EDITORIAL
Contents
Welcome to the Pesach edition of
Hamaor 5770.
As ever it’s as packed full as a box of
matzos. We’ve got Pesach perspectives
from Rev David and Ofra Gilinsky, a
thoughtful poem by Rebbetzen Yael Hamer and a
review of ‘Kosher Happiness’, a new book by Marvin J
Shaw. Richard Gordon provides us with a fascinating
insight into Belz chassidus from a personal trip to
Jerusalem plus we take an in-depth look at the work of
Tikun and how we can nourish our bodies and perfect
our souls.
You will also find contributions by Federation President
Mr Alan Finlay and from Chief Executive Dr Eli
Kienwald along with news and events from our
communities which prove that the Federation of
Synagogues is as vibrant and active as well as diverse
as ever.
If you’re looking for inspiration in the kitchen then
head straight for our mouth-watering Pesach recipe
page.
I sincerely hope that you enjoy reading Hamaor - your
essential Federation magazine and that it enhances
your Pesach experience.
Wishing you all Chag Kasher V’Sameach
Eva
Diary
2
Decisions! Decisions!
8
The Hidden Letters of Tell El-Amarna
10
Tikun
12
The 38 Days of Pesach
14
Chevra Kadisha Dinner
16
Antisemitism in Britain Today
18
Family Hamaor
Der Rebbe’s Tisch
20
Daily Challenges Poem
22
Understanding the Seder and
Finding Your Own Voice
22
Book Review
24
Recipe
25
Shaare Zedek - Compassion
with Commitment
26
Personal
28
Kashrus Directory
33
Federation of Synagogues
Contact Details
34
Sale of Chometz form
35
List of Synagogues
36
Published by The Federation of Synagogues
65 Watford Way, London NW4 3AQ
Tel: 020 8202 2263 Fax: 020 8203 0610
Email: [email protected]
www.federationofsynagogues.com
Editor/Advertising: Eva Chapper
Hamaor / March 2010
Page 1
DIARYDIARYDIARYDIARYDIARYDIARY
NEWS & EVENTS
Croydon
Visit from Rabbi Daniels
New Minister welcomed
In January Rabbi Mark and Sonia Daniels came to see
us and we marked the occasion with a lovely kiddush
as they had just returned from Israel. We wish them
all the best for the future.
In August last year Rev David
and Ofra Gilinsky joined Croydon
and very soon became involved
in most of our lives. Our
community welcomed them
with their 5 children and made
every effort to help them settle
in South London. Ofra, with help
from the ladies, organised a
Shabbat dinner in the Succah for
about 25 people. This was a very
pleasant evening and was the
Gilinsky family
start of events with David and
Ofra. David is now running classes on Wednesday
evenings and he is covering Maimonides commentary
on Ethics of the Fathers. He has also started a “Lunch
and Learn” on Tuesdays. Both these events are popular
and very interesting.
Jazz Evening
Helena Paul returned to Croydon to entertain us with
a Jazz evening. As Helena’s parents have been
members of our shul it was wonderful to see Helena
again. It was a very successful evening and
approximately 90 people had a lovely time listening to
her wonderful voice.
Extra Special Shabbat Chanukah
We were honoured to have Dayan Lichtenstein, Rosh
Beis Din of the Federation, and his wife for the
weekend. They came together with Alan Finlay and Dr
Eli Kienwald and their wives. Friday night dinner was
held at the shul with some of the community. The
next day about 50 people attended lunch with the
special guests, which was prepared by the Ladies
Guild. Dayan Lichtenstein made himself available for
questions which were put to him about Jewish Law. It
was wonderful to have the head of the Federation visit
us at Croydon.
Page 2
Maureen Lipman came for tea!
On 7th February Maureen Lipman came to Croydon to
have tea with us. She talked to us about her
experiences in television. This proved to be an
excellent afternoon with some 130 people attending
from the Croydon community. Many people also came
from other shuls in South London. We were extremely
lucky to have Maureen with us and it was delightful to
see her.
Finally…
I have to mention that we are very happy to have
Beila and Danny Harris back in Croydon after their
long holiday in Perth Australia visiting their son,
daughter in law and grandchildren. We certainly
missed them both.
Finchley Central
Finchley Central has a range of programmes and
events, including:Regular Friday night Oneg Shabbos for boys, aged 9+,
at the home of Rabbi Hamer.
Our community now has 2 children’s services each
week!
Friday night dinner for the community.
At Succos time we held a tea, with musical
entertainment, for residents from local care homes.
Also there was the “Annual Succah Crawl” whereby
members opened up their Succahs to the community.
Formation of the “Finchley Central Whisky
Appreciation Society”.
Family day trip to a Ski Slope.
Melavah Malkah (20th February) with guest speaker
Rabbi Akiva Tatz.
Rebbetzin Hamer gives regular shiurim for ladies, the
Hamaor / March 2010
DIARYDIARYDIARYDIARYDIARYDIARY
NEWS & EVENTS
latest being a short
series on Purim
entitled "Costume
Your
Mind
for
Purim".
Sumptuous Purim
Melave Malka with Rabbi Tatz
Breakfast for the
community after the reading of the Megillah with
fancy dress, prizes, finger puppets, masks for painting.
Ilford
Diploma in Judaism
Ilford Federation Synagogue is providing a unique
adult education experience to its members and those
in the Redbridge area.
The Diploma in Judaism
is a year long course
that meets every week
at the Synagogue and
has attracted over 70
people to register. The
course is designed and
Diploma in Judaism
taught by Rabbi Chapper and accredited by the London
School of Jewish Studies. It is aimed at those adults
who felt they missed out on a Jewish education as
children and covers everything from the Aleph Bet to
the laws of Kashrut, history to festivals, prayer to
philosophy. The motto of the course is ‘Only the bold
will learn.’
Rabbi Chapper explains, ‘I was approached to teach a
course on the basics of Judaism and so devised this
Diploma and have been overwhelmed with the
enthusiastic response. It just goes to show that there is
a genuine thirst for knowledge out there. My dream
is that every community offers such a course.’
Ohr Yisrael news
Third Poland Trip
Following the initial two successful trips in the last
year to Poland, which were led by Rabbi & Rebbetzen
Garson, together with Tzvi Sperber of JRoots, a third
Hamaor / March 2010
trip covering the areas of Northern Poland is to take
place at the beginning of May. The trip will minimally
cover the areas of Warsaw, Gur, Treblinka, Bialystok,
Tykocin and Jedwabne. This will be an intense 2 day
trip taking place on the 3rd and 4th of May 2010. There
are a couple of spaces still available for this trip.
For more details please email Rabbi Garson:
[email protected]
Ohr Yisrael Launches the writing
of its 2nd Sefer Torah
The Sefer Torah will be very kindly donated to the shul
by Darren Friedman and his family in memory of his
late father Reuven z"l, together with donations from
the community. Opportunities are now available to
participate in fulfilling the 613th Mitzvah. All those
who donate a Parsha will be able to memorialise a
loved one, mark a special occasion etc… by way of an
inscription on a plaque which will be hung on a
special board in the shul.
There are a few sedras still available, for more details
please email [email protected]
Live Animals at Ohr Yisrael’s
Purim Seuda
Ohr Yisrael’s annual communal Purim Seuda, played
special host this year to live animals, ranging from
snakes, birds of prey & large reptiles. Both adults and
kids were entertained with Hashem’s creations from
the Animal Kingdom.
Ohr Yisrael’s website updated
Ohr Yisrael’s website has recently been updated with
some major changes. In addition to Rabbi Garson’s daf
yomi shiurim of which over 450 can be found online,
there is an extensive range of other lectures and
shiurim presented by Rabbi Garson and other speakers
from HLX. Ohr Yisrael is proud to be the only shul in
the UK with an online forum for Daf Yomi. Our
listeners span the world, with one Daf Yomi
participant listening in from Hong Kong!
Page 3
DIARYDIARYDIARYDIARYDIARYDIARY
NEWS & EVENTS
HLX – BES Winter Program
A 2-week Summer term with a wide array of shiurim,
programs & lectures took place in September.
Hertfordshire Learning Experience was set up in
memory of the late Rabbi Shmuli Kass z”l, by Rabbi
Garson and to date over 1000 people have
participated in their programs. Speakers included:
Rabbis Raphy Garson, Naftali Brawer, Shimshon Silkin
and representatives of the LSJS faculty. In addition,
the executive director of Jews For Judaism, Mr Julius
Ciss was flown over to address the communities of
Hertfordshire and NW London. Mr Ciss himself was a
Jews for “J” missionary who was involved for over five
years in converting Jews to Christianity. This
experience provides him with a unique insider's
perspective on today's missionary movements and
added insight into the emotional, spiritual and
psychological make-up of the many Jews who fall
victim to deceptive missionaries. Having discovered
the numerous inconsistencies in Christian belief, Julius
abandoned Christianity, and since 1983, has worked to
combat the growing threat of Christian missionary
groups that target Jews for conversion. Julius has
addressed audiences in Canada, the United States and
Israel on television, radio and in public lectures. Since
joining Jews for Judaism as the Director of the
Toronto Branch, he has produced counter-missionary
literature and tapes and has distributed them
worldwide. Julius has on numerous occasions engaged
in one-on-one counselling with Jews involved in
Christianity; many of these individuals are now
reintegrated in the Jewish community. During his
whirlwind 48 hours stop in the UK, he addressed over
1000 people, including speaking at JFS, Hasmonean
and Yavneh College.
Rabbi and Rebbetzen Garson host
a unique Purim Seuda
A professional interactive hands-on animal show was
organised to entertain their members. Wild animals
from giant tarantulas to massive lizards were let loose
to the utter delight of everyone in attendance. We
Page 4
learnt how giant
bats eat upside
down and why
various owls have
different
eye
colours. When the
spiders
were
released squeals of
joy could be heard
from the children,
whilst some parents
could be seen
cringing with fear.
The
community
developed a deep
Photos from Purim
(Photography
by Alan Fish)
sense of niflaos
Haboreh, the wonders of God's creations, by being able
to view and interact with some of the most
endangered species in the world. The climax of the
event came when a giant 4 meter python wrapped
himself around the Rabbi. Rabbi Raphy Garson
commented that "being wrapped in the clutches of a
python, was undoubtedly the greatest challenge of my
Rabbinical career".
Netzach Yisrael,
Golders Green
Netzach Yisrael Synagogue has recently expanded its
activities with the inception of Kollel Netzach Yisrael.
As a group of nine Avreichim, headed by Rabbi
Alexander Spitzer, the Kollel has rapidly earned itself a
name in North West London as one of the highest
calibre institutions for advanced talmudics in the
country. Combining in depth Torah study, with a drive
to actively organise shiurim and study groups, the
Kollel is a very welcome addition to the community.
The Kollel also boasts an exciting student program,
wherein boys studying for degrees in the afternoons
learn a full morning alongside the Kollel. A full
program of shiurim is provided for them in addition to
availability of discussion with the Kollel members.
Hamaor / March 2010
DIARYDIARYDIARYDIARYDIARYDIARY
NEWS & EVENTS
All those who have
visited the Beth
Hamidrash have
been overwhelmed
by the vibrant
atmosphere of over
30 people learning,
particularly due to
the mix of Talmidei
Chachamim,
students
and
laymen all enjoying
the Torah study, in
unison. The Kollel
has tremendous Left to right: Dayan MD Elzas, Head of
potential to attract
Kashrus Federation, Rav Doron Ahiel,
Rabbi of Netzach Yisrael Synagogue,
Rabbonim of the
Rabbi Elchonon Goldblatt, Menorah
highest calibre to
Grammar School and standing Rabbi
the area, positively
Sendy Spitzer, The Rosh Kollel
affecting
local
education and synagogues, amongst other benefits. The
Kollel recently hosted a full day, bank holiday, Yom
Limmud, comprised of shiurim, an audio visual
presentation and a question and answer panel, which
had Dayan Elzas as one of its members.
