CTJC magazine
Rosh HaShanah
Tishrei 5780 September 2019
CTJC Cambridge Traditional Jewish Congregation Magazine number 126
Contents From the Editor........................................................................................ 3 From the Chair ......................................................................................... 4 Community news ..................................................................................... 6 Communal information ........................................................................... 6 Looking forward and looking back......................................................... 10 A Jewish life lived on purpose ............................................................... 11 Farewell from Lea and Mordechai......................................................... 16 The End of the Beginning....................................................................... 16 A special baby naming ........................................................................... 18 Shaina’s Bas-Mitzvah speech ................................................................. 19 De tu boca a los cielos ........................................................................... 21 Plymouth shul ........................................................................................ 25 Museum of Underground Prisoners in Jerusalem ................................. 31 The Jewish Fringe (Not Tsitses) ............................................................. 33 Ben Blaukopf, Sharon Blaukopf, Ben Nevis, and Keeping Kosher ......... 34 A most unusual wedding, ...................................................................... 39 The Lehman Trilogy ............................................................................... 42 Board of Deputies of British Jews .......................................................... 43 An unexpected shul visit ........................................................................ 45 Sticky and spicy honey cake with a sweet honey drizzle ....................... 46 A delicious way to celebrate a sweet New Year ........................ 46 Festival calendar 5780, 2019-20 ............................................................ 48 Views expressed in this bulletin do not necessarily represent the views of the Editor, nor of the Committee of the CTJC Front cover The “Yom Kippur” window from Plymouth Synagogue Page 2
From the Editor Jane Liddell-King Dear All, Another year has passed marked by change and challenge, by farewells and greetings, the known and the profoundly strange. So what’s new, you might ask. Our committee has new faces. We must thank Jonathan Allin for his patient years of service as Chairman and Jo Landy for her work as Treasurer. Let us hope that Jonathan and Lauren may now enjoy sleep undisturbed by trouble at Shul. Let’s hope that Jo Landy will enjoy shalom ba bait as she takes over. And let’s welcome Ben Blaukopf as Treasurer. Sadly, Lea, Mordechai, Kol, Raz, and Almaya have now left Cambridge. Many of us first met them three years ago in the Wren Library at Shavuot Shacharit. Unforgettably, Rabbi Israel Malkiel then first used the fourteenth century Sefer Torah found in the Yemen and bequeathed to Trinity College by former Vice Master, William Aldis Wright. During their three transformative years here, Lea and Mordechai have established this event as a tradition. Lea has given endless if unobtrusive support to young women in search of equality, helping them to fulfil their abilities to leyn. How encouraging to witness her reading Hakdamot this Shavuot in the Wren library, using a Siddur from the library. Estara Arrant pays just and moving tribute to the profoundly creative contribution made by the entire Zeller family to our community. It was a real pleasure to see the Malkiels back in Cambridge this summer and, Page 3
as we prepare to welcome the new chaplains, we all look forward to strengthening our ties with the Zellers too. The Lehrhaus has now left Trinity Street but we look forward to sharing in all that Reuven is learning in Boston and we are delighted to see Rochel deploying her multiple talents. At a time of political turbulence and of heightened personal anxiety, our Torah reading for the first day of Rosh haShanah offers compelling counsel. Where certain angels saw Ishmael as a threat to peace, there is the place where he is. Rashi’s commentary on these words (following בראשית רבה 53:14) provides a corrective to their judgment. “What is he now?” asked God, “Innocent or guilty?” “Innocent,” replied the angels. God then said: “I judge a person only on the basis of where he is in the present: there, where he is.” Might we do the same? And dare to add in ‘she’? לשנה טובה תכתבו ותחתמו
From the Chair Jo Landy Welcome to the Rosh HaShanah CTJC magazine. I hope that you enjoy the wonderful range of articles that Jane has gathered together for our delectation. Thank you so much to everybody who has generously contributed articles for publication.
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This is my first “From the Chair”. There have been a number of changes within the CTJC committee. Firstly a huge thank you to Jonathan who has done a sterling job chairing over the last few years. He is a tough act to follow. Ben is replacing me as treasurer; otherwise, I am delighted to say that the CTJC committee is unchanged. Please see “Who does what” below. In August we said our goodbye to Mordechai and Lea Zeller and their children. It was a pleasure to have them with us for the last three years. They added hugely to the spirit of our services. I would like to take this opportunity of welcoming the new Chaplains. The other big change during the Yomin Noraim will be the (temporary) absence of Rabbi Reuven Leigh. He has gone “native” and although here for Rosh Hashanah, will be studying at Harvard during their Fall semester. Rebbetzin Rochel will be taking over as many of his responsibilities as practicable. For a small community we are in a privileged position because of the unusual number of our core community who have the skills that enable us to daven and function as an orthodox community in Rabbi Reuven’s absence. CTJC is able to provide a home for all traditional or modern orthodox Jews in Cambridge. In previous magazines Jonathan has mentioned the likelihood that Thompson’s Lane is to be rebuilt. There is no hard news about this. There are proposals, though at the time of writing planning permission hasn’t been applied for. Our community is more than just about shul. Last March there was a very successful country-house weekend. We hope to provide other events which can be enjoyed across the community. Lastly Julian and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year.
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Community news מזל טוב
Congratulations
To Jaclyn Rubin and Netanel Blaier on the birth of Pessya Reisel Kathryn and Theo Dunkelgrün on the birth of Eden Lev, a sister for Ayala, born at the Rosie in Cambridge on 30 August, ערב שבת. To Lauren and Jonathan Allin on becoming grandparents. Mazel Tov also to Jess, Benjamin, and Pippin
ברוך דיין אמת
Condolences
Lauren Allin on the loss of her Mother, Pamela Glynn
Communal information Who does what Chair Treasurer Secretary CTJC community rabbi Magazine CUJS liaison Kiddushim Board of Deputies Gabbai and synagogue Building
Jo Landy Ben Blaukopf Barry Landy Rabbi Reuven Leigh Jane Liddell-King Jo Landy Jonathan Harris Robert Marks Yoav Git Tim Goldrein
Services in the Synagogue Friday evening
Shabbat morning Sunday morning
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In Term: Winter Ma'ariv 6.00pm Summer Minchah and Ma'ariv 7.30pm In Vacation: Check the website, www.ctjc.org.uk 9.30am in the Synagogue 8.00am in the Synagogue (most weeks)
Leyning If you would like to learn to leyn, take a service, or read a haftarah, please contact Yoav or Ben.
Learning, Talmud Shiur Usually 8.00 pm at 23 Parsonage Street, led by Prof. Stefan Reif. The group is currently studying Masechet Betza. The shiur is held on a convenient evening in those weeks when Prof Reif is in Cambridge. For more information email chevra@ctjc.org.uk.
Kosher meat and groceries Derby Stores (26 Derby St, Newnham, 354391) stock prepacked Kosher groceries and meat, and will buy to order. They get fresh from London midday Thursday, and stay open till 8pm. Sainsbury's in Coldham's Lane also stocks a range of Kosher Goods including frozen chicken legs. Ocado has some Kosher foods in its delivery list.
Kiddushim Kiddushim really help to make Shabbat morning special. If you would like to sponsor a kiddush, please email kiddushim@ctjc.org.uk.
Hospital visiting Contact Sarah Schechter (329172), Tirzah Bleehen (354320) for coordination if you wish to volunteer to help, or need to organise some visits. Rabbi Reuven Leigh (354603), Barry Landy (570417), and others are prepared to attend hospitals to read prayers. Due to personal privacy concerns the hospital no longer informs us when Jewish patients are admitted. If you wish to be visited, please let one of the above know when you are about to enter hospital.
Chevra Kadisha The Cambridge Jewish Residents' Association (CJRA) Chevra Kadisha, which follows orthodox rites, is available to members of the CTJC. Contact Brendel Lang, secretary (353301), Robert Marks, treasurer (07791 788 584), or Barry Landy (570417).
