WORD FROM OUR CHAIR
Hello everyone,
We had a bit of a mishap this month and ‘Word from the Chair’ was accidentally omitted from Shofar, so Rebecca suggested I take this weekly e-mail spot instead. In a further departure from the usual weekly e-mail fare, in place of more general reflections I’m going to seize this opportunity to talk to you about what council actually does and in particular about what we’ve been up to in our first two meetings of the year. I hope that by keeping you informed about these practicalities we can be accessible, transparent and accountable as a council.
We have a minhag of starting each council meeting by going around the room talking about a highlight of the month for each of us at FPS. Last month Rafael Qassim’s Bar Mitzvah unsurprisingly loomed large as did our Shabbat b’Yachad Remembrance service. I’d had a literal highpoint: the opportunity to go up onto the synagogue roof with a roofer – not something that I’d ever anticipated would be part of my experience as chair.I really enjoyed seeing our building and our relationship to neighbouring buildings from that very different perspective!
In October we received a report from Beit Tefilah – the committee responsible for the liturgical side and the ‘rites and practices’ of synagogue life – on the question of our physical return to the building for services. We came to a decision about how to move forward, to be reversed almost immediately by new national restrictions. We were very happy to have enabled members to come to worship in the building for one Shabbat. This brief experiment was extremely useful in testing out our procedures, and ensuring we are able to meet again safely. We also fed back to Beit Tefilah about how we thought the High Holy Days Services had gone – brilliantly, was the consensus!
We have reviewed the plans we made last year – inevitably, Coronavirus has had a major impact in every area of our work which meant some things hadn’t happened at all and others had taken surprising new turns – and discussed possible areas of focus for the year ahead. For example: Outreach and care: How do we keep in touch with our members, support those who are vulnerable and in need, and make it easy for people to ask for, get or provide help? Membership and community development: Is our membership changing and if so how? Who is joining as new members? How do people hear about us, become members and then become more involved and take on leadership roles? How do we plan effectively for membership growth? Technology: All of our events are likely to be either exclusively online or to combine online and in person attendance for the foreseeable future. How do we make hybrid events successful for members both at home and in the building? How do we continue to engage members online? How is our use of technology likely to develop and expand? What equipment, capabilities and resources do we need? What new opportunities are there for outreach, communication and raising our profile for example through social media, vlogs and podcasts? What will it cost and how will we pay for it? Building and Grounds: How can we take responsibility more effectively for managing our building and grounds? How do we keep on top of routine maintenance? What about health and safety, fire procedures etc? We don’t at present have a care-taker. Can we manage this with the staff and volunteers we have or do we need additional staffing capacity?
We’ve been reviewing our safeguarding policy. Now two years old, it is already significantly out of date. The need to move much of our provision online has also raised many new considerations. It’s at times like this that it’s really useful to have a Head Teacher and other experienced teachers on council!
We’ve been discussing next year’s budget. A budget is a values document: what you spend your money on reflects the choices you have made about what matters most. When we first created the post that Zoe now holds, council agreed that part of the cost would be paid out of capital as an investment in the future of the community. Two years ago we decided that this could not be sustained and that we needed to be able to pay for that post and still balance our budget. We managed that last year, but it’s going to be much more difficult to break even next year. Our income has taken a hit because we’ve lost some of our lettings income. The cost-savings we made this year during lockdown when we were unable to be in the building can’t be sustained now that Southover – our main tenant and a major income source – is back in the building and when we ourselves return. We may need to draw on capital to invest in some necessary maintenance work. Our largest source of income is membership subscriptions and our largest expenditure is on staff, so although there is no necessary direct relationship between the percentage increases in subscriptions and salaries, there is a balancing act. We are thinking about how to maximise our income through managing our reserves, fund-raising and in due course from rental income for external users of the building. It falls to our superb treasurer to finalise a budget that reflects what were essentially moral as well as economic arguments in council to be approved at our next meeting.
I hope that gives you a flavour of what we’ve been up to. If you would be interested in helping with any of these areas please do let us know. And do let us know what you think we should be working on and thinking about as priorities to ensure that FPS continues to flourish as a community. We are of necessity a relatively small group, so we need to hear your views and experiences to best represent the community as a whole.
