April 2021
the magazine of finchley progressive synagogue
Generations
From the Editor... I’m a bit lucky really, as my brother has a long-standing interest in genealogy. Well before the internet made it possible to research from your own bedroom, I remember him sending letters to municipal offices in Poland to try to locate birth, marriage and death records for our forebears. He took me to the Kensington HQ of the Church of the LatterDay Saints (aka Mormons) to look through their records; their belief that families are reunited in the afterlife means they have one of the world’s largest genealogical databases. His endeavours have enabled me to trace my bloodline as far back as 1520 in Vienna on my mum’s paternal side, criss-crossing Amsterdam and Bavaria to arrive in London some time in the late 1700s. I do have at least one ancestor - one Henry Marks - we know was born in Whitechapel in 1771, just a century after Jews were readmitted to England. On my dad’s side it’s more classically eastern European with Lithuania and Poland featuring heavily, rabbis, tailors and petty criminals alike among them, before the Przbysz clan started to leave around 1900 or so. Like so many other Jewish immigrants, it didn’t take long before they changed their (admittedly Scrabble-friendly) surname to something more palatable to the English - the one I have now. No character was bigger than my greatCover: KT3 children at their kita Aleph consecration, 2011
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darren beach
uncle Joe (born Judah Przbysz), who died a few years before I was born. Born like all my dad’s family in the shtetl of Rawa Mazowiecka close to Warsaw, he was imprisoned in a Tsarist jail for political activity in the 1905 revolution and after being amnestied, immediately left for London. He devoted his life to promoting Yiddish arts and culture (and, occasionally, communism), published short story collections in the language and was one of the founding members of the Ben Uri Art Society in 1915 (photo c.1949 from the Ben Uri Archive). The World Jewish Congress was among those who sent congratulations at his 80th birthday dinner in 1962, which was reported in the Jewish Chronicle. Why do names, dates and facts about people we never knew mean so much to us? Is it an ego thing? Does it fill a hole in our lives? I prefer to think that it connects us to something far bigger than ourselves. Not everyone can be on ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ and discover royals, lords and war heroes. Most of us simply take joy in knowing that we’re part of a journey, linked intrinsically to those who came before us. We all like to feel part of something meaningful, whether it’s centuries of hard-won family history, the family units that we prize now, or the community around us at the present time.
Copy deadline is the 10th of each month. Please email all content to shofar@fps.org
From the Rabbi
rabbi rebecca birk
Travel seems a long way away but I remember. When we visited Australia in 2011 we were staying with a dear friend in Melbourne. We drove the Great Ocean Road with her family through to Adelaide, passing by the 12 Apostles, climbing down Gibson’s steps and surely the highlight of the trip for the children, camping near Kennett River where Koalas broke into our food supplies and ate all the Halva. Words couldn’t describe the excitement in our tent. It was the stuff dreams are made of. But what Rebecca, her name too, discussed continually was synagogue and its centrality to our lives. She noted what being part of a Jewish community gave us and our children, the people they met and were comfortable with, week after week. Your children, she told me wistfully, get to engage with generations and older folk on a weekly basis by being part of a community. I had to agree, when, on this magical Australian trip, we visited synagogues. In Adelaide we made our way immediately to Beit Shalom synagogue, from where our Dean Staker hails. Rabbi Shoshana Kaminsky and her family invited us for lasagna and copious amounts of Australian ice cream for Shabbat dinner. In Melbourne we visited the Leo Baeck Centre in Kew several times. Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black, a Brit, leads the community and we went there so often that my friend’s children referred to him as Rabbi Jonathan as well. This is the community where FPS’s Emma Prinsley’s family are embedded and we got to have a magnificent high tea with her parents Sasha and Derek too. Being part of a community means our lives are continually ameliorated by the generations we mix with. Older members become quasi grandparents to children in the community,
even if they have their own, and especially if they don’t. Hilda Hart z’l loved FPS children and would come early on a Shabbat B’Yachad just so she could sit and watch Shabbatot’s early service and the older children preparing their prayers. Jonah Brandon-Rocks delivered challah to Renzo who now is greatly looking forward to Jonah’s Bar Mitzvah. Alex Treganna invited Monty Bixer to participate in his Bar Mitzvah, Jacob Kinchin Smith shared his birthday with David Kahan z’l birthday. These are just a few of the priceless moments in the life of our synagogue, which expand and enlarge the connections we have. Judaism urges the future of our tradition and its continuity, but not just one’s own children. We are all responsible ‘teach it to your children and other people’s children.’ M’dor l’dor. From generation to generation.