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Religious events For services, bar mitzvahs, weddings, brit milah etc, contact Rabbi Reuven Leigh (354603) or Barry Landy (570417). For up to date community information please visit the CTJC web site: www.ctjc.org.uk.
Subscriptions and donations Members who have not yet paid their subscription for this year (201819) should now do so, together with the Board of Deputies levy (£30), the levy to the Chief Rabbi’s Office (£8 which should be paid by each male member), and any donations to the UJIA, the CTJC, or the Cambridge Chaplaincy that you wish to make. Donations to the Community Rabbi Fund will be used to support our promise to contribute to our Rabbi’s activities. The subscription fees for 2018/2019, as agreed at the AGM, are: Full family £208 Associate family £140 Full single £144 Associate single £92 These fees may be varied to suit individual circumstances. The Treasurer will be pleased to be consulted confidentially. The subscription may be paid by direct bank transfer to sort code 2017-19 account 20199192, in which case please send an explanatory email to the treasurer at treasurer@ctjc.org.uk. Alternatively send a cheque, payable to CTJC, together with this slip indicating how much is being paid in each category, to Jo Landy, 52 Maids Causeway, Cambridge, CB5 8DD
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Name: Address:
Subscription: Community Rabbi Fund donation: CTJC donation: Board of Deputies: Chief Rabbi’s Office: UJIA donation: Chaplaincy donation: Total: Visitors for whom membership is not appropriate are invited to make a donation. CTJC is a registered Charity, number 282849. Payment from tax-paid income can be made by Gift Aid, which will enable the CTJC to recover the tax paid. A suitable declaration is available from the Secretary at secretary@ctjc.org.uk. To join the CTJC email list please send an email to secretary@ctjc.org.uk or chair@ctjc.org.uk.
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Looking forward and looking back Jonathan Allin I’ve had the privilege and honour to be chair of the CTJC for a little over 3 years, and I’ve been on the Committee for almost the whole time we’ve lived in Cambridge, which is over 30 years. It’s now time to step back, though I will of course continue to be actively involved with the Community that means so much to us. The CTJC, like any community, must adapt and evolve if it is to stay relevant. As members of the Community, we need to clearly express what we want, and the Committee, as servants to the Community, must both reflect the needs of the Community, but also forge a future. I see two existential challenges. The first is our relationship with the students and the lack of our own premises. The second is how we adapt to the zeitgeist, and in particular how we respond to changing expectations of women in the community. It’s therefore with enormous gratitude that I welcome Ben back onto the committee, and welcome Jo as chairman. I know that with Ben and Jo, together with the rest of the Committee, we have the strength, experience, and vision to ensure the future of the CTJC. Together with Lauren and our family, may I wish you a שנה טובה ומתוקה.
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A Jewish life lived on purpose The legacy of Mordechai and Lea Zeller Estara Arrant My experiences with the chaplains Mordechai and Lea Zeller can be characterised by one major theme: being made to feel welcome and empowered in my Jewish identity in situations where I could have felt out of place and alone. This is the legacy that the chaplains left to me, which I will carry with me for the rest of my life. What had the potential to be a generally formal or solely religious relationship with Lea and Mordechai blossomed into two friendships and mentorships which have helped my Jewish identity mature during much of my PhD years in Cambridge. Beyond my initial hurdles upon arriving here, the chaplains remained an anchor during hard times, and cheered me on during the good times. I wish to describe their role in my life, how I perceive their impact upon the Jewish student community during their time here, and what I think we can learn from their example. I remember one of the first times I set foot inside Thompson's Lane synagogue. Rosh HaShanah 2016 coincided with my matriculating for my PhD programme, and I felt like a spectacle. Because of the tight schedule of the day, I had to come into shacharit services wearing my matriculation gown. I felt raw and out of place. Having recently moved to Cambridge after completing my MPhil at Oxford, I did not know anyone, and had only a faint sense of the atmosphere of the Jewish student community in Cambridge. I did not know how it compared to Oxford's community, and I did not know what to expect. However, on that strange matriculation High Holiday, I felt more welcome than I had anticipated. The people who reached out to me when I moved to Cambridge, who made me feel welcome and at home that day, had just moved here themselves. Chaplains Rabbi Mordechai Zeller and Lea Taragin-Zeller had taken up their 3-year long post at Cambridge just a month before, and yet they still helped me feel welcome. I proudly embraced Mordechai's penchant for doing one's own thing by wearing my matriculation gown at the High Holiday services (he encouraged me, of course), and thereby permanently marked myself as an individual within my new Jewish student Page 11
community. This incident was to set the tone for everything that was to come. Lea's role in my life was to reinforce my confidence to live out my Jewish identity whilst also fitting into a community very different from more familiar ones. In a community where I have often been one of the only women to cover their hair whilst not being married, Lea helped me feel normal. She gave me the sources to back up my decision, reminding me that, when younger and single, she herself had followed them. Where I could have felt out of place, Lea made me feel welcome and confident in practising my minhag publicly. Now, instead of being embarrassed or apologetic, I feel proud. Moreover, she enabled me to grow in confidence in my abilities as a teacher in my own right. My favourite times with Lea were doubtlessly our Ḽevruta together. Lea's desire to learn Arabic and my desire to practice my Hebrew coincided, and we would meet for coffee, studying Arabic together whilst speaking only in Hebrew. By allowing me to teach her Arabic, she bolstered my confidence in my abilities as a teacher, and by committing me to teaching her Arabic only in Hebrew, she helped me to gain experience and confidence as a Hebrew speaker. I will very much cherish those moments with Lea as my study partner. On Shabbat or busy events at the chaplains' house, when throngs of people would overwhelm the place with excitement and happiness, Lea would notice when I, a generally sensitive and quiet person, would become overwhelmed with the energy of the event. She understood that I feel most relaxed when I am helping people in concrete, practical ways, and would always provide a pleasant space for me to engage practically at events so that I could enjoy them in the best way possible. Her sensitivity to mine (and other's) needs and natures is something rare that we should all aspire to cultivate. Perhaps the ultimate moment of this sensitivity was when, after my foster mother passed away in the summer of 2017, Lea supported me when no one else was in Cambridge. I sat shiva, and she was there, bringing me food and presenting a kind and loving shoulder to cry upon. She intuitively knew what I needed to ease the pain of a very traumatic and unsettling event. She and Mordechai were there for me in a time when I could have felt wholly alone. Page 12
Mordechai's role in my life was similarly supportive and welcoming. His expertise in understanding the inner workings of people allowed him to support me in the worst of times. Our shared interests and his belief in me as an individual bolstered me at the best of times. I am Masorti and traditionally observant, and his respect for my denominational background as well as my desire to learn and apply halacha to my life was always empowering. Even where our practices differed, he was always balanced and encouraging. He supported me when I chose to wear my tallit in services on Shabbat, and that gave me courage. He allowed me to ask incessant questions about halacha and Jewish practice and never seemed to grow tired of it. Most importantly for me, he understood and accepted my minhag without question. When I became observant in my early twenties, I adopted Yemenite minhag after growing close to a Yemenite family back home. Mordechai never made me feel out of place or awkward regarding this, but always tailored his halachic advice to fit my practice. Mordechai inspired me because he remained true to himself. He taught the material he wanted to teach. He did the things he felt was right and true for himself and his kids and his family. Some of my favourite times with Mordechai were spent in his Zohar groups and dream workshops. He reminded me that though Judaism is much about halacha, Torah, and ritual, it is also about spiritual connection and depth. One of my most vivid memories of such tangible spirituality was during PesaḼ, when in the later half of the seder the spirituality and connection with the Divine in the room was intense: deep and palpable. This happened because Lea and Mordechai were sensitive, compassionate, and engaging deeply with the text of the Haggadah. It moved me to tears and almost disturbed me, and it taught me that there is much potential in our religion for the deeply spiritual, if we are present and open enough to allow it in. Mordechai and Lea taught me that ritual done alongside community with a clear and present heart can transform a mundane experience into something deeply transcendent. Mordechai is more than a deeply spiritual man, however. His love of texts and manuscripts was also something that engaged me and made me feel at home. My PhD is about 'common' or 'everyday' Torah Page 13