Incubator Donated to Laniado
Hospital
Laniado Hospital recently opened an additional
maternity department named for Pola Ann & David
Kupermann and Wendy Kuppermann. It was given in
memory of the one and a half million children killed in
the Holocaust.
Netanya is one of the fastest growing cities in Israel
and the hospital now delivers over 500 babies a month.
Because the hospital has a successful IVF clinic, there are
many multiple births here which require the need for
incubators.
We express our thanks to the Federation of
Synagogues who dedicated part of the proceeds from
the 5769 Kol Nidre appeal to the purchase of a much
needed incubator.
The hospital is expecting a substantial increase in the
number of births due to the opening of the new
maternity department.
Head Office
THE LATE HAROLD COLIN Z”L
Harold Colin was a member of Clapton Synagogue. He
was niftar in July 2007 and buried in Rainham. No
immediate members of his family survived him. Mr
Colin remembered the Federation in his Will and we
have recently been awarded a substantial share of his
estate. The Federation Honorary Officers have agreed
to dedicate a rose bush at Rainham to his memory and,
in this small way, to show the Federation’s and their
own gratitude for Harold Colin’s generosity.
Have
YOU
considered including the Federation of Synagogues in your
WILL?
A tax-effective way of helping the Federation to work for
the community
Hamaor / March 2010
Page 5
DIARYDIARYDIARYDIARYDIARYDIARY
NEWS & EVENTS
Federation Coach Service to Rainham Cemetery
A coach service to Rainham cemetery will be available on Sunday 5th September before Rosh Hashanah.
The coaches will leave at 10.00am from Hendon and Clapton respectively, allowing approx 1 hour in
Rainham and then returning.
Please note last year we were overbooked, so please ensure that you reserve your place on the coach no
later that by 1 August by telephoning the Burial Society on 020-8202 3903.
Tom Zelmanovits
Administrator
Federation Burial Society
65 Watford Way, Hendon, London NW4 3AQ
Tel: 020 8202 3903
Email: [email protected]
The Federation has a new updated website.
www.federationofsynagogues.com
Page 6
Hamaor / March 2010
THOUGHTS FROM THE PRESIDENT
DECISIONS! DECISIONS!
By Alan Finlay, President of the Federation of Synagogues
There is an old Jewish joke in
which one woman says to
another woman that in her
house, she and her husband
have agreed that she makes the
small decisions and her
husband makes the big
decisions. “What are
the small decisions
that you make?” the
second woman asks.
The first woman replies “where the family should live,
what school the kids should go to, what holidays we
should go on, what car the family should buy.” The
second woman expresses surprise. “If those are the
small decisions that you make, what are the big
decisions that your husband makes?” “Whether the
Government should raise taxes, whether Britain should
pull out of Afghanistan, who should play for England.”
Every organisation has a decision making process
which differentiates between the big decisions and the
little decisions. Before making a big decision, an
organisation may need to take external advice,
formulate proposals which are discussed at an
appropriate level, consult with relevant parties, make
recommendations, come to a decision and decide how
it should be implemented. Making a small decision
cuts out some of these layers. Some organisations are
run on dictatorial lines with very little consultation
and a short time frame in which the decision is made.
Others are more consensual. There is no right or
wrong; it is what is best for the organisation that
matters.
Communal organisations need a longer decision making
process than commercial organisations. Consultation
has to be carried out amongst the membership, which is
not as readily available as employees sitting at their
desks. The ultimate decision has to be consensual
because the imperative to comply with any decision is
Page 8
not the same as in a commercial organisation, where
failure to comply with a management decision can
result in a disciplinary sanction.
I make these points because the Federation has been
discussing changes to its constitution and an
important part of this process has been to consider the
best structure for decision making at shul level.
After the annual elections have taken place, most
Boards of Management appoint Board members to
hold specific portfolios such as social events, security,
children’s services and members’ welfare. Some shuls
are then content to leave those individual portfolio
holders to organise the particular activities, subject to
an agreed financial budget and submitting regular
reports to the Board. Other shuls see an individual
portfolio holder as someone who can only formulate
proposals for decision by the Board of Management.
This is the classic difference between macro and micro
management. When it comes to agreeing expenditure,
some shuls allow individual portfolio holders a budget;
others require that any financial decision must be
approved by the Financial Representative.
Certain agenda items need to be handled differently.
For example, proposed building works must be
considered by Board members who have relevant
experience, such as builders and surveyors. This
involves the preparation of detailed reports which set
out various alternatives and detailed costings. The
same level of expertise and detail is not required for,
say, planning a children’s Purim party.
Boards have to keep within an annual budget that has
been agreed with Federation Head Office and certain
matters can only proceed with the approval of Head
Office, such as any decision regarding the shul
premises, which are owned by the Federation, or the
employment conditions of the officials, who are
employed by Head Office.
Hamaor / March 2010
THOUGHTS FROM THE PRESIDENT
Underlying all aspects of shul activities is the fact that
everything must be done in accordance with halacha,
which is the sole preserve of the Rabbi. Any decisions
made by the Board of Management which involve
halachic considerations are subject to the Rabbi’s ruling
and his rulings are binding on the Board of Management.
A protocol must also be agreed concerning the
confidentiality of Board discussions. Some discussions at
Board Meetings must remain confidential whereas
others need to be explained fully to the membership to
achieve wide acceptance. There are some matters which
have to remain confidential to the local Honorary
Officers and not even be disclosed to the Board, as
sensitivity has to be exercised and a decision made
which cannot be explained without causing offence
and/or embarrassment towards specific individuals.
In order to assist Boards of Management to decide how
they wish to function in the coming year, our Chief
Executive, Eli Kienwald, will be arranging a series of
workshops after the local shul elections, facilitated by
an external convenor, so that the new Boards will have
an opportunity of talking through these matters. This
article is intended to start that process.
An effective Board of Management results in the shul
operating efficiently and the officials being able to
work effectively. It becomes attractive to new
members and the shul grows from strength to
strength. I wish all Boards of Management every
success in all of their activities for the coming year.
My colleagues at Head Office join with me in wishing
all our members and their families a happy and kosher
Pesach.
Consequently, the decision making process of a Board
of Management is more complicated than at one’s
place of work.
Referring back to my opening paragraph, it can be difficult
to differentiate at shul level between the big decisions and
the little decisions. For example, substituting a cheaper
brand of whisky at a staff party may cause some
comment. Do so at a kiddush and risk a riot.
Redecorating the offices involves much less consultation
than changing the colour scheme of the shul hall. No–one
is going to hand in a resignation notice over these issues,
whereas members have been known to daven elsewhere
over such relatively inconsequential matters.
In each of the following cases, who do you think
should make the decision and how :The menu for the annual melava malka
New colour scheme for the shul hall
Repairs costing £250 to the shul fence
Whether to introduce a new prayer in one of the services
A new sefer torah for the shul
Whether to have an additional shiur
Hamaor / March 2010
HEBREW CLASSES
AVAILABLE
AT
Loughton, Chigwell & District Hebrew
Classes, Borders Lane, Loughton
Co-ordinators: Mrs D Shilton and Mrs S Shine
Croydon & District Cheder,
The Almonds, 5 Shirley Oaks Road, Croydon
Co-ordinators: David and Ophra Gilinsky
Page 9
PESACH MESSAGE
THE HIDDEN LETTERS OF TELL EL-AMARNA
By Dr Eli Kienwald, Chief Executive, Federation of Synagogues
he had been receiving for many years telling him in ever so vivid
details all the latest news about events at the court of Egypt.
Agio walked into his house and went straight to his study-room
where he kept dozens and dozens of clay tablets written by his
friend. They were stored in precise chronological order and Agio
knew exactly where each one was.
He pulled out the oldest, dating from the 12th year of
Akhenaton1. The hieroglyphs were neat and precise. It began:
Ashkelon was a great place for children. It wasn't one of the
biggest cities in the Land of Canaan, Ugarit in the far north, in
Hittite territory, and even Byblos were far larger and Gaza, ten
miles to the south, was busier. But to its inhabitants, Ashkelon
was the cradle of civilization and the centre of world-wide
commerce. Children never grew tired of standing near the city
gates, playing cat-and-mouse with the sentries and watching
the comings and goings: one of their favourite games was to
guess the nationality of travellers. There were Egyptians with
their white linen robes, Hurreis with their woollen tunics,
Babylonians carrying large baskets full of dates and Assirians
loaded with wheat. There were Moabites, Midianites, Habiru and
about twenty other nationalities.
On a bright day in the late spring of the 39th year of the XIX
dynasty, Agio was sitting on a low wall in the Ashkelon
harbour, enjoying the warm sunshine, watching the strong
Nubian workers load and unload the incredible array of small
local boats, fishing boats and pleasure boats, the larger cargo
ships from Cyprus, Tarsus, Crete and Greece and even one or
two Egyptian galleons; and he was reminiscing.
Agio was seventy-two years old but he did not show his age
except for a few deep lines marking his otherwise handsome
face. His attire, although well worn, betrayed his noble origins as
the eldest son of the Prince of Byblos.
Agio got up with a deep sigh and started to walk gingerly
towards his home in the centre of Ashkelon. That morning a
messenger from Tell el-Amarna, the old Akhetaton, for many
years the residence of successive Egyptian kings, had brought
him news of the death of his old friend Tai the Scribe and Agio
was reflecting on what life would be without the regular letters
Page 10
"Momentous events at the court of our most magnificent
Akhenaton, may Ra protect him. His mother Tiyi came to
Hermopolis to pray at the new temple but she was struck with
disease and died shortly afterwards. She was buried with full
honours in the Valley of Kings but Thebe was left unguarded.
The priests of Amun tried to re-impose the old traditions and
Egyptian customs but Akhenaton was so steeped in these
Habiru's2 belief in one G.d that he took immediate action. He
sent his guards to close the study halls and temples of Amun,
punished the priests and erased the name of Amun from all the
ancient monuments. He and his Queen Nefertiti are strong
supporters of Tsefanath Paneah's teaching that the world is
controlled by one G.d."
Agio replaced the tablet carefully in its slot and took out the
next one, some way down the rack.
"1st year of Tutankamun. Akhenaton, our beloved king and
leader, joined his maker. Smenkhara, Akhenaton’s brother,
married Meritaton, the king’s eldest daughter, and became king
himself but he died a sudden death. His brother Tutankaton
took his place and decided straightaway to abandon the
worship of Aton3 and to re-establish the supremacy of Amun,
so he changed his name to Tutankamun. His wife
Ankhesenpoaton changed her name to Ankhesenamun. He is
so young….In truth the country is still being ruled by his sisterin-law Nefertiti. There is intrigue at the palace."
Agio was now reading avidly and picked the next tablet.
