Shofar October 2022

What You

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the magazine of finchley progressive synagogue

From the Rabbi

C an you believe we are in October already. I have found the swift pace of life from Shavuot through the Summer to now alarming. But change and renewal keeps us on our toes and allows us all to be alive, refreshed and open to everything.

As we have been.

I am so grateful for Pauline’s service to the synagogue. This past Summer has been an intense period of farewell from the office but we marked it: Tea party at my home where we all offered blessings and thanks around the cakes and smoked salmon sandwiches. The word used by everyone was kind. Pauline brought kindness into our FPS office, the beating heart of our synagogue, she saw the best in everyone and operated always with a sense that all of us however we disrupted her day were B’tzelem Elohim. We are grateful for the years she spent

Cover: Where Our Students Study: An FPS Map!

rabbi rebecca birk

with us. I remember meeting Pauline at her interview: David Pelham z’l and Joan Shopper and I were crammed into the Family Room and over a hastily bought sushi lunch we agreed Pauline was perfect for us. That was almost eleven years ago; much of my FPS working life has been with Pauline and I am delighted that we still have a Sukkot kiddush in her honour on Monday 10 October.

A change to welcome Pauline now as a guest. Indeed she’ll be one of our Ushpizin in our sukkah. Honoured visitor and friend.

And then time flows. On September 5th we welcomed Caroline into our office and we are delighted to have her there managing us. Beginnings are always interesting and starting a job as a synagogue Office Manager in the month of Rosh Hashanah has been extra busy for Caroline. I know you will join me in welcoming her and this new new era for us.

Do look out for our refreshed Honours Board, Caroline’s first task to ensure recent names were added and painted in new gold paint. Marking the generations who serve our congregation.

Copy deadline is the 10th of each month. Please email all content to shofar@fps.org

From the Chair

The theme of this month’s Shofar, ‘What I choose and what I lose,’ took a painfully concrete form for me this week. I met up with my brother and sister and step-mother to go through my late father’s possessions. Deciding who should have what was amicable and civilized and surprisingly easy. And turbulent and distressing and irrational and unmooring.

All the old family dynamics are back in play. We are considerate of each other, our particular griefs, hurts and anxieties, our loves and enthusiasms. We’re silently furious with each other. We are ashamed that we have been selfish when we should be generous. We are resentful that we have compromised a little bit too far. It feels suddenly easy to give up a decanter to someone else – how could it possibly matter? But we are for a moment unable to overcome our sudden, simultaneous and desperate need for the trifle bowl. We are rocked by entirely predictable emotions which catch us by surprise.

I bring home my haul and put things down on the dining-room table. So that’s it,

joseph

then. What remains of a life, many lives, the collective life of a family. A few beloved objects, long cherished. I’ve imagined that they would be mine all my life. The furnishings of lives once lived, lives that maybe I imagined I would live myself if these objects were mine. That perhaps I have been trying to live. That perhaps I have felt excused from the effort of living, because how could I without the right cutlery?

There’s so little of it, given the emotional freight it bears, and so much of it, too much. Where on earth am I going to put it all? None of it will bring back the dead, or fend off death, although I feel as if I’m trying to sail across the abyss in a soup ladle, with a tablecloth for a sail. What I lose: my father, a candlestick, my bearings. What I choose: a painting, a sampler, a photograph. I had a wonderful relationship with my father. I choose to remember. I have wonderful relationships now with my brother and sister. I choose love. There are things I don’t need to keep any more, things I can say no to, things I can let go. There’s nothing to wait for and there are no excuses. It’s time to live my own life. I choose life.

First interfaith concert of spiritual music in Minsk with members of ‘Keshet’. Read about our twinned community in Mogilev on pages 11 and 15

From Zoe

I thought hard about Monica’s question for this edition: what I choose and what I lose. I am beginning to put down the tiniest roots in Whitstable. I know where the best ice cream parlour is, the best spot for swimming, the emptiest carriage on the commute into London.

I have never really commuted before. Both in Glasgow and London I have been lucky enough to be able to walk to work. So this feels very new - and special.

While it’s a long journey, I don’t find it dreary at all (yet!). I love Gillian Clarke’s poem titled ‘On The Train’. The first few lines read:

Cradled through England between flooded fields

rocking, rocking the rails, my headphones on, the black box of my Walkman on the table. Hot tea trembles in its plastic cup…

Over an hour of uninterrupted reading that I would otherwise never gift myself.