manuscripts from the Cairo Genizah: I study their language features and their codicology. Mordechai's constant engagement with the Jewish manuscript treasures in Cambridge allowed me a special avenue of engagement: he was always showing me the exciting things he found in the library, such as the most exquisite medieval mystical texts, and he encouraged me to show him my own treasures which I encountered in my PhD research. He even graciously gave me the opportunity to give back by sharing my research with the Jewish community in a “Meet the Manuscripts� session. I showed both students and Cambridge residents various kinds of Sifrei Torah from the Genizah: from the beautiful professional Bibles, and the multilingual Arabic, Aramaic, and Hebrew copies, to children's practice bibles. He was so proud of me, and confirmed for me that my work was meaningful not just to academics, but to our Jewish community as a whole, because these manuscripts are part of our heritage. After holding that seminar, I felt that through my research I was helping to strengthen our people's connection to their history and their heritage. The chaplains affected not just me but they deeply influenced our whole community. This influence can be seen in that they brought dynamism, joy, wider tolerance, and openness to every aspect of Jewish life in Cambridge. Before Mordechai came, no one danced on Kabbalat Shabbat. By his final year here, it was something I and others looked forward to. Friday nights at the synagogue became a joyful place to connect to HaShem and to other people. Lea's insistence on empowering women to engage with Jewish texts and to understand ourselves and our positions with her unique and intuitive perspective helped my friends and me to engage more fully in Jewish life than we might otherwise have felt able to do. And for the Egalitarian Minyan, Mordechai and Lea did the most empowering thing possible: they helped us to have a space at Thompson's Lane where we could pray on Friday night. We had no space of our own and had to choose between going without a likeminded community for Kabbalat Shabbat, or breaking Shabbat by carrying siddurim. Lea and Mordechai helped make it possible for us to have a place where we could pray in an egalitarian way with little judgment and a lot of love and acceptance. When Lea came to give a dvar Torah to the Egalitarian Minyan, she did so with such love, Page 14
anticipation, and respect that it was the highlight of the service. And when Mordechai came to give it, he somehow always knew the exact words that our group needed to hear to help refresh and encourage us after a stressful week. What I respect most about this is that they empowered us in our denomination without in any way compromising on their own Orthodox values and positions: this capacity of conscious flexibility whilst still remaining true to one's values is so rare and valuable, and it is something which I feel the Jewish world needs in order to continue to function as a diverse yet unified people. Mordechai and Lea gave me hope that this capacity exists within each and every one of us, and inspired me to nurture it in my everyday life. I would be very much amiss if I did not mention Lea and Mordechai's precious children. Koli, Raz, and Almaya not only had to put up with throngs of students constantly encroaching upon their carefree childhood territory, but they in their pure way taught us a lot about life. I watched the kids grow up with a beautiful sense of self respect, wholeness, and stability. The children approached their world with a fearlessness and self-confidence that helped me feel a little more empowered when things were difficult for myself. Moreover, Mordechai's and Lea's approach to nurturing their children follows such a respectful and balanced path. For those of us who did not grow up with the healthiest family dynamic, to see such love and respect modelled in this family was healing and instructive. The way Lea and Mordechai validated their children's sense of identity and self-esteem, by listening to their dreams and making space for them in the midst of the chaos of their responsibilities, made me aspire someday to being even half of the quality of the parents that they are. In a way, watching the chaplains respond to their children helped me to learn to love and respect myself in a way that I lacked when I was younger. Lea and Mordechai are not people whom one easily forgets. They are certainly not people to whom it is easy to say goodbye. They live life with presentness and intention, and fully respect Judaism in all of its varied and multifaceted beauty. They are a rare gift and are real teachers of Torah in a world which too often forgets what it means to follow Torah fully with your heart and not just your mind.
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Their sensitivity, compassion, realness, and ability fully to engage both in the difficult and in the wonderful is truly inspirational and aspirational. To me they taught the true beauty of a Jewish life lived with deliberation and purpose and for that I will always be deeply grateful.
Farewell from Lea and Mordechai After three beautiful years in Cambridge, we have moved back to Israel. It has been a pleasure serving as chaplains in Cambridge. The beauty of the city, its buildings, old books, flowing river and most importantly its amazing students, residents and loving community will forever be deep in our hearts and soul. Thank you for everything... mordechaizeller@gmail.com leataragin@gmail.com
The End of the Beginning Rabbi Reuven Leigh I am writing this piece having just arrived in Cambridge (MA) where I will be spending the autumn as a research fellow in Harvard’s Center for Jewish Studies. Besides the obvious name association, I am already noticing a number of similarities to ‘our’ Cambridge, such as the many homeless people sitting outside the overpriced shops of the main streets. In contrast, the morning minyan is well organised. Even though it is housed in the student Hillel building it is organised by the resident community offering a possible lesson. My research here will focus on Rabbi Avraham Yehudah Chein (18771957). For a while now, Rabbi Chein, who during his lifetime was extremely influential, has intrigued me. He played a key part in the defence of Mendel Beilis in the famous 1913 blood libel case, and upon his arrival in Israel in 1935 had a major impact on key political figures such as Schneur Zalman Shazar and Berl Katznelson, as well as inspiring Page 16
a young Adin Steinsaltz to become a Ba’al Teshuvah. His writings are distinguished by the seamless weaving of deep religious feeling into the philosophical and literary trends of his time, and he is one of those enigmatic figures who eschews the sometimes lazy labels of modern or traditional. I suspect it is because of this complexity so few people know of him today. My goal is to prepare some of his unpublished writings from his archive in the hope that others will begin to share in my fascination of him. I strongly believe that the values Rabbi Chein extolled are as meaningful today as they were in his lifetime. This fellowship comes at an extremely opportune time for me, as I feel that I have reached a significant moment in my vocation in Cambridge. Six years ago I established The Cambridge Lehrhaus at 3 Trinity Street. The purpose of The Lehrhaus was to enable as wide a range of people as possible to engage directly with the primary texts of Jewish thought. We held courses in Tanach, Talmud, Medieval Biblical exegesis, Philosophy and Hassidut, as well as lectures by local and visiting rabbis and academics. Unfortunately, our lease expired this summer and our landlords, Gonville & Caius College, decided to take the premises back into college use. Without any obvious alternative home we decided it was best to bring to an end this phase of the project. The past six years have taught us a tremendous amount about how best to promote and provide Jewish studies in Cambridge, and that knowledge will provide the basis for our future plans. During my time in Harvard I intend to watch very closely how things work over here, and consider ways in which I can use this experience to enhance the original Cambridge. I look forward to returning home in time for Chanukah with a renewed sense of purpose and the beginning of the next phase in disseminating the wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of the Torah to the farthest reaches of Cambridge.
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A special baby naming Jo Landy The community has taken Nati and Jaclyn to their hearts. Since their arrival they have enlivened our services and Jackie has been a fantastic additional leader for our smaller ones. So it was with huge concern that we learnt of the very premature delivery of their baby girl. Her third day out of hospital was celebrated with a special Rosh Chodesh Elul minyan. This was concluded with a Simchat Bat (a formal baby naming ceremony) for Pessya Reisel. It was a delight that both sets of grandparents and an aunt and uncle had made long journeys to be present for what was for all those attending an emotional and memorable event. After the formalities there was a magnificent breakfast, with fresh filled bagels, cake and at least four different whiskies. What a feast! All mazel tov to the new family. Pessie Rosie is a hugely welcome newcomer to our community. May she continue to make as much noise as she did at the minyan.
