
5 Though
philosophers including Plato wrote about compulsory education, it was not formally instituted outside the Jewish community until the early modern period; even then, it was with limited success.
With this change, as well as other takanot, over the next decade, the Sages were quietly able to In previous centuries, the Sanhedrin had been the influence the people and Torah once more arbiter of legislation for the people. However, in became part of their lives. the kingdom of the Hasmoneans, it lost most of its political power and was relegated exclusively As the spiritual climate in Jerusalem began to shift to Torah-based legal questions. As the Sadducees toward the Pharisees and Torah values, the gradually lost their positions in the Sanhedrin, Sadducees and Yannai felt threatened. Under thanks to Shimon ben Shatach’s clever leadership, pressure, they set up an event in which the they also lost interest in being part of it. Pharisees brought an ambush upon themselves and an end to the burgeoning Torah-observant The second base of religious power was the community, as we shall discuss next week. Temple and the office of Kohen Gadol. The Hasmoneans had held the position of Kohen Gadol, but only in name; there was a substitute Kohen Gadol who fulfilled the role in practice. Shimon ben Shatach succeeded in faciliating the righteous Yehoshua Ben Gamla taking over this this position. Using Yehoshua ben Gamla as cover, Shimon ben Shatach was able to institute a number of takanot (Rabbinic ordinances), one of which in particular continues to influence Jews until today.
Answer: Nadav, Avihu, Elazar and Itamar
acter’ story. h, we t the they ation. oned least silent n last of the w the n the ential steps
with the world are hidden, the Jewish people are endowed with the responsibility of showing that the world is more than random trappings of nature, that human relationships are not THE JEWISH just temporal. Our raison d’etreis to attest to another dimension that we know exists, the spiritual.
In memory of Harav Yisrael ben Eliyahu
In memory of Harav Yisrael ben Eliyahu
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ASK THE RABBI Looking for answers? Send your question to Rabbi@RabbiSchochet.com Must I drink on Purim?
Anonymous
Dear Rabbi,
Dear Anon,
This is a highly personal question so I am leaving my name anonymous. But I think you should print the question because it affects quite a few of us. For many years I was an alcoholic. It is a real problem – a disease if you like. I am proud to say that I have been clean now for more than eight years. But whenever Purim rolls around I question, what am I supposed to do? I don’t think that any of us are in danger of relapse, but it’s hard to find our place in the Purim celebrations.
I admire your courage in writing to me and more particularly in winning the battle against alcoholism. You raise a very sensitive and significant point. Let me posit the following thought. Purim is all about randomness – coincidences, which are really miracles in which G-d chooses to remain anonymous. Everything was deliberately concealed within the realm of nature, even as something else – something which transcends nature was running the show.
Tehillim Psalm 41 This week’s Psalm is one of the chapters that we say when we are praying for sick people to recover. King David praises those people who contemplate the needy, and assures them that on the day of evil, Hashem will liberate them. “Hashem will preserve him and restore him to life, and he will be happy on earth, You will not give him over to the desire of his enemies.” By contemplating the fact that there are sadly many poor and needy people in this world, and making time to think about their experiences, a person will naturally become more aware of G-d’s loving closeness to all of mankind, even when a situation seems so hopeless. “Hashem will fortify him on the bed of misery, even when his illness has reached its peak. People often ask what is the point of praying at all if sometimes unfortunately, people will not get better, rather they simply die? One answer brought down is the fact that G-d still supports sick people, even if they may not appear to be improving, and His support extends beyond what our physical eye is capable of
22 FEBRUARY 2018
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seeing, by supporting the soul in a spiritual way. King David alludes to this understanding in the next verse, where he goes on to say; “Heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.” In addition, the act of prayer itself is still a mitzvah, so even if a person doesn’t recover, he will still get a merit for our prayers in the next world, because we prayed on the sick person’s behalf. In addition, the person who prayed for the sick person to recover will also get a mitzvah, so they haven’t lost out completely, even if they did not appear to get the answer they wanted. When his enemies come to visit him, they pretend to be pleasant and say comforting words, but in reality, they have only thoughts of evil in their heart against him. Our great king of old begs G-d not to let his enemies overpower him, and when they see that the Master of the world has supported him, this alone will be all the vengeance he wants. The Psalm ends with the famous words “Baruch Hashem Elokei yisrael mehaolam ad haolam Amen v’Amen – Blessed is Hashem,
Hence the custom to drink: We are always thinking, always rationalising, always trying to make sense of things and assuming we are in control. The underlying purpose of the Rabbinic mandated drinking on Purim, indeed excessively so, is to stop thinking so much, to lose control, and thereby recognise that there is something bigger than ourselves. To be sure, it needn’t have to be this way. It would be great if we could all get ourselves into the mind-set of “let go and let G-d.” But too many might need to resort to this tactic, even if only for the one day, in order to get themselves out of their intellectual “box.”
This tehillim is in memory of Hayeled Yaakov Moshe ben HaRav Avraham the G-d of Israel, from all times in the past to all times in the future amen and amen!” This concludes the first book of Tehillim.
Needless to say, that is not an option for someone like yourself. But look at it this way. It’s not that it’s not an option – you’re already there. The underlying theme of Purim drink is something that formed an integral part of your recovery. Part of the Twelve Step Programme is putting your own intellect aside and embracing a “Higher Authority.” You are where you are today because you live with acceptance, faith and trust that everything, regardless of whether you think it’s good or bad, comes from G d. When you look back on your life my friend, where you were at and where you are now, I am sure you can readily see the hidden miracles; how deliverance was brought about through events that seemed irredeemably horrid at the time. You are a living example of greater light emerging from the darkness – nothing is irredeemable and not everything has to make sense. So while some may still be resorting to one method, I know you’ll be strong in not succumbing to temptation. But you ought to also be proud, that you’ve already arrived at a place that so many of us are still struggling to get to. Have a happy one! Poland and its new laws Dear Rabbi,
To sponsor a Tehillim for £54 call 0203 906 8488 or email office@thejewishweekly. com s
As a Jew of Polish decent I was very troubled with the recent laws against associating Poland with the Holocaust. I know first-hand how Poles treated Jews back in the day. The current rise in Anti-Semitism doesn’t help either. I think you should bring this to the attention of your readers. Kalman Dear Kalman, My father a”h was a Rabbi in a Shul in Toronto called the Kielcer Congregation – essentially made up of Polish Holocaust survivors, mostly all from Kielce, and their families. As the youngest one in there, I grew up hearing plenty stories. So how anyone can choose to rewrite history is mind boggling. But the one that stands out still in my mind, is the Kielcer Massacre in 1946. Let’s assume for arguments sake, they didn’t know what was going on? Let’s take
their word for it and believe they were innocent bystanders. Well, after they did know; after the camps, which “they had nothing to do with” were liberated, what did they do? Offer refuge? Provide food? During the Kielce incident, a mob of Polish soldiers, police officers, and civilians murdered at least 42 Jews and injured over 40 in the worst outburst of anti-Jewish violence in post-war Poland. That pogrom sent such shockwaves to the already deeply traumatised Jews of Poland, that more than 75,000 Jews left the country inside of three months thereafter. Does anyone truly believe that this was a sudden emergence, rather than remnants of a mind-set that was already prevalent during the Holocaust? I would urge the reading of Polish-born historian Jan Grabowski’s book, Hunt for the Jews: Betrayal and Murder in German-Occupied Poland. The book describes the Polish population’s involvement in turning in and murdering Jews who asked for their help during the Holocaust. It puts paid to the lies and revisionism. Last word on this: There are some very good people out there, like my friend Filip, who work tirelessly to foster good relations between the Polish and Jewish community. I know that there are many meaningful Polish officials who want to right the wrongs of the past. I even hosted the Polish Ambassador at my communal Seder a few years back. And I am hoping to do the same this year. But the process necessitates building bridges and acknowledging truth, not burying skeletons and denying reality. Here’s to a more honest and amicable future.
