The HHD have come and gone for
another year, and as some of the
services were on normal working
days, the attendances fluctuated.
For the first time I had the pleasure
of leading the Rosh Hashanah Family
Service, the reason being that the
much loved Gerry Ostermeyer
decided to have a rest. Nevertheless
his involvement was
invaluable. Many
years ago when our
Rabbi was suddenly
taken ill, I had to take
over at the last
minute. It was quite a
daunting experience,
but with help from
Phyllis Freedman and David
Bickler, we managed to get through
without too many hiccups.
Thankfully the congregation were
very supportive. The famous
Hollywood actor comedian W C
Fields once famously said, “Never
work with animals or children”; with
that thought in mind I approached
my task with a sense of trepidation.
“Oh ye man of little faith”, after an
initial period of getting used to the
noise of the children, I enjoyed every
moment. It was such a warmhearted
occasion, with parents and
grandparents taking part in the
service. When the children came up
on to the bimah for the scroll
procession they were all given small
scrolls to carry around. James
Mathiason, who was the main scroll
holder, led the way; he was akin to
the Pied Piper of Hamelin - the
smiles and laughter on the children’s
faces said it all.
At end of the service the children
paraded into the
Schindler Hall,
and were
blessed under a
large tallit by
Rabbi Yuval - a
lovely moment.
My thanks to
everyone who
took part, especially Natasha KaHa
who not only led the singing, but also
played the guitar beautifully. Well
done Ilana Keren who sounded the
shofar, and in doing so managed to
silence the children. Would I do it
again next year, Gerry permitting -
you bet I would. On Yom Kippur I
helped out in the Family Service,
which was very well led by Carol
Standfield, and once again Gerry and
Natasha played leading roles. My
attendance in the main services was
obviously curtailed, but thanks to
everyone involved in making them
successful.
There are some high profile people in
the community who work hard, and
are praised for their efforts. There
are others who never seek the
limelight but their contribution to
Synagogue life is equally relevant. Ex
Synagogue Chair Michelle Golding is
not only the editor of the Gate, but
once a month she organises a
Shabbat service for Jewish residents
at Springview Care Home in Enfield.
Yearly there are also services on
second day Rosh Hashanah and
Chanukah. This year in attendance
was Rabbi Yuval, shofar blower
extraordinaire Michael Henriques,
Rabbi Michael, and Carol Standfield.
It was very moving to see the
reactions of the residents and their
families. Kol Hacavod to Michelle for
being such a mensch, and bringing a
spark of Judaism into the lives of
elderly and infirm Jewish people,
long may she continue to do so. By
common consent in beautiful
autumn sunshine our coach trip to
Waddesdon Manor was very
successful, as thirty three people
enjoyed going around the
magnificent house and beautiful
gardens. Unfortunately Freda and I
were unable to go due to a 7am
phone call from an ailing daughter,
which subsequently led to
grandchildren duties, such is life.
Next year on Sunday 13 May I have
provisionally booked Beth Shalom
Holocaust Education Centre in
Nottinghamshire. It is a fairly long
journey, but well worth the effort. If
that does not go according to plan,
Disraeli’s Hughendon could be back
on the agenda.
Thursday 23 November 2017
Thursday 16 November 2017
A Tale of Three Apples
I am sure you have all discovered by now that I have been on a
health and fitness drive in the past year or so. It had been an
incredible journey and along the way I discovered many things
about myself and broke many self-myths about my age and
abilities. One major element of my health drive is
food. This is how I rediscovered the Heavenly
taste of apples. The history of our relationship
with apples goes all the way back to the creation
of the world. When Adam and Eve were created
5778 years ago (If you discount evolution and
follow the traditional Jewish counting), they were
placed in the Garden of Eden. This was a magnificent place, and
according to one Midrash, there were a scent of apple trees in the
Garden. What follows is a story that almost every child is familiar
with.
God tells them not to touch the ‘apple’ tree. The serpent tempts Eve to eat from the fruit, and Eve tempts Adam. They realise that they are naked, and it ends with their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The apple tree in this story serves as the tree of knowledge. By eating from the forbidden apple humans became wise and had an understanding of the world that no one else in the animal kingdom had before. We learned to grow crops, domesticate animals, harness fire, and more.