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From the Chair I wasn’t raised as Jewish. My father was raised by Jewish parents who moved from the East End to Wanstead and then to Hampstead Garden Suburb where they joined Norris Lea. He hated it. In 1947 he and a cousin, both recently demobbed and still in uniform, agreed to satisfy their parents by attending synagogue for the High Holy Days. They were turned away because they hadn’t bought tickets. He never looked back. As a little girl, we visited my grandmother every weekend for Sunday lunch which always began with chopped liver followed by chicken soup with kneidlach. I didn’t know that it was really a transmigrated Shabbat dinner! After university I moved to America where I became a trade union activist. It’s a long story but trade unionism returned me to Judaism. I learnt that rational judgement and individual conscience are not always a reliable guide to good conduct but, what was the link between Judaism, Jews and the struggle for justice? Given that, was I Jewish? If so, how and in what ways? Many years and a conversion later, what finally brought us to FPS was the realisation that if Rebekah was going to have a Bat Mitzvah we needed to do something about it soon. It was time to pass our Judaism on. I have since re-learned that transmission works in the other direction. So often our children and our youth movement are leading the way, setting the pace, and teaching our Jewish values and history back to us! We didn’t know that bringing our kids to Ivriah would change our lives. We started to attend services regularly and saw something happening to them through the Bar and Bat Mitzvah process. They took on a challenge and
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tamara joseph
committed themselves to learning something difficult. They thought for themselves about what their portions meant as they expressed their ideas to the whole community. They led their congregation in prayer and experienced the love and pride of their community. And that was before they experienced LJY-Netzer! There’s no better leadership development programme than LJY-Netzer - and they don’t even know because they’re having so much fun! They hate me for not sending them earlier. They both now teach Ivriah. They have both developed a strong personal sense of identity and ethos as Liberal Jews. And the truth is that it is through them that we have developed those things too. I reckon if you have kids in Ivriah you would like that for them too – a strong Jewish identity that they really enjoy and inhabit and that will be lastingly meaningful to them. I’m no expert but I have three pieces of advice from my own experience. Come to services when your children are at Ivriah and show them Judaism isn’t just for kids. Actively encourage and recruit friends to come to Ivriah with them to help build a strong cohort and group of friends for them at FPS. And send them on LJY whenever you can. They’ll have a brilliant time, they’ll gain so much and I promise you they will pass it back to you. L’dor va dor. Would my grandparents recognise much about the way I practise Judaism today? I don’t know but they’d see that my family and I are Jewish and that our Judaism brings meaning and beauty to our lives and they’d know that in some ways that does honour to them.
Notice Board planning application approved
Exciting news! On 9 March Barnet Council planning committee unanimously approved our planning application. As luck would have it, their meeting was taking place at the same time as the Board meeting, so I texted the result to Rabbi Rebecca and Tamara as soon as the vote was in. Architect Dean Willars and I attended the Barnet meeting, where councillors were very sympathetic to our plans and essentially waved them right through. Next steps: The architect will prepare all the official drawings, structural engineering calculations and scope of works so that we can seek quotes from builders. This will take a
couple of months. Rabbi Rebecca, Tamara and I will write a letter to neighbours to let them know we have secured planning permission, but that we don’t expect to begin construction any time soon, and to invite feedback/questions. The building committee will meet as soon as possible to plan next steps. Getting to this point does not commit us to doing any construction - it just allows us to invite tenders for the work so we can finally get proper costing for the designs. This is not the end - it’s not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. Richard Greene
generational handovers
Some months ago, I was walking up a hill with James (aged 3) with his sister Hannah in the buggy. As we passed a church hall I asked if he wanted to walk on the wall. He said ‘no’ as his mummy said he shouldn’t because the people who lived there might get cross. “That’s okay,” I said, “No-one lives here except God.” That led to a 20 minute conversation about God. I was careful, since his mum is an atheist, and tried to explain that some people think God created the world, others think there is a bit of God in all of us. To my surprise and slight embarrassment, when his parents came to collect him, James announced, “God is in my tummy!” Fast forward to January and we were walking past the same church hall (informal childcare duty) and James asked whether God was there. Still only three but with more developed language, we had a very profound conversation.