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Shaina’s Bas-Mitzvah speech Shaina Leigh Good Shabbos and thank you for joining me to celebrate my Bas-Mitzvah. I was born on a Friday afternoon, the 15th of Sivan 5767, which corresponded to the 1st of June 2007, at the Rosie hospital in Cambridge. The next morning my parents were inspired to name me Shaina here in this shul. The Shaina who I am named after was the youngest daughter of the previous Rebbe who tragically died in the Holocaust. I would like to share with you a story about Rebbetzin Shaina which took place on the same day as my birthday, the 15th of Sivan, 92 years ago in 1927. At that time the communists in Russia were trying to destroy Jewish life and one of their main targets was the Lubavitcher Rebbe of the time, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak. On the night of the 15th of Sivan they entered his home in Leningrad. Before arresting him, they made a search for evidence to use against him. In his diary describing these events, the Rebbe writes the following account: “They first went to search the room of my daughters Chaya Moussia and Shaina and asked them: “Which party do you belong to?” They answered that they were “members of our father's party, non-political Jewish women who hold dear Jewish traditions and despise the new trends.” “Why?” inquired the officer, astonished. “Why?” replied Shaina, “this we are not obligated to answer you. You asked regarding our beliefs and I replied. As to the question why, this we are not obligated to explain, for you are not here investigating my letters and documents for discussion's sake. What we were, we still are; and we declare this openly, Page 19
regardless of whether you find it acceptable or offensive.” The officer answered: “You must consider the authority and power of the GPU, which we represent. The GPU can force even the silent tongue to speak and tell what is hidden within the heart. Our interrogators are remarkable craftsmen. To them all is revealed, willingly or otherwise. There can be nothing hidden. There everything melts; even stone speaks and divulges its secrets.” “The entire tragedy,” answered my daughter, “is that you wish to accomplish everything by power and coercion. This is unethical and repugnant, attempting to intimidate intelligent and informed people with the power of the fist and the threats of the gun.” I will not deny that it was gratifying for me to hear these words spoken with logic and composure, albeit feigned, and in a firm voice. Nevertheless, I was very much concerned for her fate, lest the officer, who prided himself on his power, would also think of arresting her.” My parents have repeated this story to me many times over the years on my birthday, and it has made me realise how important it is be confident in who I am and who I want to become. At the beginning of this week’s parshah we are given the instruction to light the menorah with the words “Beha’aloscho es ha-neiros”, Rashi explains that the reason the verse doesn’t use the more obvious word for kindling, “be-hadlikoscha”, and instead uses a word which means “to raise up”, is to teach us that the flame has to be kindled in such a way that it can remain lit all by itself: ad she-tehey shalheves ho-oloh may-ayleho. The Rebbe explains that this instruction is not just relevant to the menorah in the mishkan or the temple, but also to every single person. While it is important to be inspired and seek out inspiration from teachers, parents, and friends, in the end the goal must be to have the strength to be committed and excited to serve Hashem because that is who I am and is a reflection of myself, and to not always need the support and help of others to stay alight and motivated. Thanks to the constant reminder of my namesake, and the love and support from my family, I hope to be able to live up to this teaching and be a shining example to everyone around me.
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De tu boca a los cielos Moroccan Sephardi Women’s songs and the community’s Jewish survival Vanessa Paloma Elbaz Research Associate, Faculty of Music University of Cambridge In the Moroccan town of Alcazarquivir (Ksar el Kebir), at least until the 1940s, Jewish women would sing all night for a woman who had just given birth (parida), as well as for a baby boy the night before his circumcision. In addition, in the week preceding Passover, as women gathered and spent the entire night cooking Passover matza for the community in the communal oven, which had been made kosher for Passover, they would sing songs until dawn. In 1940s and 1950s Tangier, a mixed choir of prepubescent boys and girls sang during minha at a synagogue on “la calle Italia” in the old city where many Jews lived. In an interview, Rachel M., who still lives in Tangier, told me about the wife of Rebi Yamin Cohen who would come to her family’s house for lunch on the second day of Passover. Year after year, for all present, she would sing El Romance de Sol, a song about a young Jewish woman from Tangier who was beheaded in Fez in 1834. In fact, in all the Jewish communities of Northern Morocco the women sang wedding songs (cantares de novia). Women also were called upon to sing songs of mourning called endechas. The traditional women’s repertoire included songs of different genres: narrative poems for the bride with a repeating melodic phrase that spoke about faithfulness and unfaithfulness (Romances), coplas for holidays such as Purim and Passover, romances about incest that served as lullabies, and endechas for the mourning period of Tisha Be’Av (the ninth of the month of Av). The texts of these songs served as musical commentaries that women would sing when faced with different situations. Maurice H., originally from Tangier, shared in an interview his belief that the songs women sang served as means of expressing that which was unmentionable in normal conversation: “When they sang these songs they probably were Page 21
saying what they felt they could not say in conversation. But these were themes that they felt they must address.” Even today, though these repertoires have lost much of the centrality they had prior to the large waves of Moroccan Jewish emigration, when a woman or a man sings, she or he always comments on the story the song is telling. The narrative itself becomes material for conversation about what can happen in reality, how the characters of the song reacted to the situations they faced, and whether such responses are to be emulated or avoided. Before Morocco's independence, women performed vernacular, secular, sacred and semi-sacred songs in gender-separate and gendermixed groups. The variety of situations, languages, and musical genres represented in these performances reflects the universality of women’s singing in Moroccan Jewish life, and its entertainment as well as ritual value. Through my fieldwork, I learned of several ritual uses of song by various groups of Jewish women in pre-independence Morocco. At all of the public communal life cycle celebrations of Moroccan Jews, and during family gatherings during the holidays, women’s sung voices have traditionally been centre stage. It is telling that the Haketía, Judeo-Arabic, and Judeo-Berber languages, with their deeply emotional forms of expression, are the languages linked to Moroccan Jewish women’s cultural contributions. In the seminal 1972 feminist theory article, Is Female to Male as Nature is to Culture? Professor Sherry Ortner asserted that in patriarchal societies, women’s biological status as the continuer of the species through childbirth and lactation, along with her function as the first socialising factor in the life of an infant, places her in an intermediate position between nature and culture. Men, she stated, generally are considered more transcendent within systems of patriarchy due to their distance from the long creative process of renewing the species. Their position, she hypothesized, accounts for the greater focus of their creative energies on abstract cultural development. If we link Ortner’s theory to the linguistic and literary pattern of oral narrative, it is clear that a hybrid language that combines what is perceived as “lower” and “higher” presents an interesting parallel with feminine narratives in Moroccan women’s songs which are always in Page 22
these hybrid vernacular languages. Are women’s oral traditions then functioning within Moroccan Jewish communities as a means of carving out a “transitional” path between nature (“female/vernacular”) and culture (“male/Hebrew”)? Hebrew poetry and ritual generally have been considered within Judaism to be “higher” and more “refined” than women’s sung narratives in the Judeo (Spanish, Arabic, and Berber) languages, which many Jews see as “lower,” more intrinsic, emotional, and unconscious linguistic and literary creations. After careful analysis and observation, I believe that creative expression in the Judeo languages may be the foundation on which Moroccan Jews begin the process of the socialisation of each generation, particularly as regards gender and societal norms. Not only is the women’s literary realm embodied in their songs and stories, a “lower” and thus more natural and visceral hybrid language, it is also oral, and carries the inherent fragility that is present in nondocumented forms of expression. Frequently, both religious scholars and the general population see oral traditions as the “lesser” forms of religious tradition because of the impossibility of tracing their origins and the difficulty of measuring their value. In Morocco, however, orality is held in high regard by men and women in the Jewish community, accounting for the transmission of many customs and traditions. Scholars considered the Jewish vernacular languages to be “lower” languages that restricted the value of women’s contributions in the family only to the transmission of culture in the child’s initial years of life. Yet, after the establishment of Morocco as a French and Spanish Protectorate, the shift toward French or Peninsular Spanish language and culture introduced the notion of women as cultural transmitters of what was considered “higher”, more abstract European culture, the literature of the ruling European elites. In fact, some Berber Jewish women from the Atlas Mountains learned Arabic during the Protectorate years and early years of independence as a way to communicate beyond their community. Interestingly, women generally embraced the change in language from Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Spanish, or Berber to French, Spanish, or Arabic as a means of social change and increased social, educational, and economic opportunity. Page 23
