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From the Rabbi – April 2024

Asking the right question
Last week I met up with fellow facilitators of Neo-Socratic dialogues whom I know from my days as a lecturer in philosophy. The methodology for these kinds of dialogues was developed in the 1920s in Germany, and came to Britain with refugees in the 1930s. They allow for intense conversations about a single question and can last for a day or even a week.

On this particular evening, we were discussing a question for an upcoming dialogue. We took our time. It is not easy to formulate the question well. It has to encourage people to take part and it should also sustain a philosophical conversation over a long period of time. And at the end of our lengthy session, we were still left pondering.

Anyone who has set an exam question may be able to relate to this experience. Asking the right question is not easy. It is surprising to find out how a seemingly straightforward question can elicit many different responses and interpretations.  Asking a good question is an art.

At our seder, we traditionally have the youngest child ask the four questions. Mah nishtanah, why is this night different from all other nights? This is one of the more memorable parts of the seder meal, as most of us know the tune and can sing along. Interestingly though, the Talmud is quite liberal when it comes to which questions and how they might be asked. Other questions may be asked, it argues, as long as they lead to the telling of the story and to reflection on freedom.

Ma nishtamah is not a simple question and answer session.  At our seder table we should be asking questions that invite us to tell the story as our story and to reflect on our situation, not just in the past, but also in the present and beyond.  This is not easy. Indeed, it can be painful. Our tradition teaches it is an art best developed in conversation.

Our seder meal, even when it comes late as it does this year, invites us to to think about and celebrate new beginnings. To think again about where we have come from and where we go now. To see flowers blossom and plants grow and wonder what will sustain us. What question will keep us going?

I am looking forward to seeing many of you at our communal seder meal on 23 April.

Chag Pesach Sameach!

Hannah

From the Chair – April 2024

I write with two hats on now – that of Chair of Council, and Editor of the NLJC Newsletter.  For those who attended the Community’s 34th AGM (yes, we’ve been going awhile) you’ll have heard most of this, so please have patience.

I’d like to begin by saying that becoming Chair is as daunting as it is an honour, especially as I pick up from Annie Henriques, who is, I’m sure you’ll agree, a hard act to follow.  She has given so much to our Community over the years, and rest assured, she has promised to support me (I’ve got a lot to learn), and us.

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome onto Council newcomers, Helen Hodson, our Honorary Secretary, Jo Abel, our able shofar blower, and Rosie Anfilogoff, our kiddush coordinator, Zoom administrator and WhatsApp organiser.   Welcome back to Steve Pruner, our Vice Chair, Donna Frankel our Honorary Treasurer, Eric Marcus (tech man), and Julia Ward, our seder coordinator extraordinaire.   We are your representatives and will be introducing ourselves to you in the coming issues of the Newsletter.  Better yet, why not drop in to services, or fill in those forms for our second night seder on the 23rd of April at the Chantry and meet us, in person.

Moving forward, these are challenging and exciting times for us at NLJC and for Progressive Judaism as we look forward to the ‘merger’ of Liberal and Reform, which means a bigger footprint for Progressive Judaism in the UK.  And also, as we explore the idea of a more formal alliance or relationship with our friends at SLJC (Suffolk Liberal) and PLJC (Peterborough Liberal); a bigger footprint, and so a bigger voice and choice for Jews in East Anglia.

Of course, NLJC has always made having a rabbi a priority.  We on Council are working very hard with support from Alexandra Gellnick at LJ to replace Hannah when sadly, she must leave us in June.  I have to be honest, it isn’t easy.  Rabbis and rabbinical students, it seems, don’t grow on trees.  And Hannah, like Annie, is a hard act to follow.  Fortunately, we have secured the service of Nick Young for all of the High Holy Days.  Many of you will remember the terrific job he did last year when he joined us for Yom Kippur.  And opportunities are starting to present themselves.

Putting on my other hat… In this issue Bob Hobbs, our intrepid cub reporter, chanteur, etc. etc. shines a light on Jewish Giants of French Opera, Chaim frum Drayton (AKA Philip Lawrence) returns with ‘Yiddish You Can Use’, and we’re reprising a Pesadik recipe from Joni.

I look forward to seeing you on screen for our Kabbalat service on 12 April and in shul & on Zoom on Shabbat, 13 April and please, please do make an effort to join us for the very important visit from Rabbis Charley Baginsky and Josh Levy to learn about the ‘merger’ between Liberal and Reform into one Progressive movement on Sunday the 14th, to be followed by a lovely nosh, and our 2nd night Seder at the Chantry on the 23rd.

Best wishes, Linda

From the Rabbi – Mar 2024

Ki Tisa

8-9 March 2024/29 Adar I 5784

Erev Shabbat – 7.30 short service with study – zoom only 
International Women’s Day

8 March is international Women’s Day. In our Friday service, we will celebrate Jewish women, the sung and unsung heroes who have inspired us. Join the celebration by learning about some of the women and by introducing your inspiration, be that in a short bio, or a sample of their work, a poem, a picture etc.