Follow Rabbi Schochet at: RabbiSchochet.com Twitter: @RabbiYYS Facebook: facebook.com/Rabbiyys. THEJEWISHWEEKLY.COM
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living reflections of harmony between the Jerusalem itself is called the epitome of used to define beauty. The famous novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828- physical world and the spiritual. Joseph, for beauty in the Book of Lamentations. To receive this via email or for sponsorship opportunities please email us Furthermore, when it comes to keeping 1910, author of War and Peace) once example, was so handsome that the local the commandments, the Torah instructs us remarked, “It is amazing how complete women would climb the walls just to get is the delusionShaar that beauty is goodness.” beautify Ben our fulfiRav lmentYitschak of commandments This week’sinfo@torahactionlife.com Parsha Sheet is sponsored Lirfuat toMoshe Hakohen Betoch Cholei Yisrael. a glimpse of him. Instead of letting physTo receive this via email or for sponsorship opportunities please email us www.torahactionlife.com with physical beauty, and have a beautiful However, in the Talmudic vernacular, to do ical pleasure dominate him, Joseph stood To receive this via email or for sponsorship opportunities please email us This week’s Parsha Sheet is sponsored Lirfuatinfo@torahactionlife.com Moshe Ben Rav Yitschak Hakohen Betochwww.torahactionlife.com Shaar Cholei Yisrael. something beautifully, is to do that action up to the test when tempted by Potiphar’s Sukkah, Shofar, and more. This week’s Parsha Sheet is sponsored Lirfuat Moshe Ben Rav Yitschak Hakohen Betoch Shaar Cholei Yisrael. properly (See Maimonides Laws of Divorce wife, and did not let his physical beauty The Torah itself emphasizes how some RABBI JONATHAN TAWIL The Mishkan was replete with gold and silver. 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The aTorah itselfSukkah, emphasizes some of our holiest 4:9, which indigenous toeven other ofmass; the world Classical because he energy THE WEEKLY QUOTE wear special garments during theirboth service stems shone from harmony. because ofable his parts enormous RabLaws of YOUDivorce 11:7 Laws of Marriage through and anbaby impact on the Ko source, was to plant in Jerusalem thingsbeauty “No matter how “busy” a back beautifully, is toTODAY? do thatand action properly both inwardly and outwardly. His inner beauty on the birth ofhad their boy WHAT ARE YOU WEARING ancestors, Sarah, Rivka, Rachel(See and YosefMaimonides were In this week’s Parasha, the Torah describes at length The Torah itself emphasizes how some of our holiest “No matter howcare, “busy” a will person is if they really they extraordinarily people and -- physical beauty ancestors, Sarah,beautiful Rivka, Rachel Yosef were in the temple to portray the harmony within. 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It is the bridge Classical beauty stems harmony. between the spirituality thedayphysicality. have aTAWIL beautiful Sukkah, Shofar, andsociety more.to change ide- beauty like no other,partake Yochanan as being physically attractive. Women RABBI JONATHAN superficial and we should make more emphasis on our Rabbi who were trying to conceive would go gaze at Rabbi superficial and we should make more emphasis on our who Shabbat is and the one in the week thatWe hon an effect so powerful How easy for between physical andit isspiritual. were trying to conceive would go gaze at Rabbi inside rather than our outside? Yochanansosothat thatwhen whenthey they conceive their children born inside rather than our outside? DVAR TORAH P2 Yochanan conceive their children born The P2beautiful people in the Torah were living reflections between TORAH Classical beauty stems from harmony. 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Yochanan youread readthis, this, what what are are you you wearing The beautiful people in the Torah were living reflections rescued a drowning bandit who he convinced to repent at the same time partake in delicious food the notion of beauty. Nonetheless, the Talmud in multiple every Shabbat. As you read this, what are at length what the Kohen Gadol should “No matter how “busy”toa bring out our between world and the spiritual. Shabbat, rescued a drowningeither bandit who he convinced to repent and bland weTheThechaotic tend to(58:13) find visual stimuli boring theandbest of clothes Prophet relates; “And you you shall shall Prophet Yishaya Yishaya (58:13) relates; “And andbecome become Torahscholar. scholar. bandit, orwear and overly busy. 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One example of is inner essence and shine through. The sagesinterpret interpret “honour” “honour” as totothe extraordinarily beautiful people -physical beauty found in symmetry; an image which is perfectly balanced return to Torah after Rabbi Yochanan promised him his spirituality and the physicality. We honJudaism; it is the point where heaven and ing physically attractive. Women who were return to Torah after Rabbi Yochanan promised him his The Prophet Yishaya (58:13) relates; inwhat Temple (Mishkan). nice that others to respect respectthe theone onewearing wearing niceclothes clothes that cause cause others to the Kohen Gadol should wear when performing his HALACHOT equallybeautiful beautifulsister sister (BavaMetzia Metzia 84a). From these That harmony realyou. beauty! fortrying example, wasthe sowalls handsome that the locala bridge equally (Bava 84a). From these HALACHOT Joseph, always findrepresents theShabbat, time for “best of clothes them. P3 P3 them. women would climb just to get a glimpse of noticed by the most powerful monarchs of the time. found in symmetry; an image which is perfectly balanced TalmudicVigdei descriptions, clearthat that Rabbi Yochanan Opening Nuts & Peapods on Shabbat Talmudic descriptions, it itis isclear Rabbi Yochanan our wearing the Opening Nuts & Peapods on Shabbat earth kiss, between two realms. to conceive would go gaze at Rab“And you shall honour it [the Shabbat].” The Pasuk states, “VeAsita isservice appealing. Yet why we we need needspecial special was Yetagain again we we find find ourselves ourselves asking why RABBI ELI MANSOUR RABBI ELI MANSOUR was“beautiful” “beautiful” lackedcertain certainphysical physical elements, butbutlacked elements, That harmony represents real beauty! (Avodah) intheAchicha the Temple (Mishkan). would climb thethatwalls to get a glimpse after all, we are are the same people people which clothes for for Shabbat; Shabbat; same whicharearenow nowused usedto todefine define beauty. beauty. 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King Solomonfeeling as Rabbi Yochanan was (Berachot 20a). world flows from Jerusalem.garments, others toPleaserespect the one wearing them. ments for Aharon,harmony your brother, for honThe ultimate is the union of the spiritual and This newsletter contains Divrei Torah and may contain Sheimot dispose of accordingly Joseph stood up to the test when by Potiphar’s newsletter contains Divrei and may contain Sheimot - Please dispose of accordingly an Achicha LeChavod you shall make physical worlds. ItThisUL’Tifaret,” creates aTorah“And beauty garments, feeling weak; we need a aboost fromfromthe •how GALA DINNER his enormous Rabbi Yochanan wastempted verybeauty much wife, and did not let his physical him from Sometimes we need bit of help understood Jerusalem connects every Furthermore, in one incident, Rabbi Yo- sever Yetlike againno we other, find ourselves asking why mass; our and splendour” (Shemot 28:2). Two outside(Seetomore theinfoinside to convince ourselves of physical worlds. It creates beauty likehonour no other, an wife,after and did notunder let hiscontemporary physicalbandit beauty him from holy garments for Aharon, youraattempt brother, 26TH online) our outer garments, weak; we of needour corner of the earth FEBRUARY to its spiritual chanan rescued aliving drowning who sever he overweight. Although society’s need specialand clothes Shabbat; Pesukim Hashem enumerates the wefor outside to source, the inside to convincefeeling ourselves effect solater, powerful that any to imitate it is for an the real harmony of a spiritual life. Our ancestors potential and real beauty. effect so powerful that any attempt to imitate it is an a boost from the outside to the inside to and was even able to plant in Jerusalem convinced to repent and become a Torah all, we are the same people regardless of necessary garments: a Choshen, an Eifod, splendour” 28:2). Two Pesukim later, Hashem definitions the of realbeauty, harmony of isliving spiritualattribute. life. Our ancestors obesity not aawere beautiful potential and real beauty. insult toa Ketonet