Yet, the changes brought about in the Protectorate period and by the Alliance Israélite Universelle schools were not only linguistic. The schools were also transformative for gender roles and educational and economic opportunities for women. Young Jewish girls were educated in the Alliance schools, which ensured that they knew how to read, write, speak French, and learn a trade such as teaching or sewing. It is clear from my interviews that women who considered themselves educated learned more French and Spanish literature and fewer traditional songs and proverbs. Julia B., from Asilah, a coastal town in Northwest Morocco, and who worked in banking in Tangier for over thirty years, described this erosion of these oral traditions: “I’m not talking about when things were progressing more and more and we started taking everything in a more modern manner. We’d say, that’s not in fashion, that used to be sung in the olden days, my mother sang that, no, it’s not in style anymore, and so everything was being sung less and less, and all those songs of the Romancero started to get lost. It was like that.” The cantares de las antiguas served as a ritual declaration in a prescribed communal voice. During wedding celebrations women’s singing provides a ritualistic transformative function for the bride, who is undergoing the life transition from girl to woman. The coplas which celebrate her beauty and exhort her to fertility accompany her during what was traditionally a weeklong celebration. Contemporary practice has diminished to four days (Thursday Berberisca/Henna, Friday and Saturday Shabbat night and day, and Sunday Ketuba/Huppa). The continued public role of women’s singing during these celebrations demonstrate the public association of women with fertility and reproduction, giving them considerable power and prestige. Contrary to the Romances which are sung in quotidian contexts and focus on guarding the boundaries of the group, celebratory wedding coplas focus on the positive and public aspects of sexuality. During a women’s wedding her contained sexuality becomes an asset and not a threat because of the imminent transformation of her sexuality into fertility. As Rahel Wasserfall’s analysis on Moroccan immigrants of Sefrou to Israel concludes: Page 24
“In this process of transforming sexuality into fertility, purity has a central role, as it transforms fertility into Jewish fertility. This transformation takes place through … the acceptance of Jewish law, and the bride’s promise to visit the mikveh and thereby actualize both the bridegroom’s and her own fertility.” Thus, the songs sung by older women to the young bride during the mikveh celebration, the Berberisca, the shabbat, and the wedding, reiterating the bride’s purity, beauty and her fertility serve as oracles for her future holiness as the carrier of tahara for future generations. The cantares de las antiguas impregnate the body of the bride, and exhort her to embody the powerful symbol of holiness that will guarantee the community’s survival.
Plymouth shul Helen Goldrein Plymouth is not usually celebrated as a tourist destination. Still, I was somewhat taken aback to learn that the city’s top-rated visitor attraction on Trip Advisor is the Plymouth Synagogue. Since Laila and I were spending a week in Devon, visiting this popular spot seemed like an opportunity that was too good to miss. The shul is located in Catherine Street, close to the centre of town and behind the Plymouth Guildhall. From the Ark and stained glass windows street it’s easy to miss - a white, two-storey building with no real distinguishing marks. The entrance is down a side passage and around the back, and it was here Page 25
that our guide Jerry began to tell us about the history of the shul and Plymouth’s Jewish community. He first asked us why we thought the main entrance was at the back of the building. Apparently most visitors immediately guess it’s because of security. But for the vast majority of Plymouth shul’s existence, over 250 years, security was not an issue. The reason the building is this way round is that the wall facing onto the street is the Eastern one, and houses the ark. The main doors are therefore at the opposite end. It is also worth noting that while the main doors now open onto a back Bimah alley and face a secondary community building, for over 100 years they opened directly onto the town’s main square. The shul was built in 1762, making it the oldest Ashkenazi synagogue still in use in the English speaking world. There is some evidence of a Jewish presence in the city much earlier. When Francis Drake set sail in 1577, he recorded in his log that his quartermaster and navigator was “Moses the Jew, from Plymouth.” Documents show that Plymouth’s Jewish community had been holding regular services in people’s homes and rented Page 26
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venues since around 1745. Plymouth was a major maritime hub, so Jews from Holland, Germany, and Central Europe were attracted to the town to trade and support associated industries including tailoring (for uniforms), instrument-making, and the like. The original shul had a house for a caretaker facing onto Catherine Street (the back of the building) but this was demolished in the 1860s to enable the widening of the road. A second building was constructed across from the shul in 1874, with a hall and kitchen downstairs and a new caretaker’s accommodation upstairs. Jerry, the current custodian of the building and our expert guide, still lives in this apartment. The building also houses the community’s mikveh, which was in use until the 1960s but apparently now leaks like a sieve and so is no longer usable. In 1864, the shul building was extended, enlarging the women’s gallery and adding a larger entrance area with an ingeniously designed succah located above it on the first floor. This room has a latticed ceiling onto which leafy branches can be balanced, and the roof above can be raised using a pulley system. The room’s gorgeous stained glass window depicts a beautiful succah, decorated with hanging bunches of fruit. The extension, plus two new stained glass windows in the Eastern wall of the shul, was paid for by a Mr Leon Solomon. This gentleman, having spent a considerable sum on the renovations of the shul, subsequently moved his large family to London. One of his sons changed his name from Solomon to Simpson, and moved to New York. And it was one of his sons, Ernest Simpson, who would marry “that woman”, whose third husband was briefly King Edward VIII. Leon Solomon commemorative tablet
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Back to the shul. The ark, which reaches the full height of the building, is of a richly decorated baroque design and was probably imported “flat-packed” from Holland. Although it appears to be made of carved marble it’s actually expertly painted wood. The The succah window columns and other embellishments have been highlighted with gold leaf, giving a magnificent overall appearance. The shul’s bimah meanwhile was made by local artisans in the Devonport Dockyard, and features ornate woodturning that would not look out of place on the deck of a galleon. The bimah is decorated with brass candlesticks that date from 1762, as well as unusual finial decorations thought to resemble bells atop pomegranates. While some of the stained glass dates back to the 1870s, three new stained glass windows were added in the 1960s. My favourite of these is the “Yom Kippur” window which features a sailing ship being tossed on the waves by a whale. It seems an appropriate scene for a shul in this historic naval town. During WWI, Plymouth’s Crownhill Fort was used as a Page 28
The Yom Kippur window
transport centre for troops being sent to the fronts in Turkey and Africa. Many of the men in the “Jewish Legion”, the 38th-42nd Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers, passed through the town. Their commander, James Patterson, insisted that his men be given Shabbat as a day off, and be provided with kosher food. This huge increase in the local Jewish population meant that the shul was able to employ a kosher butcher to provide meat to both the troops and the local community. The Jewish Legion has been cited as the foundation of the modern IDF, and many of its members emigrated to Palestine after WWI. One of the soldiers who spent time in Plymouth during the war and attended shul there, was David Ben Gurion, who became the first Prime Minister of the State of Israel in 1949. He wrote of his time in Devon: “It is one of the most marvellous places I have ever seen. When I went out into the fields at dawn for the first time and gazed at the view around our tents, I was intoxicated by the charming scene. Somehow I didn’t imagine I would ever see a panorama like this in England. Green mountains and valleys covered with silk, fertile fields and the shadows of nearby forests… The Sabbath is observed here and on that day we are let off all training, apart from marching to the synagogue together with the officers, headed by the colonel.” The shul continued to thrive after the First World War, but WWII was to spell the beginning of the end for this historic Jewish community. The building was miraculously spared during the extensive bombing of the town. Aerial photographs show it standing alone, surrounded only by cleared bombsites. But the closure of the naval bases and shipyards after the war drove people away to seek employment opportunities elsewhere. The redevelopment of the city also moved residential areas out of the centre and away from the shul, meaning that many members were unable to walk the long distance to attend Shabbat services. In 1961 the shul celebrated its 200th Anniversary with a Civic Dinner at the Guildhall. At that time the Lord Mayor of Plymouth, Mr Arthur Goldberg, was a member of the shul. Chief Rabbi Dr Israel Brodie attended the dinner, and the Plymouth Hebrew Congregation Page 29
presented the city with commemorative silver goblets, now on display in the Council House. By the 1970s though, numbers were dwindling, and these days it is rare to get a minyan except for the High Holydays, although weekly services are still held. Custodian Jerry lamented that each August the shul hosts a great many tours for Chasidic Jewish visitors from London who are holidaying in the area, but who organise their own Shabbat services elsewhere. It seems a shame that this beautiful and historic shul is not packed to the rafters for at least a few weeks a year. Does Plymouth Synagogue deserve its 5-star TripAdvisor rating? We spent a fascinating three hours there, and were astounded in equal parts by the beauty and tranquillity of this historic building, and the remarkable depth of knowledge of our guide. A former soldier, Jerry clearly has a passion for local history and has spent a great deal of time researching this small corner of Plymouth. He offers tours by appointment and if you are in the area, it is well worth your time to visit. More details are available from www.plymouthsynagogue.com. Call Jerry Sibley on 07753 267616 or email phccaretaker@yahoo.co.uk to book a tour.
