Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers

Shlapping Nachas - My grandpa

2012-02-19T01:11:00.000-08:00

Today family and friends are flocking from all over to honour my grandpa's 95th birthday. He is one of my hero's, and in his honour I wanted to post a sermon I gave about him on Shabbat Chayyei Sarah in 2010. There is of course a lot more that could be said about him, but these are some highlights of an incredibly lived life, making a difference at key moments in Jewish history over the last century:

One of my father’s favourite Yiddish phrases was “Shlapping* nachas”. This essentially amounts to feelings of pride and joy in someone you love. This week I have the particular pleasure of shlapping nachas over someone who has for years dedicated himself to shlapping nachas over me. My 93 year old Grandpa - Michael. Yesterday he flew to Israel where, next week, he will be honoured in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. It is his work for Soviet Jewry for which he is receiving these honours, but he has been my personal Jewish hero for a long time and his story is one which deserves to be honoured for many reasons, not just his work in the former Soviet union.

One branch of my grandfather’s family have been in England since 1710 and were, we believe, of Sephardic origin. He was born into the poverty and struggle of the East End of London, where a thriving Jewish community supported each other. As is true of almost everyone who lived in the East End in 1936, he was a part of the anti-fascist protests that became the Battle of Cable Street. Furious that the police were protecting Mosley’s fascist black shirts, he remembers throwing marbles down the street so that the Police horses couldn’t walk down it. The battle of Cable Street is now seen as the turning point at which British Fascism was nipped in the bud, unlike in Europe, and it has only really recovered with any strength in the last ten years. Perhaps it is now our responsibility to ensure that the political legitimisation of racism and xenophobia is curbed so that our grandchildren might Shlap Nachas over what we have achieved.

Three years later, in 1939, after two years on an English training farm, my recently (and rather hurriedly) married grandparents took the last train across Europe before the outbreak of war, and made their way to the British Mandate of Palestine, where they became Chalutzim – pioneers – founding kibbutz Kfar Blum and working to help make the desert bloom. Also during this period Michael worked as a civilian Admiralty Officer with the Royal Navy in Haifa Harbour, and he anglicised his name so that in letters written to his brother, who had been taken as a prisoner of war by the Nazi’s, he wouldn’t be identified as a Jew. It was also during this period that my Aunt was born. Before my mother’s birth, however, the family returned to London. She was still a toddler however when they returned to the British Mandate of Palestine, and in 1948, when the State of Israel was declared, and then immediately attacked, my grandfather was a member of an infantry unit in the IDF. He was part of the failed attempt to take Latrun- a key town on the road to Jerusalem. He tells me that casualties were very high, and included boys and men who had come to Israel from the camps of Europe and had never held guns before.

But despite placing his life at risk for the sake of Israel, it was not a place that the family were destined to stay. After my grandmother contracted TB, they decided to return to the UK where medical provision was considerably better than in the infant state of Israel. Although my grandparents maintained property in Israel for years after this, they were never to fully settle there, generally demonstrating a serious amount of Britishness and finding the heat too much to live with. However my Aunt returned to live in Israel in the 60’s making her home on Kibbutz Neve Eitan.

Back in the UK, Michael didn’t rest on his laurels though! Initially taking work as a woodwork teacher, he took himself off to night school, learning French well enough to begin teaching it, and then Russian which was to be an invaluable tool. Bearing in mind that he was already fluent in Hebrew and had a fair amount of Arabic too, it seems extraordinarily unjust that I didn’t get any of these linguistic genes!

After learning about the plight of Jewry in what was then the Soviet Union, Grandpa was utterly outraged and insisted something be done. But unlike the numerous times I have watched injustice play out on a tv screen in front of me and felt upset but helpless, hoping someone would do something, Grandpa was driven to action himself. He was a founding member of the 35’s who campaigned throughout the 1970’s and 80’s for justice and the release of soviet Jews, held prisoner and persecuted for being Jewish and wanting to leave for Israel. The term, ‘Refuseniks’ was, in fact, coined by Michael, and he became instrumental in keeping in touch through regular phone calls to Anatoly Sharansky (who later took the name Natan!), Ida Nudel, and others. So prolific were his activities that when a photo of him was uncovered in a refuseniks home, showing him on the phone to someone in the USSR, it was pasted across Russian news bulletins, claiming to show a dangerous British dissident ‘Lord Sherbourne’ who was working to undermine Soviet glory. I firmly believe he should be a Lord, but this has sadly never been acknowledged here, only in the USSR!

In 1986, when Sharansky was finally released after a high profile campaign that had involved Jewish schools, campaign groups and youth movements, and as Sharansky was shown walking across the Glienicke bridge from Russian control to freedom, from where he was flown to Israel to be reunited with his wife whom he had not seen for some 9 and a half years, Grandpa was interviewed by BBC news. It is one of the greatest embarrassments of my childhood that I recorded over this interview… with the film Beetlejuice!!! If anyone knows someone at the BBC archives I’d be very grateful! My grandfather’s home remains in many ways a testament to his work with refuseniks, filled with tokens of gratitude, gifts, and books from those he helped, and the groups who were campaigning and wished to honour his contribution. You can even find him in the film ‘Refusenik’, a documentary made by Laura Bialis in 2009 – the first to chronicle the incredible movement that swept world Jewry in the 1970’s and 80’s, and which Kol Noa will be showing at some point next year. It is for this important work that Michael is being honoured next week, while my grandmother’s contributions were honoured when she died with a letter of condolence from Yitzchak Rabin. It is so important that some honouring is done while people are alive, and I’m glad that both Israel, and I, have the opportunity to express to our hero’s how appreciated they are. As we learn in this weeks torah portion about honouring the dead, we should also take time to honour the living, and to tell them how much they mean to us while they are still alive.

My grandpa’s story is, for me, remarkable because he so often placed himself at the centre of events that were defining to world Jewry, and he had the vision, passion and dedication to make a real difference. You and I, and this wonderful community will be a part of helping to write the next chapters. In Chayyei Sarah, Isaac remembers and mourns the life of his mother, but learns how to move forward with his life through love. Likewise we need to remember to tell these amazing stories, but they must be told not just so that I can feel proud of my grandpa, but so that they might inspire us to remember that our actions really can make a difference, one person’s contribution can have an impact, but that they are made so much bigger when they have the backing of a communal response. My grandfather never sought honours or acknowledgement, but he knew he wanted his life to have made a difference. We can all make a difference in a myriad of different ways, day by day. And if we are disheartened we can feel comforted by the words of Pirke Avot [2:21]– It is not your duty to complete the work, but neither are you free to refrain from it.
May we all be inspired to continue the work and to make a difference where we are able to. May this be God’s will. Venomar Amen.

*Someone who actually knows some Yiddish has told me it should in fact be shepping, however for me the phrase is as much about a received tradition rather than Yiddish accuracy. Many Yiddish words have been corrupted from Hebrew, and are then further corrupted into English, and in this way languages constantly change and evolve. My grandfather is a language pedant and would hate this, however I know dad Shlapped nachas rather than shepping it, so that's what I intend to do :)

Healing music, Uplifting music

2012-02-15T01:13:00.000-08:00

Sometimes life is overwhelming, and there is just too much going on. I often forget, in these times, how incredibly inspiring and healing I find music, and I surprise myself by rediscovering it. These pieces are by a classmate and friend, Stephen Rappaport from Paideia and 'People on the other side' was an anthem for our class. It is also just one of the most powerful pieces of music I know, which speaks about relationships, the other, family, dialogue, even the Shoah... I have been saving it for a deep and meaningful post but today I just wanted to share it, and appreciate Stephen and his constant distant inspiration to me. But these songs also uplift and make me smile, and that is as important and meaningful. Please share below the music that lifts you up - no judgement :)

1. People on the Other Side

2. Slow time

3. I'm Blessed

4. Her Love is stronger than I am

Tu Bishvat - allowing for regrowth

2012-02-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

It seems strange after a weekend of snow, but the kabbalists believed that Tu Bishvat (tonight and tomorrow - the 'birthday' of the trees, from when tithes etc. were calculated), marks the start of spring, as it is the day on which sap begins to rise in the trees.
I was never aware of being affected by the darkness of winter until I spent a year studying and living in Sweden. I wasn't particularly sad in winter, which was darker and colder than any I had know before, but I was aware around March/April time of a sort of euphoria and excitement at the sun being present on my morning and afternoon walks to and from school. Winter can be a time of retreat for many of us - staying indoors, disappearing, perhaps, more into ourselves as the darkness advances.
So maybe it is helpful to mark the rising of the sap around us, and experience the rising of spring in our own selves. As we experience the reawakening of the world around us, it is an opportunity to rededicate our energies to the places we wish to send them, as the sap begins to rise through our fingers and toes, where do we want to send that energy in the world? What do we want to make of ourselves, and of the world around us. We re-emerge from the cave of winter, and are enlivened by the sun, and the regrowth the world offers us year after year.
Rosh Hashanah is by no means the only opportunity for reflection, change and personal growth in the Jewish calendar, and this relatively modest festival not only does that, but ties us into the natural cycles we experience - sometimes without realising it. Of course as a festival of the trees, it is also a reminder of our connections to nature, and our need for it. In our reawakening, let us remember our responsibilities not only to our own growth, but the continued growth and development of the world around us, particularly the natural world.

Around the world in 80 chulents - making ends meat

2012-02-07T01:04:00.000-08:00

Some shabbatot, there just isn't the time during the week before to get to the kosher shops for meat, or the budget is a little too stretched, and the sensible thing is to explore the freezer and see if you can make what you have into a tasty shabbat lunch. Last shabbat was just such a week, and so G whipped up an incredibly tasty sausage chulent! Kosher Deli often sells sausages from the freezer for 99p a pack - a third of what they cost from the fridges, so G likes to call this one 'austerity chulent'. Whatever you call it - it's very tasty and really works!
As always there are lots of different ways of throwing this together - if you start by browning onions and meat, what you add beyond that is up to you - it could be beans, potatoes, veg, lentils, barley, or a combination! G went for 2 packets of sausages with a mix of potatoes, swede and turnips (left over from our organic box and needing using), with marrow bones, and cracked wheat. He covered it in wine and water, a couple of bay leaves, and there it was! Enough to feed 6, and leave left overs, and wonderfully warming for our snowy weekend.

Holocaust Memorial Day - The black triangle

2012-01-26T09:49:00.000-08:00

At our HMD event last night, we had 4 incredible speakers, one of whom, Dani Neumann, is a member of the congregation struggling to be awarded disability living allowance and facing constant challenges and hurdles to live on ELA. She spoke incredibly movingly, and has agreed to let me share her words. The sign of the Black Triangle was reserved by the Nazis for 'anti-socials' which as you will see below, included those with disabilities.