"Egypt is in turmoil. Tutankamun is dead and left Queen
Ankhesenamun with no children. She was looking for another
husband but no prince of Egypt wanted to marry her. She
instructed me to write to the Hittite King Suppiluliuma and ask
Hamaor / March 2010
PESACH MESSAGE
him whether any of his many sons would wish to come to
Egypt and marry her to become king. Zannuza was chosen but
he was ambushed and killed on the way to Thebe. I think that
general Horenheb4 was behind the plot. Horenheb is a danger
to Egypt and hates the Habiru. He thinks that they have
become too influential under King Akhenaton and, if it were up
to him, he would send them back to tend their flocks rather
than being in charge of all trade in Egypt."
a true Egyptian. But he was a Habiru through and through. He
betrayed his adopted household, went into voluntary exile and,
after a while, he returned demanding from King Seti that all
Habiru should be allowed to leave. Seti did not listen and Moshe,
this is the stranger's name, claimed that his G.d would punish us
with all these disasters. A week ago the most terrible thing
happened. At night, suddenly, all Egyptian first-born males died.
My own son, my beautiful On died too and I am now a desolate
old man".
Agio read the next letter, dated a few years later.
Agio pulled out another tablet.
"Great tragedy in Egypt. Queen Ankhesenamun finally married
her uncle Ay but he was an old man and died four years later.
What did I tell you about general Horenheb? He pushed himself
forward, eliminated all his enemies and became king. He was
ruthless in returning to traditional Egyptian values and religious
practices. No-one dared mention the name Akhenaton any more,
the temples he had dedicated to Aton were razed to the ground
and the years of our great amorian period were erased from our
calendar. All friends of King Akhenaton and the Habiru in
particular were hunted down and forced into slave labour to
build new temples and new cities. The Egyptian economy quickly
fell into ruins. Nobody wanted to trade with Egypt any more.
When King Horenheb died, just over two years ago, without sons,
one of his generals, Pramses, became king with the name
Rameses. I do not know why he dropped the Pi off his name. I
thought that things would change but alas no. Rameses made
the life of those poor Habiru even worse. He thought that there
were too many of them and that they wanted to make an
alliance with the Hittites to wage war against Egypt. Poor souls,
they were so weakened by their slave labour that they had no
appetite for a fight. King Rameses ordered that all newborn boys
of the Habiru should be thrown into the Nile. Rameses was 70
years old when he became king and he died a year later. How
much damage he has done to Egypt in four short seasons! His
son Seti is now king. I hope to give you better news next time, my
dear friend".
Agio had a deep frown on his already heavily marked face as
he pulled out the next tablet.
"14th year of Seti I. Woe! Tragedy! Misery in the whole of Egypt.
The country is in ruins. We have had the most terrible disasters
plaguing our beautiful cities and countryside; poisoned waters,
an invasion of frogs, locusts, pestilence, three days of total
darkness and more troubles besides. You remember that the
Habiru boys were thrown into the Nile. One of them survived. He
was saved by Bhatia, the king's daughter and she raised him as
Hamaor / March 2010
"1st year of Rameses II. The Habiru have gone. King Seti lost his
own first son during our long night of despair and allowed the
Habiru to leave. Moshe was leading a vast multitude of people
with all their flocks and belongings. Our army followed them
into the desert to destroy them but Moshe, who learnt war
strategies from us, cleverly tricked our soldiers into the deep
waters of the Sea of Reeds where many of our valiant fighters
were overrun by a sudden high tide. King Seti survived but
could not face the fury of his own people and fled. We do not
know where he is now but his second son has become King
Rameses II and he is trying to mend the country. I think that
the G.d of these Habiru is more powerful than all our gods
joined together."
Agio was tired. He stood up and put away the tablet. This was
the last letter he had received from Tai. He looked outside. A
strange darkness had descended on the city of Ashkelon.
Children had stopped playing and birds no longer tweeted
joyfully among the blossoming trees. What was going on?
Suddenly the deafening sound of a horn blasted through the
air. Agio instinctively looked southward, towards the vast and
desolate expanse of the desert and heard "I am the Lord…".5
1 This was the year 1358 BCE
2 Egyptian name for the Hebrews
3 The son-god of Ra, according to Akhenaton’s quasi-monotheistic faith
4 An old general who became foreign minister under king Akhenaton
5 Agio, Tai and their families are fictional. Other names and events in this story
are based on biblical and historical sources. The chronology of the Egyptian
Amorian and XIX royal Dynasties is the subject of dispute among historians.
Many assert that Rameses II was the Pharaoh of the Exodus but the alternative
view expressed here is supported by others. I am putting forward my own
hypothesis that Horenheb was the “Pharaoh who did not know Yosef”
Wishing our readers a Kosher Pesach from all of us here at
Head Office.
Page 11
TIKUN
Tikun is an Orthodox Jewish Charity that provides
education for Jews of all levels – from the totally
unaffiliated and disinterested, to the Kollel jungeman. It
was founded almost 3 years ago and last year opened its
exciting new educational centre at 1117 Finchley Road.
Tikun teaches that Judaism’s entire purpose is to guide a
Jew to Tikun hamidos and Tikun olam. Our goal as
individuals is to become angels. Our goal as a community is
to help all human beings become angels.
necessarily believe, these shiurim were attended almost
exclusively by frum people who wanted to feel more
confident in their convictions. ‘How to pray with cavannah’
focused on the amidah and gave a very practical approach
to experiencing a relationship with God when praying.
Whilst it covered all the words of the Amidah, the focus was
very much on the feeling and how to develop a sense of
connection whilst praying, rather than just reading words.
TIKUN OLAM
Focusing on Tikun Hamidos
in Jewish education is well
supported in chazal.
The Orchas Tzadikim
(introduction), for example,
tells us that ‘all of Torah
hinges on the perfection of
one’s character’ and the
Vilna
Gaon
(Mishlei
commentary 4:13) says
that ‘the purpose of human
existence is to overcome
our negative traits’. Tikun
Olam is an extension of Rabbi Shaul Rosenblatt (right)
Tikun Hamidos. Part of hosting an injured Israeli Soldier
being a good person is helping others to develop in the
same way.
The Tikun Olam element of Tikun focuses on encouraging
people to give more both in the Jewish and non Jewish
world.
Tikun’s programmes include:
Once a month volunteering at a local soup kitchen
The highly successful Light up a Life project engaging
hundreds of Jews to volunteer over the winter holidays, a
difficult time for those in need
Hosting a group of injured Israeli soldiers for a week of
respite and communal love
Jewish Care homes volunteering visits
Finding volunteers to help underprivileged children, young
adults with special needs, cancer patients, the elderly and
needy families.
Tikun needs as much help as possible in these activities and
if you are interested, please do contact Sharon at
[email protected] or 0208 912 1217
Tikun’s education centre is modern and fresh. It is fronted
by the Tikun Café where people can enjoy cappuccino,
salads and sushi, all with a Federation hashgacha. The idea
is that part of feeding the soul is feeding the body. Tikun
wants people to be able to come and learn in a comfortable
environment and where better than a Starbucks style café?
TIKUN HANEFESH
TIKUN HAMIDOS
The Centre is a home to regular and very varied shiurim. The
two most recent series have been, ‘Evidence that God gave
the Torah’ and ‘How to pray with cavannah’. The former
discussed the first of the 10 Commandments, knowing
there is a God who brought us out of Egypt. It presented
evidence that clearly indicates the Divine origin of Torah.
Whilst this type of shiur is usually for those who do not
Page 12
The final area of Tikun’s activities is Tikun Hanefesh,
developing a more spiritual relationship with life. Tikun is
using a programme known as Innate Health. This is used
extensively in America to help people overcome
challenges of stress, anxiety, depression, negativity and a
host of other issues. It teaches a novel understanding of
the relationship between thinking and experience - an
inside-out view. People most often think that the
circumstances of life affect how they think and feel – this
is outside-in. Inside-out means coming to understand
that the opposite is really true. What people think and
feel is the sole determinate of how they experience their
circumstances. Innate Health offers people a new
perspective that enables them to live their lives with
Hamaor / March 2010
TIKUN
more contentment, greater connection to others and less
struggle in the face of adversity.
Programmes include:
Open Evening tasters
One to One Sessions
Group Classes
Guest Speakers
2-4 Day Intensives
Teaching in Jewish Schools
With Pesach coming up, Tikun Hamidos is very much on our
radar. Whilst physically, Pesach is about refraining from
eating chametz and celebrating our freedom from slavery,
spiritually it is about developing personal freedom. Physical
slavery no longer exists in our society. Spiritual slavery is as
Hamaor / March 2010
rife as it has ever been. A drug addict is a slave to his drugs.
People are slaves to their work, to their insecurities, to their
addictions, to their egos. Pesach is an opportunity to break
out from all that enslaves us. And how do we do it? The
Haggada shows us that there is no more powerful weapon
at our disposal than hacaras tov, gratitude – avadim hayinu,
vuhi sheamda, dayenu, Hallel and nishmas, nirtzeh. It’s all
about gratitude to Hashem for the incredible goodness that
He has blessed us with. Hacares tov is about letting go.
Letting go of the need to take credit. When we need to take
the credit, our options are very limited – because we are
limited by nature. When we allow Hashem the credit, our
options are infinite. There is nothing that cannot be
achieved, no mida that cannot be changed, no goal that
cannot be accomplished. Hacares tov is the key to the
Haggadah, the key to Pesach and the key to Tikun Hamidos.
Page 13
PESACH INSIGHTS
The 38 Days of Pesach
By Rev David Gilinsky, Croydon
Every year, at this time, I am
bombarded with advertisements
in Jewish newspapers, even
those that carry articles against
internet usage, for 10 day
Pesach extravaganzas in five
star hotels on the French, Italian,
or Florida Riviera.
But preparations for Pesach
require more than giving
credit card details to the
travel agent. Pesach needs emotional, physical,
intellectual, spiritual preparation, …and also elbow
grease. Without such preparation, I struggle to
understand how one can sit at the Seder and consider
oneself as having left Egypt with our forefathers. My
memories of my childhood Pesachim are more (or at least
as much) of the effort my family invested in preparing
for them, than of the Sedarim themselves.
What do the Jewish sources tell us about preparation for
Pesach?
The Babylonian Talmud in Tractate Pesachim, at the
bottom of page 6a, cites a Baraita that:
One asks about and studies the laws of Pesach for the 30
days prior to Pesach.
Rashi comments on page 7 of Tractate Rosh Hashanah of
the Babylonian Talmud that:
‘Already from Purim, the teachers had started lecturing in
public on the Laws of Pesach’
The Biblical source cited for this practice is that Moshe
himself started teaching the Jewish people the laws of
Pesach one month before the very first Pesach Sheni, and
therefore we should do likewise for the actual Pesach
Page 14
l’Dorot (perpetually commemorated Pesach) see
Bamidbar, Chapter 9, verses 1 to 12.
One studies the laws of Pesach not merely for the
intellectual inquiry, or the mitzvah of Torah study, but for
the very practical purpose of performing the mitzvoth,
not on Pesach, but in the 30 days before Pesach.
The Mishnah Beruruah, in his comments on Shulkhan
Aruch Orach Chayim 429, mentions that we learn these
laws not for the 8 days of the festival, but for their
execution in the 30 days prior to Pesach - specifically:
• Grinding of the Wheat (for the Matzo – Tekhinas
Chittim)
• The laws of koshering (Hag’alah – immersion in
boiling water)
• Elimination of Chametz (Bi’ur Chametz)
• Baking of Matzo
The Mishnah Berura states that it is important that these
halachos are learnt properly, and performed properly,
because they can only be done prior to the Festival, and
there is no remedy for sub-standard performance once
the Festival has started. For example, it is a custom in
many circles for people to participate personally in the
baking of matzo for their sedarim, ideally, as close as
possible to Pesach.