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Museum of Underground Prisoners in Jerusalem Ros Landy A few months ago I was inside the Jerusalem Prison; just to clarify, it was as a visitor and not an inmate! The building is in the centre of Jerusalem in the Russian Compound and is kept nowadays as a museum. There is a small entry fee and then one may wander round as one wishes. It helps to take one of the pamphlets which are on offer at the entry desk. This gives a map and an explanation of the rooms. Nowadays the interior is clean, tidy, and empty of prisoners, but in the time of the British Mandate it was a working prison. Somehow, the interior feels clinically clean and free of feeling; rather one sees a systematic series of rooms for the incarceration of offenders. As one progresses, however, one reaches the room with some bunk beds where very slowly a hole was dug with a view to escape. One might ask about the methodology of such an enterprise. Apparently there was a daily task of room cleaning which involved not only sweeping out but also mopping out. This required water and the “spondja�, the Israeli invention of the stick with a damp cloth on the end. Because this needs water the room became very wet and the prisoners suggested a pit shaped box at one end of the room, to contain excess water which later could be transferred to buckets and tipped out in the open air. To create this pit, one needed Page 31
materials, namely bricks, mortar, a shovel, and a trowel. The latter became very useful for removing a floor tile and digging a hole under this tile at the end of the room furthest away from the inspection door. A tunnel was slowly dug from here and the angle of this underground escape was carefully constructed according to a street map which had been smuggled in to the prisoners. The noise of the digging was concealed by coughing and other such wiles. Where the tunnel exited was a main street in Jerusalem, a place where collaborators had set up a street “repair” with a barrier, a hole, and an extra set of city street worker uniforms, so that when the prisoners appeared they could don the street uniforms and disappear into the Jerusalem populace. It was an amazing exploit and totally moving to see the evidence which is highlighted today in the Museum. There is a lot more to see there; I do not wish to give a spoiler. This place, as the thin green Michelin says “vaut le detour”, that is, is worth taking a side trip to view. My overall feeling about the building was that it was cold physically, showing no evidence of heating, with the result that I had a huge feeling of relief to emerge into the Jerusalem sunshine. It is best to go as a visitor…not as a prisoner!
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The Jewish Fringe (not tsitses) Julian Landy In Edinburgh for the Festival and loving almost every minute of it, save for the weather which provided tropical downpours. Otherwise it is an exciting and enlivening experience, a little like Limmud but with short walks between performances. So far, so not Jewish. Patience, dear reader. Inexplicably, the Fringe programme identifies performers by their nationality. Why and how would this factor determine one’s choice of event? Anyway, a large number of the American presenters were very obviously Jewish and mostly from New York. Here’s the rub. During our three day stay we went to some dozen events. The only ones that were really poor were by American Jews. I wondered whether this resulted from cultural differences between countries or variations in customs between Jewish groups. I decided that both played a part. The American presenters clearly thought themselves hilarious. But they elicited not a single titter from any of the audience. They were seriously unfunny. Their subject matter centred on their experiences as New York Jews: in short, a state of Angst or Woody Allen territory. While we are used to “Friends” these live comedians failed to deliver their jokes. Was the material or the delivery at fault? In any case, we avoided them for the rest of our trip and had a great time. Be warned but do go. This Festival is a wonderful experience in a ravishingly beautiful city now blooming with vegetarian eateries.
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Ben Blaukopf, Sharon Blaukopf, Ben Nevis, and Keeping Kosher Ben Blaukopf Fresh from conquering Kilimanjaro last October under the guidance of https://www.pjschallenges.com/kosher-tours, my mum decided she'd like something similar over here. Specifically, she'd like me to take her up Ben Nevis. Google has an option “I'm feeling lucky”, allowing you to search for - well, whatever it feels like giving you. I was feeling lucky, so I typed in “Kosher B&B Scotland” - and up popped “Willow Brae, Kosher-friendly B&B”. It was 60 minutes drive including a ferry and a single-track road from Fort William, so in Scottish terms, practically next door. I made enquiries as to exactly what “kosher-friendly” might mean, and the response, from the proprietor Linda Martin, was quite satisfactory. That made a good venue for after Ben Nevis. For the night before, I booked “luxury” accommodation in a 6-person dorm at the Fort William Backpackers, fully catered (by me). Bring earplugs. One Tuesday morning in May, me and mum set off at 5.30am from Cambridge. We had planned to leave at a slightly more civilized 6.00am, but mum had arrived on an early flight from Israel the previous day, and was feeling a bit jetlagged. She got up early, this woke me up, and off we set. By 10.30am we had started ascending Halls Fell Ridge in the Lake District, described by Wainwright as “positively the finest way to any mountain top in the district”. As is my usual practice, I gave Clare a route and a time deadline for Mountain Rescue. It’s good for both of us to know exactly what to do, when. SMS to Clare, back in Cambridge, sent 10:36 “Off up Halls Fell Ridge. Descent TBD probably Doddick back to car at Threlkeld. MRT 3.30pm” We took an early detour across a stream into a copse to find an entire hunt of hounds charging towards us. Fortunately their approach was arrested by a high wire fence. We backtracked to the correct route. Normally the difficulties on the route can be avoided, but the grassy Page 34
alternative route was rather wet and slippery, so I assisted mum up some of the steeper sections with a length of rope. This was a psychological aid more than anything - we would have managed without it. As we proceeded upwards, mum remarked that if she fell off, my siblings would have something to say about it. I retorted “Well you can't disinherit me till you get down, so keep walking”. Wainright likes Halls Fell Ridge because it leads direct to the summit of Blencathra. No sooner do you finish scrambling over the final section than you pop out next to the trig point. Blencathra itself lies 868m above sea level, with superb views - when clear - over Derwent Water and Thirlmere. We made steady progress up to about 800m, in alternating drizzle and sun, when the barometer suddenly suggested that we were airborne at 1300m, rather higher than anything you will find in England! The pressure was dropping very rapidly. Poor Clare now received a new text: Sent 13:31 “Hail and snow. Descending slowly halls fell ridge aborted. MRT 4.30”. What followed was far more serious than I let on to mum at the time! Suffice it to say I was extremely glad that mum trusted me; that I didn't let on how serious I felt the situation was; that I had a rope; that mum was willing to abseil on a bowline and a body belay for the first time in her life; and that downclimbing a grade 1 scramble unroped in ice was still within my comfort zone. B”H we made it down through the difficulties safely and without any mishap. Off to Scotland. Any hope that our dorm might be less than full disappeared when we arrived at about 8pm to find no space in the carpark, but fortunately easy parking further up the road. We cooked up some noodles for dinner, mixed with chicken, left-over from the previous night's dinner at my house, which we practically inhaled after a long day. And then off to a surprisingly comfy bed for an earlyish start the next morning. Awake at 5am I checked the mountain weather forecast and my heart sank. “A poor day in the Scottish hills... gale force winds... snow... hail...”. To borrow a phrase from 1066 and all that - this was A Bad Page 35