THE COMMON ENEMY

The broadway producer Stephen Schwartz once said"the best way to unite a people is to give them a common enemy"

Sad but true. It is never the real enemy but always anunder represented group- a minority.

And not just a minority but a vulnerable one. Why?Because they are less likely to fight back.

The Nazis began their campaign against disabled peopleby convincing the Germans of their economic drain

It is very mucheconomics that are driving current cuts and the campaign is leading to a risein hate crimes against disabled. We are called benefit scroungers, Spat at onin the street and- in the case of one of my friends- tipped out of hiswheelchair by thugs when he was just sitting in the pub having a drink

I am going to read out a list of statements

-These people are costing too much money. We cannotafford for them to be alive. Something has to be done

-They are nothing but a drain on recourses' this is whythere is less for you.

-These people must have done something to disserve it.Its there own fault

-we should be able to pay them less- I mean they areworth less

-Why should they have a choice what they do? They shouldbe thankful we are giving them a job

-Look you see here’s an example of one of those people-didn't we tell you they are all like that the whole group nothing but crocks.

I am sure we can all agree that we find these kind ofstatements disgusting, ignorant, presumptuous not to mention prejudice.

This is what they used to say about the Jews, Blackpeople, women, Gay people. In fact any one of these statements could have beenabout any one of these groups at one time or the other. Thank god that kind ofthing doesn't happen today. Right?

Only it does and is happening today.

What? No way notin

Britain

!We would never let that sort of thing happen to anyone in our countryespecially a vulnerable group of people

Let me ask you a question

How many times in the news in the last say year have youseen story's about "benefit cheats" headlines like 75% of people onthe sick fit for work. Benefitscroungers living in million pound houses at the expense of the tax payer andso on...

The government’s welfare reform is happening not becausethis propaganda is true but because it needs to save money.

Rather than force tax invading banks and corporations topay what they owe they are working hard, and have at large succeeded, inconvincing the country that the resection has been caused by the benefits paidout to the sick and disabled.

The truth is most people with disability who are capableof working already are.

But the ones who cant are being used as the new popularcommon enemy.

They are being forced to have humiliating and inhumanassessments that are ,by the governments own admission not fit for purpose,flawed and that are performed not by unbiased doctors who rely on medicalevidence but by privet companies who's staff are given bonuses for every sick person they find fit for work.

Here are some facts

-only 0.5% ofdisability benefit claims are fraudulent.

-70% of those found fit to work by the new welfare reformassessments are later after a long and stressful appeal found to be unfit for work and awarded therebenefit.

-The appeals have cost the UK tax payer £80million in the lastyear alone

-Whilst waiting months and in most case's years forassessments and appeals the disabled of the UK are forced to live under povertyline. Suffering the humiliation of having to ask and really on charities tocover basic things like food, heating and housing.

-And are subjectedto abuse and random unprovoked acts of violence in public by complete strangers

But surely once a person has won there appeal they areleft alone in peace to live there life right?

Wrong!

They are recalled a few months later to be given anotherassessment and start the whole assessment , appeal , award cycle again.

How do I know this is true. Well because of thegovernments own published statistics and reports. But also because (and I am nolonger to embarrassed, to proud or to ashamed to admit it)

I am one of thosepeople.

The Nazi campaignstarted by targeting not the Jews but disabled people. They where quietlygassed in the first experiments with Zyklon B, these people were comparativelylow in numbers, were less likely to be missed, could not speak up forthemselves, and had no-one to speak up for them.

Then after a large propaganda campaign that tapped intothe populations anger about the country economic state ,the murder of millions begun

long standing prejudice's like.......

"they thinkthe world owes them something",

"They are a drain on the country's limitedresources"

" they do not work so they are worthless"

"It would bekinder not to mention cheaper to kill them, preferably at birth"

......Are stomach turning yet they are statements I hearfrom people and politicians every day. Maybe not put quite as frankly orbluntly as that but the underlining argument and sentiment is the same.

We are reminded to day that if you do not speak outagainst injustice, when you value a person only by how much they contribute toa community economically, Human life is cheeped.

We are taught as Jews to remember the horrors of theholocaust. But why is it so important to remember? Because if we do not we aredestined to repeat those horrors again and again.

I hope and pray that when we see the warning sighs ,recognize the same patterns that are there time and time again through out thehistory of human rights atrocities that we will stand up with our fellow humanbeings and fight against the mob rather than become part of it.

Let us, as Hilary Clinton put it in a recent speech tothe UN about LGBT human rights, always be on the right side and not the wrongside of history.

National Holocaust Memorial Day - Use Your Voice

2012-01-25T00:25:00.000-08:00

27th of January, the date Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet army, is the annual National Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) in many countries, and has been in the UK since 2001. This is not a Jewish festival, or a time for Jews to come together, but a time for national reflection, when we consider the sadness that lives with us, not only because of Europe's history, but because it continues to happen. Jews have our own Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom HaShoah) later in the year, so it really is a time for us to join with communities around us to learn from the horrors of the past, from the Holocaust to Cambodia to Rawanda to Darfur and on and on.
This years theme asks us to use our voice to speak out, and I was very impressed by this video released by the organisers of HMD:

We are all obligated to lift up our voices in the face of the horrors of the world, whether we have direct or familial experience of genocide or not.

This year, at WLS, we will be marking HMD this evening (Weds 25th) with a special evening service followed by speakers looking at how the Holocaust has been the root of their fight against genocide today. Perhaps I will see some of you there.
As today is also Rosh Chodesh, the start of the new moon of Shvat, the month in which we celebrate the new year for the Trees (TuBishvat), this quote from Anne Frank seemed like an appropriate way of joining HMD and TuBishvat:
“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”
― Anne Frank , The Diary of a Young Girl

Lessons from the Journey

2012-01-19T03:29:00.000-08:00

When I was at Rabbinical College, one of the things that stayed with me most clearly in Practical Rabbinics was something Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner said in an excellent class on Baby Blessings.
"Every time you celebrate something in synagogue, it causes someone in the congregation pain".
If it is an aufruf for a soon to be married couple, those who are looking for a partner hurt, if it is a baby blessing, those trying and failing to conceive, or just desiring a baby, will be in pain. I think this was an incredibly important lesson, and having shared my previous post about infertility, feel conscious that my closing good news could give others pain.
For myself as a Rabbi, I always tried to separate those things that were about me, and those celebrations that were truly others', and which I could feel joy in. However one of the most frustrating phrases I heard while struggling through treatment or waiting was 'please God by you'. This made it much harder to feel happy for others, as it instantly made their joy about my own sense of failure. It also made me question why it might be that God wasn't making this happen for me (of course I don't personally believe in a micro-managing interventionist God like that... but everyone wonders!!) Trying to respond calmly and lovingly to those who say these things; in love I am sure, was also a slow learning, and ultimately, I had to make peace with the fact that sometimes people don't know what to say, and want you to know they want things to be better for you.
But two of the most important lessons I learned were from doctors. Yes, it was doctors who said I was most likely untreatable, with a 5% chance of success in regular IVF, but they also had words of great wisdom. After one department had discovered a hormone result that suggested the previous diagnosis and didn't want to treat us (despite all other results looking good and 2 surgeries having been gone through to even get to this stage), my dear mum went into fix it mode and organised a conversation with a fertility specialist at Barts hospital who was friends with a friend in Israel. He said one of the most useful and inspirational things I have heard:
"You are not a statistic."
He continued: "You don't give up or start talking about adoption or egg donation until you've tried". The idea that I am not a statistic sounds simple, but it wasn't something I had considered logically. The doctors say it's this chance, this must be true. Of course medical statistics are funny things; in this case they were taking account of one result, and not several others (my PCOS friends may be surprised to learn that IVF has excellent results on PCOS sufferers, although many women have PCOS and never know it because they conceive before being diagnosed). This wonderful man gave me the courage to push back, and to ask again if the hospital would reconsider. Which of course they did, trying an alternative method, before discovering my original result was a hormone that was completely lying to them and there was no reason not to be trying the full whack. I know for many at some point in the fertility pursuit we have to say enough is enough, and look to other options, but I was 30 years old, and had never been put through one cycle to even know! Doctors are wonderful amazing people, but they are, in the NHS in particular, also having to meet budgets and get good results, so sometimes we need to be a little demanding (which doesn't come naturally to me!) As my mum always said; Doctors don't know everything.
When we were finally being treated the first time round, another doctor said something else which those in treatment find incredibly difficult but is very important. I asked what I could do to boost my chances; give up caffeine? avoid aspartame? cut out sugar. His response was that I didn't need to change anything:
"The best thing you can do is to be relaxed and happy"
Now those of you who know me know this isn't so far from my natural state of being. However fertility treatments are enough to drive anyone to distraction, but remembering to not let the little things get to me, and to stay calm even when the big things threatened to, was incredibly helpful. The power of the mind is not quite as great as the power of the embryologist, but it sure does help, and remembering this in combination with the fact that we are not statistics and no one can predict the outcome gave me huge cause to relax in itself. That's not to say these things aren't trying, and the dreaded two week wait between implantation and knowing the result is complete torture, but worrying just doesn't help, and laughter is incredibly healing. With this in mind one of my favourite memories of the process was coming around after my first egg extraction, and feeling a pain in a place ladies don't like to. I asked the nurse about it and she said in a strong Spanish accent: "Don't worry, there's been a small prick in there". She said it completely straight faced, and despite being uncomfortable and still groggy from the sedation, I just burst into giggles. There is humour in the funniest of places.

Hearing the voice of Moses

2012-01-15T00:43:00.000-08:00

This week I spent time working on my sermon for Shabbat morning (when we celebrated a moving Bat Mitzvah) and for various reasons I wanted to look at the Disability Living Allowance cuts (etc.) - hopefully you'll see below why this was so relevant both to this weeks Torah portion and to the Bat Mitzvah. I am indebted in its writing to @BendyGirl (http://benefitscroungingscum.blogspot.com/) and was moved by the congregants who approached me after the service to tell me how affected by these cuts they are. We must raise up our voices. I have been asked to share those words as widely as possible, so here they are!

"Maya mentioned in her dvar torah that she has specialneeds –though I would argue her sense of an inability to sing is only adisability if Maya believes it is! It’s often said that we in fact all havespecial needs of one sort or another, we are just affected by them in differentways. Our limitations are often placed on us by the world we live in, but it isnot uncommon for us to place limitations on ourselves, through our own fear anddoubt. Moses demonstrates this perfectly in this weeks Torah portion, trying toconvince God (not just his parents or a teacher) that he really can’t do thetask he has been called to. He has a speech impediment, which midrash tells uswas caused when Moses had placed hot coals in his mouth as a child[1].But we can learn a huge amount from Shemot about supporting those who may needmore support to achieve their full potential than others. If we are all giventhe right encouragement and guidelines, and perhaps more importantly resources,just as Moses is by God, we can overcome much that life has thrown at us.