He was desperately trying to grasp that if God wasn’t a person and definitely not ‘he’, what was God? I explained, you cannot see God but you can have a sense of God which is why people go to synagogue, church or mosque to help work it out. There were so many questions which I now cannot recall but in the end, I used Danny’s analogy of love – you can’t see or touch love but you can feel it. “Ah,” said James, “God is love”. When we got home, James made our kitchen into the synagogue. He got out the miniature Torah. He was the rabbi and I was the singer sitting at the piano. He put chollah rolls on the table and pored over the scroll repeating baruch atah adonai. At the end of the ‘service’ and, expecting the answer to be Danny, I asked “Who is your favourite rabbi?” without a moment’s hesitation, he said “Rebecca!” Laura Lassman
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My Life in Lockdown 25th
February 2020 is a date I cannot forget - here’s why. It was my 92nd birthday and was the last time I had a happy reunion with most of my family. Since then, I have seen one or two at a time in the garage or in my garden. That’s all! Practically every week however, I talk, via Facetime, with my grandchildren including Gemma who lives in Tel Aviv and my son Daniel in Italy. Zoom keeps me in touch every Shabbat with my Shul congregation and the services are always a welcome touch point. I always feel welcome and love the few remarks we exchange after Kiddush. I consider myself very lucky for other reasons too; I live in a large house with a garden that for many months I walked around 20 times. Lately I love to listen to the spring birds calling each other and as an extra premium, I see day by day new buds in the bushes and new flowers seeking the spring sunshine. Lately Renato has given me a genuine 1990’s tape playing Walkman. It plays my ancient cassettes of my favourite artists such as Verdi, Pavarotti, Puccini, Callas, Jolson, Mussorgsky, Wagner, Beethoven, Massenet, Bizet, Gershwin, and Debussy among many others.
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renzo fantoni
I wish I had more, but with that music playing in my ears I can walk up and down the road for about 2 kilometres each day with the support of my 4-wheeled walker. If it rains, I parade up and down the empty garage. Apart from my garden, I also enjoy growing things in the greenhouse which I cut into an Italian salad almost every day. Lucian has connected me with an online shopping service so that I can do all my shopping independently. I am fortunate that my lodger Cathy is a fully trained nurse; she originally looked after my wife Adele and subsequently Ruth. She does so much around the house and looks after me like a mother hen, albeit a younger one. I count my blessings and at the same time feel very sorry for people of my age who live alone without the comfort of family and friendship of a synagogue like ours. I was particularly moved by a lady, whose name I might eventually recall, who brought me a Shabbat challah. How else do I spend my time? Other than walking and gardening, I shop online, cook, watch TV, read, wonder what to do next…and fall asleep during my favourite programmes. If the family doesn’t call, for whatever reason, I still know how to call them and remind them that I’m here!