Thing. Close reading of the forecast suggested that things would be worsening later, so we got up and got going. Our apologies to everyone else in the dorm! At least the forecast made our route clear. I had been considering the CMD Arete route, at least until the events of the previous day. We would now definitely be travelling via the Pony Track, aka Tourist Path. Unfortunately our speedy progress downstairs was immediately arrested by a sign on the kitchen door. “Closed from 23:30 to 07:00”. It wasn't locked, so we ignored it. We retrieved our food and cooked a somewhat reduced breakfast in the Morrisons’ carpark instead. It didn't really matter - we'd had a good dinner. Sent 07:54 “We're off. Vis centre parking. Tourist path. MRT 6.30pm”. Ben Nevis itself proved a long, but ultimately uneventful journey. We made slow but steady progress up and down, passed early on by a girl in trainers, jeans, and a not very waterproof-looking puffa jacket, and subsequently by quite a lot more people. I think she made it to the top, probably aided by youth and an early start. In contrast to most climbs I have done in England or Wales, the parking is only just above sea level, so you have to climb nearly all of Ben Nevis's 1345m altitude. There must have been at least 200 people on the hill - this on a poor Tuesday in May. I can only imagine what a busy day in the summer holidays must be like. The path was in most places wide enough for two streams Page 36
of people in each direction, plus a middle overtaking lane. It started snowing quite lightly at about 1100m, and the wind and precipitation continued to increase as we got higher. At the top, the summit cairn is a large construction with steps, but these were almost unclimbable due to ice. We surveyed the impressive remains of the old observatory for about ten seconds, and then decided to have lunch lower down. Sent 12:36 “Top” On the way down we took care to avoid the gullies of Gardyloo and Tower Ridge, both looming out of the mist very close to the path, and offering a speedy but possibly final descent. The snow continued and turned to rain as we descended, and by the time we reached the carpark just before 5pm, we were feeling a bit soggy. We were pleased we had got going early. Overall the weather was better than forecast, and we quite possibly had the best weather on the British Isles that day. Sent 16:54 “And down” Off to Willow Brae, sadly unlicensed, so an emergency stop at Morrisons procured a couple of beers and bottle of Jura before we headed off via the Corran Ferry to Willow Brae to meet Linda Martin. She had grown up in Manchester, and has run the B&B for a few years. It is best described as a B&B run by someone who keeps kosher, rather than as a kosher B&B. The latter would entail things like supervision, which is completely impractical in that location. If you eat there, you are essentially visiting someone's home and trusting them. Eating there is therefore very much a matter of personal decision, though she can Page 37
provide Hermolis meals if desired. Linda describes herself as having grown up as Modern Orthodox. Obviously even that covers a fairly wide spectrum, but I think almost anyone in the congregation would be happy to eat meat there. It’s important to note that she only gets half a dozen or so kosher guests a year. So she is not, in my view, running a B&B as a kosher enterprise to attract specifically kosher business - she is running a B&B as an enterprise, and the fact is that she also keeps kosher throughout makes it possible for Jews to eat there. She says that the Scottish visitors are generally full of approval for the lack of provision of a cooked breakfast on shabbat morning. After all, I believe they still close the playgrounds on Sundays on some of the islands. Our return to Cambridge was a straightforward nine hour drive, punctuated by the odd coffee. So far as I am aware, mum enjoyed the whole experience, and I have not been disinherited.
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A most unusual wedding Summer 2019 Barry Landy The Davidson family sent all five of their children (Jeremy, Jonathan, Jeffrey, Jacky, and Jillie) to Cambridge in the 80s. Three of Jeffrey's children were in Cambridge more recently, Lauren, Leo, and Hugo. And Hugo still has another undergraduate year to come. Now these children are getting married. Leo married some time ago, this year we received an invitation to Lauren's wedding in Edinburgh in early July. Intriguingly the invitation said that the ceremony would take place in Vellore castle near Falkirk, which turns out to be owned by Jeffrey Davidson. Naturally we felt we couldn't miss such an occasion. The Edinburgh shul could not let the Davidson's sponsor a kiddush the Shabbat before the wedding as, most unusually, a child of a member of the shul had already booked it for a pre-wedding kiddush. So Jeffrey decided that, as most of his guests could not sensibly travel on the Sunday to get to the wedding, he would arrange an entire Shabbat programme. He hired the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a most imposing building in George Street in the centre of Edinburgh and in those premises provided all the Shabbat services and, with the help of an excellent Kosher caterer from Golders Green, all the Shabbat meals. Because Shabbat at midsummer in Edinburgh does not start till very late (about 9.40pm, and the earliest candle time is after 8pm) the programme started with pre-Shabbat dinner. After dinner we had Friday evening services and then Kiddush and dessert. The catering was superb. Since the guest list was to a large extent either members of Hampstead Garden Suburb shul or contemporaries of the Davidsons from Cambridge, we found that we knew a lot of the guests.
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On Shabbat morning a pre-shul breakfast was provided, followed by Shacharit and Musaf, then lunch. After lunch there was free time during which we went back to our hotel for a rest. Then in the evening there was Minchah and Seudah Shelishit, and finally, for those able to last the course until 11pm, Maariv and Havdalah. This was already a full programme and we had not yet had the wedding! Coaches had been arranged for the early afternoon to take us from Edinburgh to the castle. When we arrived we found that it is not an overly large castle, but actually a large mansion, which a previous owner who had served in the army in India had modified on his return to Scotland to look like the fort he had served in. He also changed its name to Vellore which was the name of the fort. Those who are curious can look up both the castle (in Scotland) and the fort (in India). Vellore is in the middle of the countryside near Linlithgow. Since the building itself could not possibly hold a large wedding the Davidsons had put up half a dozen marquees, and prayed for a dry day. Luckily the weather was very good and everything worked splendidly. The chuppah was in one marquee which had a transparent top, the reception in the garden with a marquee providing a covered area for the bar, an outhouse and a marquee had been converted into a kosher kitchen, and the dinner was in the largest of the marquees. Two pipers played the bagpipes to pipe the guests into the marquee for the wedding meal. Page 40
The dinner followed the usual pattern of Jewish weddings. We were seated with some non-Jewish neighbours who asked if it was usual to have dancing before food at Jewish weddings, and of course the answer was "yes". The celebrations went on till midnight when the coaches took us, tired and happy, back to Edinburgh.