the(Shemot notion of beauty. described as beautiful individuals whose physical convince ourselves of our potential and things indigenous to other parts of the world scholar. This bandit, who was later to be what we wear! ainsult Me’il, Tashbeitz, a Mitznefet, 1 to the the notion of beauty. enumerates necessary garments: a Choshen, an Furthermore, 1 as described beautifulhadwere whose physical Rabbi Yochanan hugeindividuals bushy eyebrows, Buteach the chanreal focus beauty. in Judaism, attained by so many of Shimon ben Lakish,harmony was because The theme of beauty seems to takeattractiveness great known as Rabbi and an Avneit (28:4). The Torah then goes lived in perfect withhe understood their Butwhere the real focus in real Judaism, attained by so many of our Jerusalem is the essence of beauty in Judaism; it is the which had to be lifted by his assistants in order for him to Eifod, a Me’il, a Ketonet Tashbeitz, a Mitznefet, and an attractiveness lived in perfect harmony with their the realfrom focus the in Judaism, Jerusalem is the essence of ofbeauty in Judaism; the Jerusalem taken aback by Rabbi Yochanan’s beauty nel of energy stemmed from within ittheisTorah. on to explain how to make each one the emphasis great leaders hasButalways insideattained out. spiritual essence. great leaders has always fromofthe inside out. seewith properly (Ta’anit 9a, Bava Kamato 117a). Avneit where (28:4). The Torah thenthat goes on to The explain howwas to replete point heaven and earth kiss, a bridge between spiritual essence. by so many our great leaders has always and extended across the globe. Jerusalem and was convinced return to Torah after Mishkan gold and garments. The obvious question arispoint where heaven and earth kiss, a bridge between It’s Shabbat! clothes withand pride and hon from thethose inside out. is special the physical counterpart of the Wear Rabbi commands Yochanan promised him his equally to below silver. Designed and built How according to es is realms. why the one Kohen totowear spemake each ofneeds the garments. Thetradition, obvious question two According Jewish thephysical physical The Torah the wear easy itproisTorah for society to change ideals ofKohanim beauty. It’s Shabbat! Wear those clothes with those pride honour twoclothes realms. According to Jewish tradition, the The commands the Kohanim to wear special It’s Shabbat! Wear clothes with spiritual energy that fl ows to the world, crebeautiful sister (Bava Metzia 84a). From phetic instructions, followed by the magnifcial when he works in the Temple. that arises is why theevery Kohenpart needs the to wear special to the Almighty, relax, letinner your soul innershine soul sh energy that world flowsfrom from garments during service the to perfect portray to the relax, andhonour letandyour Talmud in their multiple places describes pride and to the Almighty, relax, and ating the harmony between Talmudic descriptions, isinclear thattemple icentworld Bet Hamikdash in Nonetheless, Jerusalem thesethe these Surely looks aresustains superficial every and we part shouldofofthe energy that sustains flows garments during their service init the temple to portray WhatAlmighty, arephysical you wearing today? clothes when he works in the Temple. Surely looks are letTAWIL your innerShalom soul shine through. and spiritual. Rabbi Yochanan was “beautiful” lacked structures were known toRabbi be of Yochanan thethe mostharmony make more emphasis on our inside understood rather through. ■ Shabbat Jerusalem. King Solomon understood how Jerusalem within. Clothing isbutthe interface between through. as being physically attractive. Women RABBI ■JONATHAN Shabbat Shalom Jerusalem. King how Jerusalem the harmony within. Clothing is the interface between superficial and we Solomon should make more beautiful emphasis on ourin the who ■ Shabbat Shalom The beautiful people in the Torah were certain physical elements, which are now structures world.were trying to than our outside? conceive would go gaze at Rabbi
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WHAT ARE YOU WEARING TODAY?
WHAT ARE YOU WEARING TODAY?
THE WEEKLY QUOTE
> UPCOMING EVENTS
inside rather than our outside?
Yochanan so that when they conceive their children born
RABBI DOV LEVENE LEVENE RABBI IN MENORAH GRAMMAR SCHOOL be as beautiful as Rabbi Yochanan was (Berachot RABBI -- RABBI MENORAH GRAMMAR SCHOOL We find ourselves in a similar situation everyIN Shabbat. As would you read this, what are you wearing today?
The Prophet Yishaya (58:13) relates; “And you shall honour it [the Shabbat].”
DVAR TORAH
The sages interpret “honour” as a reference to the type of nice clothes that cause others to respect the one wearing them. Yet again we find ourselves asking why we need special clothes for Shabbat; after all, we are the same people regardless of what we wear!
DVAR TORAH
P1
DVAR TORAH
P2
What lies in how we dress?
RABBI DOV LEVENE 20a). Furthermore, in one incident, Rabbi Yochanan messages. The Kohanim with their special on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur shama, the physical body cannot continue rescuedthe athe drowning bandit who hecannot convinced tocontinue repent existing. are two Hebrew words for clothes physical body cannot existing. ThereThere are when two Hebrew words for clothes – physical body continue clothes were totally removed from this. The we have done teshuva and want a clean existing. The spiritual can only be sensed and become a Torah scholar. This bandit, who was later andtheand Beged. The Levush the The cancan onlyonly be be sensed and glimpsed Levush Beged. The word Levush Thespiritual spiritual sensed CHACHAMIM colour was simplyword whiteP3 and the clothes slateglimpsed for a new year.Levush The OUR place where and glimpsed The and to be known as Rabbi Shimonthrough ben physical Lakish, things. was taken were theLAPIDOT same allisof a them, Kohanimof served also called “Leva-Shabbos clothes of the Kohanim were dictated by RABBI ALEXANDER MOSHE Shabbos 77b learns contraction through physical things. clothes Gemora 77bfor learns isnoamatter contract through physical things. The clothes thewasGemora aback by Rabbi Yochanan’s beauty and wasThe convinced to of the their spiritual roots. The fact that they wore non” that again has the word “Lovon” in it their spiritual status (with the exception of twoHamikdosh words, “Lo Boish” – meaning “not to were dictated by theirtheir spiritual two words, meaning return Kohanim to Kohanim Torah after Rabbi Yochanan promised him were dictated by spiritual KohenBoish” Godol). The–choice was not “not sinceroots. the roots. place of the Beisof is of the“Lo four garments reflects the spiritual root ofhis equallyThe beautiful sister (Bava Metzia 84a). From these where Let us take the of the “Beg the Jews’ sinsbe were constantly for- theirs.The the four letters ofwore Hashem’s Name. embarrassed”. other word, “Beged” that they four garments reflects HALACHOT P3message be embarrassed”. The other word, Thefact fact that they wore four garments reflects clothes of the Kohanim and refl ect outwardgiven and left them with purity. There are This is further seen in which parts of Talmudic descriptions, it is clear thatfour Rabbi Yochanan Nuts & Peapodsand on Shabbat canOpening mean “garment” “traitor”. This tells thethe spiritual root of the letters of Hashem’s can mean “garment” and spiritual of the four letters ly who we inwardly are. “traitor”. Chazal call thisThis t twoHashem’s Hebrew words for clothes –ELI Levush the lacked body root these garments covered. They of RABBI MANSOUR was “beautiful” but certain physical elements, usLevush that people can use what they wear to fool Toichoi Kebaroi, one whose is to f Gemoa hat on top of their head since the and Beged. The word Name. us the that people can useto bewhat theyinside wear Name. which are now usedwore to define beauty. head represents the intellect and houses ra Shabbos 77b learns is a contraction of the same as the outside. The Ben Ish Chai
other people. This can be for the good. A great
other “not people. This canthebe forletters theof good. out that middle the he- A gr meaning to points the Neshama in the (1828-1910, brain. Next is theauthor shirt two words, “Lo Boish” The famous novelist Leoseen Tolstoy s – Q&A d’The i K This is further in which parts of the body AND CARTOON P4 person can disguise himself as a pauper to brew word for inside, toichoi, and the be embarrassed”. other word, “Beged” over the top half of their body, the place of This is further seen “It in iswhich The theme of beauty seems to take great emphasis of War and e person can disguise himself as aouterpauper Peace) once remarked, amazingparts how of the body m i T WHAT LIES IN HOW WE DRESS? complete letters of the word for outside, kebaroi, are can mean “garment” and “traitor”. This tells the heart and feelings. The trousers were these TheyThey worewore on on remain hidden. However, it can also be used is thegarments delusion thatcovered. beauty is goodness.” a hat within the Torah. these garments covered. a hat remain hidden. However, can alsoof be us the letters Kaf-Vav that itis the gematria