For those without a separate set for Pesach, it is
necessary to kasher all one’s cutlery (in boiling water)
and glass (in cold water for 3 days, changing the water
daily) in order to be able to use them on the Festival.
In providing his reasons, the Mishnah Berura is
substantially repeating Rabbi Yosef Karo in his
monumental commentary the Beis Yosef on the Tur,
Orach Chayim, 429.
The Beis Yosef provides all of the above reasons, and
contrasts this with Sukkos, where he says, it is possible to
set up a Sukkah and purchase a kosher lulav and esrog
Hamaor / March 2010
PESACH INSIGHTS
quite easily just one day in advance of the Festival,
whereas, the preparations for Pesach require much more.
He adds a further reason – that in the days of the Temple,
the people had to study the laws of the acceptable and
unacceptable blemishes on an animal for sacrifice, so
that when the day came, they could be sure to purchase
an animal free of blemishes and compliant with the
halacha.
He also subordinates the statement at the end of the
fourth chapter of Tractate Megillah (B’nei Ha’Ir) to our
statement above from Pesachim. Megillah states (32a):
‘The Sages have taught: Moshe laid down that Israel
should ask about and study the matter of the day – i.e.
the laws of Pesach on Pesach…’
On the face of it, this statement contradicts our original
quote from Pesachim about studying from Purim, 30
days before Pesach. However, the Beis Yosef explains that
the gemara is referring to studying the reasons why we
observe that festival, and also learning what we are
commanded to actually do on the day of the festival
itself and what we are prohibited from doing on the day
of the festival itself. However, Pesach is much bigger than
that. The two Talmudic statements do not therefore
contradict each other; as regards Pesach they are talking
about completely different types of study. As regards the
other festivals, there is no rabbinic consensus as there is
regarding Pesach, that study is required for more than a
day or two in advance.
For us, the process of preparing for Pesach should
operate as a parallel for the preparations for the
departure from Egypt made by our ancestors in the
period leading up to the redemption from slavery.
Rambam, in halachah 6 of Chapter 7 of his Hilchos
Chametz uMatzah, introduces the use of the phrase
‘leaving slavery’ rather than ‘leaving Egypt’ because he felt
it was more pertinent to his readership to ask them to
Hamaor / March 2010
consider they were departing slavery rather than Egypt.
Rabbi S R Hirsch, in his seminal work, Horeb, in the
section he entitled Edoth (Symbolic observances
representing truths which form the basis of Israel’s life)
at 23:165, states that ‘Pesach means for Israel the
foundation of existence’, the beginning of our existence
as a nation, but the celebration is not simply of
beginning, but of changing. As stated in Tamud Bavli
Tractate Pesachim 116b we are to feel that the Exodus
affects us personally. And the essence of this experience
is the change from avdut, slavery, to cherut, freedom. We
are, in celebrating the birth of our nation, to experience
the essence of that birth - and that was in a change of
being. This is what we are describing when we talk about
redemption in our Seder.
Beginnings usually demand the greatest preparations
and, so, unsurprisingly the holiday that demands the
greatest preparation is Pesach. We prepare for the birth
of the nation because it is not simply the creation of
something new, but a transformation.
I and everyone in Croydon Synagogue wish the entire
Federation membership, the management and the Beis
Din a Chag Kasher v’Sameach, not just for the Chag, but
also for the 30 days of preparation that we will all
undertake.
To celebrate our redemption in Croydon at our second
night communal seder, Tuesday 30 March, please book at
your earliest convenience with Beila Harris on:
0208 726 0179.
Rev David Gilinsky MA (Cantab) LLB, is the Minister of
Croydon Synagogue. Rev Gilinsky leads a weekly class in
Croydon on Pirkei Avot with Rambam’s introduction and
commentary, and during the summer, will be starting a
further class studying the Piacezna’s (Rabbi Shlomo
Kalman Shapira) Chovas Hatalmidim.
Website: www.croydonsynagogue.org.uk
Email: [email protected]
Page 15
ZAYIN ADAR
Chevra Kadisha Dinner
By Michael Ezra
As in previous years, the annual Chevra Kadisha seuda
was held at Waltham Forest Shul on 7th Adar, the
Yahrzeit of Moshe Rabbeinu. It was attended by
approximately 100 guests. Our thanks go to the
Chairman, Honorary Officers and Secretary of
Waltham Forest Hebrew Congregation for their kind
hospitality which this year, extended to the provision
not only of their magnificent premises but also of
their kitchen and catering facilities.
Reverend Stuart Myers gave an illuminating talk after
Mincha, where he drew a parallel between the
cohesiveness of Klal Yisroel and one of the artefacts of
the Mishkan – namely the Menorah; branching out in
various directions but always rooted in spirituality and
common purpose. This was followed by the memorial
prayer from Dayan Elzas.
Michael Ezra, coTreasurer of the Burial
Society, chaired the
seuda for the first time
and welcomed the
guest speaker, Rabbi
Meir Rapoport. In his
introduction, Mr Ezra
explained the parallels
between the actions of
Speaker, Rabbi Meir Rapoport
Moshe Rabbeinu in
(Photography by Noson Kahler)
attending
to
the
remains of Yosef at the time of the Exodus and those
of the wonderful men and women of our Chevra
Kadisha who, year in and year out, make themselves
available to perform the great Mitzvah of Kovod
HaMes for the departed loved ones of our community.
He then went on to thank our Dayanim, to whom the
Burial Society frequently turn for halachic guidance,
the staff at Head Office and all our staff at Rainham
and Edmonton cemeteries. He thanked Mr Hershy
Glick of Carmel Funerals and, on behalf of the
Page 16
Federation, he expressed his gratitude to the members
of the Chevra Kadisha who serve the Tzibbur with
devotion and holiness – with chesed shel emes.
Dayan Lichtenstein, in his address, began by saying
that he felt inspired to be the Rav of the Chevra
Kadisha and complimented its members on their strict
adherence to the procedures of the Tahara. In noting
the absence of the name of Moshe Rabbeinu from the
text of the weekly sedra, Tetzaveh, the Dayan gave a
wonderful pshat. He said that an important
characteristic of the work of the Chevra Kadisha is
that it is performed with modesty and, to a great
extent, with anonymity. The omission of Moshe
Rabbeinu’s name can come to teach us the lesson of
Tznius - modesty, and quoting a posuk from Micah
(6:8), he said that the hallmark of the Chevra Kadisha
is that they exhibit compassion and walk humbly with
Hashem.
We were privileged to hear an excellent talk from
Rabbi Rapoport, a member of Kollel Harabbonim, who
delivers regular lectures and is renowned for the depth
and research of his shiurim and, invariably, for leaving
his audience enriched. Rabbi Rapoport talked of his
admiration for the members of the Chevra Kadisha
who emulate the ways of the Ribono Shel Olam where
kindness, truth and righteousness meet.
The talk focussed on the theme of Gam Zu l’Tova,
(everything the Merciful One does is for the best) as a
maxim for the way in which we could live our lives.
This teaches us the attitude one should have when
confronting life’s difficulties and even that the day of
Moshe Rabbeinu’s death, which was also the day on
which he was born 120 years earlier, could be
construed as a day of accomplishment in that it
marked the completion of his life’s mission to bring
the Torah to all of Klal Yisroel. Rabbi Rapoport
exhorted us to always think optimistically even in
difficult circumstances, to be inspired to reach new
Hamaor / March 2010
ZAYIN ADAR
spiritual heights and to achieve a greater thirst for
Torah knowledge. He concluded with the words of a
song from Rabbi Yitzchak Taub, whose Yahrzeit is also
commemorated on the 7th Adar. As a boy, Yitzchak
would sing:
Forest, forest, how vast you are
Rose, oh rose, how far you are
If the forest were but smaller
Then the rose would be closer
If you would take me from this forest
Then we could be, the two of us, together
Later, when Rabbi Yitzchok became the famous Rebbe
of Kaliv he transformed the words of this ballad into a
song of praise and yearning. He would henceforth
sing as follows:
Golus, Golus, how vast you are
Shechinah, Shechinah, how far you are
If only the Exile were shorter
Then Your Presence could be closer
If You would take us from this Exile
Then we could be, the two of us, together
Rabbi Dovid Hagar, a member of the Chevra gave the
Siyum Mishnayios, concluding the Tractate of Bikkurim.
The closing speech was given by Mr Henry Dony, a
familiar face at the podium from his years as a past
Treasurer of the Burial Society. Mr Dony thanked the
caterer, Tutti Gusti, for an excellent supper and Rabbi
Rapoport for his pearls of wisdom and finally he
brought to a close a very enjoyable Zayin Adar Seuda
for another year.
Don’t forget to
look out for
Shabbat Spice
Out now, and in your local Shul
Hamaor / March 2010
Page 17
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Hamaor / March 2010
Hamaor / March 2010
Page 19
FAMILY HAMAOR
“Der Rebbe’s Tisch”
by Richard Gordon
“Hey, after we finish dinner
tonight, come with me to the
Belzer Rebbe’s Tisch! I’ve an invite
from his son and we’ll be sure of a
good place,” said my rabbinical
nephew, on Chol Hamoed Pesach
Friday night, whilst we were
celebrating the festival in
Jerusalem with my wife’s
family. The “Belzer Rebbe” is
the leader of the Chassidic
sect founded in Belz, Galicia in the 19th century. The
spiritual centre is now around his home in Jerusalem in an
unmistakeable, magnificent, enhanced reconstruction of
the original Belz synagogue; both of which took 15 years to
build.
Never having been to a Chassidic “Tisch” (“Table”), my son
and I agree it’s worth a 40 minute walk across Jerusalem
late this Friday night. We enter a massive rectangular hall
with steeply raked metal framed tiered stands on the long
sides and a wide platform covered with a massive white
table cloth stretching down the centre for the long length
of the hall – this is the symbolic “Tisch”. The stands, which
reach to the high roof, are crammed with a few thousand
Chassidic followers of the Rebbe whilst specially-honoured
Chassidim are seated at the long sides of the Tisch. Behind
them are a few
rows of raked
benches on which
are seated more
Chassidim
and
sightseers such as
my nephew, his
young sons and
us. At the top end,
Exterior of the Belzer Beit Hamedrash
actually on the
HaGadol, Kiyat Belz, Jerusalem
Tisch, is an ornate
throne-like chair with a small dining table in front of it The
Rebbe is seated on the chair with his son at his right-hand
and a handful of Chassidic acolytes in attendance.
Page 20
The atmosphere is joyful. The Chasidim in the stands are
singing Sabbath and festive songs; there’s also a small
Chassidic choir and conductor in the stands to the Rebbe’s
right in an acoustically advantageous position about halfway up. The choir bursts into song at a nod from the Rebbe.
There are even circus-like acts as late arrivals in full
Chassidic garb climb up the outer metal supports of the
crammed stands to join friends or to get advantageous
positions to see the Rebbe.
The Rebbe starts his Shabbat meal by symbolically rinsing
his hands in water from a silver beaker and recites the
netilas yadoyim bracha which is completed by the
assembled Chassidim shouting “Omayn” which is Amen
pronounced, incongruously, with the diphthongs worthy of
a cockney Londoner. The further brochot over wine and
matza (this is Pesach) each get a loud “Omayn”.
The Rebbe then tucks into a meal of cooked carp and
gefüllter fish, chicken soup, chicken and potato kugel.
Selected Chassidim in the front side rows are given small
portions directly from the Rebbe’s plate when their names
are shouted by the Rebbe’s chief acolyte (Chamberlain).