Everyone welcome to study and start shabbat together. 

Shabbat morning – Ki Tisa
9.45 Beith Midrash/House of Study – Old Meeting House (no zoom)

Purim in 2024 – How do we tell the story this year?

Purim is perhaps the most puzzling and troubling of all our holidays. This year is no exception. We read the story of Esther and wonder if it is a fairy tale or a farce. How can we make this festival of merriment and mischief speak to us today?

The House of Study welcomes all members and friends. 

Shacharit 11.30 Old Meeting House and Zoom.

This month we welcome Rosie Anfilogoff and Bob Hobbs as members of the community.

Torah reading: Exodus 32: 30-33:11 (Torah Reader: Miriam Barnett) Haftarah: 1 Kings 18: 1-19

From the Chair – Mar 2024

In the February service we welcomed Rosie as a Full member of our community. Her parents were on screen as she read from the Torah. How proud they were and so are we.

In addition to providing a lovely kiddush spread that we all enjoyed, for those of you who don’t know, Rosie does a tremendous amount of fabulous work for our Community. She prepares the Torah and Haftarah handouts, is our kiddush coordinator and keeps various WhatsApp groups lively and engaged. Thank you, Rosie!

A week after this, Bob bought himself a tallit and went up to the Beit Din. Miriam and Hannah were there with him to celebrate the moment. We will be hearing Bob read the Torah blessings for Miriam, who will be reading from the Torah, so make sure you’re there on March 9th.

March is a big month – and most importantly we have our AGM on Monday 25th March. There will be changes on council and it would be good if as many people made it on to the zoom screen at 730pm that evening.

As you probably know, our lovely Hannah will be leaving us in June. We are in touch with Liberal Judaism who are working hard to help us find a suitable replacement. There are fewer rabbis in training now, so this is no easy task. Linda has secured the services of Nick Young to lead our High Holy days. Those of you that came to Yom Kippur last year will remember how skilled he is as a service leader.

In April, we have Charley Baginsky and Josh Levy coming to visit us on the 14th at 11am. There will be a bagel lunch to follow and time to ask Charley and Josh anything you want to know about the journey towards the merger of Liberal and Reform Judaism. This meeting will be streamed so everyone can put their views forward. Exciting times.

Annie

From the Rabbi – Feb 2024

Half a year ago, I wrote about a very new scroll I was shown in Jerusalem, and I mused about our own scroll and its origin. The sofer (scribe) in Jerusalem told the story of an old scroll he was restoring. A scroll, he argued, is also its history.

On Sunday 4 February, I went to Westminster Synagogue for a celebration of the Czech Scrolls that arrived there 60 years ago. (See also https://www.westminstersynagogue.org/following-our-czech-scrolls-60th-celebration.html)

Throughout the Nazi Occupation, these scrolls had been collected from the different communities in Czechia. Some of these communities had disappeared before the war and others were destroyed during the occupation, yet their many artefacts were collected and stored in the Jewish Museum in Prague. Why such a large collection was saved is not entirely clear. After the war, the scrolls were kept, but not looked after very carefully. They were slowly deteriorating until they were rescued again, thanks to a very generous donation from a London businessman. On 7 February 1964, 1564 scrolls arrived at Westminster Synagogue.

Since then, many of them have been repaired and lent to smaller and new communities which were unable to afford a scroll. Others have gone to larger communities. These communities have been using their scroll for regular shabbats or on special occasions and they have started to research the city from which their scroll came. I was the co-chair of the Czech Scroll Group for Finchley Reform Synagogue for some years, and I am still involved in its annual Czech scroll service. The FRS scroll is long thought to be from Uhříněves and we have built a relationship with people in that suburb of Prague.

Hannah with Finchley Reform Synagogue’s Robert Stone at the Czech Scroll Service.

The most moving moment of the service at Westminster came at the start, when the different scrolls, big and small, were brought in by members of their respective communities. It was a painful moment, as Westminster’s Czech Rabbi Kamila Kopřivová observed. The towns in Czechia, their Jewish communities and synagogues destroyed, no longer had a need for them. And yet, it was also a moment of celebration. Not all is destruction. These scrolls are now part of new communities, which enriches their history further.

Our scroll is not one of the Czech Scrolls, as Byron Simmonds has written.  It is likely that our scroll is one of five which Rabbi Andrew Goldstein purchased from a German dealer. It may have come from Slovakia. (See https://www.norwichljc.org.uk/our-torah-scroll/)

Jeffrey Ohrenstein, the chair of the Czech Scroll Memorial Trust, has been able to tell us a bit more about our scroll. I sent him the measurements of the scroll as well as pictures of the writing. He is in touch with soferim who were able to tell from that, that our scroll is likely to be Sephardi, written probably in Palestine between 1940 and 1950. It may still have travelled to us via Slovakia, but that is more difficult to ascertain.

As our scroll is part of our Community, and our history is part of the scroll, perhaps someone with the time and interest will pick up the thread… a living history and one in the making!

Hannah

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