Tamara Joseph
“We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with a sleep.” So said Prospero in The Tempest.
So this week’s Torah portion is all about Jacob’s famous dream and the meaning it offers for life; both sleeping and awake. What he sees when he sleeps and when he wakes up is quite affecting.
Famously Jacob dreams of a ladder which has angels ascending and descending. The direction they move is intriguing; unusual for celestial beings (surely?), that they are grounded and move upwards. The Jungian psychotherapist and former monk Thomas Moore made much of this idea in his book Care of the Soul. He says the downward, “descending” movement in human life is the most important. And that’s what Jacob’s angels demonstrate.
Is that why we love this dream, this portion called simply “Jacob left”? “Thomas Moore frequently spoke about “growing down” – that is, adding substance, weight, and depth to our character. Is this what the angels were demonstrating? The messier, more real experiences are what make us soar. The poet John Keats called life ‘the vale of soul-making.’
So that when Jacob awoke on the bare uncomfortable earth with a stone for a pillow, in a moment of recognition of what he saw he was able to say
Achein yeish Adonai bamakom hazeh v’anochi lo yadati, “Oh yes Surely God is in this place and I, I did not know it!” (Gen. 28:16).
Being awake is what we all strive for. Noticing those moments where it all comes together.
I’m so conscious of so many making adjustments to expectations and hopes during these days. Families marking Bnei Mitzvah or a wedding. This week Liz and Yoni Avital accompany their son Ariel as he becomes Bar Mitzvah. It will be at their kitchen table and we will be cheering on with pride. John Rubinstein, his teacher will guide him and Richard Greene and I will lead the service and I hope we will be able to say; God was in this place and I, I did know it.
Shabbat Shalom to All,
Rebecca
(Thanks to Rabbi Rick Shechter for his teaching on Thomas Moore)
From Zoe Jacobs:
“You cannot serve from an empty vessel” – Eleanor Brown, American author.
At first we had lockdown anxiety. The newness, the constant change, the sudden and immediate danger made our heads spin and our stomachs churn. Looking back at March – those days where streets were empty but for one-hour walks – feels a world away, despite only being eight months.
But now it’s lockdown blues. The exhaustion and weariness of keeping on keeping on. It is funny how much we get used to. If you sit with a tiger for long enough, do you forget the danger? And is that bad – or just human nature ensuring we always take the next step?
The world doesn’t seem to be offering many vessel-filling moments, just now. I think we are all feeling a little run down, our patience thinner, our resilience softer, our stamina shortened.
Eleanor Brown says we cannot pour from an empty vessel. The lesser-known end to that quote is “When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow”. She expects overflow?! What about when there’s a global pandemic and we have to live with a half-full vessel? Do we pour, just more cautiously? Do we wait for a more reassuring quantity of liquid before giving it away? Do we pour generously, in good faith that more will come?
Just now, sitting tight, acknowledging the exhaustion and fear, it seems all three of those options are happening and are valid.
At other times, we rally, get up and walk on. From the #CaringForCarers campaign, to the Black Lives Matter movement, people are pouring their love and energy into important and urgent campaigns with radical faith that soon their cup will overflow again.
I guess for most of us, most of the time, we sit in the middle. We are pouring more cautiously than usual, giving love to those closest to us, finding small moments to connect.
Each vessel is our own. Each choice is our own. Let’s be kind to ourselves.
Shabbat shalom
Zoe
Community Education and Development Manager
We have good news. We raised wonderful money at our HHD appeal.
The breakdown is as follows
Each charity including our synagogue has benefited from your generosity. We made a decision this year to commit to ongoing relationships with three charities.
On Sunday night many of us attended the New Israel Fund’s Human Rights Dinner. I’d been before but this time it was DIY catering at home. Seeing the difference NIF makes to Israelis on the ground was uplifting. Two of their winning charities were WAV (Women Against Violence) and Israel’s Women Network who have helped women from all backgrounds in Israel. The pandemic has made life substantially harder for certain women; those unsafe at home and those struggling financially to support themselves and their children.