However, was the fruit of knowledge really an apple? The Torah gives us no clue as to the nature of the fruit. Jewish tradition does not associate this fruit with an apple. One rabbinic opinion is that it was a fig tree. Indeed, when they realise that they are naked, they grab the first thing next to them, fig leaves. Other views are that it might have been wheat or an Etrog, and more modern interpretations claim for the fruit to be a banana or a prickly pear. The apple is a Christian idea. There is a sexual connotation to the story of Adam and Eve and the temptation of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Red is the colour of temptation, and what is better for temptation than a juicy red apple. Paintings of Christian artists, such as the German Renaissance painter Lucas Cranach and the Flemish artist Rubens, feature red apples. Our first apple therefore represents the creation of the world, the formation of human society, and the agricultural revolution.
Our second famous apple belongs to Sir Isaac Newton. Young Isaac was sitting in his garden when suddenly an apple falls from the tree and hits him on the head. This apple and other falling apples around him triggered a brilliant insight in Newton, and he discovered the law of gravity. Newton’s apple, whether it did fall on his head or not, marks a milestone in the scientific revolution that changed the world. It marks the beginning of observation of our world in terms of scientific research and the formulation of theories rather than the reliance on religious and cultural myths. Newton’s apple, and the scientific discoveries that followed, helped us to build instruments that enabled a better observation of our world. It enabled us to harness the forces of nature to our needs, and the construction of mighty machines on land, sea and air. Newton’s observation of the falling apple poses a serious challenge to Biblical stories such as Adam and Eve and their passion for apples in the Garden of Eden. What could not be proven scientifically through empirical research is to be classified as no more than a myth or an allegorical anecdote. The scientific revolution was and still is the most significant challenge to religion.
Our third apple belongs to the realm of modern technology. Ten years ago the CEO of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs, waved a small device that could play music, make and answer calls, and surf the Internet. This was the prototype of all smartphones to come. Although there are so many other candidates before and after it, that particular apple device, the iPhone, represents more than any other device the information revolution. If Adam and Eve’s revolution gave us food, and Newton’s revolution gave us energy, the iPhone revolution placed in our pockets a vast and almost endless sea of knowledge. Yet, it is not only knowledge that it gave us. You can talk to it, and ask it questions, and it will give you good answers. You can ask it (nicely) to take you home, and it will. You can tell it about your aches and pains and it will find a remedy. More than that, these systems are so intelligent that they can even know about you more than you know about yourself and tell you what you want and need even before you even thought about it.
These devices gradually know more and more about your body and your mind. They can take your pulse, check your temperature, and record what you had for breakfast. We live in a world where intelligent phones run our daily lives, intelligent homes set up the heating for us and keep an eye on the neighbourhood while we are out, intelligent robots that clean for us, intelligent fridges that can ensure we are never out you do so there will be nobody to fix it after you.” With the apple from the Garden of Eden we started taking over the habitat of other animals, and clearing forests. We pushed wildlife away in order to clear way for our apple orchards, wheat fields and our domestic animals. With Newton’s apple we caused an incredible amount of pollution on land, at sea and in the air. Our world is increasingly becoming overpopulated.
We are yet to witness the full effects of the third apple. We might gain even more control of the world around us but we might not fully understand that control. We are in danger of losing our occupation and livelihood to machines. There is an increasing worry that technology will end in the wrong hands and the smart home that we installed in order to protect us will be used to attack us. Another worry is that of passive entertainment. We seem to be spending an increasing amount of time in front of screens rather than going out there and being active. Some people find it difficult to engage in conversation with one another, and many of us stopped reading books. As we benefit from all three ancient and contemporary apples that shaped the world, let us recall the blessing and the curse of these apples.
Let us enjoy the blessing of agriculture and food, but let us avoid clearing more forests and destroying more natural habitats. Perhaps we can even create more natural beauty spots. Let us enjoy the blessing that science gave us, but also the extensive damage we cause to our world, and make an attempt to clean it up. Perhaps it is time to give up these plastic water bottles and supermarket carrier bags. Let us enjoy the blessing of information technology and the wealth of knowledge it brings to us wherever we go. Yet let us not forget to keep our minds sharp, our bodies healthy and our souls pure. And let us continue to enjoy the blessing of apples, not biblical. historical or technological apples, but real apples, that you can make a perfect strudel out of.
God tells them not to touch the ‘apple’ tree. The serpent tempts Eve to eat from the fruit, and Eve tempts Adam. They realise that they are naked, and it ends with their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The apple tree in this story serves as the tree of knowledge. By eating from the forbidden apple humans became wise and had an understanding of the world that no one else in the animal kingdom had before. We learned to grow crops, domesticate animals, harness fire, and more.
