Dear Friends and Members,
 
A very Happy New Year to all! 

2024 was a year of transition for NLJC.  We bid farewell to Student Rabbi Hannah and welcomed Rabbi Martina.

And we are grateful that she has continued the tradition of our highly successful Beit Midrash (House of Study) and our Interfaith Sukkot.  She will also represent the NLJC Community at the Holocaust Memorial Day Service at St.Peter Mancroft Church on the 27th of January at 11 a.m, where we hope to see many of you.

Thanks to those who represented NLJC at the Menorah Lighting at City Hall and to Ezra and Diane for the photos.

For Jews, 2024 was a difficult and painful year.  We bore witness to the atrocity that was October 7 and after that, attempted to process Israel’s response, which has resulted in the killing of tens of thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza and more recently in Lebanon.  And despite our differences, we have engaged in maklochet, argument for the sake of heaven or in plainer language, constructive dialogue.  The ability to have these difficult conversations is, in part, what defines us as a progressive and inclusive Jewish community and for that I am grateful.

One last thing before I hand over to Rabbi Martina-we need to do more together, as a community.  A service once a month is great, but what about chavurah meals, films, walks, and a Purim Spiel?   I know that Ezra and Aaron are looking at what we can do and how to make that happen.  If you’ve got any suggestions, please do get in touch!

Oh, and a heads-up: Our Annual General Meeting will take place in late March. Date TBA.
 
Best wishes,

Linda

Dear Friends and Members,

A big thank you to all who joined us and made our High Holy Days observances, beginning with Erev Rosh Hashanah and culminating with our Interfaith Sukkot, such a resounding success. It was a pleasure to see the OMH filled with so many faces, many known and many new, but all coming together to usher in the New Year.  The photos say it all!!

A special thank you to Nick Young and to Rabbi Martina for leading our services, and to Jo Smith from the Quaker Community and the Rev. Dr. Fiona Haworth of St. Peter Mancroft for their readings and to David Keys for ‘loaning’ his poem “Bedrock” to be read out.  And a big thank you to Stella Koenick who led the Jewish Norwich Walk which will be featured in “LJ Today”. (Stella apologises for having a couple of dates wrong. Jews were expelled in 1290, not 1170, allowed back in 1656 and returned to Norwich in 1750). Also thanks to Eliyanah, Varin, Olivia and Reuven for the paper chain, each link with the name of those taken hostage on October 7 and which adorned our Sukkah.

Also, thanks to Bob and Ian for setting it up and for Annie’s organisation. And not to be forgotten, thank you to John Mudd our cellist who played Bruch’s Kol Nidrei so movingly and to our shofar blowers, Bob and Jo. And a special thanks to Bob for his generous gift of a lovely velvet pouch in which to store the shofar.

Also a big thank you to Alan Joseph for leading our afternoon Yom Kippur service and for organising our security. And of course, to Mindy who keeps us safe.

Rabbi Martina shares a poem in From the Rabbi.

And we’ve got a new representative to the Jewish Board of Deputies.  Steven Pruner has kindly stepped up and as he’s London based will be able to attend meetings in person, so a face at the table for NLJC and importantly a voice for Progressive Judaism. 
 
In this issue, Helen Hodson has written about the student trip she accompanied to war graves in the Flanders area and how she stumbled upon the grave of a young Jewish private killed in action.  And we remember him here as we approach Remembrance Day when Annie Henriques will lay a wreath on behalf of NLJC on Sunday in Norwich.
 
And there’s more—--Byron Simmonds shares information on his updated PJC Facebook Group and Chaim of Drayton, aka Philip Lawrence has more Yiddish You Can Use. And we’ve signposted some events in which you may be interested. 
 
Looking forward to seeing you online and in person.
 
Best wishes,
 
Linda

Dear Friends,
 
What a great and interesting April we’ve had, beginning with the visit from Rabbis Charley Baginsky (LJ) and Josh Levy (RJ) who invited us to imagine what we might see with the coming together of our two Jewish movements into one Progressive movement with shared core values which supersede any differences we may have.

Charley and Josh have been making the rounds and already say they are seeing a difference, and by mid-2025 hope to see a new movement with 80+ congregations, both small and large, on a shared Progressive path, with access to family education, on campus support for students, services, expanded rabbinical access, and with a reach and a voice beyond the Jewish community.   

There were lots of questions for our guests and lots of lovely food provided by Julia.   Keep an eye out for updates in the Newsletter.

Our annual Pesach Seder was a resounding success, with well over 40 people in attendance!  There were the usual suspects among us, as well as some new faces, who we hope to see again.

Hannah did a magnificent job, explaining why and how we tell our story and significantly, making it relevant to what is happening in the world and how we are not alone in our experience of enslavement, displacement, and journey to freedom.  Paul Robeson would have applauded Bob’s “Go Down Moses”.

Olivia did a terrific job with “Ma Nishtana”, everyone brought something and loads of folks helped to set up and clean up.  But most of all we owe a huge thank you to Julia Ward who made our seder such a success, dealing with forms, food, coordination and so much more.  Todah Rabah! Thank You, Julia.   Next year in Norwich!

In other news, our own Rosie Anfiligoff has won The Guardian Foundation’s Hugo Young Award 2024 (19-25 category).  All will be shared later in this Newsletter.   And, Chaim of Drayton (aka Philip Lawrence) has some more Yiddish You Can Use! 

We’ve also thought it would be a good idea to offer some training for security, tech and Torah.   We on Council very much hope that many of you will opt to take advantage of what’s on offer and which we believe will be of benefit to you and to the Community.  Details on what’s coming up and where to get in touch in the newsletter.

On a more personal note, on Wednesday 1st May, the Community paid their respects and said good-bye to long time member and a remarkable friend and woman, Joanna Strangwayes-Booth. 

Joanna was an extraordinary woman, who, I have to admit, frightened me a bit in the beginning.  Going to see Joanna was like going to visit the Queen.  What does one bring?  Flowers were always appreciated, and I learned much later, Mrs. Elwood’s Haimisha Gherkins would earn you the royal seal of approval.

One of the things that really made me think of the Queen and was a bit intimidating for me, as an American, was her voice and speech.  Almost on a par with Winston Churchill’s, “We shall fight them on the beaches…We shall never surrender”.  And of course, she never did.

We didn’t always see eye to eye on everything.  This remarkable woman who was an anti-apartheid activist and freedom fighter and was once part of a group of activists who attempted to blow up an electricity pylon, rather unsuccessfully, (I’m reliably informed it just went a bit wonky) somewhere along the line made a right turn, politically.  But that didn’t matter.  The great thing about Joanna was you could agree to disagree.
 
Joanna was a freedom fighter, activist, journalist, author and a strong voice against anti-Semitism, a committed Jew, but most of all a loving wife, mother, grandmother and a good and loyal friend to many. 
 
I am honoured and privileged to have been her friend.  Kol Hakavod.  All the respect to a great lady.  I will miss her and will always think of her when I bite into a Mrs. Elwood’s Haimisha Gherkin.
 
Linda