to cover the bottom half of the body that us that people can use what they wear to of spirituality, thereParshas Tezave about theWE compoWHAT LIEStalks IN DRESS? top of their head since the head represents WHAT LIES INofHOW HOW WE DRESS? for the bad, pretending to be great while this foolrepresents other people. This out head in practicesince the person’s thought fore the uniform here nents of the building the Mishkan. PartopTorah of carries their head This newsletter contains Divrei and may contain Sheimot -the Please dispose of accordingly can be for the good. Hashem’s Name. This is reflected in the
forhimself theasbad, pretending to be great while t person can is disguise a Aron whose innermost and outermost box and feelings. know that the the whole body A great is one components that stems from the spiritual realms. shas Tezave Tezave moves on and discusses the the the intellect and Tohouses Neshama in the Parshas talks about not so. andlevel houses the Neshama thehidden. However, Parshas Tezave talks about The theideacomponents remain can was made out of gold. A person must take is not the same there is the that pauper toin here is not simply to lookthe smartintellect garments worn by the Kohanim, is not itso. brain. Next is theabove shirtandover thethebelt top halfalso ofbetheir ofspecial the building of inthe Mishkan. Parshas Tezave used for the bad, pretending to be his spiritual and let it reflect outwardly by separates below waist. since such attire in front of human kings the people who served the Mishkan. brain. Next is the shirt over the top half of their This applies when of the building of the Mishkan. Parshas Tezave people decide touswear. body, place theby heart and who feelings. Thethis is not so. carrying out what Hashemwhat wants. Let all great while (This idea isofseen some people could be seen as disrespectful – e.g. going the moves onneed and discusses the special garments Why did they special garments? Why This applies when people decide what to we of davening.) the heart and feelings. moves and the special garments to achieve this high level. ■ This appliesThe whenDifferent people decidecolours what merit wear aplace gartle during barefoot. Rather the idea is to drawbody, down the not simplyon require themdiscusses to look presentable portray different messages. worn by The theanswer Kohanim, the people whoWhat served trousers were tofourcover the bottom half of the different colours portray different messag garments in the Kohen to wear. Different colours portray the spiritual. does this mean? trousers These and clean? lies in how people Different worn by the Kohanim, the people who served were to cover the bottom half of the The Kohanim with their special clothes were inare the Whyaredid need carries out in practice the person’s Godol had a special name – “Bigdei Lovwe seespecial in this world is thebody physical.that dressedMishkan. in a palace. There manytheyWhat Theremoved Kohanimfrom with this. their The special clothes ingarments? the types Mishkan. they needis hidden body that carries out practice on”. This literally means “white clothes”. the person’s totally The spiritual from sight. However, different ofWhy jobs in not the Why palace bydid each colour was w simply require them tospecial look thought and feelings. To in know that the whole we believe that the source is The colour white represents purity. This is person has a special totally from were this. the colour garments? Whyuniform. not simply require them lookof all physical thought and feelings. Toto know thatbelt thethat whole simply 1The white removed and the clothes same for w presentable clean? intoWithout how body the why the peoplesame have thelevel minhagthere wear is white from the lies spiritual. the spiritual Ne-is not However, since and the Mishkan is a The place answer white andtheir the clothes same presentable and clean? The answer in how separates body is not the same level there is the (This belt that all ofsimply them, no matter spiritualwere statusthe (with people are dressed in a palace. There lies are many above and below the waist. all of them, no matter their spiritual status (w people dressed in ainpalace. There by areeach many idea differentaretypes of jobs the palace separates above below the waist. is seen by someand people who wear a gartle(This the exception of the Kohen Godol). The choice of the Godol).ofThe different types of jobs in the palace by each during person has a special uniform. not exception theirs. Let us takeKohen the message thecho idea davening.) isTHEJEWISHWEEKLY.COM seen by some people who wear a gartle was the person has a special uniform. wasofnotthetheirs. Let us the message clothes Kohanim andtake reflect outwardly of during davening.)
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THE JEWISH WEEKLY
22 FEBRUARY 2018
Parshat Tetzaveh
This week’s parshah speaks about the Mishkan (Sanctuary) in more detail. Aaron and his sons must take pure olive oil and every evening light the 7- branched Menorah. We also learn about the special uniform the kohanim had to wear. The Kohanim (Priests) had four special items of clothing and The Kohan Gadol had another 4 on top (So 8 in total). The Kohanim are the priests who are descendants of Aaron who did the services in the Mishkan and then later in the Beit Hamikdah (the Temple). When they were in the Mishkan performing their services, they had to wear their special uniform.
Purim
This week we celebrate the festival of Purim. Thousands of years ago, the evil Haman wanted to destroy all the Jewish people when King Achashverosh ruled Persia. Hashem saved the Jewish people and Esther and Mordechai were our heroes and Haman was hung instead! Why do we dress up? The miracle of the holiday of Purim was disguised in natural events, but really it was Hashem doing it all. Therefore, just as Hashem hid himself (He’s name is not even mentioned once in the whole megillah!) performing all the miracles to save the Jews, we hide in costume!
The Chocolate Costume Game If you like chocolate and love dressing up, then you’ve got the right time of year to play this game! Gather your siblings, friends and neighbours to join this game and celebrate the month of Adar and the special festival of Purim.
You will need • • • • •
A bar of chocolate A plate A knife and fork Dressing-up items (A hat, scarf, gloves, cloak, sunglasses etc.) Two dice
How to play 1. Everyone should sit in a circle. 2. Place the chocolate on a plate and a knife and fork in the centre of the circle and the dressing up clothes into the circle. 3. The youngest person should begin and role the dice. 4. Take it in turns to roll the dice on the floor in front of them, passing them around the circle to their left. If someone rolls a double, they leap into the centre of the circle, put on the dressing up clothes as fast as they can and try to start cutting the chocolate to eat it. No hands can be used! 5. That person keeps going until another person rolls a double, at which point they much co-operate in handing over the dressing up clothes so that the next person gets a turn.
Arts and Crafts Paper plate mishlach manot hamentashen You will need • • • •
1 Paper plate Felt tips or crayons A stapler and staples 2 small ready to eat foods
Method 1. Colour the paper plate in brown 2. Fold the paper plate into a triangle and staple the 3 corners together. 3. Add the 2 foods of your choice inside. 3. Don’t forget to sign it!
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CUT OUT & KEEP
TO CREATE YOUR VERY OWN JEWISH WEEKLY RECIPE BOOK
HAMENTASHEN HONEY COOKIE DOUGH • • • •
Ingredients:
4 cups sifted flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 eggs
Method: 1. 2. 3. 4.
• 1 cup honey • 1/2 cup butter or margarine • 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon of water
Preheat oven to 170 C. In a bowl, combine sifted flour, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the centre and add the 4 eggs. Mix slightly. Add 1 cup honey (mix slightly), then add butter (in that order) and mix to combine. Form dough thick enough to roll out, adding flour if necessary.
5. Roll out dough on lightly floured board to 1/4” thickness. 6. Cut into 3 1/2 to 4 inch rounds. 7. On each round of dough, place one heaped teaspoon-filling of choice.