The oasis that starts my day makes me more efficient once I rejoin the hustle and bustle of London life. I feel a bit rested, at peace, ready to dive into another hectic day. I have created for myself a sacred moment.

Rabbi Rebecca often refers to ‘sacred moments’ - which sometimes brings up an austere sense, but our sacred moments can, and should, sometimes be loud, jolly and sparkly. I’ve come to realise that sacred moments (joyous or studious) nourish us.

Just a few days ago, I had the most joyous ‘meeting’ of the sukkah team - meeting only in inverted commas because we stood outside by the memorial garden in the glorious sunshine and spent an equal amount of time laughing as we did discussing - where it really felt this creative space was a little escape from normal life. I hope that everyone went away from that meeting nourished, energised and able to manage the rest of the day better.

I’ve have slowly honed the preparation required to make the commute a joyful experience: a flask of hot chocolate, a piece of buttered toast (still warm in a tupperware), a good book, and a warm scarf to cuddle up into. And so those 77 minutes of train journey from Whitstable to St Pancras have become a haven.

I want Ivriah, KT, Festival Explorers, Shabbatots, Prayground - and all the other programmes we run for our young members - to be full of sacred moments. Last week, our years 5-6 group learnt about the Bar and Bat Mitzvah process as part of the Jewish Lifecycle. Their sacred moment was opening up tallit bags and finding a plethora of different styles and fabrics and colours - and choosing on the spot which one they wanted to wear.

So I’m temporarily ignoring the second half of Monica’s question. Just this once, I’m not losing anything. I have simply gained. Gained time, gained hot chocolate, gained peace - and hopefully all that means I can offer more to the fabulous FPS community.

zoe jacobs

Notice Board

tib homeless shelter

As you will be aware, FPS has been involved for a number of years with the Together in Barnet Homeless Shelter. Over Covid, TIB supported a number of homeless people in a hotel in Golders Green. I am pleased that we are returning to the original format, and will welcome guests in our home venues. For FPS, our first guests arrive at the synagogue on Tuesday 29th November, and will be staying Tuesday nights for the following 3 weeks.

They arrive at 7pm, we supply a welcome and a hot meal, they put down their sleeping bags, and spend the night, and we serve breakfast before they leave at 8.00. For the first run we are lucky enough to already have enough people to cook supper, but are still looking for people to:

Host in the evening (Serving dinner/eating with guests/clearing up)

Providing and cooking breakfast

Sleeping over at FPS (male volunteers)

Schlepping bags on to the next venue (will need one big car or two medium sized)

Hopefully we will also have them back for 8/9 weeks in the third run in March, but we can only offer if we have enough volunteers for the above jobs, and in addition cook main course or dessert. This will probably not be Tuesday night, (possibly Sunday)

I can confirm that volunteering is very satisfying, and quite fun, and the guests quickly become our friends! Please contact us: peggy@fps.org | andrea_narcin@yahoo.co.uk for further information

Beit Tefillah

FPS services have returned to the synagogue. They are also being held via Zoom, links to which are included in FPS emails. shabbat services october tishrei through to cheshvan

Saturday 1 October 11.00am Shabbat Shuvah Service guest preacher Rabbi Igor Zinkov while Rebecca preaches at LJS

Friday 7 October 6.30pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service

Saturday 8 October 11.00am Shabbat B’yachad with Ivriah teachers and families

Friday 14 October 6.30pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service

Saturday 15 October 11.00am Shabbat Service with aufruf of Natasha Collett & Ben Brodie

Friday 21 October 6.30pm Shabbat Resouled with Dean Staker & the band

Saturday 22 October 11.00am Shabbat Service

Friday 28 October 6.30pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service led by Alexandra Gellnick, followed by Friday Night Dinner

Saturday 29 October 11.00am Shabbat Service led by Alexandra Gellnick

people

welcome to new members

Melissa & Mike McMahon with Chloe

Jo Ashworth

Antonia Birk

mazal tov to Bob & Hilary Luder and their daughter Hannah Luder on the birth of Artemisia

Claudia Prieto-Piastro who started a new job as a Social Sciences tutor at King’s College London

happy birthday to the following members who celebrate milestone birthdays in October: Lisa Bud, Joshua Edgar, Maureen Harris, Emma Loach, Jessica Morris, Abigail Posylkin, Ros Schwartz, Marion Sipser, Gillian Stellman, Charles Yager

shabbat services at fps

Sukkot & SimchatTorah at FPS

sukkah craft day

Our Sukkot plans this year are radically different as we test out other spaces - that are both bigger and more accessible - for our sukkah. We hope it will feel different, fresh, and beautiful.