And of course it isn’t just this week’s portion whichtells us of the Jewish imperative to support the vulnerable in our society,there’s the obvious quote from Leviticus: “You shall not insult the deaf orplace a stumbling block before the blind” (19:14). But there are otherimperatives too; one of my favourites comes from Isaiah (56:5) talking aboutthe Temple:“For my house shall be a house of prayer for all people”. We needto not just enable, but ensure our houses of worship, and the world around us,is open to all, not just those we see.

In starting to think about these issues I sent atwitter message on Thursday to a tweeter known as @BendyGirl who I follow andhave learnt a huge amount from. She suffers from a condition called EhlersDanlos Syndrome and blogs, in her words “about the highs & lows of lifelived with joints that dislocate as frequently as the British weather changes”.To leave the house she needs an electric wheelchair, however to qualify for oneon the NHS you have to be wheelchair bound in your own home for 6 months. Athome it is good for her health to move as much as possible, so in walking athome, she is precluding her opportunity to leave the house. She was incrediblyhelpful and suggested in response to my unsolicited online message that I justgive her a call. Which I did.

It is clear that our responsibility, Jewish orotherwise, to support the vulnerable in our society is not going well. Youmight even be surprised to know that members of our own congregation arestruggling through the benefits system, and despite already living hand tomouth, are facing cuts in Disability Living Allowance and Employment andsupport allowance. Proving you need the benefits is becoming harder and harder,with those who are wheelchair bound, likely in the new benefits which willreplace the DLA to be qualified as able to work as well as you or me, as longas they can propel the chair themselves.

We all know cuts and savings need to be found, andit’s important to note this is not a coalition problem, these cuts began to bemade under the previous government. But I was struck by something BendyGirl(whose real name is Kaliya) made. In Nazi Germany, well before there wereJewish pogroms and camps, disabled and mentally ill German citizens wererounded up, and it was for them that camps were initially developed. And howwere the rest of the population convinced this was ok? They were told thatthese people were an economic drain on the nation. Increasingly, as Kaliya seesit, our media has been spearheading a campaign to convince us that the disabledare work shy benefit cheats. In the last 18 months campaigners have noticed asignificant increase in hate crimes towards the disabled, and they are nolonger referred to as ‘spaz’ when attacked, but as ‘benefit scrounging scum’. Infact, only half a percent of all disability claimants have been found to befraudulent, and yet to combat these false claims, benefits are being cut by, atthe most optimistic estimate, 20%. Deuteronomy (15:7) says “If there be amongyou a needy person, you shall not harden your heart, but you shall surely openyour hand”. We need to start hearing not only the encouragement of Deuteronomy,and indeed of today’s portion, but the voice of those like Kaliya, who feelinvisible (especially if they don’t have a wheelchair or white stick) andincredibly vulnerable.

Disability campaigners are, on the whole, themselvesphysically struggling, sick, and isolated. Moses’ inability to express himselfclearly is a useful metaphor for this, he had his brother, Aaron, to help himalong the way, and he became the greatest leader of the Israelites. With thiskind of support, three defeats against the welfare reform bill were achievedthis week in the house of Lords (cavod to my senior colleague in thecorner). Yet these cuts have been happening for a while, and will continue ifmore isn’t said and done.

Maya, I know you are an incredible ally and support toyour mum, and many in the community are carers and supporters just like you. Ihave seen and worked with some of you here as you struggled with evictionbecause benefits couldn’t be processed when they were needed. As a community wehave felt the cuts in social care and allowances biting, and have this month beenjoined in our professional team by a Social Care worker – Jo, who is helping usdeal with the sheer volume of work that is coming our way now that socialservices are not doing their bit, or at least helping us to navigate theincredibly time consuming beurocracy. What I hear from Kaliya, and from manyother voices, particularly on the web, where the housebound often have theironly outlet, is that people aren’t making enough noise about this. As part ofher condition, Kaliya’s larynx had collapsed when we spoke, making the parallelbetween her and Moses even more stark – she, and so many others, need ourvoices, so that they can cling onto the meagre benefits they have now. We needto support those that we can, and be the voice for those who can’t raise theirsup loud enough. Even if this doesn’t affect you directly, it is still ourresponsibility to speak up for others.

And as a community we are also being given the chanceto come together to work to change how accessible we are through the JudithTrusts Inclusion Campaign which is working with us to ensure we can reach outand include, and I hope more of you will want to become involved in thistraining as well.

Mishnah Sanhedrin (4:5) says that humans make coins,all from the same mould, and they all come out the same. God, however, makeshumans each from the same mould as the first human, yet each of us is unique.We all have unique skills and abilities, as well as challenges anddisabilities. Maya, you confessed to us what you struggle with, but you alsodemonstrated what you are fantastic at. Everyone wants to contribute, but noteveryone can do so in the same way or to the same extent. I hope we can alllearn from you about how to be a support and a friend. I must confess, as asister of someone with special needs, I’m angry at what is potentially beinglost both in care and in human dignity, but as a Jew, and as a British citizen,who knows we can do better, I am angrier, and I want us all to lift up ourvoices, in remembrance of Moses who couldn’t.

Cain Yehi Ratzon

May this be God’s will

Venomar Amen."

[1] Ex. Rabbah 1:26

Transforming rituals: Mikveh and Infertility

2012-01-13T02:14:00.000-08:00

I think it would be fairly safe to say that when I chose to write a Rabbinic Thesis on menstrual purity laws (niddah) and the ritual bath (mikveh) many people were slightly bemused. 'How will that be useful as a Reform Rabbi?' 'Isn't it just all about misogyny?'. Well, I wasn't sure how much use it would be, but I've always pursued studies that I was passionate about because I know I do better when studying something that excites me, and as it turns out, it has been greatly useful and has helped congregants and friends engage with a deeper level of meaning when it comes to immersion, for whatever purpose.
As for misogyny, yes, there is inevitably misogyny embedded in the history and texts around these customs, but that doesn't mean we can't find those elements that are meaningful and useful, and having acknowledged the misogyny, liberate ourselves to rediscover deeper, even new meanings for rituals such as mikveh.
One of the reasons I was so keen to engage with these subjects, and in particular to tie them in with the laws of niddah, was driven by my own experience of the female cycles, and a need to find deeper meaning and purpose in them. I've always enjoyed and appreciated ritual, and so these rituals became an important way for me to find a spiritual space, and a place in which I could deal with issues of infertility I have struggled with since being diagnosed with PCOS in 2003.
Over time, and with encouragement from a wonderful Rabbi with whom I sought spiritual direction, I developed a liturgy for myself (having created various mikveh liturgies for others for all sorts of reasons). This was published a couple of years ago within "Really Useful Prayers" edited by Jonathan Romain. This month, it was also listed at Ritual Well http://www.ritualwell.org/ritual/meditation-using-mikveh-when-dealing-infertility
As part of my thesis writing, I found a rather strange article in which an American Cantor, also struggling with infertility, said she was immersing once a month in the hope that the 'magical waters' would help her. I certainly wouldn't suggest that the mikveh waters are magic, or that using prayers and meditations such as mine will help you get pregnant. But that wasn't my purpose. The mikveh is a very private, feminine space, where every month, after experiencing the loss and failure of still not being pregnant, one can take time to reflect, process, mourn, even cry, before allowing oneself to get on with the next month. This may not have been it's original purpose ritually, but it fitted perfectly for what I needed.
I will be reflecting more on these themes in coming posts, as my journey with infertility has taught me a huge amount. However for the moment, and to some extent beyond our own hoping, I am now 3 and a half months pregnant, and beginning to think about how the mikveh might be used to celebrate this new transformation, this new life, and a hope we have barely dared to have. I have learnt a huge amount from this journey, one of which is that there are a huge number of women, men and couples out there dealing with these issues, and until one person is open about it, many are too afraid to openly admit to it. Likewise the mikveh has always been a ritual women snuck out to at night, hoping not to be noticed so as to keep their home lives private. Perhaps both are things we need to be more open about, to allow people to engage with them, struggle with them, and process them.

Around the world in 80 Chulents: Veggie!

2012-01-06T07:27:00.000-08:00

I feel I have been neglecting you all, and I apologise! I have been attempting some true rest over the festive period, and returning to life after the rest has been more than a little hectic!
After the excesses of the holiday season, whether too many Latkes or too much Turkey, I thought we should reflect on cutting down, and repairing our bodies as well as the world. So this weeks Chulent is a vegetarian offering - I'm sure lots of you also have veggie chulent recipes so do share! This one is from here. Veggie chulent can be hard to get right as it cooks for so long, but this one is designed to do just that!

Makes four very generous servings

1 1/2 cups dried large lima beans
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves , minced
2 medium onions , thinly sliced
3 stalks celery , thinly sliced
2 large potatoes or 4 small potatoes , peeled and quartered
2 carrots , peeled and thinly sliced
1 bay leaf , crushed
1 1/2-2 tablespoons vegetarian chicken soup mix or 5 vegetable bouillon cubes
1 tablespoon paprika (I find using half smoked bittersweet paprika and half regular paprika adds depth to the final flavou)
4 cups hot water
salt
fresh ground pepper

Soak the beans overnight, then drain.
Or, follow package directions for quick soaking.
In a large skillet, heat the oil and saute the garlic, onions and celery until tender.
Put in slow cooker.
Add the potatoes, carrots, beans, bay leaf and paprika.
Dissolve the soup mix in 1 cup of the hot water and add to the vegetables with the remaining 3 cups of water.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cover tightly and cook on low 18-24 hours.
Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary

Bringing light: Stand up and be counted

2011-12-21T01:36:00.000-08:00

At Chanukah we are told to place our Chanukiyot in a window so that the world will see the light and know about the miracle of Chanukah.
I was reminded of this sense of witnessing yesterday morning on the bus to work. The top deck was full and people were standing downstairs, including a woman standing on the stairs waiting for the next seat to become available upstairs (clever thinking!)
A man got on board and asked to get past her and go upstairs. She politely explained that there were no seats upstairs and he started laying into her 'What f#+*ing business is it of yours? Why are you interfering? If I go upstairs there'll be a f*+#ing seat.' He then commanded her to go upstairs and look again. She did and as she went up a guy emerged to go downstairs. So she called down 'Now there is a seat because someone is getting off'. The chaps response was to shout back abusive names at her. All seemed rather unnecessary, and in true big city style, most of us tried to convey our shock to each other without getting involved. All but one woman, who turned to him and said 'That's just not necessary. Don't call her that. It's completely out of line'. So she became the next victim, called the same names before the guy stormed upstairs, where I could just see him standing, waiting to find a seat. This second woman went to the bus driver to report the abuse, and he suggested she speak to the Community Support Officer who was getting on the bus, which she did, and I tried to add what I could.
By this stage the police officer couldn't find the abuser as he'd sat down, however she assured us she was staying on till Victoria and would look out for more trouble.
I turned to the second victim and said 'Good for you for saying something'. We then had a chat about how rude people have become on public transport and how she had had a similar experience on the tube recently (albeit because she was carrying a large back pack).
Bringing light isn't just a metaphor for the lovely glowing chanukiyah. We can bring light in so many ways in our day to day lives. Challenging this kind of public nastiness is difficult; it doesn't come naturally to all to get involved. But if we don't try and stand up for what is right when we need to, we allow darkness to creep into the smallest areas of our lives, and permeate from there outwards.