Bring edges together to form a triangle, pinching seams together from the top down to the corners.
8. Brush tops with diluted egg yoke mixture. 9. Bake 15-20 minutes or till lightly brown.
Did you know? 1. Achashverosh searched four years for a queen, during which he considered more than 1400 contestants, before choosing Esther.
10 Facts about Purim 10. Mordechai was the first person in history to be called a “Jew”. Before then, Jews were called “Hebrews” or “Israelites”.
9. The Word Purim Means Lot –That’s lot as in drawing lots like for a lottery. In this case it refers to the way Haman chose the date for slaughtering all of the Jews in Persia.
2. Mordechai, who refused to bow to Haman, was a descendant of Benyamin, the only one of the 12 tribes who didn’t bow to Haman’s ancestor Esav.
3. Vashti was the greatgranddaughter of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian emperor who destroyed the first Temple.
8. The Megillah of Esther is the only biblical book that does not include G-d’s name.
4. Queen Esther’s Hebrew name was Hadassah (“Esther” is Persian). 5. The day before Purim is a day of fasting, to commemorate Esther’s fasting.
6. Most opinions in the Talmud hold that Esther was extremely beautiful, however there is an opinion that Esther was not beautiful at all, and had a green complexion.
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7. Haman was hanged on the second day of Pesach. (Purim is the anniversary of the Jews’ victory celebration after their war against their enemies 11 month later!)
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COMING UP TO PURIM
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e m i T s Kid
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TEST YOURSELF - Q&A ➊ What two precautions were taken to assure the purity of oil for the menorah? ➋ How was Aharon commanded to kindle the menorah? ➌ What does tamid mean in reference to the menorah? ➍ What does kehuna mean? ➎ Name the eight garments worn by the kohen gadol.
Answer
➊ 27:20 - The olives were pressed and not ground; and only the first drop was used. ➋ 27:20 - He was commanded to kindle it until the flame ascended by itself. ➌ 27:20 - It means that it should be kindled every night. ➍ 28:3 - Service. ➎ 28:4,36,42 - Choshen, ephod, me’il, ketonet, mitznefet, avnet, tzitz, and michnasayim.
FINAL PLACES
For more information/ RSVP contact : info@torahactionlife.com THEJEWISHWEEKLY.COM
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Parshat Tetzaveh In a Nutshell G d tells Moshe to receive olive oil from the Jewish people to feed the “everlasting flame” of the menorah, which Aaron is to kindle each day.
2) Michnasayim trousers.
The priestly garments, to be worn by the Kohanim (priests) while serving in the Mishkan (Sanctuary) are described.
4) Avnet—a long sash wound above the waist.
All Kohanim wore:
5) The Efod - an apronlike garment made of blue-, purple- and red-dyed wool,
1) The Ketonet - a full-length linen tunic.
-
linen
3) Mitznefet or Migba’at - a linen turban.
In addition, the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) wore:
linen and gold thread.
Hashem’s name.
6) The Choshen - a breastplate containing twelve precious stones inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel
Tetzaveh also includes G d’s detailed instructions for the seven-day initiation of Aaron and his four sons—Nadav, Avihu, Elazar and Itamar— into the priesthood, and for the making of the golden altar, on which the ketoret (incense) was burned.
7) The Me’il - a cloak of blue wool, with gold bells and decorative pomegranates on its hem. 8) The Tzitz—a golden plate worn on the forehead, bearing
Change just one letter in the words below to change the top word to the bottom. Each word at each stage of the ladder must be a real word.
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Purim
Next Thursday is the 14th of Adar - Purim! On this day we celebrate the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, who was planning to kill all the Jewish people which is recorded in the Megilla of Esther. Check out page 31 to see how easy it is to fulfill the four mitzvot required!
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News Bites BRENT CROSS SHOPPING CENTRE TO LOSE ITS FREE PARKING Brent Cross Shopping centre is to be expanded with work due to begin this year - but it will come at a cost. Opened in 1976, the UK’s first ever indoor shopping centre will be doubled in size to include 150 new shops. Brent Cross London developers, Hammerson and Standard Life Investments, also plan to create a landscaped boulevard and footbridge. Until now Brent Cross Shopping Centre has had free parking for visitors but that will change when the redevelopment is completed in
2022. Three new multi-storey car parks are included in the redevelopment plans but visitors will have to pay to use them. A spokesman explained free parking could not be supported at the new shopping centre because of a legal planning requirement. The parking charges are yet to be set and won’t come into effect until the new scheme opens. A new bus station and better highway infrastructure are among plans to improve transport links to Brent Cross but the loss of free parking will affect many visitors.
SWANSEA DOGS GOING 3D BARKING MAD A dog-friendly 3D screening taking place in Swansea has been billed as the first event of its kind in Wales. ‘Dog Furiendly’ is hosting the event at Cinema & Co on Duke Street on Saturday. Owners and their pets will be treated to a screening of Disney classic Homeward Bound and follows similar viewings in London and Glasgow. Adele Pember, who organised
the event, and dog owner Lloyd Breeze-Timms explain why they
KAZAKHSTAN CHANGES ITS ALPHABET - AGAIN!
Kazakhstan is changing its alphabet for the second time in a year after the previous one proved highly unpopular, it’s reported. President Nursultan Nazarbayev DOUBLE PROPOSAL!! has issued a decree amending last Two identical twin brothers have wedding at the same Twins Festi- October’s decision to move from popped the question to identical val next year. the Cyrillic alphabet to a Latin one, twin sisters! after the much-maligned apostroBrittany and Briana Deane got phes caused national uproar. engaged at exactly the same time The previous alphabet, signed last week to Josh and Jeremy Saoff by the president last year, had lyers. Briana is engaged to Jeremy, 32 letters and used apostrophes to while Brittany will marry Josh. denote distinct sounds, Eurasianet The couples met at the Twins news portal explains. Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio, This decision was greeted with last August and are preparing for a derision and online petitions call-
ing for the apostrophes to be abandoned. Not only did the system complicate reading and writing, critics said, but it was also introduced without consultation.
Dear Agony Aunt Mia,
KEEP CALM AND ASK
AGONY AUNT MIA AND AGONY UNCLE JOEY
All my friends and most teenagers love dressing up over Purim. I’m not one of them. When Purim approaches, I always feel overwhelmed by the concept of wearing a costume. I feel quite self-conscious with how I look and don’t feel comfortable with the whole idea and feel my confidence drop during this time of year. Furthermore, I feel peer pressure that I need to dress up because everyone around me is doing it.. To make matters worse, when I speak to my friends about it, they are in contrast all excited about the concept of dressing up and I can’t seem to find anyone who has the same dilemma! Rachie Hi Rachie,
The Jewish Weekly’s Teen Agony Aunt and Agony Uncle are here to help with all your questions, problems and difficulties. Just write your letter to agonyaunt@thejewishweekly.com or agonyuncle@thejewishweekly.com Disclaimer: All letters that are published may be edited. All letters are kept confidential and names can be changed for confidentiality upon request.
think it will be a huge success.
Firstly, there is no commandment to dress up on Purim (It’s a custom). So if you don’t enjoy doing it, there is no need to dress in costume. Purim is meant to be a time of supreme happiness and if the concept of making you dress up is making you feel unhappy, you shouldn’t let peer pressure make you do it. I know a handful
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The apostrophes have now been replaced by accents, with the country adopting the same system as nearby Turkmenistan.
of people, who feel the same way, so don’t let it get to you that there’s no one else out there like you, there are plenty of people who choose not to dress up too. Here are 3 tips that I’ve gathered together in-case you would like to dress up but want to tackle the negative thoughts. The following will also help for everyday and not just for Purim: 1. Challenge your negative thoughts - You don’t need to fight them, but don’t accept them. Is the negative voice in your brain reliable and reasonable? If you are honest with yourself you will realise the truth. 2. Realise people aren’t paying as much attention to you as you think - People are usually too busy thinking about themselves to start honing in on what you look like. 3. Consider whether you’d judge others so harshly - Everyone looks a little silly on Purim, I’m sure you won’t be judging them so why would they make a judgment on you. Try to act confident even if you don’t feel it. Whether you choose to dress up or not, it doesn’t really matter as long as you enjoy Purim and celebrate with happiness! Purim Sameach, Mia x
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Q:What is the strongest creature in the world? A:The snail. It carries its whole house on its back.