But, as always, we need your input! We need… Ivy. Lots of ivy. Buttons. Lots of buttons. Spare plant pots. Lots of them, too.

Join us on Sunday 9 October from 4:00pm to decorate the sukkah!

simchat torah

Once again, we hope to unroll the scroll and hear a snippet of every portion. Please do come forward if you:

Still know(ish) your bar/bat mitzvah portion and fancy giving it a second outing

Have entirely forgotten your bar/bat mitzvah portion but think with some help you might manage one line

Never had a bar/bat mitzvah and would like a chance to read the tiniest bit of Torah without all eyes on you

1. 2. 3. 4.

Read Torah all the time and might as well do it again

Between us, we can find someone to cover all 54 portions!

Beit Midrash

Beit Knesset

We’re delighted to be unveiling our new Café Ivriah schedule. It’s a mix of:

Covid-created online Cafe Ivriah on a Sunday morning (week 1)

Pre-Covid Café Ivriah, in the synagogue on a Shabbat morning (weeks 2, and with a book discussion week 3)

Café Ivriah walks (varying from a gentle amble to a determined exploration) on a Sunday morning (week 4)

And the occasional feast of a meeting on the rare 5th Shabbat of the month, it’s traditional Café Ivriah but with a lot more food!

For October only (for added complication), weeks 1 & 2 have been swapped. Dates are: Sat 1 October: Classic

Sun 9 October: Online Sat 15 October: BookChat Sun 23 October: Walk (Sat 30th: paused for half term)

Café Ivriah Relaunched

Café Ivriah has been running for 10 over years as a Saturday morning discussion over coffee and cake before the service. We discuss topics that can range from the weekly portion to the joys of parenting or the state of the world. Over the pandemic we switched to Sunday morning online, proving a great way to keep in touch with FPS friends. And over the past year we have introduced monthly walks where we can chat while getting some exercise and fresh air.

Now we are re-launching Café Ivriah with a new monthly schedule that you will find on page 9. We’ll have in-person discussions twice a month, online once a month, a Sunday morning walk, and a new addition: Book of the Month, led alternately by Rabbi Rebecca and FPS members. We launched Book of the Month on 17 September with a great discussion of David Baddiel’s Jews Don’t Count. What is our experience of living as Jews in 21st Century Britain? Do we feel like an ethnic minority? Do we want society to treat us as such? How prevalent is anti-semitism and how much

adrian lister

should we fear its resurgence? Rabbi Rebecca read excerpts from the book that triggered our discussion. Anti-semitism is clearly not far beneath the surface in some sectors of society (witness chants at Spurs football matches), yet we have been more welcome here that at many times or places in history. Is it wrong that non-Jewish actors take Jewish roles when white actors playing Black parts would be frowned upon? Differing views were expressed on this and other subjects. The monthly book will be announced in advance, though as our first discussion showed, you don’t have to have read it to listen or even give an opinion!

To give you plenty of time to get ready, October’s BookChat (Sat 15th) focuses on an article by Stephen Bush called ‘How Whoopi Goldberg Managed To Be Almost Right While Being So Entirely Wrong’ And November’s BookChat (Sat 18th) is the short story ‘The Shawl’ by Cynthia Ozick.

Mogilev Keshet Community

From Mila Izakson, chair of “Keshet” community for Progressive Judaism in Mogilev; Project Jewish Expedition, September 2021 –May 2022

Dear Friends at the FPS!

On behalf of the whole “Keshet” community in Mogilev we would like to thank you, our friends from FPS, Rabbi Rebecca, Wika Dorosz, Alex Bud, for supporting our ‘Jewish Expedition’ project. It has helped to bind together Jews of different generations as well as different levels of Jewish knowledge and practice. Through informal meetings and learning activities, the “Keshet” community managed to bring new members. In the current turbulent times in our country and region, the opportunity to get together, to be positive and to discover new interests together was an amazing opportunity for people to support each other and to enjoy Jewish learning.

Mogilev, Memorial complex “Buinitska Pole”, Ethnography Village and Exhibition Hall of the ‘Museum of the History of Mogilev’.

We studied the history and traditions of the Jews who lived in Belarus and in Mogilev specifically. It included the time when the area was a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russian Empire. We learned from experts about life in the shtetls and in our town. Both groups studied Jewish texts about history, local traditions and practices.