However, was the fruit of knowledge really an apple? The Torah gives us no clue as to the nature of the fruit. Jewish tradition does not associate this fruit with an apple. One rabbinic opinion is that it was a fig tree. Indeed, when they realise that they are naked, they grab the first thing next to them, fig leaves. Other views are that it might have been wheat or an Etrog, and more modern interpretations claim for the fruit to be a banana or a prickly pear. The apple is a Christian idea. There is a sexual connotation to the story of Adam and Eve and the temptation of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Red is the colour of temptation, and what is better for temptation than a juicy red apple. Paintings of Christian artists, such as the German Renaissance painter Lucas Cranach and the Flemish artist Rubens, feature red apples. Our first apple therefore represents the creation of the world, the formation of human society, and the agricultural revolution.
Our second famous apple belongs to Sir Isaac Newton. Young Isaac was sitting in his garden when suddenly an apple falls from the tree and hits him on the head. This apple and other falling apples around him triggered a brilliant insight in Newton, and he discovered the law of gravity. Newton’s apple, whether it did fall on his head or not, marks a milestone in the scientific revolution that changed the world. It marks the beginning of observation of our world in terms of scientific research and the formulation of theories rather than the reliance on religious and cultural myths. Newton’s apple, and the scientific discoveries that followed, helped us to build instruments that enabled a better observation of our world. It enabled us to harness the forces of nature to our needs, and the construction of mighty machines on land, sea and air. Newton’s observation of the falling apple poses a serious challenge to Biblical stories such as Adam and Eve and their passion for apples in the Garden of Eden. What could not be proven scientifically through empirical research is to be classified as no more than a myth or an allegorical anecdote. The scientific revolution was and still is the most significant challenge to religion.
Our third apple belongs to the realm of modern technology. Ten years ago the CEO of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs, waved a small device that could play music, make and answer calls, and surf the Internet. This was the prototype of all smartphones to come. Although there are so many other candidates before and after it, that particular apple device, the iPhone, represents more than any other device the information revolution. If Adam and Eve’s revolution gave us food, and Newton’s revolution gave us energy, the iPhone revolution placed in our pockets a vast and almost endless sea of knowledge. Yet, it is not only knowledge that it gave us. You can talk to it, and ask it questions, and it will give you good answers. You can ask it (nicely) to take you home, and it will. You can tell it about your aches and pains and it will find a remedy. More than that, these systems are so intelligent that they can even know about you more than you know about yourself and tell you what you want and need even before you even thought about it.
These devices gradually know more and more about your body and your mind. They can take your pulse, check your temperature, and record what you had for breakfast. We live in a world where intelligent phones run our daily lives, intelligent homes set up the heating for us and keep an eye on the neighbourhood while we are out, intelligent robots that clean for us, intelligent fridges that can ensure we are never out you do so there will be nobody to fix it after you.” With the apple from the Garden of Eden we started taking over the habitat of other animals, and clearing forests. We pushed wildlife away in order to clear way for our apple orchards, wheat fields and our domestic animals. With Newton’s apple we caused an incredible amount of pollution on land, at sea and in the air. Our world is increasingly becoming overpopulated.
We are yet to witness the full effects of the third apple. We might gain even more control of the world around us but we might not fully understand that control. We are in danger of losing our occupation and livelihood to machines. There is an increasing worry that technology will end in the wrong hands and the smart home that we installed in order to protect us will be used to attack us. Another worry is that of passive entertainment. We seem to be spending an increasing amount of time in front of screens rather than going out there and being active. Some people find it difficult to engage in conversation with one another, and many of us stopped reading books. As we benefit from all three ancient and contemporary apples that shaped the world, let us recall the blessing and the curse of these apples.
Let us enjoy the blessing of agriculture and food, but let us avoid clearing more forests and destroying more natural habitats. Perhaps we can even create more natural beauty spots. Let us enjoy the blessing that science gave us, but also the extensive damage we cause to our world, and make an attempt to clean it up. Perhaps it is time to give up these plastic water bottles and supermarket carrier bags. Let us enjoy the blessing of information technology and the wealth of knowledge it brings to us wherever we go. Yet let us not forget to keep our minds sharp, our bodies healthy and our souls pure. And let us continue to enjoy the blessing of apples, not biblical. historical or technological apples, but real apples, that you can make a perfect strudel out of.
Thursday 9 November 2017
What's The Biggest Synagogue In The World?
Wikipedia would have it as the
Belz Great Synagogue in
Jerusalem, but for a short time
on the Erev Shabbat of 18
August just passed, that
certainly wasn’t the case. I
know – I was there.