Around the world in 80 Chulents: Uzbekistan!

2011-12-16T00:24:00.000-08:00

The book 'Cooking from Memory' is an enjoyable, nostalgic and surprising recipe book which asks Jewish women from all over the world to share their recipes, brining together recipes from Scotland toVietnam.

The one I have enjoyed and repeated most is what we will be having for shabbat lunch tomorrow: Uzbek chulent in a bag - Oshi Sabo. The first time we made it I was terrified of what would appear as it's not a way I'd cooked before, but it came out brilliantly! I have found I need to be fairly careful about amounts in this recipe, and haven't had as good a result when just guessing measurements. This week, for the first time, I'll be trying to make it at 50% the given recipe which I've not done before, however the full version (here) feeds at least 10 people and sometimes you just don't need that much chulent!

500g (1 lb) brown rice, washed
1kg (2 lb) lamb leg, finely chopped
1.5 onions, finely chopped
200g (7 oz) sultanas
2 carrots, finely chopped
4 granny smith apples, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
50 ml (1.5 oz) olive oil

- Mix all the ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl.
- Place the mixture in an oven bag (buy the biggest one you can find!) making sure it is tightly packed.
- Put the oven bag into a muslin or cloth bag, and tie with string (I use a potato storage bag from Lakeland with a string and toggle top).
- Place the bag into a large saucepan filled with water to cover. Bring to the boil then simmer on a low heat for 16 hours (we put it on a blech at 2 of 6 on our electric hob). The recipe suggests topping up the water as necessary but this is a problem on shabbat so we weight the lid of the pan down with a heavy le creuset pot to reduce evaporation and it works fine.
- When ready, empty the contents into a large bowl and mix well, serving hot!

Shabbat Shalom!

Bringing Light: The light of text...

2011-12-15T04:30:00.000-08:00

Although Chanukah means the festival of dedication, it has come to be known as a festival of lights, celebrating the famous miracle of the one days supply of oil that lasted for 8 days. So today I wanted to share some texts that might inspire and bring light, through the theme of light!

“The candle of the Eternal is the soul of humanity” Proverbs 20:27

(Proverbs 20:27 photographed November 2010 at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem)

Rabbi Eliezer said:

By the light that the holy one created on the first day, a person could see from one end of the world to the other. But as soon as the Holy One observed the generation of the flood and the generation of the dispersion of humankind and saw that their conduct was depraved, he proceeded to hide His light from them. And for whom was it hidden? For the righteous people in the world to come.

And the students asked him, 'Where is it hidden?' He answered, 'In the Torah.' They asked, 'If this is so, then won't the righteous ones find something of the hidden light when they study Torah?'

He answered, 'They will find it here, and they will find it there.'

They asked, ' if this is so, what will the righteous ones do when they find something of the hidden light when they study Torah?'

He answered, 'They will reveal it in the way that they live their lives.'

Exodus Rabbah 35:1

“In the Hasidic understanding, Chanukah becomes a festival celebrating the internal rededication in which each of us can engage. Hasidic teachers make much of the line from Exodus, "Build Me a temple and I will dwell within them" -- within them, e.g. not in the temple but in our very hearts. Chanukah is the time when we're called to cleanse impurities from our hearts, to rededicate ourselves to the neverending work of making holiness manifest in the world. Nurturing holy sparks, kindling light in the darkness: these take on profound spiritual meaning when we remember that light is associated with chesed, God's abundant lovingkindness -- and that the first thing created, at the beginning of time, was (spiritual/metaphysical) light. Our task is to purify our hearts so that divine light can shine in and through us”.

The Velveteen Rabbi Mai Chanukah http://velveteenrabbi.blogs.com/blog/2008/12/mai-chanukah.html

Around the world in 80 Chulents: Dumplings

2011-12-07T01:21:00.001-08:00

I promised this to you last week, but alas time ran away from me.
This summer G and I had the pleasure of going to Prague where I was conducting a wedding. Despite the pouring rain the wedding was beautiful. Wandering around the city though I had one regret; every restaurant seemed to be serving stew and dumplings - except the kosher ones!
I am a big fan of stodgey food, and dumplings just fit perfectly! I have even been known to eat kneidlach (matza balls) raw, before they even make it into the soup.
So when we got home, I knew that shabbat we were having dumplings in our chulent, and I've been making them ever since (though the frozen 'kishkes' you can buy in kosher shops are pretty good too!)
As with all these things, you need to find the right consistency for you, but once you have a basic recipe, you can add herbs/spices to your taste. I particularly love adding fresh rosemary, thyme and sage from the garden, but it depends on the flavours of your chulent as to what you want! I find it's best made the night before kept in the fridge until the chulent is ready to be set for shabbat as this firms it up nicely before cooking.

Basic dumpling mix:

225g plain flour
3 tablespoons margarine/ oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons water

Mix the above together into a firm dough. If slightly sticky don't worry!
Add herbs/spices of choice
Roll the dough into small balls OR - because this will be slow cooked over a long period in the juices of the chulent, I like to make one large dumpling, inside muslin cloth or a string cooking bag which holds it together. If cooked like this it can be sliced up and served along side the chulent.
Place dumpling/s on top of chulent (alongside eggs if you are having chulent eggs) and cook until lunch!
Enjoy!

Bringing Light; Do candles need to be ethical?

2011-12-07T00:44:00.001-08:00

Continuing the theme of bringing light as we march towards Chanukah, or perhaps through advent, the issues of candles presents itself as a burning one (sorry!)

Candles are often made of paraffin and oil bi-products; that is, fossil fuels. These are limited resources which we already use too much of.

Many candles which describe themselves as 'ethical' would of course want to be fairtrade, but also tend to be made of Soya bean rather than oil based products. Now Soya is not always the ethical choice we would like it to be. However as the previous link points out, it's biggest consumer is the meat industry. There are ways to ensure it is less likely to come from vast monocultures treated with chemicals. Organic soya is a good way to avoid this pit-fall. And as the link above writes "You're looking for GM-free that is not extracted from rainforest regions and grown as part of a crop-rotation system"

This Welsh producer of soy candles seems to offer good assurances on the type of soya they use, and where it is sourced from (and it's kosher noch!)

As a naturally occurring product, and an important industry to support, I'm also a huge fan of Beeswax candles, which have been around since the middle ages, and are incredibly easy and fun to make yourself (more of that in another post though!)

G and I, however, will be, as always, doing without drippy candles this chanukah, and bringing out our glass oil holders which year after year slot into our chanukiah, and are filled with lovely organic natural olive oil, which give off a fabulous gentle glow. One plea. These disposable oil lamps are now widely available in kosher shops. They create a HUGE amount of waste and are poor value for money when glasses like this will last year to year - the trick is just finding the right size for your chanukiah!

World AIDS day

2011-12-03T09:57:00.001-08:00

One of the things I meant to do last week, and didn't quite manage, was mention World AIDS day, which in the last few years seems to have receded into the background, as has mention of the epidemic. If you'd like to read more about not forgetting you can on page 12 of this weeks Jewish News...

Bringing light - Solar Bottles

2011-12-02T07:16:00.001-08:00

We are now fast approaching Chanukah, having begun the month of Kislev last weekend. We've also just begun advent, when candles are lit by our Christian brothers and sisters to symbolically mark the approach of Christmas and the light Jesus brought into their worlds.

Chanukah falls at the darkest time of the year when we take both the sun and moon's light into consideration, so this month I am going to be blogging about light, and helping us think about different ways to bring light into our lives, and those of others. This video is a brilliant, simple example of that! Enjoy!

Something nice on the underground...

2011-11-30T10:04:00.001-08:00

This week many of us have been shocked by the video of a woman's racist ranting on a tram. I'm not going to give her any more publicity by reposting her bile. Instead I wanted to share something lovely happening on the underground instead - fits in nicely with my post earlier this year about the Michael Landy exhibition still happening on the Central Line which examines random acts of kindness on the tube.
Enjoy, and may we see more of this, and less of the former!

Chanukah/Christmas shopping the right way?

2011-11-27T03:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was, apparently, UK No Shopping day. What a strange concept. Every Saturday is no shopping day for me, and it's one of the things I think is totally brilliantly counter cultural and rebellious and important about Shabbat!
But why do people need to shop all other 364 days of the year (you can even shop on Christmas day now if you need to)? Shopping, as I have probably said before, has become something we do for leisure, rather than out of need, even if we can't afford to. We all feel we have the right to 'stuff' and there is an enjoyment just in acquiring.
So now seems like an appropriate moment to think about how we enter the festive shopping season with a bit of sense and more importantly ethics. Of course it is lovely to give and receive gifts, but not at the expense of others living conditions and not if it is going to rot at the back of a cupboard. So, some tips on how my shopping has changed since my total shopping ban earlier this year.

The first place for Chanukah shopping for our synagogue members might be today at our WLS annual Fair. Raising money for charity, we have a range of second hand as well as new goods, and external stalls selling hand made loveliness. Everything bought raises money for charity, and it starts at 11.30 this morning!
More permanent solutions are wonderful websites like Folksy and Etsy selling individuals hand made home made crafts. I sell my own hand made beaded kippot on Folksy raising money for our Asylum Seekers drop in Centre. I've found some truly unique hand made gifts here in the past and never been disappointed (though in America there is a regretsy site for purchases from Etsy that were just too odd!)

Other great gift sites include Traidcraft where you can buy a whole range of fairtrade gifts, clothes and household goods. And for that party season outfit, you can still be good to the world, on Traidcraft, or Nomads or People Tree. And to the man who proudly told me he brought fairtrade pants after reading a blog (albeit by accident) I hope they continue to feel great! Pants to Poverty!

And perhaps when you're done buying what you need for your holiday gifts, you might manage a week without shopping, never mind a day, or maybe try a day each week, like shabbat!

Around the world in 80 chulents; Provencal!

2011-11-24T00:51:00.001-08:00

Ploughing on through the winter, this second chulent recipe is one G and I essentially have made up over time based on other things we liked and what we had to hand! A word about these recipes first. Chulent is rarely an exact science. That can be frustrating for the novice, but as long as you have enough liquid, while it may be wetter than you'd like, at least it won't burn. If you're new to chulent cooking you'll just need a few weeks of experimenting and while it may not come out the perfect texture each time, in our experience it's always tasty!

This isn't really a French chulent, but is based on the flavours of a French stew.