Q:What is the best season to jump on a trampoline? A: Spring time. (Answers at the bottom of page upside down)
I thought I’d tell you a good time travel joke – but you didn’t like it.
1. What is full of holes but can still hold water? Q: Is Google male or female?
3. What has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive?
2. What runs, but never walks, often murmurs – never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a mouth but never eats?
A: Female, because it doesn’t let you finish a sentence before making a suggestion.
2. A river 1. A Sponge
3. A glove.
1. Robin Hood 2. South of the border 3. Shrinking Violet 4. A bit of this & a bit of that 5. A big misunderstanding 6. A bad spell of weather
Dingbats Answers THEJEWISHWEEKLY.COM
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Up, up and away
PART 5
BY CHAYA SANDLER at me and made a face as if she’d just tasted rancid milk and leaned away as if I was a pile of reeking, rancid refuge. The guy with a leaking, orange banana split for hair, announced, “ it’s a fraud!” “No.... the article says they were glitched coins.” “Well,” said blondie, who seemed to be the leader (probably by sheer virtue of being the most normal and even that was relative. Extremely relative), “um, not quite. That’s what we told the press. However, er,” she seemed to be chocking over the words here, as if trying not to throw up. “ The new uncounterfietable £1 coins were The Royal Mint has admitted, that the counterfeited.” “Before they even hit circulation?!” reportedly forged example of a new £1 “Agghh!” The white haired girl coin is in fact the result of a production moaned and sank to her knees, glitch. These differences are the result of which was quite a feat in a "mis-aligned printing" - the result of a moving van hence she quickmalfunction in the striking process Coin ly hit the door and collapsed, unconscious. I stared. The specialists now speculate that such coins other two didn’t even blink. could have great value to collectors and The ginger one was too fetch prices far above their face value. busy bawling. “Anyway... what happened?” “It seems Randal was a traitor!” “Who?” “Randal, our... ex-associate was a genius. “Um, so what He never forgot a coin fact! But alas, his love am I reading?” The White haired girl pushed up was his vice and it seems it wasn’t just coins her enormous glasses. “I knew she couldn’t he loved. He loved money too.” “ That I can relate to.” read,” she sniffed, “unsurprising that one ig“You can help us find the next coin.” I bit norant of the glorious trial of the pyx would my lip, clenched my fists and spoke slowly. also be illiterate.” “Can I offer you a tissue?” She frowned “My friend is missing and forget the British Recap: Phoebe decides to protect a rare coin during a museum robbery, she and Callie escape into a hot air balloon and end up stranded in Paris. They are separated, Callie is followed before being rescued by eccentric young coin enthusiasts. They explain that they work for the royal mint and that defective coins were found.
economy, her life is on the line! We have to find her first!” “Um. Well...” “WELL WHAT?!” She timidly raised her phone, i snatched it from her. “What is this?” “We hacked into Randal’s phone it’s how we know which coins he’s after.” I glanced back down at the screen. The latest text read We have the copper cent. And a girl. I felt sick. Phoebe! The screen blurred and suddenly tears were burning my fingers. The last time I had spoken to Phoebe i had yelled at her. Called her names. Accused her of stranding us here. If only i hadn’t left her, maybe ..... “Maybe you’d both be captured.” I looked up to see the driver leaning over at me. “No. You didn’t speak aloud. I’m just pretty good at reading faces.” The ginger guy coughed.” Fine, you spoke loud. Whatever. Listen sweetheart, this isn’t your fault. At least now you can help save her.” I nodded slowly. There was a lump in my thoat and I couldn’t choke out a single syllable, couldn’t part my lips. Just nodded and shook the tears out of my eyes. “Fear not we are on a crusade to stop the fiend! He shall feel the coolth of our wrath!” Ok.... these guys were seriously starting to creep me out. On the other hand it wasn’t like I had a choice. If I wanted to find Phoebe and get out of Paris alive then I was going to have to stick
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with them. So we drew up a plan. Randal was working for a Jamaican ( yes, Jamaica, no not Russia, not anywhere in Eastern Europe ok!) group whose Russian leader (fine, you got your cliche, happy?!) had a thing for rare coins. We get him, we get Randal, we get the counterfeit coins and we get Phoebe. If they don’t get her first as she has the 1943 copper cent. Apparently they were going after a 1933 British penny. In 1933 there were enough pennies in circulation but apparently it’s tradition to bury them in foundations so a few were minted for this purpose. Then, what a shock, they were buried and the crazy coin collecting people find this irresistible. So Randal was apparently looking to add a British 1933 penny to his collection. Turns out Blondie is called Gruoch, the ginger guy is Abe and the white haired one who i really don’t like, is called Aurelia..... she looked just like Miss Haversham too (that is her first name, look it up). The driver, the only normal one, was in fact a regular worker from the Royal Mint sent to keep an eye on them. “So we set up a heist!” “What’s the plan? I tried my best to go for optimistic but I think it came out as a grimaced squeak. “Plan?” Gruoch looked at me blankly, “why do we need a plan?” I looked round at the nerdy numismatics and I knew we were dead. So is Phoebe. And the British economy. TO BE CONTINUED
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W oman of W orth
SARAH SILKIN
ֵֽא ׁ ֶשת ַֽחיִ ל ִמי יִ ְמ ָצא
Sarah Silkin with her husband Rabbi Shimshon
Purim is always a fun time of year, but for Sara Silkin it can also be a very busy one. As the administrator of the Purim Gemach in Edgware, she helps adults and children to find the right costume to celebrate the festival in style. Sara had the idea for the gemach when she was based at Elstree and Borehamwood United Synagogue. As she explains, “Every Purim, people would have such amazing costumes, and they would often wear them just once, and I thought it was such a shame to waste them. I sent a message out to the congregation asking if they would be willing to donate their costumes, and it kind of snowballed from there.” She now has over 300 fancy dress outfits, which she stores at her home in
Hendon. As well as the costumes, she is also responsible for a tablecloth gemach, which is also constantly busy with requests. She hires out tablecloths for various simchas and events, which she feels is a real help to those in the community for those that need them. Sara and her husband, Rabbi Shimshon, have always been community minded, and spent many of their early years of the marriage working within small communities in America. “When we got married, we originally lived in Israel, but then my husband was offered the chance to be an assistant Rabbi in St Louis, Missouri, which was an amazing opportunity.” During this time, Sara, who taught in the local Hebrew Epstein Academy, feels that they both learnt and
they were able to apply this to their next posting as Education Directors of an organisation called DATA in Plano, a suburb of Dallas, Texas. When they arrived, there were as many as around 15,000 Jews in the area but many were not connected to their Judaism at all. Sara and her husband worked hard to create programmes and activities to reach out to the local community. They were able to set up a centre which became central to the community, and when they returned to the UK 3 ½ years later, they left behind a vibrant, thriving Jewish community, which still continues today. When they returned to Hendon in 2006, they tried to continue their outreach as Community Directors of Aish UK but found that the area was not ideal for them, as there were a lot of other programmes and organisations doing the same thing. They decided to move to Elstree and Borehamwood, which was attracting young married couples, and families, and became involved in SEED working on outreach projects. When the incumbent Rabbi and Rebbetzin, Naftali and Dina Brawer left their position at the helm of the United Synagogue community in 2011, the Silkins stepped into an interim role for 2 years until the shul found an excellent rabbi to take their place, Rabbi Kanterowitz. They N
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on ba vel ck cro in B st ou oc bo k us
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remained in the area for a few years continuing to do outreach, as they had made good friends, and established their own minyan within the community. They later decided to move back to Hendon. Since moving to Hendon, Rabbi Silkin has moved into a role as educator teaching in schools as director of an organisation called Chazon, which is part of the Jewish Futures Trust. Sara refers to the work that he does now as being ‘inreach, rather than outreach’ as it helps religious people to understand and appreciate their faith, and encourages them to be proud of their Judaism and what it means to them through lessons, seminars, workshops and trips to Europe and Israel. Sara is also involved in these projects, and contributes much time and energy towards their success. Sara is also involved in Phone and Learn (PaL) which is a service that allows people to learn by phone with people within the community at a time that suits them. It is a completely free service, and open to anyone wishing to learn more about all aspects of Judaism. Having previously been a teacher, she decided to use her experience of teaching, and her passion in reaching out to the unaffiliated through her work at PaL. As she explains, “Many people that had a minimal Jewish education growing up start to look for more information and understanding later in their life, often when they have children of their own. PaL is able to give them opportunities to explore more about the richness of Judaism, which is something that I was lucky to have had, and I am now keen to share with others.” Sara’s role is to match people (partners) that are interested in learning with the right teacher to help them. Sara explains, “I get a huge pleasure when I hear how much the ‘partners’ are enjoying the learning and equally the ‘teachers’ who get a big satisfaction when they give over their knowledge.” Rivka Graham works with Sara at PaL, and describes her as