FPS People’s Page people welcome to new members
Franklyn Gellnick (he may be familiar to you!) Zohar Glouberman Max Rebuck and Gosia Jacygrad Joel Romaner and Cathy Levy with Lilya, Luca `and Samuel mazal tov to
Franklyn Gellnick and Alexandra Simonon on their engagement Beverley Aarons on the birth of her grandson Sonny David Richardson, a son for Leo and Liz and great-grandson for Sheila Aarons Rebecca King Lassman and Mark Long on the birth of their granddaughter Ruby Stella Love, a daughter for Kate and Billy and a greatgranddaughter for Sheila and Lionel King Lassman
Bobbie, Paula, Louise, Maureen, Chris, Annabel, Angela, Steven, Zoe, Paul and Sharon, the Adult B’nei Mitzvah group who will be celebrating their service on 24 April Jessica Morris and David Edward on their house move and Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter on theirs happy birthday to
To the following members who celebrate milestone birthdays in April: Rosalind Garfield, Rebecca King-Lassman, Parminder Kohli, Sharon Pierce, Caroline Sansone 50/50 club draw winners, march 2021:
1st Corinne Oppenheimer 2nd Levi Rich 3rd Eden Silver-Myer
£25 £15 £10
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Beit Tefillah
services at fps
At the time of writing, FPS services are being held via Zoom video conferencing, links to
services – june / sivan leading into tamuz which are included in FPS emails
services- april / nisan leading into iyyar Friday 2 April
6.30pm Erev 7th Day Pesach & Shabbat Service
Saturday 3 April
11.00am Pesach 7th Day Service joined by Bristol & West Progressive Jewish Congregation
Friday 9 April
6.30pm Shabbat Resouled
Saturday 10 April
11.00am Shabbat Service
Friday 16 April
6.30pm Shared Yom H’atzma’ut Shabbat Service with LJS & Leo Baeck Centre Haifa
Saturday 17 April
11.00am Shabbat Service
Friday 23 April
6.30pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service
Saturday 24 April
11.00am Shabbat Service celebrating Adult B’nei Mitzvah
Friday 30 April
6.30pm LJ Biennial Kabbalat Shabbat Service
Saturday 1 May
11.00am Shabbat Service
the fuller table
Gary, Isaac and Maya brought new Spehardi and Mizrachi Pesach minhagim (customs) for us. Part of our commitment to expanding our Judaism, we learned that there’s no sense leaning if you are sitting at a table rather than lying on a greco-roman couch. We discussed how to manage the plagues and the wine that symbolises them. Isaac sang Ladino to us, Gary explained the preciousness of shirt flour this year especially and Maya discussed her Reformodox Jewish practice alongside her Masai fabrics gracing her Seder table. In every generation a person must see themselves as if they personally came out of Egypt.
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Beit Knesset
community events, all welcome!
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Beit Midrash
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coming up at fps
Generations / The Hudson-Fields ruth hudson
I was brought up in an orthodox family and attended Cheder from the age of five. My parents lived in a narrow and Jewish world and were not overly happy when I met Michael as he had no religious convictions. He quickly understood how important Judaism was for me, and as our relationship became more serious, he decided to convert. By the time we got married – by coincidence at FPS – my parents’ attitude had changed and he became like a second son to them. Following our marriage, we joined Northwood & Pinner Liberal Synagogue and then LJS before settling in Finchley five years ago and becoming members at FPS. Joining gave us an immediate feeling of belonging to a local community, with Michael enjoying security duty whatever the weather and both of us participating in Mitzvah Day. We’re both very proud that Sam, our oldest grandchild, has chosen to attend Ivriah and is so enthusiastic about gaining more knowledge of Judaism. We’re learning a lot from him already and look forward to discovering more. rachel hudson field
I was lucky enough to grow up as part of a Liberal Jewish community at LJS where I learnt, taught Cheder and had an amazing Kabbalat Torah experience. I even ended up working there during my Gap year, and my first ‘real job’ was working for Liberal Judaism. Despite that, during most of my twenties and thirties I had
no real link with a community. When my parents joined FPS, I attended some Shabbat and High Holydays services and immediately loved the warm and relaxed atmosphere. Being in a mixed marriage, the fact that my husband was also warmly welcomed was particularly lovely. My older son Sam enjoyed the services so much he joined Ivriah – feeling part of the gang immediately. During this year of lockdown FPS has been a real highlight of our week. Sam has loved online Ivriah, and we’ve managed to attend more Shabbat services than we would normally! We’ve also enjoyed all the quizzes with Sam’s victory in the Purim quiz being a particular thrill – especially when the prizes were handdelivered by Rabbi Rebecca that evening! It feels really special to be able to be part of something with my parents and my sons. sam field
I joined Ivriah about 18 months ago, and before that I had attended services and had a vague understanding of how FPS worked. The week before I joined, we took part in a bring and share dinner for my class and families in which I made lots of friends and had fun. At my first Ivriah I felt instantly welcomed. Over lockdown, I have been going to online Ivriah and services, and found it, although not just like the real thing, still packed with fun and learning. The social aspect has been great and especially important over the last year, and I’m looking forward to many more years with FPS.