Slice and fry at least one large onion (can be more) in a heavy bottomed iron casserole.
Brown 700g-1kg lamb pieces (lamb drummers work quite nicely as well).
If using marrow bones (delicious once slow cooked - the marrow drops out and is great on bread) brown these too.
Add veg of choice - whole baby carrotts and mushrooms work well.
cover with red wine and a bit of water to top it up. You can be very generous with the wine.
Add 2 bay leaves, a sprig of thyme, and a sprig of rosemary (tied together for easy removal).
We sometimes also add a handful or two of lentils vert.

The mixture can then either be placed in a slow cooker on low until lunch time, or put the casserole dish on a blech - on our electric hob we put it on 2 of 6.

Next week... a dumpling that goes rather well with this!!
Shabbat Shalom!

Interfaith week; Lines of Faith - Muslim Jewish Rap??

2011-11-22T00:05:00.001-08:00

This week is interfaith week. A strange concept in a way as it can't be work that only happens for one week a year, indeed often people struggle to attend all the things they'd like to during interfaith week, but it is a tool for highlighting the importance of the work that so many of us are engaged in throughout the year.
I've been working for a couple of years now to establish a Muslim-Jewish youth programme with our teenagers, and this year we are (fingers crossed) getting off the ground. And it is very much thanks to and in collaboration with a fantastic Muslim Jewish Rap duo - Lines of Faith. So this is a little piece about them and their fantastic work.

There is so much going on out there, and hopefully this interfaith week some folk who aren't usually engaged in dialogue will be drawn into it.

Around the world in 80 chulents... Iraqi Tabit (cheats version!)

2011-11-18T00:57:00.001-08:00

As the cold weather sets in, and shabbat evenings get longer while shabbat afternoons get shorter and shorter, the importance of the long, slow cooked stew comes into it's own!
Chulent, traditional ashkenazi shabbat stew, takes its name, I'm told, from the French 'chaud long' - hot for a long time. But there are many different permutations; from Sephardi Dafina to Iraqi Tabit (chicken and rice).
We make a huge variety of chulents, and a little while ago I was joking with a friend how I'd love to have a food blogging project (like in Julie and Julia). So, here it is, I am going to try and record a winters worth of chulent recipes... I'm not sure we'll get to 80, but we should certainly make it around the world.
Now I have to confess it isn't always me making the chulents, G is a huge part of this, especially at the moment when even though I endeavour to be home on a Thursday night so we can cook together, work just isn't letting up and evenings are very booked up.
So last night I returned home to the delicious smell of Tabit being prepared. Well, it's a sort of cheats Tabit if we're being honest. The real tabit involves an incredibly complicated skinning of a chicken, stuffing and sewing it back together. Very few of our recipes are exact sciences but even if they don't always come out looking right they taste good; hot and hearty!
For an easier version of tabit we:

Fry one large onion, chopped
Add Baharat spice mix
Add a spoon full of tomato paste
Brown chicken pieces, then remove from pot
Add some water (maybe a litre, depending on how much you are making! You will need to experiment)
Add rice and par cook

We then place the rice, stock and chicken pieces in a slow cooker bag (roasting bag), tie the top, and leave it in the slow cooker on low till lunch! You can also add whole eggs to the top of the stew for delicious meaty eggs with it. The best bit is if you succeed in making 'crispy bits' - very brown crispy rice that forms at the edges if it's not too wet...
That's our lunch for tomorrow...
Shabbat shalom

Strangers - Isaac and Ishmael

2011-11-15T06:51:00.001-08:00

A friend shared this with me a couple of years ago and it never fails to strike me as powerful on a number of levels.
At the moment a few different pieces of my interfaith work are on the cusp of taking off, and whatever difficulties we face, it is always good to remember what positives as well as negatives can bring us together. In the series of Torah readings we are in the midst of at the moment we see the horrendous rift placed between the brothers Isaac and Ishmael. But we often miss a small detail right at the end of the story. In Genesis 25:9, Isaac and Ishmael are seen together once again, burying their father.
When things drive us apart, there is often the pain and exclusion to bring us back together again, and remember our similarities, but ultimately, the aim must be to have all feel comfortable with difference.

Children taking over?

2011-11-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

My friend Navleen who I have worked with on many interfaith projects over the last decade, sent me this link this week, to a piece about her Gurdwara. You can see her several times, and in the last scene she has her little son in her lap as she joins the other mums and children in actions that accompany their words. These insightful Sikhs have allowed their children to take over the Gurdwara once a month.

How we engage children in the lives of our places of worship is a really really important issue, and one which some members are going to have to make compromises over if they want the next generation to be engaged with and excited by their faith, culture and tradition. People may complain when a child is running up and down the ramp at our synagogue, or making a peep or two during the sermon, but I love it! It means our community might just have people wanting to attend in 40 years time. It took me 2 years of asking to get a regular play area set up just outside the doors of our main service so that children could play outside the service and parents still hear what is going on, and over-zealous congregants, wanting to ensure decorum, have driven young couples and their children away on more than one occasion that I personally know of.

And this issue goes beyond children. For many, people with special needs or mental health problems are also a challenge to welcome into services - but it is so important that they feel at home and welcomed, and I'm always delighted when I see that they are. The Judith Trust are going to be running a 3 workshop series, starting this month, at our synagogue, giving participants the confidence to feel they can be welcoming and inclusive. I really hope people will come along and not complain about disruptions to the services, but learn how to make people as comfortable and included as possible, whoever they are, whatever age they are, and wherever they come from.

Can your God be a woman?

2011-11-01T02:42:00.000-07:00

Last night at about 8pm text messages started pinging into my in-box after a 90 second 4thoughtTV piece aired. I was asked by the researchers to consider if my God could be a woman. Of course my initial response was that God is neither male nor female; God is God and we are humans and when we try to imagine God in any kind of human form we limit God who is beyond us and our understanding. But they wanted a little bit more nuance than that and the interview was a really enjoyable 45 minutes, though it was scary that this would be edited down to 90 seconds! It seemed I could be made to say almost anything! Let me know what you think: It is available on 4 on demand this week, and will be on You Tube for as long as You Tube exists!

Spreading the wealth

2011-10-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

Over the last months, the western world has seen growing public protest at social inequality and unbalanced, unaccountable financial systems. From tent cities in Tel Aviv to the Occupy movement, voices are beginning to demand we follow the call of Torah: 'Justice, Justice shall you pursue' in how money is used. It is heartening to hear people calling for the rights of the vulnerable in society, rights which we should all be striving to see fulfilled.
Yet our financial systems are not the only problem. We are almost all a part of the problem, and allow ourselves to be so almost every time we consume. As regular readers will by now know, I spent the first 3 months of 2011 examining my own shopping habits and realising that for me as for many, shopping was often a past-time rather than something driven by need, and we fill our lives and homes with stuff and trinkets, some of which have value in their beauty, but much of which we don't really need. The biggest problem, whether it is our food or our clothes, is that much of it is produced at the expense of others. That's not to say we shouldn't be supporting trade and industry, creating jobs etc. but we need to do so in ways that empowers people to live above the poverty line, and doesn't assume we can continue to produce without any environmental consequences. Fairtrade, organic, locally sourced products may cost more, but perhaps we don't need to own as much as we think we do, and in buying better but less, we spread the wealth not only at home, but around the world.
I'm not sure what will come out of the current protests, but perhaps the awakening and voices will help people not only look to the actions of big banks and government, but examine their own behaviour, and as we each make changes, bring and be the change that needs to come.

Busy Bee and Etrog cake

2011-10-28T03:41:00.000-07:00

I feel I have neglected you this week. Post-High Holidays is almost worse than the craziness of the holidays themselves; emails have been neglected, my desk is carpeted in notes and papers and things I need to get done, and suddenly I have 101 presentations and lessons to prepare that seemed like a good idea at the time...
There is so much going on in the real world, an I feel I should be reflecting on something important, like the occupy movement, and the resignation of the amazing Giles Fraser from St Paul's.
But instead... I'm going to fall back on my usual crutch and comfort. Cookery! I have had a twitter request for challah recipes, and recommended this and will try to take time to post some more interesting recipes and ideas on challah soon. In the meantime, tomorrow is G's birthday, and as we are recovering from Sukkot, I have cooked up a delicious Etrog cake. The amount of washing up it generated wasn't appreciated by him, but I hope the cake will be!
Happy birthday lovely man, and thanks for all the help with the clearing up :)

Gilad - is it worth it?

2011-10-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

I heard the news last Tuesday at a monthly learning session we run in a local pub. Two excited participants arrived declaring; Gilad is going to be released! After five years and four months and the untold torture his family must have suffered, this was a great reason to raise a toast and celebrate.

But Gilad's release came at a cost. 1027 prisoners released. Over the weekend I have been bombarded by petitions, equally as heart wrenching as those of Gilad's parents, asking us to stop the release of their childrens' murderers. As with all things in this conflict, nothing is ever simple. Tweeters and facebook have provided a fascinating responce to all of this, with people sitting on both sides of the fence.

As the Reform Judaism statement on his release says redeeming a captive is an incredibly precious mitzvah, and one which emphasises the importance in Judaism of saving even one human life, and the lengths to which Israel can be willing to go to do so. These issues have been debated before, as discussed here. Yet many fear this release of so many could lead to further loss of life. Others see those in Gaza and the West bank as all imprisoned and trapped behind check points.
I was particularly touched by a prayer on the release published by the Masorti movement. It thanks God for Shalit's release, and prays that no harm will come from it. I would, perhaps, add to the prayer, a hope that this is the beginning of more negotiations, dialogue, and returning home of soldiers all over the world, but particularly in Israel and Palestine, so that children will never be sent into the battlefield again, and the anguish of parents of children murdered and captive will be a thing of the past.
As we come to the close of sukkot, and acknowledge we are all vulnerable, all fallible, we pray that God will spread a Sukkah of Peace over all of us, over all the world, and over the future of humanity.

Sukkot: From spiritual to physical

2011-10-12T00:41:00.000-07:00

I love how Judaism always insists we get straight back on with life. We've had time to think, to look internally, to change. And as soon as Yom Kippur is over, we're straight into the physicality of preparing for Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles/ Booths).
After a month of reflection in Ellul, followed by ten days of repentance and a day of atonement when we afflict our souls (following Leviticus 23), the first mitzvah one is supposed to perform once yom kippur is over, is beginning to erect the sukkah - the temporary booth that from tonight we will be hoping to enjoy our meals in (rain permitting). Sukkot is in many ways the antithesis of yom kippur - it is very much about the physical (building, shaking, eating) and best shared with friends.
This structure of time ensures we have space to reflect, to work to improve ourselves, but we are not encouraged to navel gaze for too long. We have to get on with living, with being present in this world, with making a difference, and with demonstrating we have changed. This is not unique to this time of the year; similarly Jewish mourning rituals give us time to really grieve and remember, so that we might be better prepared to return to the world and take a full and active role in living, hence honouring the memory of those no longer with us.
Yet while we are being active and physical, we are also reminded that we are not in charge of things. I might (and do) spend hours erecting and decorating our temporary second home, making it cosy and spangly. But I don't get to decide if I eat out there. There is a power (God, Nature...) greater than I that decides if it is wet or dry, and if we can fulfill the mitzvah or not. We are at the whims of the weather, and so is the sukkah. A strong wind can take it down, and so the sukkah is also a reminder of our vulnerability and reliance on the world around us.
But I hope this year you do have the pleasure of enjoying a meal in a sukkah, of feeling a little closer to that world which we strive to make the most of, and that your yom kippur has wrought change that you feel is real and will make a difference in the coming year.