having ‘boundless energy which adds so much to the Phone and Learn team’. She adds, “Her friendly and caring personality lends itself to her role as Followup Coordinator at PaL, signing up new partners and tutors, setting up and nurturing new learning partnerships. Sara always goes the extra mile in whatever she does! In the past few years, Sara has also been involved in running brachot parties for girls. She first started them after hearing about something similar taking place in Israel. “Brachot parties are a real passion of mine, and are a great way to teach young children the importance of making blessings over their food. Just as we learn to say please and thank you for things, I think it is important that we teach children that saying brachot is our way to thank Hashem.” The ‘parties’ run over the summer months on Shabbat afternoons for girls of primary school age. They meet up once a month at people’s houses, and they learn different brachot for different snacks and drinks.” Once a year, she also organises a ‘grand party’ at Hasmonean Girls School in Mill Hill with around 500 – 600 girls attending. There is also a party held for boys, which attracts up to 400 boys. “It is always great fun, and everyone has a really good time. Not only do they learn more about saying brachot, but it is also a great social occasion. They even get a souvenir of the event at the end of the day.” Sara’s passion and enthusiasm to help others is something that she also encourages in her 8 children, and she involves them in many of the different things she does. “I always look out for opportunities to help and support people, and I encourage my children to do the same. I want them to be involved, so that they appreciate and understand what I am doing. I believe that teaching by example, is the best way to instill values into children that they will take with them into their lives.”
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SUZY RICHMAN AND NICOLE PEPPI – GETTING THIS DONE Sometimes in life, things have a habit of working out, and Nicole Peppi and Suzy Richman are inclined to agree when it comes to their new event management business, ‘Getting This Done’, which came about through a chance meeting. Both have extensive events management experience within the charity and corporate sectors, but it was not until they volunteered on a school committee that their paths crossed.
Suzy Richman and Nicole Peppi
PHOTO CREDIT: MARK SHACKMAN
Suzy explains “I have a grandchild at Beit Shvidler Primary School and Nicole has a child there too. We were asked to sit on a committee for the school’s 10th anniversary dinner last year. We worked well together, and I think that due to our similar backgrounds, we just seemed to click. It was a great experience, and we both said how lovely it would be to work together again one day.” That day came along sooner than expected when Suzy was approached to work on a fundraising event. She didn’t want to turn down the work because of other commitments, so over a cup of coffee with Nicole, they recognised that they could project manage this together. Nicole explains, “After Suzy and I initially sat down to discuss this, we put a proposal in place and within a matter of days met with
the customer. It all happened really fast.” Their combined involvement accumulated over a collective 40+ years of working in the charity sector means that they are well-known within the community, with a wealth of knowledge and contacts, and both have excellent track records in creating successful events. Suzy’s experience covers both corporate as well as not-for-profit organisations and start-ups, and she has held various roles over the years ranging from Project Manager to Chief Operating Officer. She started her career working within the professional services, where she set up a secretarial and typing agency to the legal and medical professions. This led her to become involved with The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists where she first gained experience of fundraising and event planning culminating in the hosting of international conferences. Following this Suzy moved on and gained more experience in managing many different kinds of events. In 2008, she was invited to join University Jewish Chaplaincy where she served initially as Operations Manager, and then Chief Operating Officer. Suzy has also set up her own consultancy, Suzy Richman Consulting, where she offers a range of services including interim management, advising on strategies, event and project management. A key factor in her success was engaging effectively with
a wide range of stakeholders and external agencies, which gave her valuable first-hand experience of operational, strategic and governance challenges. Nicole has gained most of her experience working within the charity sector and since moving from Manchester to London in 1998 has worked for many large Jewish organisations. She started off working at Jewish Care, holding a variety of roles in the time she was there. When she left in 2011, Nicole created Peppi Consulting to provide events consultancy & management services. Nicole was very much in demand. After taking time off to have her first daughter, she was contacted by a previous director who by that time had become Fundrais ing Director at Kisharon. He was looking for additional support for their annual dinner. She explains, “I was only supposed to be there for a few weeks, but they later approached me, and I have continued to work with them since as well as supporting other charities.” For Suzy and Nicole, the chance to start a business together is something that they are excited about. Nicole explains, “I always wanted to do something that incorporates my interests and skills. Since meeting Suzy, and starting up ‘Getting This Done’, I feel that this is a great opportunity for both of us. Working with someone else, especially with so much knowledge, is great and we both recognise each other’s strengths and we complement each other. Playing to our own skills and experience means that our clients will benefit from our combined expertise and we can offer a completely collaborative service.” Both Nicole and Suzy believe that ‘Getting This Done’ is ideally placed to work with smaller charities and organisations that may not
require full time events support, but at times may need help with the larger scale events, such as fundraising dinners, or smaller bespoke events such as seminars and conferences. Nicole explains, “We are able to work closely with the client to create the perfect event. By getting us on board early, we can help with key areas of budgeting and planning, as well as managing the whole event.” When it comes to running successful events, Nicole’s key piece of advice is to stay calm and keep smiling. Suzy agrees “often clients may be quite stressed and anxious, so it is key that as the experts, we retain a professional air and are able to set their minds at rest.” Being flexible, open to change and able to think on your feet are also key skills for event management. Nicole adds, “It is essential to be super-organised throughout the project, and luckily we both know exactly what needs to be done. We are very efficient with a good eye for detail, and people know us, trust us, and understand that if we are involved, we really will get it done.” For both of them, all the hard work is worth it when they see that people are having a great time. Suzy explains, “Watching guests leave with smiles on their faces says it all. We love to see an event come together on the day, often after months of preparation, long hours and last-minute changes.” Nicole adds “At events, we like to go that extra mile and add the personal touch. We aim to introduce ourselves to as many people as possible so we can put names to faces. For months you speak to people on email or on the phone so meeting with them is an important aspect of the event”. Nicole continues, “I have always loved wearing the headsets and running around
to check everyone is doing what they should be. People used to call me Kylie and wanted to sing into my microphone!” When it came to coming up with a name for the business, it didn’t take them long to find one that worked. Nicole explains, “At a previous charity, my nickname was ‘The Dinner Lady’, and whilst charity dinners are a big part of what we do, we didn’t want this to be the only area that we specialised in. Plus, the name made it sound like we worked in a school, so we had to come up with something else. ‘Getting This Done’, was one of the first ones that we came up with, and we think it really reflects our can-do attitude, and our ability in getting this done…for you.” If you would like to speak to Nicole or Suzy about helping you to organise an event, please contact them on 0203 488 2951 or email info@gettingthisdone.com Alternatively visit their website www.gettingthisdone.com
Do you know anyone who specialises in an area of female expertise and would like to be featured on this page? Let us know by emailing micaela@thejewishweekly.com
TIPS AND TRICKS – CARS
Jewish Weekly aims to source the most genius, time saving and useful hacks for you every week, so watch this space!