Supplies of wine, matza and the main dishes are then
distributed to the huge assembly by the acolytes striding up
and down the catwalk with small dishes, bottles and plastic
glasses. These Chasidim are dressed in the distinctive Belz
style of streimel (thick disc-like fur head-covering), long
black patterned silk coat, and trousers, like plus-fours,
tucked into long, black, socks. Everyone gets a share and my
son notes that for food distribution these guys need learn
nothing from Tesco. I remark that distributing wine and the
wafer-like matza makes an unintentional link to another
Passover event! Then curious, I ask my nephew how come
the Chasidim are eating their matzot without ritually
washing their hands? He explains that unlike ourselves, the
assembled Chasidim started their meals at home and have
come to accompany the Rebbe in his meal. We,
unaccustomed to this custom, completed our meal and
benched at home; thus we have to miss out on the matza.
Hamaor / March 2010
FAMILY HAMAOR
So far, the overall effect is that of a medieval banqueting
hall cum football stadium mated with a fashion-show
catwalk plus royalty. There’s wine, song but no women (all
right, that’s not quite true - ladies are present high up
above the stands behind a grilled gallery).
Now for the
serious
part:
silence cloaks the
hall
as
we
magically realise
that the Rebbe is
about to give a
Dvar Torah. His
words of wisdom,
in Yiddish, are mumbled very quietly. He seems to be
making some points about the count of the Omer which
started on the second day of Pesach. Everyone is straining
to catch his words. “Wos hot er gesogt” I ask a
neighbouring Chosid in a smattering of Yiddish. “He’s
talking about the Omer” he replies in excellent English. Now
we know! My theory is that everyone creates a different
interpretation; so his learned words are magnified a few
thousand times.
This joyous communal festive gathering concludes with
Birkat Ha’mazon. The Rebbe stands up and leaves the hall
mobbed by singing Chasidim crowding around him.
Der Rebbe's Tisch
So that’s a “Tisch”!
We are delighted to print this edition
of Hamaor Magazine
HAPPY
NEW
YEARPESACH
FROMFROM
ALL AT
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AND
KOSHER
ALLEXCO
AT EXCO
CONTACT STEWART SINCLAIR
PHONE: 020 8958 7000
MOBILE: 07976 707 916
E-MAIL: [email protected]
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Page 21
FAMILY HAMAOR
Daily challenges
By Rebbetzin Yael Hamer, Finchley Central
Do I ever do anything real,
Or am I just lead by imagined response?
Is pride the catalyst molding my choices,
Is admiration the source of all drive?
Is the core so flimsy it needs others to hold it,
To validate, to give it its life?
And would it all crumble, collapse in a vacuum,
With nothing at all left behind?
There must be a shred, There must be, There must be,
A sliver of genuine me,
Embedded inside each action, decision;
A tiny small fragment of He.
Understanding the Seder and finding
your own voice
by Ofra Gilinsky
It is easy to collect stories and articles
written by other people about
“freedom” and “Jewish nationhood”
and bring more and more
commentaries from learned sages
on the meaning of single
words and expressions of
the exodus story. But, as I
intend to demonstrate, getting under the skin of the
Hagadah text and finding your own voice is much more
challenging…and rewarding.
The Hagadah that we have today is a collection of
writings, songs, prayers and prose spanning over 1,000
years. It is based on the formula set out in chapter 10 of
Mishna Pesachim which prescribes two methods of
telling the story of Exodus:
• using five verses from parshat Ki Tavo (Devarim,
Chapter 26, verses 5 – 9), beginning, “An Aramite
Page 22
sought to thwart my father”, until the end of that
section; and
• Rabbi Gamliel’s method, using the symbols of the
pesach offering, the matzah and the maror.
What the Mishna does not do is tell you which is the
preferred method of narrative. And so, just to be on the
safe side, tradition holds that we apply both. All this,
plus a meal some musical numbers and parts of Hallel
which otherwise are never recited at night (unless you
say Hallel on Erev Yom Ha’atzma’ut), are wrapped
around four cups of wine.
However, even the four cups of wine are not entirely
unique. Kiddush is Kiddush – just as on every Friday
night and Yom Tov. However, a nice twist is for everyone
to pour wine for their neighbour, so that everyone, man
woman and child, experiences their own cup rather
than that of the “head of the household”.
Hamaor / March 2010
FAMILY HAMAOR
The second and fourth cup can be compared to the cup
of wine accompanying the marriage ceremony in that
the drinking accompanies a mitzvah – the first being
the obligation of Maggid - to tell the story and the
fourth accompanies the recitation of Hallel.
The third cup is the same as the wine drunk at the end
of bentching in certain households on Shabbat, festivals
and following a celebratory meal.
(Of course the difference on Seder night is that
everyone is obligated to bentch over their own cups of
wine and to drink the wine, and not just answer “amen”
to the person bentching as on the other occasions.)
So having de-mystified much of the structure of the
Seder, where is there scope for finding one’s own voice
and really experiencing yetziat miztrayim on a personal
level, within a text set by someone else?
To answer this question one first needs to resolve a bigger
dilemma: Is Seder night a literary soirée around a table with
symbolic food, or is it a meal interspersed with historical
and biblical readings? I have found that not having any
cutlery on the table until the meal actually starts allows the
participants to focus on the literary element of the Seder.
Also, you can achieve a more composed atmosphere if there
are a number of bowls scattered around the table with the
essential lettuce leaves, marror and haroset. (This also avoids
the rugby scrum towards the Seder plate with the inevitable
table wine effect.)
Novelty shops sell sets of green tiddly winks, shaped as
frogs. You will be surprised how fifteen bright green
leaping frogs on your seder table add meaning to the
text describing the plagues. Plastic creepy crawlies can
also be purchased at most good toy shops – again, great
to scatter around the table.
A well placed cuddly toy fluffy lamb will generate much
discussion about the centrality of the Pesach offering to
the pre-churban Seder and begs the question - “what
will Pesach be like when the Temple is rebuilt?”
Further visual aids to make a Seder more accessible
without lengthening the service include preparing
Hamaor / March 2010
beforehand five wall friezes with the four verses quoted
in the Hagadah (Devarim, Chapter 26, verses 5 – 8) and a
fifth wall frieze with verse 9 from that section. (“And He
has brought us into the place and given us this land, a
land flowing with milk and honey.”) Unfortunately,
expansive commentary on four of the verses, in the
Hagadah, means that these verses are rarely ever seen
together and their importance is often lost. These are the
five verses which were recited when bikkurim (first yields)
were brought to the Temple, a demonstration of true
sacrifice as Eretz Yisroel’s landowners and farmers gave
up the best of their produce. These verses would have
been ingrained in their consciousness. Their recitation at
the Pesach Seder completes the circle of coming down to
Egypt, becoming slaves, the exodus and returning as a
sovereign nation to work our own land. The fifth verse
awaits the coming of the Messiah before its inclusion in
the modern Hagadah, but for the sake of understanding
the origin of these verses, you may like to stick the wall
frieze on the ceiling and see if anyone notices.
The radio 4 panel game “Just a Minute” complete with
the Talmudic celebrities Rabbi Tarfon, Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi
Joshua, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Elazar (make the name
cards beforehand) serves as a brilliant interlude. The
contestants have to tell the story of Exodus, without
hesitation, deviation or repetition. You would be
surprised how difficult this is. Other attendees may
interrupt and challenge if they consider the celebrity
has infringed the rules.
Until I prepared for my own Seder, at every Seder I had
ever attended, no matter how inclusive the host tried to
make the guests, I always felt like an actor at first
rehearsal, reading the play seated around the rehearsal
table and, if truth be told, not rating my fellow-actors
very highly. No matter how much discussion took place,
how many cute divrei torah the children presented, we
were still obliged to return to the set text and “stage”
directions originally set out in the Hagaddah.
But, with a little planning and study, your Seder can be
not just a play reading, but the real thing. Engage the
text and the text will engage you.
Pesach Kasher v’Sameach!
Page 23
FAMILY HAMAOR
Book Review Kosher Happiness by Marvin J Shaw
Marvin's vision is to teach and spread the Kosher
Happiness 12 Step Programme worldwide. This is
Marvin's second book, his first being 10 Days To
Change Your Life - The Ultimate Jewish Self-Help
Book.
Kosher Happiness is more than just a book; it is a life
programme as it covers, in the twelve months of the
Jewish year, every aspect of religious and emotional
existence.
“One cannot but feel charmed and energised by Kosher
Happiness. The reader is empowered to find a positive
approach to any situation, and is encouraged to stride
forward confidently into the future……May all who
read this lovely book find kosher happiness, guided by
the wisdom of Torah.”
Rabbi David Lister, 24th Tishri 5770 / 12th October 2009
The author, Marvin J Shaw is a person of unusual
insight and sensitivity and it is this, together with his
wide knowledge of Judaism, Psychology, Colour
Therapy and Kabbalah that has driven him to write this
quite remarkable book. As a keen observer of the often
seemingly insurmountable pressures that beset us all in
this age of stress, he has produced what can only be
described as a life-line to the many seeking to
ameliorate the difficulties in their lives.
Marvin J Shaw is an Author, Educator, Holistic
Therapist and Kabbalistic Life-Coach. He has
researched and run workshops on 'Kosher Happiness'
themes (in the UK and Israel) for over ten years. A
teacher of Counselling, Colour Therapy, Stress-Busting,
Creative Writing, Public Speaking and Personal
Development, Marvin has enjoyed working with all
strands of the Jewish community and the wider public,
including the mentally ill.
Affectionately known as the 'Soul Poet' and the 'Colour
Doctor,' Marvin is a powerful motivational speaker who
has presented and produced three radio series for
Radio RTM as well as making guest appearances for
Spectrum Radio and LBC.
Page 24
Price £12.95
Available from:
i2i Publishing
SALES OFFICE & ADMINISTRATION:
Lionel Ross
29 Hope Park Close
Prestwich Manchester M25 0NL UK
00 44 (0) 161 798 8989
00 44 (0)7957 557510
[email protected]
www.i2ipublishing.co.uk
Hamaor / March 2010
FAMILY HAMAOR
Recipe
by Denise Phillips
Large bunch of fresh basil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 – 5 cloves garlic – peeled and finely chopped
150g black olives –pitted
200g feta or mozzarella cheese – cut into cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Italian Matzo Salad
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
No Cooking!
Serves: 6 people
1) Put the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and plenty of
fresh ground black pepper into your serving bowl.
2) Add the crumbled matzo and mix.
3) Add all the remaining ingredients.
4) Toss to combine well, taking care not to break up the
feta cheese.
5) Let the salad stand at room temperature for a
minimum of 15 minutes or overnight to allow the
matzo to soak up some of the dressing.
To serve the stylish way:
Serve with a green salad that includes rocket, or baby
spinach.
Denise's
Denise's
Kitchen
Kitchen
LEARN TO COOK - THE STYLISH WAY
Book a date in your diary and make time for yourself. These comprehensive “hands-on”
classes, presented in my trademark simple but stylish manner, will enhance your love of food
and add to your cooking repertoire. Pick a theme and see the difference it will make. So go
and benefit from some great new food ideas. Choose from:
Use a variety of tomatoes to get the best flavours for
this crunchy Italian salad. It is a twist on the Tuscan
bread recipe of Panzanella but here I am using broken
pieces of matzo tossed in chopped garlic and extra
virgin olive oil. It makes a delicious accompaniment to
fish and is perfect to make for a Shabbat or Yom Tov as
you need to make it in advance.