And where was that? Ruth and I were on board the Royal Caribbean liner “Serenade of the Seas”, celebrating our silver wedding. These days, the Serenade ranks as a relatively modest vessel. Its 90,000 tonnes, twelve decks and space for 2,500 passengers comes well down the list of largest cruise vessels afloat. But for that Shabbat, it (or at least, as small part of it), did become the biggest shul in the world.
We’d cruised before, and I remember the last time we were aboard I’d seen a line in the day’s cruise calendar saying that there would that evening be a self-led Erev Shabbat service. Wherever it was, I never found it. Perhaps it was in too remote a part of the boat, or there weren’t enough Jews on board to make a minyan.
But I thought I’d try again this year when I saw the same line in this year’s cruise calendar. And after all, the entertainments team had been boasting of how many different nationalities they had on board. “And 63 Israelis…”, they had said, after going through the list of Yanks, Brits and other assorted Euros afloat. So it had to be worth a try. “I’ll see you in ten minutes” Ruth, ever sceptical, said to me as I set off.
I found the venue easily enough, a separate area just off from one of the main dining rooms. And there were other people – about twenty. The ship had provided all of the necessaries. Two electric candles (definitely no naked flames at sea), some siddurs (definitely not ULPS), a cholla (definitely large enough to feed the whole ship) and two bottles of kosher wine (definitely not on their regular wine list).
I thought, “well, we’ll do a few hamotzis and that will be it” – but no, we more or less did the whole service, supplemented at each break by our going around the room, saying who we were and where we were from. And as it happened, almost all of us were either from the States - or Southgate! Yes, there were indeed three families who had never met before, who lived within a 15-30 minute drive of each other and who had other mutual acquaintances. We all spent time comparing notes on schools, shuls and Rabbis. And two of the 63 Israelis - a couple from a kibbutz up near Kinneret - added to our diversity.
And the funny thing was, I’d never seen any of the people anywhere on the ship before that moment. Perhaps that’s not surprising when there are 2,500 of you. But on the Saturday following, we kept on bumping in to each other at every turn!
And the other funny thing is that amidst all of those nationalities (and presumably faiths) on board, I never saw publicity for any other similar gathering. No Jumu’ah, no Vedas, no Communion. Why was that? Is it just the Jews who choose to cruise? Or are we more keen than others to connect with fellow believers from around the world? Perhaps that’s something to do with there being fewer of us – we’re that much more keen to make those links.
And so for that Erev Shabbat, the Serenade certainly was the biggest shul in the world – for me at least. It certainly made for a different and fun Shabbat and if we’re ever afloat again, I’ll look out for a repeat event.
Julian Sampson
And where was that? Ruth and I were on board the Royal Caribbean liner “Serenade of the Seas”, celebrating our silver wedding. These days, the Serenade ranks as a relatively modest vessel. Its 90,000 tonnes, twelve decks and space for 2,500 passengers comes well down the list of largest cruise vessels afloat. But for that Shabbat, it (or at least, as small part of it), did become the biggest shul in the world.
We’d cruised before, and I remember the last time we were aboard I’d seen a line in the day’s cruise calendar saying that there would that evening be a self-led Erev Shabbat service. Wherever it was, I never found it. Perhaps it was in too remote a part of the boat, or there weren’t enough Jews on board to make a minyan.
But I thought I’d try again this year when I saw the same line in this year’s cruise calendar. And after all, the entertainments team had been boasting of how many different nationalities they had on board. “And 63 Israelis…”, they had said, after going through the list of Yanks, Brits and other assorted Euros afloat. So it had to be worth a try. “I’ll see you in ten minutes” Ruth, ever sceptical, said to me as I set off.
I found the venue easily enough, a separate area just off from one of the main dining rooms. And there were other people – about twenty. The ship had provided all of the necessaries. Two electric candles (definitely no naked flames at sea), some siddurs (definitely not ULPS), a cholla (definitely large enough to feed the whole ship) and two bottles of kosher wine (definitely not on their regular wine list).
I thought, “well, we’ll do a few hamotzis and that will be it” – but no, we more or less did the whole service, supplemented at each break by our going around the room, saying who we were and where we were from. And as it happened, almost all of us were either from the States - or Southgate! Yes, there were indeed three families who had never met before, who lived within a 15-30 minute drive of each other and who had other mutual acquaintances. We all spent time comparing notes on schools, shuls and Rabbis. And two of the 63 Israelis - a couple from a kibbutz up near Kinneret - added to our diversity.
And the funny thing was, I’d never seen any of the people anywhere on the ship before that moment. Perhaps that’s not surprising when there are 2,500 of you. But on the Saturday following, we kept on bumping in to each other at every turn!