As a part of the project, we discovered wonderful Jewish music! We decided to share the discovery and passed the scores to the Ensemble of the Orchestra and Choir of the city of Mogilev to be used during a big concert of national music of the main peoples living in Belarus. At the concert at the end of 2021 Jewish music sounded bright and convincing!

We held regular classes on Saturday evenings for adults (17 participants) and Sundays for our youth (16 participants). We also arranged meetings in several city museums and libraries such as the National Art Museum of Belarus, a branch of the Museum of V. K. Byalynitsky-Biruli in Mogilev, the exhibition hall of the Regional Library, Regional Art Museum named after P.V. Maslenikov in

Every month we had a ‘field study day’ with visits to historically important and meaningful places for Mogilev Jews: the Jewish district, locations where synagogues used to be or still are, but no longer used as such, Jewish cemeteries. We also learned about famous Jews of whom our people can be proud: the composer Eduard Kolmanovsky; the ethnographer Pavel

Goodbye Pauline, Hello Caroline!

from pauline :

To all my friends at FPS I extend my grateful thanks for the many messages, cards and gifts received on my retirement.

Rabbi Rebecca hosted an afternoon tea which, despite the unbelievable rain outside, was absolutely lovely and I was totally surprised by the gift of an unbelievable (and absolutely delicious) cake commissioned and made by Lesley Urbach’s neighbour. It was an edible version of my FPS personalised mug given to me by Zoe, now at home, with a large slice of cake because, as everyone knows, I am especially fond of a slice or three of cake.

I look forward to seeing many of you when I join the FPS Sukkot service on Monday 10 October and, in the meantime, wish you all a happy, healthy and sweet 5783.

All best wishes, Pauline

from caroline :

Hello, my name is Caroline and have recently taken over from Pauline Gusack running the office. Although it has only been a couple of weeks I want to thank everyone I have met and spoken to for making me feel so welcome. I never imagined that in such a short space of time I would feel so at home in a new community, feeling so much support and warmth from you all. I look forward to meeting everyone and getting to know you, your families and your pets better.

I am originally from Manchester - any Jewish geography welcome - and moved to Israel in 2001. I moved to London in 2019 with my husband and two boys for a short stay which has now turned into a long term plan. My Israel travel company unfortunately didn’t survive Covid but has brought me now on my journey here to FPS and I couldn’t be more thrilled and confident that this is where I am meant to be.

Wishing you all Shana Tova and please stop by the office any time to say hello and introduce yourselves in person.

Warmest regards, Caroline Bar-Gal

fps students ’ destinations across the uk

Freshers list:

Izzy, Nottingham, Zoology

Toby, Cardiff, Medicine

Ruby, Bristol, Liberal Arts

Myfanwy, York, English Lit and Art History

Sadie, Bristol, Psychology

Sam, UWE, Urban Planning

Liliya, Sheffield, Sociology and Social Policy

Our Gap Year Adventurers: Jacob, Dora, Lani, Ned, Ruby

Plus our current students: Evie, Birmingham, Educational Psychology Lily, Midwifery

Neville, Swansea, Aerospace Engineering Talia Pavell, Liverpool, Psychology Hannah, Cambridge, Sociology Rebekah, Cambridge, History Ruben, Glasgow, Economics

a month at fps for under 18 s

What happens, during a month at FPS, for the under 18s, you might ask? Here goes…

The first Shabbat of each month is a busy one!

We kick off with Ivriah (ages 4-13) and Family Learning (B’nei Mitzvah classes, their parents, and Rabbi Rebecca) at 9.45am. By 10.30am, Shabbatots (aged 0-4) is on the bima with Natasha, singing their way through some Shabbat favourites.

You might be familiar with Shabbat B’yachad, our family service - where Ivriah teachers and students lead the service alongside Rabbi Rebecca, the Torah comes down from the bima to be explored a little more closely, and musical instruments are enthusiastically employed by everyone (almost) all the time.

Abigail, St Andrews

Benjy, Nottingham, Film Studies

Eamon, Nottingham, Sports Science, Raphy, Nottingham Economics

Chloe, Bath, Economics and Politics

Oscar, Bristol, Medicine

Ella, Leeds, Psychology

Josh, York, Economics Holly, Canterbury, Architecture Adam, UCL, Aeronautical Engineering

And our graduates: Daniel, Edinburgh, Mathematical Physics Samuel, Bournemouth, Ecology and Wildlife Conservation

Elijah, Bristol, Religion and Theology Hannah, Oxford, Music and French

The synagogue is quiet for a few hours, before KT kicks off at 4pm. Our Kabbalat Torah teenagers (aged 14-15) are part of the Harry Jacobi Memorial Project, studying the Holocaust through personal testimony. This incredible programme includes the much-anticipated trip to Amsterdam, and culminates in them taking our Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony in January. After some challenging learning, the session ends with card games, snacks and often an enormous game of hide and seek.