If you'd like to read a little bit more on sukkot, I wrote on it and our obligation to feed the hungry for last weeks Jewish News. (p.17 of the electronic version, 12 in print).

A Christian experiences Yom Kippur

2011-10-06T03:54:00.000-07:00

Patrick is Anglican Chaplain and Interfaith Adviser to Brunel University, and has worked with me on a number of interfaith and specifically Christian-Jewish projects. He is writing here in a personal capacity, drawing on a personal engagement (he says, after Lionel Blue, 'love affair') with Judaism, which goes back over 20 years:

Some time ago, and for about a year, I felt led to stop going to church and go to shul instead. I was never part of any formal conversion process, but I needed a full-on personal engagement. So I had what I’d now call the luxury of experiencing the Jewish High Holy Days. I can’t summarise here (or anywhere?) all that it meant and means to me. So I’ll speak only of one part of the Kol Nidre service. I’m not ashamed that what stays with me most strongly is the music, or rather the blend of music and text: ‘Our Father, our King, be gracious with us and answer us, though we have no worthy deeds; treat us with charity and kindness, and save us.’ Now, another luxury is that I got to learn some biblical Hebrew as part of my Theology degree. So I know that the Hebrew is (of course) stronger than the English. ‘though we have no worthy deeds’ fails to do full justice. A more literal translation is: ‘for no with us deeds’. Now, the Christian theologian in me could ramble on indefinitely about all of this (Rabbi Debbie will confirm this propensity). One thing is perhaps worth saying. I’d not be first Christian to use Christian language to argue that here we have eloquent proof that Judaism is about ‘grace’ and ‘faith’ and not ‘works’. Yes, Judaism has 613 commandments, and there’s much to learn and do. But Judaism does not believe you have to spend a lifetime working at being good, in order to earn God’s attention. Or God’s favour. You are already assured of those, and you work at the commandments (seeing them as a privilege), in grateful and joyful response. It’s good and important to expose crude Christian caricatures of course. But there’s more to it. It’s vital that - in this prayer, and throughout the Days of Awe - we see that Judaism also knows that life with God is – to put it mildly - full of tensions and paradoxes. We articulate our inarticulacy. We own up to our uselessness (it seems to me that the Hebrew is as strong as that). So, on the one hand, Judaism is at heart optimistic about humanity, and doesn’t believe in ‘original sin’ (though let’s not get sidetracked into the details of that one). On the other hand, it knows that life is not about simply using the commandments to make good people better, placing them on the straight line of spiritual progress. Rather, again and again, we come to God empty, and without any defence of our pettiness and failure to take God’s love seriously. All we can do is ask God to give us what we need to pick up the pieces. ‘Our Father, our King, be merciful to us and answer us’ says the Jewish prayer. ‘Lord, have mercy’ says an equally loved Christian prayer. And indeed both of us might just pray: ‘O God, make speed to save me! O Lord, make haste to help me!’, citing Psalm 70.1. I am a long way from saying we’re really the same, deep down. To jump to that conclusion would be to deprive ourselves of necessary and fascinating conversations along the way. But we may be the same in this: we are free, as individuals and as a community, to recognise that we can fail, be stuck, and get things seriously wrong – and that God is never closer to us than when we have nothing other to say than this. And if we can sing it, plaintively and beautifully, so much the better!

A ritual for when fasting would be the opposite of teshuvah תשובה

2011-10-05T06:58:00.000-07:00

For many in the Jewish community, fasting is an important and difficult spiritual exercise, reminding them of their attachment to the physical, and helping them focus on teshuvah תשובה and spiritual growth for 25 hours.

For others, however, fasting presents a different kind of challenge. For individuals who suffer, or are in recovery from an Eating Disorder, eating on Yom Kippur is a holy act. Rather than finding ‘purity’ or ‘spiritual growth’ through denying themselves food, the act of eating itself is an act of Teshuva.

This was not something I had considered until I was approached this year by a friend seeking a liturgy that helps her acknowledge the holiness of the act of eating on Yom Kippurיום כיפור , having found little that helped online or in our traditional liturgy. This was developed together with her, in the hope it might also help others. As she said to me, she would like to create something that would “bring Kavanah (intention) to the act of eating on Yom Kippur, framing it in a positive, constructive way but also recognising the religious and personal challenges of the day.” This piece has been developed in conjunction with two wonderful women who wish to remain anonymous but to whom I am indebted.

The following ritual is based on various symbolic Jewish ideas, but the starting point is a plate of food set aside as an “eruv tavshilin” תבשיליןעירוב (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruv_tavshilin). This plate has a holy purpose in being set aside. The plate/box of food we will create for this ritual will also have a holy purpose, but one which will only be fulfilled if the food is eaten.

Resources:

- A plate or lunch box (perhaps one painted specially for this purpose, as is a seder סדרplate)

- A bottle of water

- Dates

- Bread

- Hummus

- Prayers

The plate should be prepared prior to the fast, carefully setting aside that which will nurture your soul and body during the Day of Atonement.

In dedicating the plate the following blessings are recited (apologies for the poor and lack of Hebrew texts – this is being prepared rather last minute this year – we hope to be better in the next!):

Every person is a question which God addresses to humanity; and every person, from their place, with their own special talents and possibilities, must answer for their own sake

Adapted from Leo Baeck

Avinu Malkeinu, on this day of atonement, this day of at-one-ment, I answer with all that I am.

ברוך אתה יי אלהינו מלך העולם שעשני בצלמו וכרצונה

Barukh Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha-Olam Sh’asani B’tzalmo v’kirtzonah

Blessed are You, Eternal One, our God, Ruler of Time and Space, Who has made me in His image and according to Her will*

Traditional blessing for acts done for the preservation of life:

ברוך אתה יי אלהינו מלך העולם אשר קדשנו במיצותיו וציונו על פיקוח נפש

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, asher kidhsanu bemitzvotav, v’tzivanu al pikuach nefesh.

Blessed are you Eternal, Sovereign of the universe, Who makes us holy through Your commandments, and Who commands us to preserve life.

Blessed are You Eternal, who creates each of us whole, and none of us perfect.

Before eating or drinking an item we offer a small thought for kavannah כוונה (intention) and the traditional blessing over that item. Traditionally those who needed to eat on Yom Kippur did so in small amounts, so you may wish to spread the plate through the day, or to eat it as a meal when you are able to.

Tamar תמר(Date): The Date palm is a symbol of righteousness (Psalm 92). I acknowledge that the right path is not always the easiest one and seek that which will nourish me in body and soul, giving me the strength to live righteously in Your world.

בָּרוּךְBlessed are You, our Living God, Sovereign of the universe, who creates the fruit of the trees.	בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם. בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָעֵץ:

Hummus חומוס: The product of the earth calls me to embrace food and hunger as natural, and asks me to allow myself to ‘eat and be satisfied’ (Deuteronomy 8:12).

בָּרוּךְBlessed are You, our Living God, Sovereign of the universe, who creates the fruit of the earth.	בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם. בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה:

Mayim מים(water): God, the source of life, provides me with mayyim chayyim מים חיים– living water. May it be a source of hope, refreshing my body, comforting my soul.

בָּרוּךְBlessed are You, our Living God, Sovereign of the universe, by whose word all things exist.	בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם. שֶׁהַכֹּל נִהְיֶה בִּדְבָרוֹ:

Lechemלחם (bread): While bread at Tashlich תשליךis thrown away as our sins, for me to not eat it would be as a sin. Challah חלה is an offering to God, and so today my humble offering is to eat this bread in my attempt to return to you, God.

בָּרוּךְBlessed are You, our Living God, Sovereign of the universe, who brings forth food out of the earth.	בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם. הַמּוֹצִיא לֶֽחֶם מִן הָאָֽרֶץ:

Combining the Bread and the Hummus: These bricks and mortar provide my new year with strong foundations, helping me work towards always building a healthier, happier me, as all Jews do on this day, and acknowledging that for me, spiritual emptiness lies in denying my body the nourishment it needs.

When things are difficult during the day, and/or as a closing blessing:

In my Maker’s hand I lay my soul

Both when I sleep

And when I wake,

And with my soul my body too,

My God is close, I shall not fear.

בְּיָדוֹ אַפְקִיד רוּחִי

בְּעֵת אִישָׁן וְאָעִירָה

וְעִם רוּחִי גְוִיָּתִי

אֲדֹנָי לִי וְלֹא אִירָא

*Rabbi Elliot Kukla Lilith Vol.31: no 4 p.37

Some further resources:

http://www.ritualwell.org/ritual/meditation-yom-kippur-one-who-cannot-fast

http://urj.org/life/health/eatingdisorders/

http://www.bishviliforme.com/

http://www.jewishcamp.org/static/website/uploads/Beyond_Miriam_pdf_form_for_website.pdf

http://www.b-eat.co.uk/

Contact the UJIA department of informal education who have also produced some resources on the issue of Judaism and Eating Disorders http://jlec.ujia.org/package/list/3/social-welfare-personal-development/

Blogging Ellul; The time is now...

2011-09-28T01:30:00.000-07:00

So, we made it! We have walked the month of Ellul - 6 blogs a week, a bit of cooking, a bit of reflecting, a little prayer and some apologising. Tonight it all begins, and the Yamim Nora'im (The days of Awe) are upon us.
But if you haven't made the most of Ellul, it isn't all over just yet. We have the next 10 days until Yom Kippur to really engage with what it means to be the best version of ourselves in the coming year. If we can change ourselves, and model the best version of ourselves in the coming year, perhaps we will encourage those around us to do the same, and who know, one smile will breed another, one act of charity encourage others, one kind word create several more. I know it's cheesy, but if we can change ourselves, who knows what the impact will be, and while we repent communally, we take responsibility for ourselves personally.
It is a rare opportunity to take time out to reflect and revision who you want to be. Make the most of it - it could change your year, and even the world around you.