Ingredients:
600g cherry tomatoes, red, yellow, plum, organic,
on the vine – a mixture
20 tea matzo or 20 matzo crackers – crumbled
150ml extra virgin olive oil
Hamaor / March 2010
Wednesday 14th April
th
Tuesday 27 April
Friends For Dinner
Sushi Special – (time 6pm - 9.30 pm)
Wednesday 28th April
Thursday 29th April
Sunday 2nd May
Advanced Pastry & Sugar Craft
Simple Indian
Advanced Pastry & Sugar Craft
Wednesday 26th May
Thursday 27th May
Sunday 30th May
A Taste of Sicily
New Ways with Salmon
A Taste of Sicily
Wednesday 16th June
Thursday 17th June
Sunday 20th June
The World Of Bread
New Ways with Chicken
The World Of Bread
Wed 30th June
Thursday 1 July
Sunday 4thJuly
Summer Cocktail Party
Sephardi Favourites
Summer Cocktail Party
Thursday 2nd September
Cooking For Yom Tov
Venue: 2 The Broadwalk, Northwood, Middlesex HA6 2XD
Time: 10.00 am – 1.30 pm: Weekday / Sunday 6.00 pm – 10.00 pm
Cost: £60 per class. All materials provided
Booking:
Call Denise Phillips on 01923 836 456
Page 25
SHAARE ZEDEK’S NEWS
Shaare Zedek – Compassion with Commitment
Since 1902 the Shaare Zedek Medical
Centre has provided continuous medical
care to all the citizens of Jerusalem
regardless of religion, religiosity or
ethnicity. As such it provides a paradigm
of co-existence that to this day is
unrivalled. From its 22 bed beginning in Jaffa
Road, the hospital now occupies an 11 acre, 550 bed campus
directly opposite Mount Herzl, where it moved in 1979.
The hospital is a not for profit enterprise receiving no direct
government nor municipal funds for capital build or
replacement of equipment, and so depends on the generosity
of donors throughout the world. Generations of donors who
have provided the hospital with facilities and state of the art
medical centres that have had and continue to have an impact
at a global level.
Over 2009 the hospital brought 13,000 new lives into the
world , but at the same time it also deals with equal
compassion to those in their 90s and beyond. Last year in
excess of 300,000 cases were dealt with by the hospital in its
different departments. And a closer look at these departments
uncovers a staggering level of cutting edge medical
technology combined with patient led compassionate care.
Last year, the Jesselson Heart Centre pioneered Israel’s first
non surgical aortic heart valve replacement by
catheterization; and in December 2009 pioneered another
non-invasive procedure to control rapid heartbeats, that
could, if untreated, lead to stroke. Shaare Zedek is now Israel’s
leading referral centre for mothers and low birth weight
babies – for which it is renowned.
Compassion is not simply a buzz word. It is researched, and the
impact of compassionate care within a spiritual setting has
measurable outcomes on patient well-being and recovery, or
making those precious last days enhanced through support
for the entire family.
spectacular trauma complex that was created out of the need
to provide Jerusalem and the entirety of Israel with specialist
care for those caught up in terror. But the other side of
humanity was demonstrated earlier this year with the
hospital’s response to the Haiti earthquake. Within 12 hours of
the quake the hospital had dispatched its Deputy Director
General, Head Nurse and two other senior consultants to help
set up a field hospital – saving countless lives, but also
bringing new life into the world. Something Shaare Zedek
does so sublimely.
Recently the hospital has embarked on creating Jerusalem’s
most comprehensive children’s hospital – the Wilf Paediatric
Centre. This is an enormous project – at least $35 million to
complete the work and I shall delight in keeping readers
updated with developments.
10 floors, 550 beds, 400 doctors, 800 nurses, 750 volunteers, a
Nursing school and a Teaching Hospital associated with the
Hebrew University – all of whom depend on the generosity of
donors throughout Israel and the Diaspora to maintain those
uncompromising standards that has become the keynote of
Shaare Zedek’s success, and by supporting Shaare Zedek you
are helping to make an impact on the future generations of all
of Jerusalem’s citizens.
If you are planning to be in Jerusalem at all, and would like to
visit the hospital – as a guest, I hasten to add, and hopefully
not as a patient, then I would be delighted to arrange a
personal tour of the hospital , you need only phone the office,
and we will do the rest- 0208 201 8933.
On behalf of the patients and staff of the hospital – our
donors and patrons, council and trustees may I wish you and
yours a joyous and happy Pesach.
Laurence Rosenberg, Director of Development
Shaare Zedek UK
This year the hospital sees the opening of the Wohl Surgical
Complex; a state of the art complex housing 13 theatres, a mix
of generic and specific surgical needs – with in-built, future
proof technologies such as robotics.
766 Finchley Road London NW11 7TH
T: +44 (0) 208 201 8933
F: +44 (0) 208 201 8935
M +44 (0)776 250 6993
E: [email protected]
W: www.shaarezedek.org.uk
The Weinstock Department of Emergency Medicine is now
Jerusalem’s busiest treating over 90,000 cases in 2009. It is a
Registered Charity No: 262870
Page 26
Hamaor / March 2010
r
u
o
Y essential Federation Magazine
WANTED
r
Yocu
ommunity
news
WANTED
ur
Yopersonal
announcements
WANTED
ur
Yointeresting
stories
Contact:
m
[email protected]
0208 202 2263 (ask for Monica)
PERSONAL
Mazal Tov wishes are extended to
the following people:
BIRTHS
Mazal Tov to the following:
Dayan and Mrs Lichtenstein on the birth of a grandson
Dayan and Mrs Elzas on the birth of a granddaughter
and a grandson
Simcha and Shoshana Hirsch on the birth of their daughter
Mr and Mrs A Finlay on the birth of a granddaughter
Menucha Kohn on the birth of two nieces
Croydon
Beila and Danny Harris on the birth of their grandson
Finchley Central
Mr and Mrs M Caller on the birth of their granddaughter
Mr and Mrs Andrew Solomons on the birth of their daughter
Mr and Mrs D Tanman on the birth of their son
Mr and Mrs W Ungar (Life President) on the birth of their
eighth great grandchild
Mr and Mrs D Toledano on the birth of a grandson
Dr and Mrs H M Wieselberg on the birth of their
granddaughter
Hendon Beis Hamedrash
Andrew and Juliet Silver on the birth of their son
Barbara and Zvi Shenkin on the birth of a granddaughter
Ilford
Julia and Mitchell Diamond-Conway on the birth of a
daughter Elizabeth
Frances Conway on the birth of a granddaughter Elizabeth
Hilary and Ashley Kissin on the birth of a granddaughter
Rabbi Rodal and Chani on the birth of a baby daughter Reizi
Rabbi Chapper and Eva on the birth of a baby son
Hillel Shalom
Felicia and Ronnie Lawrence on the birth of a great
granddaughter Ella Louise
Machzikei Hadath
David and Sue May on the birth of a granddaughter
Daniel and Jessica Crespi on the birth of a daughter
Page 28
Rachel and Michael Friedmann on the birth of a granddaughter
Rabbi and Mrs Pearlman on the birth of two granddaughters
Natan and Shira Jackson on the birth of twins
Clive Coleman and his family on the birth of a grandson
Eliezer and Elisheva Wolfson on the birth of a son
David and Flora Wieder on the birth of a grandson
Norman and Naomi Cohen on the birth of a great
granddaughter
Netzach Yisrael
Elad and Liron Asnapi on the birth of a son
Mr and Mrs Rafi Citona on the birth of a son
Yankel Duvid and Chani Kirschenbaum on the birth of
granddaughters
Mr and Mrs Simcha Kirschenbaum on the birth of a daughter
Mr and Mrs Yitzchok Kirschenbaum on the birth of a
daughter
Mr and Mrs Oded Gorgi on the birth of a son
Mr and Mrs Aryeh and Cohen on the birth of a granddaughter
Ohr Yisrael
Adam and Lara Jacobs on the birth of a son
Neil and Danielle Bredski on the birth of a son
Dan and Lisa Shaffer on the birth of a son
Harold and Shona Bergson on the birth of a son
Nina and Shaun Hart on the birth of a son
Rabbi and Deborah Garson on the birth of a son
Jason and Taryn Honickberg on the birth of a daughter
Eric and Brenda Bret on the birth of a granddaughter
Meyer and Elspeth Fhima on the birth of granddaughter
Shomrei Hadath
David and Michal Moussaioff on the birth of a son
Sinai
Rabbi and Mrs Mendy Chissick on the birth of a daughter
Mr and Mrs Jamie Romer on the birth of a daughter
Rabbi and Mrs Yoel Kahn on the birth of a son
Mr and Mrs Benny Chontow on the birth of a son
Hamaor / March 2010
PERSONAL
Mr and Mrs David Moussaioff on the birth of a son
Mr and Mrs Aryeh Leib Cass on the birth of a son
Mr and Mrs Simcha Noson Hirsch on the birth of a daughter
Rabbi and Mrs B Knopfler on the birth of a grandson
Rabbi and Mrs B Knopfler on the birth of a granddaughter
Dayan and Mrs MD Elzas on the birth of a grandson
Dayan and Mrs MD Elzas on the birth of a granddaughter
Mr and Mrs Jacky Weg on the birth of two grandsons
Mr and Mrs John Simmonds on the birth of a granddaughter
Mr and Mrs David Rosenthal on the birth of a grandson
Dr And Mrs Yossi Adler on the birth of a grandson
Mr and Mrs Andrew Cohen on the birth of a granddaughter
Mr and Mrs Julian Cohen on the birth of a granddaughter
Mr and Mrs David Chontow on the birth of two grandsons
Mr and Mrs Mendy Itzinger on the birth of a
granddaughter and a grandson
Mr and Mrs Yaakov Greenblatt on the birth of a
granddaughter
Rabbi and Mrs Danny Kirsch on the birth of a
granddaughter and a grandson
Rabbi and Mrs J Grunfeld on the birth of three
granddaughters
Mr and Mrs YD Fagil on the birth of a great grandson
Mr and Mrs Lezer Bloch on the birth of a grandson
Mr and Mrs Michael Kedourie on the birth of a grandson