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Generations / The Stellmans gillian stellman
My father was born in Putna, a village in Romania. He came to London in 1939 and became a member of Neasden Federation Synagogue. However, when at the age at 90 he moved to Finchley, he came with me to FPS and loved the beautiful music of our services and the friendliness of the congregation. We have celebrated so many good times at FPS: my daughter Alice’s wedding, baby blessings, four nephews’ and nieces’ B’nei Mitzvah and this July a grandson Benjamin’s Bar Mitzvah, possibly using the baby Czech scroll on the binder of which another grandson Joshua’s name is embroidered. All three of my daughters are now members of FPS. francesca levy (nee stellman)
As a child I saw how much my grandfather and mother valued being part of the synagogue community and I am so pleased that my family is part of the FPS community. I have always been interested in practices and traditions.
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(I studied Anthropology at University). When we celebrate festivals, hear the Torah being read and sing songs, I always think of how my grandfather did the same with his parents and sister in Putna. It gives Matt and me great joy to now see Annabel getting so much from FPS. She is always keen to participate in services and activities. She is looking forward to a special Passover Shabbat with Rabbi Rebecca and Zoe and is beyond excited about the chocolate Seder on 28 March. She is certain that Rebecca is going to grant permission to all FPS members to eat chocolate spread on matzos three times a day throughout Pesach. My grandfather would be so happy to know that Annabel is continuing the traditions that were so important to him and this connection across generations means so much to me. anabelle levy
I have drawn my dolls Rapunzel, Isabelle and Eleanor listening to Rabbi Rebecca. I like to join in services with my mum and dad and dolls. I sometimes see my cousins on Zoom too. My dolls like to say ‘A-dollies’ instead of Amen and they love to wear their posh dresses for services.
Generations / The Kinchins josie kinchin
In autumn 1957, I was 11 years old. I knew I was Jewish because I didn’t attend school on major Jewish holidays and if grandma came on Friday evening, mum would light candles, I’d even been to a synagogue once with a neighbour. Instead of morning assembly I sat in a classroom with 4 other Jews and the Catholic kids where a girl called Sandra Lyons (parents Lou & Millicent) told me she learnt Hebrew. I was intrigued. My father’s response to my request to join her was, “Get the details, we’ll probably need to join as your brothers have to have a Bar Mitzvah”. I’d no idea what a Bar Mitzvah was, but it wasn’t long before our family began its journey in the FLS/ FPS community, beginning with Friday evening services in Ravensdale Avenue library and my entry into Hebrew Classes where I met my lifelong friend David Pelham z”l. There followed countless synagogue-based life-cycle events within our family. My brothers bar mitzvahs, the baby-blessings of my daughters Paula and Tracey and then yet more bar mitzvahs for the fourth generation, Jacob and Asher under the wonderful spiritual guidance of our own Rabbi Rebecca. paula kinchin smith
Every step of the way my Mum has been there providing support and ‘kvelling’ in equal measure and for more than 20 years our family have been blessed with John who has been an extraordinary loving, wise father and an incredible grandfather and teacher to my children. When Alex and I moved to Codicote, some 40 – 45 minutes drive away from the synagogue, it was quite a wrench. We considered moving to a community closer to where we live but in the
end it wasn’t our home, it wasn’t our family. We now happily weave a path up and down the A1 to continue with this special community. Every time my extended family return to the Synagogue for family simchas, I am struck by how my three uncles chat to members they knew ‘back in the day’. May there be many more families in the future that can reflect on their L’dor vador at FPS.
jacob kinchin smith
Some of my first memories of FPS are ‘Play and Learn’ with Mum playing the guitar and us singing ‘Tree of Life’ and ‘Cholla in the oven’ on Shabbat morning. When we moved to Codicote we had further to travel but synagogue was always a place to go to see family, especially Safta and Grandpa who I’m proud to say taught me my Bar Mitzvah portion – it just enhanced that family feel. Now I haven’t been to the building in a year it all feels rather far away. My Jewish connection at the moment feels strongest with LJY-Netzer and the friends I hope to spend the summer with on Israel Tour following in the footsteps of both my parents who loved their experiences in Israel with LJY (ULPSNYC then) too. 13
Generations / The Lobattos The Lobatto family are active on many fronts yet their Judaism has very much been influenced by being part of FPS. Their ancestors would have been gratified to learn they had become proud British Jews and see them lead lives free from fear. the past
The story starts in 1492 when the Lobattos - and their coat of arms - were evicted by the Spanish King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella and went to live in Holland. Here one Lobatto became a mathematician to the Dutch court. In 1656 when Cromwell let the Jews into England they moved to the East End of London and joined a Sephardi community which later centred around the Bevis Marks synagogue. In 1965 the Lobattos left the Sephardi tradition to join the Liberal movement. the present maureen: We joined FPS 30 years ago. Thanks
to the community and the hard working people, Jewish culture and beliefs have been transmitted to our family - I feel sure our ancestors would be delighted with our strong sense of affiliation.