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The Lehman Trilogy Julian Landy The National Theatre is going through a tough patch, with shows getting mixed reviews and audiences in slight decline. This at a time when their competitors in the West End are pushing an undiluted diet of musicals to packed houses. The Lehman Trilogy opened to a chorus of rave reviews. Originally a three-act play by Italian dramatist Stefano Massini it follows the rise and fall of the Lehman Brothers in America. I urge you to look out for it and book to see it. Jo and I missed it in the theatre and I regret that so have you. However we did see a live relay at the Picturehouse and it is sure to be replayed soon: the best evening of theatre I have witnessed for decades. This is essentially a Jewish story underscoring that we are a people who strive to make our children’s lives better than our own in whatever way possible: to provide and to prosper. Hebrew and Yiddish abound. The three brothers who started a shop in Montgomery Alabama selling bales of material, ended up heading a top four investment bank on Wall Street. And then, when in 2008 the US government refused to contribute federal capital, the bank collapsed. The play concentrates on the individual men (all men), who made the business flourish, allegedly by listening to messages in their dreams. These men progressed (or regressed) from Orthodoxy to Reform Judaism to nothing. Atheism? There are just three actors presenting a masterly piece of translation and abridgement from the original Italian. It would be invidious to pick out one as outstanding. Regardless of the gradually diminishing role of formal religion in the play, Judaism drives the narrative. The characters “Baruch Hashem� every few minutes, they light candles, have bar mitzvas, and marry under the chupa. Yet this is an Everyman story. An American tale of rags to riches and back. It could be yours! Page 42
Board of Deputies of British Jews Message from the President Marie van der Zyl Last year, my Rosh HaShanah message told of the way the Jewish community came together to proclaim in a loud and firm voice, “Enough is Enough� on antisemitism in the Labour Party. Since then, the antisemitism crisis has not gone away. However, our campaign against those who pursue this most ancient form of racism has had great successes, notably the suspension of serial offenders including Chris Williamson and Peter Willsman and the expulsion of Jackie Walker. There is understandable anxiety in our community about the way racists within Labour have been emboldened to express their disgraceful views by the indifference, and at times the collusion, of the party’s leadership. However, as I have been saying since I assumed the presidency of this great organisation in 2018, there is another story to be told. This is the story of a longstanding community that has lived peacefully in the UK for centuries; a community which, since we were allowed back into this country by Oliver Cromwell, has had the freedom to practise our religion and live a truly Jewish life within a respectful society. In return, our community has contributed great things, in the arts, in society, in business, in politics, and in science. We have produced major figures from Abba Eban to Amy Winehouse, from Isaiah Berlin to Mark Ronson. With the prevailing conditions of freedom and respect our community has flourished over the past centuries, and despite worries over the revival of mainstream antisemitism, most of us lead happy Jewish lives. Page 43
However, there is a reason that the Board of Deputies has existed since 1760; that is to protect those hard-won freedoms and to ensure that the Jewish community in all its forms and denominations, continues to flourish. At the Board of Deputies, we are in constant campaign mode, challenging Labour antisemitism through advocacy in the media, and to those in Labour and outside who support us and can make a difference. Of course, Labour’s antisemitism problem is not the only problem with which we are grappling. Brexit is an issue of enormous national significance, and it will impact on British Jews. We have been working with the Government to ensure that Jewish interests are safeguarded in all circumstances. The Board of Deputies played a prominent role in campaigning for the terrorist group Hizballah to be banned in its entirety. The Government listened and responded last autumn by ending the artificial distinction between Hizballah’s political and military wings. We continue to confront and challenge divisive and unhelpful boycotts of Israel. Through our Invest in Peace projects, where we bring Israelis and Palestinians to speak to interfaith audiences, we show that there are better ways to address and resolve differences over the conflict. We made a significant intervention into the Government’s legislation on organ donation. As we moved from an opt-in to an opt-out system, we acted to ensure that Jews of all denominations were protected. We also obtained compromises from the Department for Education on relationships and sex education that will allow all parts of our community to teach according to their ethos. We work to educate non-Jewish children and adults throughout the UK on the Jewish way of life. One way we do this is through our mobile exhibition, the Jewish Living Experience which is visited by thousands of children and adults. We ensure high standard of religious education in schools through our Pikuach inspection service – ‘the Jewish Ofsted’ which is accredited by the Department for Education.
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Our honorary officers and staff reach out to local councillors at Local Councillors Seminars across the UK, to ensure that they understand and are sympathetic to Jewish concerns. Through Milah UK, for which the Board of Deputies provides the secretariat, we campaign for the right of every Jewish boy to be circumcised according to Jewish law. Our contribution to UK Jewish life is crucial. We will continue to represent you in the coming year to ensure we continue to live freely and safely as Jews as we have done here for centuries. May this Rosh HaShanah bring you, your families and all of Am Yisrael health, strength, and peace.
An unexpected shul visit Lauren Allin One Thursday afternoon in July I went back to Shul to pick up my car, to find a group of people standing on the forecourt. On asking who they were, it turned out that they were a group of Russian Israelis visiting Cambridge for the day. I took them into Shul and we spent a happy hour talking about the building, Jewish students, and the Cambridge community. An unexpected event but very pleasurable for all involved. I would like to thank the group for the very generous donation they made to CTJC.
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Sticky and spicy honey cake with a sweet honey drizzle A delicious way to celebrate a sweet New Year Helen Goldrein Growing up, my Mum never made honey cake for Rosh Hashanah. She would make an enormous slab of the darkest, stickiest, sweetest ginger cake, which had a very generous amount of golden syrup in it, instead. I’ve made honey cake a few times, but it never quite lived up to the memory of that sticky, spicy cake of Mum’s, so this year I decided to attempt a hybrid honey/ginger cake. I stuck with runny honey instead of golden syrup, used soft brown sugar for added richness and flavour, and spiced it up with ground ginger and the zest of an orange. The cake was just as gooey and sticky and rich and spicy as I’d hoped, with a wonderful honey flavour. The perfect homage to my Mum’s ginger cake, while still being definitely a honey cake.
The cake ingredients • • • • • • • •
75g soft brown sugar 100g runny honey 150g plain flour 1½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp ground ginger zest of an orange 75ml olive oil (or a flavourless vegetable oil) (1/3 cup) • 2 eggs • 125ml plant-based milk (generous 1/2 cup) • ½ tsp vanilla extract Page 46
Ingredients for the honey icing and decoration • • • •
40g icing sugar (powdered sugar) 1 tsp runny honey 1 tsp plant-based milk (I used oat milk) Strands of orange zest
Instructions 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C 2. Line a 1.2kg loaf tin with greaseproof paper. 3. Put the sugar and honey into a small saucepan and heat on a low flame, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Remove from the heat once the sugar is all dissolved. 4. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, and orange zest. 5. Separately, whisk together the oil, eggs, plant-based milk, and vanilla. Then whisk this mixture into the sugar/honey. 6. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk well to give a smooth, runny batter. Pour into the lined tin and bake at 180°C for 40-50 minutes, until risen, dark golden in colour, and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. 7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes. Remove and leave on a wire rack until cold (the cake may sink slightly)
To decorate the cake 1. Carefully combine the icing ingredients to give a thick but runny icing. Drizzle over the cake - you may not need it all. 2. Sprinkle over the orange zest, serve, and eat
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Festival calendar 5780, 2019-20 Erev Rosh HaShanah Festival commences Evening services
Rosh Hashanah 1st day Morning service Afternoon service, shiur and maariv Candles for 2nd day are lit
Rosh HaShanah 2nd day Morning service Afternoon and evening services Festival ends
Shabbat Shuvah Shabbat commences Morning service Shabbat ends
Erev Yom Kippur Afternoon service Fast commences Kol Nidrei
Yom Kippur Morning service Reading of the Law Yizkor (approx) Afternoon service Neilah Fast terminates
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Sunday 29 September 6.27 pm 6.30 pm Monday 30 September 9.30 am TBA 7.20 pm Tuesday 1 October 9.30 am TBA 7.23 pm Saturday 5 October 6.16 pm 9.30 am 7.13 pm Tuesday 8 October 1.30 pm 6.07 pm 6.30 pm Wednesday 9 October 9.30 am 11.30 am 12.15 pm 4.40 pm 5.50 pm 7.05 pm
Erev Succot
Sunday 13 October
Festival commences Afternoon and evening services
Succot 1st day
5.55 pm 6.00 pm* Monday 14 October
Morning service Afternoon and evening services Candles for 2nd day are lit
Succot 2nd day
9.30 am 6.00 pm* 6.50 pm Tuesday 15 October
Morning service Afternoon and evening services Festival ends
9.30 am 6.00 pm* 6.52 pm
Shabbat Chol HaMoed
Saturday 19 October
Shabbat commences Morning service Shabbat ends
Hoshanah Rabbah
5.44 pm 9.30 am 6.43 pm Sunday 20 October
Morning service Festival commences Afternoon and evening services
Shemini Atzeret
8.00 am* 5.40 pm 6.00 pm* Monday 21 October
Morning service (& yizkor) Afternoon services Evening service Candles for 2nd day are lit
Simchat Torah
9.30 am 6.00 pm* 6.35 pm* 6.35 pm Tuesday 22 October
Morning service Afternoon and evening service Festival ends
9.30 am 5.30 pm* 6.38 pm
*As these days are during term, times are subject to change
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CTJC magazine
Rosh HaShanah Tishrei 5780 September 2019
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