This Shabbat we mark ahead of time International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Our own Andrea Collett will speak about Jewish Women’s Aid.
I found a d’var torah Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z’l wrote. I quote…”When it comes to abuse, the home provides the maximum of temptation with the maximum of opportunity.” He like many other rabbis have spoken candidly about the need for Jewish Women’s Aid in all parts of our communities. “Judaism places such emphasis on shalom bayit, peace within the home. It is here that we are tested, here that we learn … love is respect, consideration, gentleness, the capacity to listen as well as speak, sensitivity, graciousness …” This week Parashat Chayyei Sarah ends with a description of Isaac and Rebekah’s home. Isaac brought her to his mother’s tent and Rebekah became his wife and he loved her and Isaac was comforted after the death of his mother.
It offers pause for thought as to when and how peace at home, Shalom Bayit, exists and our sensitivity to it.
Shabbat Shalom and look forward to seeing you.
Rebecca
What a strange and difficult week this has been. We still don’t know if the attack in Vienna was aimed at the synagogue but there are now four confirmed deaths in the capital of civilians that night. Our hearts break for them and their families, just as in Nice. Today begins our second lockdown and as I write the results from the U.S elections are far from clear but what is clear is that conflict will be definite. It all feels grim.
Perhaps there is a way for us to keep positive, ready to be surprised and open. I note in our Torah reading this Shabbat Parashat Vayera, Sarah comments on the surprising news of her pregnancy and subsequent birth of Isaac:
And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children, for I have borne a son to his old age!”
Rashi reads Sarah’s words mi millel as an expression of praise, esteem and surprise. I’m touched by them. Can we hold that openness during these strange days? Much has happened of late to cause us concern. P’tach libi says the prayer at the end of the Amidah. Open My Heart.
This Shabbat before Remembrance Day we welcome Ron Shelley from AJEX to speak to us and capture a moment of remembering. As we, as a community, honour our ex-servicemen and women, who this year will not be marching to the Cenotaph.
Shabbat Shalom
Rebecca
This weekend marks the end of Black History month, but as a Black friend of mine said meaningfully, Everyday is Black history month for me.
I have been learning about the iconic Dame Jocelyn Barrow – the first black female governor of BBC. How is it she is not a household name? We recognise our community, alongside many others has work to do in expanding and enlarging our understanding of the Jewish family. This is a good moment to highlight and draw attention to the work and words of Black Jews and Jews of Colour who have and do contribute so profoundly to our Jewish experience.
This past Rosh Hashanah Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl delivered a searing sermon about race and the Jewish people. We will recognise much of what she says. Do read it here ahead of this Shabbat. This week’s Taste of Torah will focus on this sermon and allow us a moment of conversation alongside Parashat Vayeira: Expulsion and Division.
This Shabbat will be Parashat Lech -Lecha where our Jewish journey began with Abraham and Sarah leaving with their possessions and the souls they had made in Haran, and they went to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to the land of Canaan.
Rashi quotes Bereshit Rabbah and suggests this was conversion, Abraham converted the men and Sarah the women. Either way this is the first time we see community growing.
We have always been a people growing, gathering others along the way. What a perfect verse to read this week. Our ancestors are from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt as well as the later Ashkenazi line.
This Shabbat fellow Liberal synagogue Kehillah North London is holding an all black led service . If you would like to support and be part of this please do please zoom in and let us know.
Shabbat Shalom
Rebecca
This week is like the day after the night before.
The Chagim (festivals) of Tishri finished, and now we sit in the new month of Cheshvan. Funnily Cheshvan, one of the few Hebrew months containing no festivals was referred to in the Rabbinic period as Mar Cheshvan (Bitter) because it’s without the joy of festivals. In the world of professional Judaism Cheshvan is the pause for breath we’ve all been waiting for. And then you add, for this Jewish professional a Bar Mitzvah, and the pause is very welcome.
In Parashat Noach we see God pausing and breathing, well almost.