Once I’ve - found and - dispatched that group, the older teens arrive. So-called KT3 (aged 15-16) decided two years of Kabbalat Torah was just not enough, and demanded a third year. Their monthly sessions from 7-9pm

This is the list of students we’ve heard from (see map on Shofar cover!) - please do send us details about anyone we’ve missed! Continued on page 15

under 18 s at fps / cont from p .14

mix learning, fun and tikkun olam, all while keeping these incredible friendships strong.

… and that’s just the first Shabbat!

The second weekend of the month is ‘just’ Ivriah (nothing has ever required greater inverted commas!), but the third weekend ramps up again. This time, it’s all about Shabbat Resouled: Our youngest members come to Bima Babies (aged 0-1), enjoying tummy time and sensory play on the bima, while older children (aged 2-8) hang out in the Prayground - not my pun but joyfully pinched - towards the front of the sanctuary, where there is themed quiet play; colouring, jigsaws, puzzles and activities,

and all serenaded by Shabbat Resouled. And the following day we have Ivriah in the morning, and KT in the evening. Phew!

And that’s supposing we don’t have a festival tucked in there. For families who are investigating synagogue life, we offer Festival Explorers - a programme that spans the Jewish calendar cycle. Coming together for 10 dates across the year - each around a festival - we explore the history, culture and (importantly) food of that festival.

If you have children, grandchildren or friends who might like to get involved in any of these activities, please do get in touch!

Zoe Jacobs

mogilev update / cont from p .11

Shein; Pavel Axelrod, a well-known theorist of socialism (born in 1850 in Mogilev), the famous historian Shimon Dubnov, who called Mogilev his hometown. We do not forget the unofficial author of the American anthem Irving Berlin, who was also born in Mogilev.

The project got the highest rating not only among the immediate participants but also from those who visited our open lectures and presentations at various events. New members joined our community specifically to participate in the activities within the project. More adults and young people are now actively involved in the life of “Keshet” community.

The participants prepared presentations on the history of Jews in Belarus for the Jewish community and shared those several times with the wider community in Mogilev. The presentations were very well received and we believe that they contribute to the strengthening of peace and mutual understanding.

First Interfaith Concert of Spiritual Music in Minsk

On 15 August, for the first time in Belarus the Religious Union for Progressive Judaism in cooperation with the Renovabis initiative and the Holy Trinity Church in Minsk held an interfaith concert titled “Friendship”.

Among the participants were a Kleizmer Ensemble from Lida as well as musicians from the Mogilev Progressive Community (including Alexander Kahacheuski on guitar).

More than 200 people of different faiths and nationalities greeted every performance with warm applause. The concert was also attended by guests of honour and diplomats from Germany, Slovakia, Austria, Japan, and Great Britain, who greatly appreciated the initiative which builds cultural bridges to maintain mutual understanding and peace.

Contacts

finchley progressive synagogue

54 Hutton Grove N12 8DR 020 8446 4063 www.fps.org

facebook.com/finchleyprog

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

Office Manager: Caroline Bar-Gal administrator@fps.org

executive 2022

Chair: Tamara Joseph, chair@fps.org

Vice Chair: Beverley Kafka, beverley@fps.org

Treasurer: Roy Balint-Kurti, treasurer@fps.org

Honorary Secretary: Paula Kinchin-Smith honsec@fps.org

council members Gordon Greenfield, gordon@fps.org

Sam King, sam@fps.org

James Levy james@fps.org Sharon Michael sharon@fps.org Lesley Urbach lesley@fps.org

President: Paul Silver-Myer, paulsm@fps.org

Life Presidents: Sheila King Lassman, Alan Banes

Vice Presidents: Cathy Burnstone, Renzo Fantoni, Josie Kinchin, Alex KinchinSmith, Laura Lassman, Lionel King Lassman, John Lewis, Andrea Rappoport, Joan Shopper 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: Monica Rabinowitz shofar@fps.org

Shofar Team: Wika Dorosz & FPS Staff shofar@fps.org

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

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