For many, it sometimes feels like we spend more time in our car, than at home, so here are a few car hacks. • De-fog your headlights – make sure your headlights are shiny and clear with toothpaste. Using an old toothbrush apply the toothpaste all over the headlights. Leave for a few minutes and then wash off with water. Simple! • Have a frost free morning – at this time of year, it can often get frosty overnight meaning that you have to get up earlier to scrape off your windscreen. Why not soak an old towel in a solution of water and table salt, and place it over the car at night, to avoid it frosting over, and get you on the road quicker.
• Get organised – sometimes it can be tricky to keep the back of your car tidy, but a shoe organizer can help. Simply attach one to the back of the passenger and driver’s seats, and you can use the compartments to keep anything in there. • Paint it out – if you get a little scratch or knock on your car, you can always do a bit of a fix to save you a trip to the garage, by using a nail varnish in matching colour to cover it up. Handy!
If you have any questions or you have a top tip you want to share, please contact us on office@thejewishweekly.com. Your question might be someone else’s solution!
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52 NUTRITION
BY ALAN FREISHTAT
A NEAT idea
You have the best of intentions. After years of sedentary living, you now realise that exercise is really an essential part of healthy living. Besides that, your wife has been on your case to start getting in shape and reducing the size of your continually growing stomach. And every single Motzei Shabbos, you reaffirm that this is the week. You have already mapped out a course for a 35 minute walk daily and you even purchased a book about muscle building exercises for beginners. You wake up Sunday morning all ready to go. But on Sunday your Shul has a later minyan, you don’t work at your job Sundays and there is a family gathering in the early afternoon. Okay, but Monday is the day you are really going to start, until there is overtime at work, your son has a test on Tuesday and needs some help preparing and you have to drop in to a Bar Mitzvah later that night. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday don’t fare much better and now that Shabbos is early, you are just happy to make it home in time to shower, put on your Shabbos clothes and get to Shul. But Sunday will come again, and again, and again. This was exactly Zevi’s situation week after week after week. It wasn’t just his wife that was on his case, but his doctor had implored him to start getting active in order to counter his newly present high blood pressure and his growing girth. Zevi works, learns, is a good father that gives his kids attention, and is up early every day. He is not a time-waster. So he is one of those rare persons who really doesn’t have much time to
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THE JEWISH WEEKLY
exercise. As a matter of fact, after going through his daily schedule, I was shocked that I really couldn’t find significant time for him to exercise. It is extremely rare that I can’t pinpoint times to set aside for formal exercise. So when plan A continually fails, it is time for plan B. And the emphasis now changes to NEAT or Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis. The dangers of sitting too much NEAT encompasses the calories burned while living life—walking to work, fidgeting, typing, folding clothes, washing dishes, running errands and so on; only sleeping, eating and formal exercise are not included. Research suggests that prolonged sitting can be as bad for health as smoking (Owen et al. 2010). Sitting “deactivates” the brain and lowers metabolism. Limited physical activity, low levels of mental stimulation and the absence of socialization (too much time on screens and mobile devices) have a detrimental effect on the human brain over time (Nussbaum 2006). Experts have concluded that brain health should be a priority given the threat of dementia, data indicate that most people are more reactive than proactive with their health and lifestyle (Nussbaum 2011). The good news is that movement can help, and it doesn’t have to be a marathon. According to the Centres for Disease Control, chronic diseases are the number-one threat to public health, far surpassing infectious diseases. Eighty-six percent of our healthcare costs go toward chronic diseases (CDC 2017), and prolonged sitting is a significant contributor. When people get up
and move, they’re likely to see big benefits: • 21%–25% reduction in risk for certain cancers • 20%–27% reduction in risk for stroke • 27% reduction in risk for diabetes While consistent exercise and a healthy diet can help to counteract the effects of sitting too much, when that becomes difficult or inconsistent, fitting in more activity within what we are doing daily becomes the next best option.
Also good for your brain The brain also benefits from movement. Simple activities can boost NEAT while building and strengthening the brain. Dr. John Medina refers to physical activity as “cognitive candy.” The two primary foods for the brain are oxygen and glucose; oxygen reacts with glucose to produce energy for cell function. By moving we increase the flow of oxygenated blood and glucose to the brain .Proper glucose levels are associated with stronger memory and cognitive function. Brain booster activities increase blood flow to the brain, feeding it with glucose and oxygen. When a person sits for longer than 10 minutes, the brain downshifts, and it becomes more difficult to pay attention (Jensen 2000). Sitting in Yeshiva, office settings and school environments typically require doing a great deal of work in a seated position, and yet the brain is least productive when sitting (Eckmann 2013). Looking for solutions Now that we know all of the wonderful benefits of regular activities to both the body and the brain, the
challenge is how to execute the plan. Zevi and I sat together and went through his weekday schedule, Shabbos schedule and Sunday schedule. Where could he fit in activity and what should that activity be? First, we talked about some standard behaviors that would help. We decided up that he would park his car a block away from his house and his workplace to get more steps in. He also said that he had enough time to walk to Shul and back for Shacharis each morning adding another 7 minutes in each direction. When he got to the office building where he works, he began using the stairs up to his 4th floor office instead of the elevator. But then we looked into things he could do while at his desk. I suggested that each day he take 6 or 7 from the following list and do them every couple of hours. • Walk in place for a minute with feet close to the ground or with high knees. • Walk with your feet while seated in your chair. • Stretch the chest by clasping your hands behind your back and looking up. Inhale while stretching, and exhale on the release.
While putting activity into our days is very valuable and useful, it doesn’t completely replace the full benefits of moderate intensity or high intensity exercise. The truth is that most of us who are “too busy to exercise” usually either haven’t examined our daily routine close enough or our perception of time is off. When my clients tell me that they didn’t have any problem doing their daily 35 minute walks but they had no time for 15 pushups, you know that their perception of time is warped. After I have them do 15 pushups and show them on my stop watch that it took 52 seconds, they understand. Doing 6 or 7 minutes of muscle building exercise 3 or 4 days a week is so beneficial and everyone has 7 minutes out of the 1,440 minutes we have every day. Creatively working activity into your busy day is essential in keeping your health in order and keeping it NEAT (Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis) will “add hours to your day, days to your year, and years to your life.”
• Shift your weight from side to side by swaying the hips. • Do jumping jacks, squats, lunges and crunches during your breaks • Do pushups and triceps dips at a counter, desk or wall; vary the hand width. • Wiggle or tap the toes and fingers while working at your computer or sitting at a desk. • Stand up and sit down at least every 10–20 minutes (every 5–10 minutes if possible); this boosts metabolism and strengthen the glutes and quads. • Stand up and roll the shoulders up and back, one at a time and together. • Take breaks from typing at the keyboard and make circles with both wrists. Open and close your fingers. • While sitting in a meeting with
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your legs beneath your desk, subtly lift one leg at a time. Do this several times; then, as you lift, point your toes to the ground and, as you lower, point the toes up.
Alan Freishtat is an A.C.E. certified personal trainer and a behavioural change and wellness coach with over 19 years of professional experience. Alan is the creator and director of the “10 Weeks to Health” programme for weight loss and is available for private coaching sessions, consultations, assessments and personalised workout programmes both in his office and by telephone or Skype. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. Contact Alan on 02-651-8502 or 050-555-7175, or email alan@alanfitness.com. For more information visit www.alanfitness.com
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