The family at Joe Lobatto’s bar mitzvah at FPS
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wendy: FPS is one of those rare institutions
which feel like home to me. I consider FPS to be one of life’s gifts. I am sad that I live far away but have managed to give my children a small taste of it and I hope Liberal Judaism will support them in their sense of belonging and safety as they become adults themselves. joe: I grew up going to FPS every so often and getting a taste of Jewish life but LJY is where I really learned about Judaism and developed connections with other Jewish young people. anna: FPS for me has always been a place of warmth and family. It’s strange to walk into a room full of people most of whom know me and my family. When I’m in London I come to shul to say hello and leave feeling a strong sense of warmth and belonging. kezia and isaac: Isaac and I both became bar and bat mitzvah at FPS. I (Kezia) remember being on the bimah and gaining more and more confidence throughout the service. I (Isaac) remember being so nervous to read out my speech at the Friday night service and Rabbi Rebecca making me laugh because she had forgotten to change out of her wellies. The liberal, inclusive, nurturing atmosphere of FPS has allowed us both to flourish beyond our bar/bat mitzvot and feel so connected to the synagogue. We have soaked in meaningful, thoughtprovoking sermons, joyful music, and moving services, and taken part in avant-garde, experimental Purim spiels. We still remember Rabbi Neil’s half-finished stories on Friday night service. FPS is a truly unique synagogue, and we are both so grateful to have a connection here that runs generations deep.
Recording My Roots Several years ago my cousin and I spent three days with our uncle and a tape recorder. He was the last of my father’s generation and had an excellent memory for family history. We interviewed him to share what we learnt with the family. My grandmother’s family came from Lublin in the east of Poland. The story, passed from generation to generation, was that they lived there for 400 years - from the Inquisition to the early 1900s - having arrived from Spain after a brief sojourn in Holland. It was in Holland that they acquired the surname Lastman which, my grandmother later learnt with delight, was the name of Rembrandt’s teacher. By the mid-19th century in Lublin, my greatgreat-grandparents Chuna and Mirel, were Chasidim. They were reasonably well-off and my great-great-grandmother dealt in pearls. Every year she would travel, by herself, to Leipzig Fair in Germany where she bought raw pearls and made them into jewellery to sell. Once a woman came to her asking to buy some pearls. My great-great-grandmother went to the woman’s house and noticed she was poor, without even sheets for the bed. Family tradition holds that she told the woman, ‘Save your money, buy sheets for your bed, and then you’ll come back to me for pearls’. Chuna and Mirel had six daughters. One day Mirel brought back from Leipzig a beautiful shawl, which the girls shared; whoever was going out could wear the shawl. At that time marriage arrangements were made through a shadchan – a marriage broker – the couple didn’t meet until their wedding day. A young man took a shine to one of the daughters, and one day his marriage was arranged. Before the wedding he asked: ‘Who am I to marry?’ and
adrian lister
his father answered, ‘the girl with the shawl’, he assumed it was the one he had met. After the chupah, the father asked the son: ‘Nu, what do you think of your kale (bride)?’. ‘Now you ask me?’ he said. The woman he married was not the one he expected. But the postscript, according to my grandmother, was that of the six sisters hers was the happiest marriage. One of Chuna and Mirel’s sons was my great-grandfather. He was the first to come to England, in 1905. It was at the peak of the pogroms in the Pale of Settlement and of Jewish emigration. It was common for the father to move first, find a job, a place to live, then bring over his family. As a very orthodox Chasid he found a position in the Rakusan factory in London, checking that the matzot were kosher. But he never settled and after a year went back to Poland, complaining that in England ‘even the door handles are treyf’. A few years later his daughter, my grandmother, emigrated to England under her own steam in her late teens. She and my grandfather met in a Yiddish theatre in London in 1916. He too was a recent immigrant, from a shtetl in western Poland. Waiting for the play to begin, my grandmother was reading a Yiddish newspaper and noticed he was looking at it over her shoulder. ‘Would you like to read the paper?’ she asked, handing it to him. The rest is history. I would encourage anyone, young folk especially: talk to your parents, your grandparents, your great-grandparents. Record what they tell you about their lives and what they know of your family’s history. Ancestry sites may give you names and dates, but not stories. They are a great treasure for you to preserve before they are lost. 15
Book Review
louise meltzer
go, went, gone by jenny erpenbeck
As our March selection, the book club read (in translation) award-winning Jenny Erpenbeck’s ‘Go, Went, Gone’ (2015). The novel’s central character is a widowed, retired university professor living in Berlin, whose life-long personal and professional views and values are challenged as he confronts the experiences and predicament of the African asylum seekers he gets to know. Almost as background, we learn a little about Richard’s late wife and their social circle, the preoccupations of which strike him (and us) as increasingly trivial and meaningless as he gradually learns about the tragic life events undergone by Rashid, Karon, Ithemba and the other migrants. Richard finds considerable fulfilment in the friendships he forms, once he is able to open his eyes and ears to the stories of these men. A persistent theme in the novel is the bureaucracy of European countries (specifically, of course, Germany), where not having appropriate documents prevents the characters from acquiring any personal dignity by working whilst awaiting legal developments regarding their status. It becomes increasingly clear that they will be deported on the expiry of their Fiktionsbescheinigung (a fictional certificate is issued when it is not yet possible to decide on an application for a residence permit), despite
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the attempts of various charities and agencies to help them integrate into the country by learning German (represented in the book’s German title, ‘Gehen, ging, gegangen’). Lurking behind the plot of the novel is the recurring image, disturbing to Richard whenever he contemplates it, of the corpse of a man known to have drowned in the local lake. The story of this man is never divulged, giving him symbolic status representing – perhaps - so many migrants lost at sea (or so many troubling matters we bury in our unconscious minds). Book club members responded in a variety of ways to this novel. One group member was particularly enthusiastic, calling the novel ‘a masterpiece’, and expressing the desire to re-read it immediately. Some found the clear political message off-putting, and disliked the sense of being lectured, or ‘preached at’. Most experienced a sense of guilt and discomfort in contemplating the stories of the asylum seekers, and one or two also expressed a feeling of powerlessness (that no individual’s actions could make our society a more hospitable place to refugees). We agreed that the novel was certainly thought-provoking and worth reading.
Coming Up...
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kt chocolate seder
teen social justice programme
KT had an early (and delicious) taste of Pesach with the annual chocolate seder. Here are some extracts to enjoy! I asked the teenagers to re-write the Passover story including as many chocolate bars as they could. Here are the results: Pharoah came into power in Egypt. He didn’t like that there were so many Snickers. He thought that one day they’d take over the land like Cadbury took over the chocolate industry. He made all the Snickers slaves and then made a new rule – if any Chocolate Buttons were born to the Snickers, they would be killed.