and a granddaughter
Rabbi and Mrs M Leitner on the birth of a granddaughter
and a grandson
Mr and Mrs Zalman Hoff on the birth of a grandson
Rabbi and Mrs M Leitner on the birth of a grandson
Mr and Mrs Moshe Grun on the birth of three grandsons
and two granddaughters
Mr and Mrs Zalman Hoff on the birth of a grandson
Mr and Mrs Yehoshua Steinhaus on the birth of a
grandson
Mr and Mrs Yossi Englard on the birth of a grandson
Mr and Mrs David Wilner on the birth of a grandson
Mrs Elisheva Homburger on the birth of a grandson
Mr and Mrs Ronnie Moore on the birth of a granddaughter
Rabbi and Mrs C Hoffman on the birth of a granddaughter
Mr and Mrs Gerald Halibard on the birth of a granddaughter
Rabbi and Mrs E Klyne on the birth of a grandson
Hamaor / March 2010
Dr and Mrs Yossi Spitzer on the birth of a granddaughter
Dr and Mrs Abi Katz on the birth of a granddaughter
Rabbi and Mrs CZ Cohen on the birth of a granddaughter
Yeshurun
Rabbi and Mrs J Shindler on the birth of a granddaughter
Stanley and Suzanne Kushner on the birth of a
granddaughter
Edwin and Joy Solomon on the birth of a granddaughter
Mourdant Cohen on the birth of two great grandsons
Warren and Angela Peston on the birth of a grandson
Victor and Kathy Panes on the birth of a granddaughter
Ronnie and Esther Salomon on the birth of a granddaughter
Aharon and Huguette Menczer on the birth of a
granddaughter
Julian and Rina Greenaway on the birth of a grandson
Joseph and Sandra Chapper on the birth of a grandson
Melvyn & Mandy Estrin on the birth of a Grandson
ENGAGEMENTS
Mazal Tov to the following:
Lawrence and Linda Ross on the engagement of their son
Joel to Dina Rivka Kessler
Hendon Beis Hamedrash
Perry and Lorna Burns on the engagement of their
daughter Naomi to Nathan Sofer
Ilford
Leigh Truman on his engagement to Danielle Curtis
Beatrice and Alan Truman on the engagement of their
son Leigh
Ruth Bernstein on the engagement of her grandson Leigh
Sylvia and David De La Fuente on the engagement of their
son Mathew to Haviva Kohl
Rita and Wally Rose on the engagement of their
granddaughters, Leanne to Eric and Shiran to Ma’on
Machzikei Hadath
Mr and Mrs Arie Kiselstein on the engagement of their
daughter Tamara to Benny Lubin
Mr and Mrs David Blachman on the engagement of Tamar
to Zvi Karp
Mr and Mrs Norman Cohen on the engagement of their
granddaughter Adina to Mr Rose
Page 29
PERSONAL
Mr and Mrs Norman Cohen on the engagement of their
granddaughter Avital to Uriel Rosenblatt
Netzach Yisrael
Mr and Mrs Eli Kamar on the engagement of their son
Jacky to Chana
Sinai
Mr and Mrs Naftoli Berlinger on the engagement of their
daughter Nechama to Mr Shloime Sieradzki
Mr and Mrs Martin Lipszyc on the engagement of their
daughter Elisheva to Mr Shmuli Kahn
Mr and Mrs Howard Morris on the engagement of their
son Yehoshua to Miss Sarah Harris
Yeshurun
Ray and Richelle Antian on the engagement of their
daughter Naomi to Richard Simmons
Hilary Chesler on the engagement of her son Daniel to
Rivka Orlofsky
Lawrence and Ruth Simberg on the engagement of their
grandson Samson to Sacha Noimark
WEDDINGS
Mazal Tov to the following:
Finchley Central
Rabbi and Rebbetzen Z Telsner on the Marriage of their
son Chaim
Ilford
Sadie and Jack Biller on the marriage of their grandson
Mathew Rowland
Helen and Melville Myers on the marriage of their son
David to Laura Cohen
David and Simone Taylor on the marriage of their son
Leigh to Suzanne Allen
Netzach Yisroel
Rabbi and Mrs BenYoav on the wedding of their son Joey
to Selina Mainz
Elyasaf Benshlomo to Feigy Rosenfeld
Sinai
Rabbi and Mrs B Knopfler on the marriage of their
daughter Esther to Mr Avrohom Shia Heshel Hoffman
Page 30
Dayan and Mrs MD Elzas on the marriage of their son Eli
Elzas to Miss Ruchama Gelley
Mr and Mrs David Chontow on the marriage of their
grandson Mr Shimon Emanuel
Mr and Mrs Leiby Levison on the marriage of their
daughter to Mr Avi Ratzendorfer
Dr And Mrs J Spitzer on the marriage of their son Shloime
Osher to Miss Miriam Weinstein
Mr and Mrs Andrew Cohen of the marriage of their
daughter Avital to Mr Rafael Feigenblatt
Mr and Mrs Julian Cohen on the marriage of their
daughter Adina to Mr Shimon Rose
Mr and Mrs Lezer Bloch on the marriage of their daughter
Shifra to Mr Naftoli Wolinsky
Mrs Nechama Corn on the marriage of her daughter
Rochele to Mr Binyomin Stern
Mr and Mrs Ezra Kahn on thr wedding of their grandson
Yosef Kahn
Rabbi and Mrs D Kirsch on the marriage of their son
Moshe to Miss Noemi Perl
Mr S Dzialowski on the wedding of his grand daughter
Miss Rivka Rutenberg to Mr Yehoshua Loebenstein
Mr and Mrs Yankel Greenblatt on the marriage of their
grand daughter Miss Soreler Greenblatt to Mr Shloime
Wachstock
Mr and Mrs Noson Iwanier on the marriage of their
daughter Beila to Mr Yossi Leiner
Yeshurun
Michael and Judy Cohen on the marriage of their daughter
Shari to Dror Twina
WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES
Mazal Tov to the following:
Finchley Central
Mr and Mrs M Bargroff on their 50th wedding anniversary
Ilford
Helen and Mel Myers on their 46th wedding anniversary
Cissy and Dr Issy Segal on their 70th wedding anniversary
Marilyn and Roger Klein on their 45th wedding anniversary
Gloria and Tony Rones on their 46th wedding anniversary
Marilyn and Richard Rood on their 40th wedding anniversary
Hamaor / March 2010
PERSONAL
Felicia and Ronnie Lawrence on their Golden Wedding
Anniversary
Elaine and Alan Rubenstein on their Ruby (40th) Wedding
Anniversary
BAR MITZVAH
Mazal Tov to the following:
Ruth and Moshe Leib Stuart on the barmitzvah of their
eldest grandson, Michoel Yosef, Shushan Purim in Toronto
Finchley Central
Mr and Mrs Stephen Dresner on the barmitzvah of their
grandson
Machzikei Hadath
Mr and Mrs Jeffrey Reuben on the barmitzvah of their son
Shloime
Mr and Mrs Leiby Levison on the barmitzvah of their son
Yisroel Meir,
Mr and Mrs Mendy Itzinger on the barmitzvah of their son
Yaakov Dovid
Yeshurun
Kropp family on Eitan’s barmitzvah
Gaunt family on Noah’s barmitzvah
Son family on Avi’s barmitzvah
Salter family on Harry’s barmitzvah
BAT MITZVAH
Yossi and Michelle Tyberg on Myles’ barmitzvah
Mazal Tov to the following:
Netzach Yisrael
Finchley Central
Galon Tsadok on Natan’s barmitzvah
Mr and Mrs Biton on Adam’s barmitzvah
Mr and Mrs B Bernstein on the bat mitzvah of their
granddaughter
Ohr Yisrael
Ohr Yisrael
Abraham and Annette Wahnon on Josh's barmitzvah
Lloyd and Shoshana Gilmore on Joseph's barmitzvah
Stephen and Valerie Gilmore on their grandson Joseph's
barmitzvah
Michael and Becky Hilsenrath on Adam's barmitzvah
Richard and Sharon Carr, on the occasion of Tammy’s bat
mitzvah
Shomrei Hadath
Michael and Fran Davis, and Harold and Shirley Davis on
the bat mitzvah of, respectively their daughter and
granddaughter, Gila
Shomrei Hadath
Shlomo and Susan Winegarten on the barmitzvahs of two
grandsons
SPECIAL BIRTHDAYS
Sinai
Mazal Tov to the following:
Mr and Mrs Doni Kaufman on the barmitzvah of their son
Dovid
Mr and Mrs Richard Kaufman on the barmitzvah of their
grandson Dovid Kaufman
Mrs D Steinberg on the barmitzvah of her grandson Dovid
Kaufman
Mr and Mrs Shimon Bowden on their barmitzvah of their
grandson Yossi Bowden
Mr and Mrs Lezer Bloch on the barmitzvah of their son
Yosef Benzion
Mr and Mrs Zalman Hoff on the barmitzvah of their son
Dovid
Mr and Mrs Zvi Soriano on the barmitzvah of their son Yisrael
Mr Michael Goldman on his 80th birthday
Hamaor / March 2010
Finchley Central
Mr Richard Alexander on his 70th birthday
Mr Perry Conway on his 60th birthday
Ilford
Phil Keene on his 96th birthday
Cissy Segal on her 96th birthday
Warren Levy on his 65th birthday
Kitty Gordon on her 80th birthday
Frances Bookatz on her 65th birthday
Page 31
PERSONAL
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Mazal Tov to the following:
Ohr Yisrael
Avi Garson on becoming Head Boy of Pardes House
Primary School
Adam and Joelle Shenker success on their recent “Aliyah”
with their family
Eric and Brenda Bret success on their recent “Aliyah”
Paul and Justine Deacon and Nitzan Yaniv who successfully
took part in the Norwood - Rajasthan Indian Bike Ride on
31/10/2009 to raise money for Norwood. The Challenge
involved cycling over 450km in 6 days on and off-road on
tough terrain – hot India!!
CONDOLENCES
Jonathan Seltzer on the loss of his mother
Brenda Silver on the loss of her sister Norma Muster
Victor Nash and family on the loss of his wife Norma
Brenda Goldsmith on the loss of her husband Leonard
The family of the late Anne Barnett
The family of the late Veronica Coss
The family of the late Jenny Don
Ben Fenton and Frances Black and families on the loss of a
wife and mother Mildred Fenton
The family of the late Harold Russell
Gillian Simon and family of the loss of her mother Rose
Feldman
Machzikei Hadath
Michael and Johnny Wosner on the loss of their father
Eugene
Paul Levine on the loss of his father
We offer our condolences to:
Ohr Yisrael
Jeremy Jacobs on the loss of his father
Rabbi Z Unsdorfer on the loss of his mother
Rabbi E Salasnik on the loss of his brother
Mr D Fine on the loss of his mother
Darren Friedman on the loss of his late father Reuven
Friedman, zs"l
Fieldgate Street
Mr Warren Cimerman on the loss of his mother
Finchley Central
Mr A Friedmann on the loss of his brother
Mrs L Jonas on the loss of her father
Ms J Keiner on the loss of her mother
Mr R Levy on the loss of his father
Mr D Toledano on the loss of his brother
Ilford
The family of the late Max Berg
Jeffrey Klipp on the loss of his mother Esther Klipp.