Blogging Ellul: The crying Shofar

2011-09-27T02:29:00.000-07:00

I have just spent ten minutes trying to find a youtube clip of a shofar blast that is as moving and impressive as the real thing. I failed. There are some beautiful and humorous examples, but nothing like the goose-bump inducing experience of hearing the real thing blast out.
There is something very primal about the Shofar, which is one of the Biblically mandated customs of Rosh Hashanah. In fact in Leviticus 23 Rosh Hashanah is called 'Yom Teruah' - a day of blasts. I think one of my favourite rabbinic duties over the High Holidays is calling the shofar blasts. In part it is the ancient power of the blast itself - calling us to repentance as Maimonides put it, or acting like an alarm clock - a wake up call to return to God and our true selves and to be the best version of our selves.

But there is a midrash which for me adds a deeper cry to the sound of the shofar. Leviticus Rabbah on Genesis 23: 1-2, which reports Sarah's death immediately after the Akedah - the binding of Isaac when the ram replaced Isaac as his father's sacrifice - informs us Sarah's death was caused by this disturbing event:

Isaac returned to his mother and she said to him: ' Where have you been, my son?' Said he to her: ' My father took me and led me up mountains and down hills, ' etc. ' Alas, ' she said, 'for the son of a hapless woman! Had it not been for the angel you would by now have been slain! ' ' Yes,' he said to her. Thereupon she uttered six cries, corresponding to the six blasts of the Shofar. It has been said: She had scarcely finished speaking when she died. Hence it is written, And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her (ib. 23:2).

It is the shock of learning how close to killing her long awaited son her husband had been that killed Sarah, and these mournful, shofar like cries bring to mind the cries of so many mothers (indeed parents) who have lost children, particularly to violence. Hearing that cry in the blasts of the Shofar reminds us all of how much pain and suffering is caused by human violence, and the responsibility we all carry to defend the powerless, and challenge violence. We begin with ourselves, and change must be revisited every year, but we must not end with ourselves.

Blogging Ellul: A message on Ellul itself!

2011-09-26T00:33:00.000-07:00

There's only a couple of days left, but I made this with the Movement for Reform Judaism (filmed at the beautiful WLS, available on YouTube and being joined shortly by the wiser words of some of my Reform colleagues) with the intention of it being a reminder of using Ellul wisely - there's still time... just!

Blogging Ellul: Inherited honey cake

2011-09-25T03:33:00.000-07:00

Different communities have their own traditions for a sweet and often sticky desert eaten at Rosh Hashanah, symbolising a sweet new year. Two things help me feel like the new year really is around the corner - the Selichot service which we celebrated last night and which introduces the
tunes of the festivals, and the mad urge to start baking honey cake! This is a recipe I have inherited from my mother, which I think she inherited from hers. When living away from home for the first time desperate calls to London were made as I knew I couldn't celebrate Rosh Hashanah without this honey cake. It isn’t an exact science, and there are of course many others, but this is the one that makes me feel best!
I would encourage you to find locally sourced honey and/or to support fair trade and organic producers; our sweet new year should be an example of how we want the world to be as well as a tasty treat!

200g plain flour

150g sugar

250g/ 3/4 of a cup clear honey

150ml cooking oil

50g chopped walnuts/ almond flakes

1 level teaspoon cinnamon (I often add more!)

1 level teaspoon mixed spice/ all spice

2 eggs

1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda dissolved in

100ml of Orange Juice

Mix together flour, sugar and spices

Make a well in the centre, add honey, oil and eggs

Beat well together until smooth

Dissolve Bicarbonate in orange juice and add with nuts to

mixture

Bake at 170 degrees celcius for 1 and a half hours or until firm

to the touch, and a knife/skewer comes out clean

Cool on a rack (out of a draft so it doesn’t sink)

Serving tip: Leaving it wrapped in foil or in a tin for a day or so

improves the cake.

This was my 2011 attempt - it's very tasty but did sink!
Do let me know how you get on if you try it, or share your recipes below!

Blogging Ellul: When Sorry seems to be the hardest word

2011-09-23T00:48:00.000-07:00

The following post is an extract from the blog of Margaret Frisch Klein Rabbi Margaret phoned me from Boston a couple of days ago having stumbled across this blog and feeling our bio's were so similar she had to reach out and make a kesher - a connection. The way the web links us all now is incredible, helping us tap into resources far and wide. I found this piece on forgiveness very poignant.

Forgiveness isn’t easy. It is not something that can be legislated. It doesn’t follow any neat, prescribed timeline. It doesn’t necessarily happen all at once. In some cases it can take years. In some instances, it never happens.
This is a topic I have wrestled with, myself. As a victim of a violent crime, I get asked routinely whether I forgave the perpetrators. Sometimes, I think I have. Other times, I know I haven’t. I still wrestle with that one—and, halachically (according to Jewish law), I am not sure forgiveness is necessary. However, I have the nagging sense that it might yet be good for me, personally. Maybe, that is the impetus for creating this project. But, it is not just the big questions. I also ask, can I forgive others—my husband, my child, my friends, and family for the hurts that occur in day-to-day living? I also ask, can I can forgive myself—for big things and little ones? Can I forgive God? What does it feel like to be forgiven? I had this experience, unexpectedly, just recently, and you can read about it later in the month.
The rabbis teach something else about the month of Elul, that it is an acronym for “Ani L’dodi V’Dodi Li”, a verse from Song of Songs that translates to “I am my beloved, and my beloved is mine.” This wonderful verse reminds us that God loves us. God love us all the time. We learn from the 13 Attributes of the Divine, that the repetition of Adonai, Adonai suggests that God, full of compassion, loves us before we sin and after we sin, that God is a forgiving God and that we should try to be like God. (More on that later in the month too). I learned an intriguing piece of gematria about this love. In Hebrew every letter has a numerical equivalent. Aleph is 1, Bet is 2 and so forth. So adding the letters together, Ahava, love=13 and Echad, one=13, suggesting the God of Love is One. Some have defined Atonement as At-One-Ment, being one with yourself, with others, with God, becoming more peaceful. That is what this season is about, and that is part of what the process of forgiveness helps us do. During the month of Elul, God especially wants us to be part of this discussion, to wrestle with these topics and to enter the new year clean. God meets us where we are and in love.

Blogging Ellul: A Catholic Pauses on Yom Kippur

2011-09-22T00:51:00.000-07:00

I have asked a few different voices to write for the blog during the month of Ellul, and interestingly two of my Christian friends who have written have reflected on Yom Kippur. One of those I am saving for closer to Yom Kippur, but the following reflections also allow us to hear the spiritual effect of the calendar as a whole on a Catholic.

Each yearwith the arrival of the High Holydays I find myself pausing, particularly onthe eve of Yom Kippur, a time when there is something palpable in the air, asense of the transcendence of God pressing down on human time with particularforce and density. Nothing so unusual about this, the majority of the readersof this blog might say, except that I am Catholic, and not Jewish, and mysacred calendar does not incorporate Yom Kippur, the High Holydays, or themonth of Ellul with it’s rhythm of Selichot and soul- searching. And yet eachyear I pause, arrested by a spiritual force in the air despite the fact myJewish friends are in London, not Dublin, and that thefriends in whose company I find myself around this time each year would not beaware of anything special happening.
When Iwas invited to write this blog entry, as well as feeling honoured, I foundmyself trying to explain why I feel like this, what leads to this annualspiritual heightening, and initially I found myself stumped. Gradually, though,as I let my thoughts mull around, an explanation formed which I think goes someway to explaining things. One of the great Catholic mystics wrote that theprocess of striving to purify ourselves from our sins and faults was akin tocleaning a window that has become darkened by dirt and grime. Once clean, thesunlight which was shining on the window all along is allowed to stream in andillumine the room with its light. In the analogy, the sunlight is God’s loveand presence which is always trying to reach us but whose ingress can beblocked by the faults and failings to which we are all prone. As someone whohas been involved in interfaith dialogue for some years, however, I would liketo extend the insight in a way that probably would not have occurred to thesixteenth century writer in question, but which, I think, is a truth that hasbeen revealed to us in our era with a particular clarity, namely that ashumanity we stand together in the one room as we seek the light of the DivinePresence. Accordingly, when any of us starts to clean the particular window inthe room which is our responsibility, the light coming into the room becomes stronger for everyone, an insightwhich I suspect may be part of the reason the story of Jonah and theNinevites was chosen as one the texts tobe read on Yom Kippur itself. Looked at like this, all our efforts to comecloser to God impact the whole of humanity and, indeed, all of reality. In thiscontext it makes sense to pause on Yom Kippur, even if you are Catholic!Wishing you all (somewhat prematurely) Shanah Tovah and well over the fast.

John Robinson and I have been friends since meeting in 1999 at a Jewish-Christian-Muslim Youth conference in Bendorf, Germany. He is writing a phd in Theology, and was my successor as chair of the ICCJ Young Leadership Council. He was born in Belfast and lives in Dublin and is a big fan of spangles and whisky. He probably shouldn't have allowed me to write his bio :)

Blogging Ellul: The books of life and death

2011-09-21T01:35:00.000-07:00

Talmud Rosh HaShanah 16b
תלמוד בבלי מסכת ראש השנה דף טז עמוד ב
אמר רבי כרוספדאי אמר רבי יוחנן: שלשה ספרים נפתחין בראש השנה, אחד של רשעים גמורין, ואחד של צדיקים גמורין, ואחד של בינוניים. צדיקים גמורין - נכתבין ונחתמין לאלתר לחיים, רשעים גמורין - נכתבין ונחתמין לאלתר למיתה, בינוניים - תלויין ועומדין מראש השנה ועד יום הכפורים. זכו - נכתבין לחיים, לא זכו - נכתבין למיתה. אמר רבי אבין: מאי קרא - +תהלים סט+ ימחו מספר חיים ועם צדיקים אל יכתבו, ימחו מספר - זה ספרן של רשעים גמורין, חיים - זה ספרן של צדיקים, ועם צדיקים אל יכתבו - זה ספרן של בינוניים. רב נחמן בר יצחק אמר מהכא: +שמות לב+ ואם אין מחני נא מספרך אשר כתבת, מחני נא - זה ספרן של רשעים, מספרך - זה ספרן של צדיקים, אשר כתבת - זה ספרן של בינוניים.
R. Kruspedai said in the name of R. Johanan: Three books are opened on New Year, one for the thoroughly wicked, one for the thoroughly righteous, and one for the intermediate. The thoroughly righteous are forthwith inscribed definitively in the book of life; the thoroughly wicked are forthwith inscribed definitively in the book of death; the doom of the intermediate is suspended from New Year till the Day of Atonement; if they deserve well, they are inscribed in the book of life; if they do not deserve well, they are inscribed in the book of death. Said R. Abin, What text tells us this? — [Psalm 69] ‘Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous’. ‘Let them be blotted out from the book’ — this refers to the book of the wicked. ‘Of the living’ — this is the book of the righteous. ‘And not be written with the righteous’ — this is the book of the intermediate. R. Nahman b. Isaac derives it from here: [Exodus 32] And if not, blot me, I pray You, out of Your book which You have written, ‘Blot me, I pray You’ — this is the book of the wicked. ‘Out of Your book’ — this is the book of the righteous. ‘Which You have written’ — this is the book of the intermediate.