And the other funny thing is that amidst all of those nationalities (and presumably faiths) on board, I never saw publicity for any other similar gathering. No Jumu’ah, no Vedas, no Communion. Why was that? Is it just the Jews who choose to cruise? Or are we more keen than others to connect with fellow believers from around the world? Perhaps that’s something to do with there being fewer of us – we’re that much more keen to make those links.
And so for that Erev Shabbat, the Serenade certainly was the biggest shul in the world – for me at least. It certainly made for a different and fun Shabbat and if we’re ever afloat again, I’ll look out for a repeat event.
Julian Sampson
Thursday 2 November 2017
Religion School News
During the first half of term, we have focussed on the High
Holidays. Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we
took some of the younger students to Oakwood Park to do
Tashlich: symbolically throwing away our mistakes from
the past year, in the form of bird seed, which of course
pleased the local ducks on the pond in Oakwood Park.
However, we didn’t just focus on our mistakes. We
celebrated our achievements in the past year, and chose
some positive aims for the year ahead, all sealed by eating
Honey Cake. Other highlights of the trip were the
excellent playground, and the opportunity to wave to the
trains from the railway bridge (see photograph), with one
train driver whistling in response.
During Sukkot, we had Tefillah in the SPS Sukkah, and found out about the four species that make up the Lulav. Several students waved the Lulav, and we wondered whether we could grow our own Lulav in future. We will be looking into buying a Willow or perhaps a Myrtle to plant in the synagogue garden this Tu Bishevat. However, both the Palm and Etrog are used to warmer climates, and will need to grow in a greenhouse or conservatory. Before Simchat Torah, we had a fantastic visit from the Liberal Judaism youth group, LJY-Netzer, who ran fun educational activities for the students. LJY-Netzer also have a full range of holiday activities, including Hadrachah (leadership training), and you can find more details on their website: www.ljy-netzer.org.
On Simchat Torah itself, we organised activities for children, including making our own Torah Mantle costumes, and creating model Torah Scrolls out of sweets! During November, Ruach will be visiting the Hugh Myddelton nursing home, as our Mitzvah Day project. Throughout the term, we will be collecting Tsedakah contributions for World Jewish Relief’s International Disaster Appeal. You can read more about the charity’s work at: www.worldjewishrelief.org/support-us/appeals.
For our very youngest members and their friends, our parent and toddler group, Mini-Ruach, was back in October, after a short break for the High Holidays. The next session of Mini-Ruach will be on Friday 10th November at 10am. Meanwhile, our popular Friday Children’s Service will be on Friday 3rd November at 4.15pm, and our monthly Tots Service will be on Saturday 18th November at 10am.
Finally, after the Chanukah break, we hope to repeat the success of last year’s History Project, where we asked adult members of the congregation to come into class to talk about their childhood memories. This time the theme will be “Israel,” to tie in with the younger students’ Jewish Studies curriculum.
During Sukkot, we had Tefillah in the SPS Sukkah, and found out about the four species that make up the Lulav. Several students waved the Lulav, and we wondered whether we could grow our own Lulav in future. We will be looking into buying a Willow or perhaps a Myrtle to plant in the synagogue garden this Tu Bishevat. However, both the Palm and Etrog are used to warmer climates, and will need to grow in a greenhouse or conservatory. Before Simchat Torah, we had a fantastic visit from the Liberal Judaism youth group, LJY-Netzer, who ran fun educational activities for the students. LJY-Netzer also have a full range of holiday activities, including Hadrachah (leadership training), and you can find more details on their website: www.ljy-netzer.org.
On Simchat Torah itself, we organised activities for children, including making our own Torah Mantle costumes, and creating model Torah Scrolls out of sweets! During November, Ruach will be visiting the Hugh Myddelton nursing home, as our Mitzvah Day project. Throughout the term, we will be collecting Tsedakah contributions for World Jewish Relief’s International Disaster Appeal. You can read more about the charity’s work at: www.worldjewishrelief.org/support-us/appeals.
For our very youngest members and their friends, our parent and toddler group, Mini-Ruach, was back in October, after a short break for the High Holidays. The next session of Mini-Ruach will be on Friday 10th November at 10am. Meanwhile, our popular Friday Children’s Service will be on Friday 3rd November at 4.15pm, and our monthly Tots Service will be on Saturday 18th November at 10am.
Finally, after the Chanukah break, we hope to repeat the success of last year’s History Project, where we asked adult members of the congregation to come into class to talk about their childhood memories. This time the theme will be “Israel,” to tie in with the younger students’ Jewish Studies curriculum.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)