For the past 8 months, our extraordinary Kabbalat Torah 3 group were part of a Teen Social Justice Programme, run by Citizens UK with teens from FPS and our friends and neighbours the Somali Bravanese Welfare Association. The programme finished on Saturday 14 March, and this is what our teens had to say: What did the programme involve? We were able to help a local community deeply impacted by racism, discrimination and unfair treatment. The Markaz simply wanted to give their community a home, but they received backlash from someone known as the ‘mosque buster’ and Barnet council unfortunately received hundreds of letters against their cause. Recognising the obvious wrong in these events, we decided to see what we could do about validating their planning permission, through letters to the council and campaigns supporting the Markaz. Our social justice action felt like not only a help to the Markaz, but a movement that shared our common thoughts and desires to change the world. (Elias) What have you learnt? This programme equipped us with the means and confidence to begin to shape our communities positively in the future - when we collaborated and focused on a goal, the granting of planning permission to the Markaz - we managed to contribute towards something which made a real and material difference to hundreds of people in this community.I’ve learnt so much about how to help, the importance of our voices and how we can make a difference. It showed us how love can prevail over hate even in the face of thoroughly unpleasant
And a little later in the story, written by a different group of teenagers: Mars came across a chocolate fountain on fire – but it wasn’t burning. From the chocolate fountain, Mars heard God say “I am what I am”. God told Mars he would be the one to free the Juices. Mars stumbled over his words, but Aero said he would help Mars go to Fudge and let his people go. When they got to Fudge, Mars said “Let my chocolates go!”. God made the chocolate Nile turn into strawberry sauce. But Fudge wasn’t impressed. His magicians could also do that. (above) Tom dipping a strawberry into salty chocolate – replacing the traditional parsley into salty water.
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teen social justice / cont.
opposition who sought to exploit fear to further their own hateful agenda. We’ve spent time with people our age from other religions meaning we’ve been able to learn more about Islam and Christianity. (Rachel BK and Noah P) What did you enjoy? I loved meeting new people from different experiences and backgrounds but sharing the same empathy and humanity to want to help people who deserve and need support. Our unity and teamwork made me proud to be part of this and proud of the people that I did it alongside!!! We got hoodies and lots of other things to help us get more involved and interested in the things we were discussing. The sessions were scheduled well so that they weren’t too overwhelming but also not too spread out. Group discussions and utilisation of technology was very good and creative during the pandemic. (Alex T and Alex R) Overall? We’ve managed to make a big difference to many people’s lives and I’m so glad and proud to have been apart of this programme (Rachel BK); Overall unforgettable experience (Alex R)
“This programme equipped us with the means & confidence to begin to shape our communities positively in the future ...when we collaborated & focused on a goal, we managed to contribute towards something which made a real & material difference to hundreds of people in this community” 19
Contacts
fps website: www.fps.org
finchley progressive synagogue
President: Paul Silver-Myer, paulsm@fps.org
54 Hutton Grove N12 8DR 020 8446 4063 www.fps.org facebook.com/finchleyprog
Life Presidents: Sheila King Lassman, Alan Banes
Rabbi Rebecca Birk – rabbi@fps.org Emeritus Rabbi: Dr Frank Hellner Community Development Manager: Zoe Jacobs – zoe@fps.org Musicians in Residence: Franklyn Gellnick, Dean Staker Synagogue Manager: Pauline Gusack pauline@fps.org executive 2021
Chair: Tamara Joseph, chair@fps.org Vice Chair: Roy Balint-Kurti, roybk@fps.org Treasurer: Chris Nash, treasurer@fps.org Honorary Secretary: Ann Pelham, honsec@fps.org board members
Gordon Greenfield, gordon@fps.org Beverley Kafka, beverley@fps.org Paula Kinchin-Smith, paula@fps.org Sam King, sam@fps.org Phillip Raphael, security@fps.org
contacts
Board of Deputies Reps: Janet Tresman, Stanley Volk Beit Midrash (Adult Education): Adrian Lister adrian@fps.org Beit Tefillah (Rites & Practices): Valerie Joseph valerie@fps.org Community Support Coordinator: Beverley Kafka, beverley@fps.org Website Editor: Philip Karstadt fpswebsite@fps.org Shofar Editor: Darren Beach, shofar@fps.org Shofar Team: Deb Hermer The Finchley Progressive Synagogue is a company limited by guarantee (Company No 9365956) and a registered charity (Charity No 1167285) whose registered office is 54 Hutton Grove, Finchley, London N12 8DR
ashley page
janet tresman
insurance brokers
mediator & collaborative family law solicitor
Commerce House 2a Litchfield Grove London N3 2TN
Altermans Solicitors 239 Regents Park Road, London N3 3LF
Tel. 020 8349 5100
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Vice Presidents: Cathy Burnstone, Renzo Fantoni, Josie Kinchin, Alex KinchinSmith, Laura Lassman, Lionel King Lassman, John Lewis, Andrea Rappoport, Joan Shopper
Office phone: 0208 346 1777 Email: janet@altermans.co.uk