God said quietly, to Godself, I won’t ever again destroy humankind as I have just done. (8:21)
What a detail, that private thought, shared with no-one else, but a commitment and promise nonetheless. What a way to begin this quieter, calmer month with that silent promise of the rainbow sealing the covenant between God and the earth.
Surely a good time to head outdoors and find moments of divinity and calm in nature.
To that end FPS will share both Shabbat services with Rabbis Alexandra Wright and Igor Zinkov at LJS. A rest for the whole FPS team and an opportunity for synagogue visiting from your living room. Look forward to seeing you the following Shabbat 30/31 October when we will begin services in our sanctuary.
Shabbat Shalom to you all
Rebecca
And you can overcome it [your desire to sin]
My youngest child’s Bar Mitzvah this weekend. As Rafael himself wrote in Shofar this month, he’s anticipating a few tears. And he is right to. What is it about the passage of time and these life cycle moments that move us so. Sheila K-L today reminded me when we first joined FPS and of Rafael climbing the steps of the Bimah, to my embarrassment, and wrapping himself around my legs. Things move and change; and that is both the source of joy and wistfulness. Watching our babies become (at times) thoughtful adolescents is a good thing and I couldn’t be prouder of him.
I love that he has this portion, the one that ends with the words describing Cain’s new home East of Eden, the same words that gave John Steinbeck the title for his book. The story of Cain and Abel and their attempts to please God inspired Steinbeck’s story of the brothers Cal and Aron trying to love and be loved by their father Adam. Steinbeck was not alone in loving the story. But it’s the devastating last page that captures the intensity of this biblical narrative about free will and how we choose to behave. Timshel is Adam’s last word directly quoted from Genesis 4 atah timshol bo; replete with the meaning he gives his sons; ‘you can overcome [it]’, or as I prefer to understand it, ‘you may always choose to do better’.
Shabbat Shalom to you all
Rebecca
We are reaching the end of our HHDs and the Tishrei festivals with Simchat Torah and our celebration of two fantastic members of FPS as they bless and bring honour to Torah. Valerie Joseph and Dean Staker have brought so much to our services all through these extraordinary seven months. Honouring Torah and being honoured by it in turn is a very Jewish phenomenon.
“Turn it over, and [again] turn it over, for all is within it. Look into it and become old and frail within it, never moving away from it, for you have no better measure than it.” (Pirkei Avot 5:22) and it is so.
To that end I am hoping for a group of adults who might like to work towards reading Torah in the Spring and preparing together. We have chosen Shabbat Acherei Mot-Kedoshim on 24 April 2021. We need three folk only to make this group viable. It will be a wonderful opportunity to learn and prepare together for one of the most meaningful portions in Torah.
Do let me know if you might be interested.
Shabbat Shalom to all and looking forward to seeing you for our last car park service on Friday at 6.30pm (please book in via the office) and streamed to you on Shabbat at 11am.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Rebecca
Never before has our fragility been so apparent.
Usually we would want to pack our sukkah with uzpishin, guests, real and imagined. But this year it will be us, members of FPS who need the sukkah to meet in. Designed to be impermanent and not remotely robust, we bring ourselves into this new space.
This year it would be unsafe to squash into our usual sukkah space so there will be impermanent structures in the car park. Fabulous David Lewis will bring strong outdoor lights for us. Bring warm clothing. The service length will be understanding of us being outside!
We are tashvu k’ein taduru, we sit in the sukkah in the manner in which we dwell in our permanent homes. We make out like it is our home.
But we know as Rabbi Alan Lew z’l described; No building of wood and stone can ever afford us protection from the disorder that is always lurking all around us. So let’s bring all of that into our Sukkah this year whilst also marking our joy. This Sukkot, waving the lulav and eating and dwelling in the Sukkah, is a commandment that can only be fulfilled with joy.
We would love for you to bring fresh fruit and vegetables for the Food Bank (they will be delivered on Shabbat so families have them fresh).
Your local lulav – an opportunity to reflect on this strange time – and a message we can hang in the Sukkah about something you have learned of fragility this year.
Rabbi Rebecca
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