Phyliss Linton on the loss of the husband Leonard
Hilary Kissin on the loss of her mother Lily Roth
Betty Jacobs on the loss of her husband Alfred
The family of the late Harold Pallatz
The family of the late Irene Waterman
The family of the late Maurice Shapiro
The family of the late Karoline Keller
Page 32
Yeshurun
Mrs Gutstein on the loss of her husband
The family of Jack Glass
The family of Harvey Jackson
Leslie Bernard on the loss of his brother
Yehudit Gordon on the loss of her father
David S Rose on the loss of his father
Simon Rhodes on the loss of his mother
The family of Mark Moss
Please send in all your personal announcements to
Monica Kohn, Hamaor, 65 Watford Way, London NW4
3AQ or email:
[email protected]
Hamaor / April 2009
DIRECTORY
FEDERATION OF SYNAGOGUES
KASHRUS BOARD
Chairman: Mr A. Finlay
Director of Kashrus: Dayan M. D. Elzas
The following establishments are licensed by the
Federation Kashrus Board and are under the Supervision
of the Beth Din of the Federation of Synagogues:
CATERERS:
CRÉME de la CRÉME
5 Temple Fortune Parade, London NW11
PARK LANE HOTEL
Piccadilly, London W1Y 8BX
020 8458 9090
Fax: 020 8458 3339
020 7499 6321
Fax: 020 7290 7566
Mobile: 079 4115 3575
SILBERHORN CATERING
020 8458 7708
DELICATESSENS AND SHOPS:
HENDON BAGEL BAKERY
57 Church Road, London NW4
020 8349 2676
'86' RESTAURANT
86 Brent Street, Hendon NW4
020 8202 5575
KYOTO SUSHI BAR
51 Brent Street, London NW4 2EA
020 8203 6031
MET SU YAN RESTAURANT
134 Golders Green Road, London NW11
020 8458 8088
MET SU YAN RESTAURANT
1&2 The Promenade, Edgwarebury Lane,
Edgware HA8 7JZ
020 8958 6840
ORLI CAFE
96 Brent Street, NW4
020 8203 7555
ORLI CAFE
295 Hale Lane, Edgware
020 8958 1555
KOFOOD DELIKO
Elstree Business Centre, Elstree Way
Borehamwood, Herts WD6 1RX
0800 756 6244
LA BOUCHERIE EXPRESS LTD
78 The Broadway, Stanmore, Middx
ORLI CAFE
108 Regents Park Road, N3
020 8371 9222
020 8954 6020
PITA RESTAURANT
98 Golders Green Road, NW11 8HB
020 8381 4080
PIZAZA
53 Brent Street, NW4 2EA
020 8202 9911
SAMI'S
157 Brent Street, London NW4
020 8203 8088
SLICE
8 Princes Parade, Golders Green Road, NW11
020 8458 9483
THE BURGER BAR
110 Regents Park Road, N3 3JG
020 8371 1555
MR BAKER
119-121 Brent Street, London NW4 2DX
020 8202 6845
ORLI BAGEL BAKERY
56 Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Herts
020 8207 6203
PELTER STORES
82 Edgware Way, Edgware, Middx
020 8958 6910
THE KANTEEN BAKERY
23 High Road, Bushey, Herts WD23 1EE
020 8950 0400
RESTAURANTS:
AVIV RESTAURANT
87 High Street, Edgware
020 8952 2484
THE KANTEEN
25 High Road, Bushey, Herts WD23 1EE
020 8950 0747
BEIT HAMADRAS
105 Brent Street NW4 2DX
020 8203 4567
TUTTI GUSTI ITALIAN RESTAURANT
90-92 High Street, Edgware HA8 7HF
020 8951 0100
Hamaor / April 2009
Page 33
65 Watford Way, London NW4 3AQ
Tel: 020 8202 2263 Fax: 020 8203 0610
Email: [email protected]
www.federationofsynagogues.com
Federation of Synagogues
Honorary Officers
Burial Society
President: Mr Alan Finlay
Administrator: Mr Dovid Zelmanovits
Vice-Presidents: Mr Henry Dony &
Sexton: Mr Noson Kahler
Mr Benjamin Mire
Tel: 020 8202 3903 Fax: 020 8203 0610
Treasurers (Federation):
Out of hours answerphone: 020 8202 3903
Mr Leon Newmark & Mr Paul Westbrook
Treasurers (Burial Society):
Cemeteries
Rabbi Jeffrey Cohen &
Montague Road, Edmonton N18 2NF
Mr Michael Ezra
Tel: 020 8807 2268
Beth Din
Upminster Road North, Rainham,
Essex RM13 9SB
Rosh Beth Din: Dayan Y Y Lichtenstein
Dayan M D Elzas
Registrar: Rabbi Z Unsdorfer
Enquires to the Registrar
Tel: 020 8202 2263
Tel: 01708 552825
During the winter months both cemeteries
are open daily, except Shabbos and Yom
Tov, from 9am until dusk.
During British Summer Time gates are
open until 5pm and during the month of
Chief Executive
Dr Eli Kienwald
Ellul until 6pm.
65 Watford Way, London NW4 3AQ Tel: (+44) 020 8203 0610 Fax: (+44) 020 8203 0610
E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.kfkosher.org
BETH DIN
This form should be completed and handed over or delivered to the Beth Din
before Sunday 28th March 2010
POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR THE SALE OF CHOMETZ
I, the undersigned, fully empower and authorise Dayan M D Elzas to act in my place and stead and, on my
behalf, to sell any Chometz possessed by me (knowingly or unknowingly) up to and including Monday 29th
March 2010 at 11.44 am including any food in respect of which there is a doubt or possibility that it might
contain Chometz, and all kinds of Chometz mixtures, and to lease all places wherein the Chometz owned by
me is stored and found, especially in the premises specified below, or elsewhere.
Dayan M D Elzas has full authority to sell or lease all Chometz and all places wherein the Chometz owned
by me is found, by any transaction in any manner which he deems fit and proper, and for such time as he
believes necessary, in accordance with the detailed terms and conditions set out in the agreed Contract or
Sale which he will draw up. This authorisation is made a part of that Contract.
I also give Dayan M D Elzas power and authority to appoint any proxy he deems fit in his place, with full power
to sell or lease as provided herein.
The above-given powers are to be exercised in conformity with all Torah and Rabbinical regulations and laws,
and also in accordance with the laws of the country.
And to this I hereby affix my signature on this..............day of.............................2010.
Name............................................................................................................................
Address.........................................................................................................................
Signature......................................................Witness.
Exact location of Chometz within the above premises.
Sale price of Chometz (approx)....................................
Keys available at...........................................................
TYPES OF CHOMETZ (please delete items that are not applicable)
Bread products, biscuits, flour, cereals, beverages, alcoholic spirits, beer, pasta products, semolina, farfel,
canned foods, soft drinks, confectionery, all other foods containing Chometz, medicaments, perfumes,
cosmetics, aerosols, cleaning materials, any Chometz in or adhering to ovens, food mixers or food
processors, and any other Chometz on any other utensils, shares in companies or business producing,
trading or owning Chometz.
Constituent Synagogues
Affiliated Synagogues
CLAPTON FEDERATION SYNAGOGUE.
AISH HATORAH COMMUNITY.
(Sha'are Shomayim). (Incorporating Yavneh Synagogue)
(in association with Springfield Synagogue)
202 Upper Clapton Road, London E5 9DH.
Secretary: W. Jacobs. Tel: 020 8989 5211.
379 Hendon Way, NW4 3LP. Tel: 020 8457 4444.
Rav: Rabbi J. Roodyn.
CROYDON & DISTRICT SYNAGOGUE.
The Almonds, 5 Shiriey Oaks Road, Croydon, Surrey CRO 8YX.
Tel: 020 8662 0011. Minister: Rev. David Gilinsky.
All correspondence to The Secretaries:
Mrs V Harris. Tel: 01883 348939. Mrs B Harris. Tel: 020 8726 0179.
CONGREGATION OF JACOB SYNAGOGUE.
351/355 Commercial Road, London E1 2PS. Contact: Mr David Behr.
Tel: 020 7790 2874. Website; www.congregationofjacob.org
FIELDGATE STREET GREAT SYNAGOGUE.
41 Fieldgate Street, E1 1JU. Tel: 020 7247 2644.
Secretaries: Mrs F. Treep & Mrs F. Singer.
EAST LONDON CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE.
FINCHLEY ROAD SYNAGOGUE.
30/40 Nelson Street, E1 2DE. Tel: 020 7790 9809,
Secretary: Mr J. Beninson. Tel: 020 8529 8146. Rav: Rabbi Y. Austin.
(Sassover), 4 Helenslea Avenue, NW11.
Contact: Mr S. Halpern. Tel: 020 8455 1814
Rav: Rabbi S, Freshwater'
FINCHLEY CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE.
2 Redboume Avenue, N3 2BS. Tel: 020 8346 1892.
Rav: Rabbi Y. Hamer. Tel: 020 8346 1787
HENDON BEIS HAMEDRASH.
65 Watford Way, Hendon NW4 3AQ.
Tel: 020 8202 2263. Rav: Dayan Y.Y. Lichtenstein.
Contact: Perry Burns. Tel: 020 8203 7757.
LEYTONSTONE & WANSTEAD SYNAGOGUE.
2 Fillebrook Road, E11. Secretary: Cllr. L. Braham
Tel: 020 8539 0088.
LOUGHTON, CHIGWELL & DISTRICT SYNAGOGUE.
Borders Lane, Loughton, Essex, IG10 1TE. Tel: 020 8508 0303.
Min: Rabbi. Y. Aronovitz. Secretary: Mrs M. Lewis.
ILFORD FEDERATION SYNAGOGUE.
SPRINGFIELD SYNAGOGUE.
14/16 Coventry Road, llford, Essex, IG1 4QR. Tel: 020 8554 5289.
Rav: Rabbi A. Chapper. Administrator: Mrs L. Klein
Website: www.ilfordfeds.org
202 Upper Clapton Road, E5 9DH. Contact Tel: 020 8806 3167
Rav. Dayan I. Gukovitski. Chairman: L. Blackman.
MACHZIKEI HADATH SYNAGOGUE.
50 Clapton Common, E5 9AL. Rav: Dayan D. Grynhaus.
Secretary: M. Chontow. Tel: 020 8800 7369.
1-4 Highfield Road, NW11 9LU. Rav: Rabbi C. Pearlman.
Hon. Secretary: R. Shaw. Tel: 020 8958 0499.
NETZACH ISRAEL COMMUNITY CENTRE.
281 Golders Green Road, NW11 9JJ
Rav: Rabbi Doron Ahiel. Tel: 020 8455 4312
OHR YISRAEL SYNAGOGUE.
31/33 Theobald Street, Borehamwood, Herts WD6 4RN
Rav: Rabbi R. Garson. Tel: 020 8953 8385
Website: www.ohr-yisrael.org.uk Email: [email protected]
STAMFORD HILL BETH HAMEDRASH.
WALTHAM FOREST HEBREW CONGREGATION.
(Queens Road) 140 Boundary Road, E17 Tel: 020 8509 0775.
Minister: Rev. S. Myers. Secretary: Mrs B. Rose.
WEST END GREAT SYNAGOGUE.
(Beth Hasepher & Soho), 32 Great Cumberland Place, W1H 7TN.
Tel: 020 7724 8121. Fax: 020 7723 4413
Minister: Rev. Ari Cohen. Secretary: Mrs R. Koten.
SHOMREI HADATH SYNAGOGUE.
CONTACT DETAILS FOR THE SYNAGOGUES WHICH
HAVE CLOSED ARE AS FOLLOWS:-
64 Burrard Road, Hampstead, London NW6 1DD.
Rav: Rabbi Mordechai Fachler. Secretary: Mrs P. Schotten.
Tel: 020 7435 6906.
NEW WIMBLEDON & PUTNEY DISTRICT SYNAGOGUE.
SINAI SYNAGOGUE.
54 Woodstock Avenue, NW11 9RJ. Tel: 020 8455 6876.
Rav: Rabbi B. Knopfler. Secretary: Mr E. Cohen.
Secretary: Mrs R. Diamond. Tel 020 8778 6669.
NOTTING HILL SYNAGOGUE.
Secretary: Mr H. Lamb. Tel: 020 8952 4354.
YESHURUN SYNAGOGUE.
OHEL JACOB SYNAGOGUE.
Fernhurst Gardens, Stonegrove, Edgware, Middlesex HA8 7PH.
Emeritus Rav: Dayan G. Lopian. Rav: Rabbi A. Lewis
Tel: 020 8952 5167.
Website: www.yeshurun.org
Secretary: Mrs R. Pressman. Tel: 020 8550 4596.
TOTTENHAM HEBREW CONGREGATION.
Secretary: Dr S. S. Cohen. Tel: 020 8482 3428.
WEST HACKNEY SYNAGOGUE AND
MONTAGUE ROAD BETH HAMEDRASH.
Chairman: Mr. I. Leigh. Tel: 020 8550 9543.
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Shmaya & Abigail Ormonde
Jerome & Shira Ormonde
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