I have struggled for a long time with this idea of a book of life and death in which we are all recorded. The way it always struck me was that if you were written in the book of life, you had been granted another year, and if you passed away, you had been written into the book of death at the previous Rosh Hashanah. This made the death of the young seem even more unimaginably cruel, and I found myself more and more alienated from this sort of liturgy. Of course I could try to not be so literal (as I do in so many other things!) Perhaps this is a metaphorical death of parts of myself if I do not change negative behaviours, or an enlivening of the real me if I do make the necessary changes. In this sense this text is a reminder first of all that the majority of us will always be struggling to get the balance right between being the best version of ourselves and answering our appetites and more destructive instincts, and it is also a metaphor for the life changing potential of changing -and of not changing.
Two of my favourite reflections on these motifs come from Rabbi Jill Hammer, here and Rabbi Rena Blumenthal here (p.7 of 'Yom Kippur Readings' Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins).
May you be able to write a book that you are happy to read in the coming year.

Blogging Ellul: New Year, New Fruits

2011-09-20T02:19:00.000-07:00

I've felt very conscious the last couple of days that winter seems to be drawing in. The temperature has really dropped and I'm having to think about clothing before biking. So it seems like a strange time to be thinking about fruit. But last shabbat we heard about the offering of first fruits at the temple (not the best fruits, the first fruits) and as we approach the new year, it seems we have a chance to start thinking about the fruits of the past year, good and bad, and what we'd like to be making as an offering next year. Our first fruits aren't always expected to be the best, but we are given this amazing opportunity to assess what it is we offer year to year, so that our first fruits might always improve.

Blogging Ellul: Tefillah - Prayer

2011-09-19T02:26:00.000-07:00

Of the three core ingredients to the High Holidays; Teshuvah, Tefillah and Tzedakah (return, prayer and just giving) tefillah - prayer - is perhaps the one that gets the least attention. Some will spend more time in synagogue over the next month than the rest of the year, and even for regular attenders this is a pretty intense time!
So how can we ensure that our tefillah is meaningful? Of course there's no quick or simple answer to this, and the answer will be different for everyone. Preparation is an important part of course, and Ellul is supposed to help us with this, but lots of other factors will play their part. For me, music is always an essential part of my prayer life. This Saturday evening we will have our special choral selichot service, when we begin to really hear and feel the sounds of the upcoming festivals. They strike a mood in me that is like no other time of the year, and the evocative music is almost all I need to bring me into the space of High Holiday prayer.
There is one piece that throughout the year has always been a source of inspiration. On the Shabbat morning of my Bat Mitzvah, my Rabbi took me into her office and presented me with a piece to read before we went onto the bimah. It has remained a source of help and prayerful contemplation, particularly as my own role in leading prayer has grown:

Forget everybody and everything during your worship. Forget yourself and your needs. Forget the people of whom you have need. Then in truth you may worship the Lord.
When you offer prayer, imagine yourself as one who is newly born.; without achievements of which to be proud; without high family descent to make you arrogant. Forget all dignity and self esteem. Remember only your maker.
Before the prayers, remember any good qualities you have, or any good deeds which you have performed. This will put life into you and enable you to pray from the heart.
Nachman of Bratzlav

These words have helped me over the years, but more than this, two other things have always aided my prayer; music (as already mentioned) and community. When others raise their voices with mine, it feels as if they help to carry each other on their journey, just as we left on earth carry each other on our journeys within community.

Blogging Ellul: A little Sunday cheesiness

2011-09-18T05:30:00.000-07:00

I have always loved this song, and it seems like a wonderfully rousing way to remind us of a particular way we can change ourselves and the world in the coming year: 'Lend your voices only to sounds of freedom, no longer lend your strength to that which you wish to be free from"... lofty hopes, but surely improving ones!

Also not bad to remember that if praying were enough peace would have come to be - it takes a lot of work!!

And for the early risers... I'll be on radio 2 Pause For Thought tomorrow at 5.45 am on the Vanessa Feltz show.

Blogging Ellul: Being part of something bigger

2011-09-16T02:05:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the pleasure of joining the Movement for Reform Judaism annual dinner, celebrating the achievements of the last year, and beginning to look forward to new and exciting things next year. It was a useful reminder that while during Ellul we can become quite introspective, we must also look outwards, and see that we are part of something bigger. We work on ourselves, so that the whole might be more, but we also work to improve our relationship to and engagement with our community, however we define that. In improving our behaviour and relationships, we strengthen the various communities we are a part of, and our communities continually enable us to remain engaged in relationships with each other. Each community is also part of something bigger; the Movement, and the Movement is a part of Anglo Jewry, which is part of British life... we begin with ourselves, but we do not end with ourselves, and our personal improvement ripples out to improve the many layers of community we are a part of.

This is the 2011 Movement film:

Blogging Ellul: Receiving Teshuvah

2011-09-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

Much of Ellul we spend thinking about who we can make repentance towards and how. But we may also be receiving requests for forgiveness as others make their teshuvah - return.

Letting go of that which has hurt or offended us is also an important part of Ellul. We are required to sincerely ask for forgiveness three times. If we are still not forgiven by the person being asked we are absolved of our responsibility - in a sense it becomes their problem, and it really is a problem for the person that cannot forgive. Carrying around the resentment and hurt builds into a ball of negativity inside oneself that damages the holder and poisons their outlook.

In one instance of being the unforgiven, I remember apologising several times more than the statuatory three, to no avail. It reached a point where there really was nothing more I could do - I couldn't go back in time and change what I had done, and constantly raking up my mistake had meant no other part of the friendship was real any more. To help us be more forgiving of others, my father used to say that when someone is driving you crazy and you can't help think bad things of them, you have to 'catch them in the act of doing something right'. It is in our own interests to try and see the good in others, and find forgiveness for them, otherwise it is we that end up carrying around the resentment, hurt, and anger.

As we seek to pursue our own teshuvah we have to also remember to enable other people in theirs. We will ultimately hurt only ourselves in witholding forgiveness from one who sincerely requests it, and while it doesn't always fix everything, it may allow us to let go of resentment and anger we are hoarding inside and poisoning ourselves with.

An old theme...

2011-09-14T01:20:00.000-07:00

Just to return briefly to an old theme... our consumer society strikes again...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8760558/Cycle-of-compulsive-consumerism-leaves-British-family-life-in-crisis-Unicef-study-finds.html
A continuing battle for each and every one of us

Blogging Ellul: What can I learn from you?

2011-09-14T00:20:00.000-07:00

On Monday I had the privilege of reconnecting with half of the group that I travelled to Israel and the West Bank with last November, and in the evening the honour of addressing a newly re-formed branch of the Council of Christians and Jews Parliamentary Branch at the House of Lords.

The CCJ has played an incredibly important part in my personal development, giving me my first exposure to dialogue, an experience which has continually challenged me to rethink and better express myself. Facing the questions of someone with a different frame of reference strengthened my ability to express myself to them and to myself, and made me the Jew that I am.

But travelling with Muslims, Christians and Jews to the Holy Land last year asked me to consider another layer of the dialogue. I had grown accustomed to hearing the other, and learning from them. However as our varied ways of approaching the land, her politics, her religions emerged, it became clear that there was no one way of seeing anything, and no matter our back ground or faith, we all saw things differently. So not only do we learn to express ourselves and listen better but we learn to hear each other and ourselves better, and to hear that where we are coming from is also a narrative.

There were so many powerful moments and examples of this, but just one was an incredible tour of Jaffa with a Jewish Israeli and a Palestinian Israeli who were both history students that had deliberately extracted their own nationalistic narrative about each location, which of course were very different. Neither was entirely true, neither entirely false, both were the truth as seen by one set of eyes.

In Ellul, we have an opportunity to explore a little of how our own received narratives have influenced us to become who we are, and perhaps change what we have allowed to become our accepted narrative. In taking the time to do this internal work, perhaps we can formulate what narrative we wish to leave behind as a lasting legacy and make the changes necessary to make it happen. May it be a legacy of goodness, justice, care and happiness.

Blogging Ellul: Getting Practical; Ellul Scrapbooking

2011-09-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

This is an activity I started doing with religion school students, and could be fun as a family, but actually works for all! As we look back at the year that was, it can be helpful to do so in a creative, physical way, on the one hand to help our thinking process, but also so that we might have a physical reminder of the journey we've been on. Scrapbooking is a fun and engaging way of doing the thinking, and while it could be a special and intricately made reminder of the year, it can also be an inexpensive memento. Start with 10 questions (or more...) and work through the scrapbook creating a page per question (or more!) This might be a good opportunity to print off photos that have been digital all year and store some special memories. Set the questions before you start - when scrapbooking with students I tend to go with things like

Page 1. This year I am proudest that… Page 2. But I am least proud that… Page 3. The best gift I received was… And the best gift I gave was… Page 4. This year I travelled to… Page 5. The most interesting thing I saw or learnt there was… Page 6. Things to say thank you for… Page 7. This year I’ve helped the world by… Page 8. I helped my community by… Page 9. People I need to say sorry to… Page 10. Things to remember for next year…

Whether you are doing this alone, with a class or with a family, it is a wonderfully practical way to help you reflect, think back, and consider in part what you would like to do differently next year, but also to reinforce what you'd like to remember to do more of next year!

Blogging Ellul: Completing the task alone

2011-09-12T00:24:00.000-07:00

It is not your duty to complete the work but neither are you free to desist from it (Pirkei Avot 2:6)

Yesterday we hosted an afternoon of interfaith remembering, hope and healing after 9.11 for Westminster's Faith Communities through the Faith Exchange. It was packed full and we were urgently putting out extra chairs and hoping the food would go around (of course it did!)During the second half of the afternoon one of the participants had decided to head home as she was tired and feeling unwell, and ran into a protest; Muslims Against the Crusades, which was marching from the American Embassy pretty much past our front door. She quickly made her way back to us, feeling the need to be back with people working for peace and co-existence. She was very shaken, and as we broke into small groups for discussion, the question in my head was what is the point of always working so hard for dialogue when those outside our front door are doing the opposite and calling for war. A similar question poses itself for the month of Ellul; why do all this work to improve myself and my world if the majority around me aren't going to change themselves.Talking to our security guard later, I discovered there were around 50 people on the protest. We were over 75 inside the synagogue. This reminded me that actually it is always the moderate majority that is least heard. It is such a small number that are radicalised and extreme, and in each faith group and of course some non-faith groups we have extremists). We did have a local photographer at our event, but we didn't make the morning metro, so the impression that will be had this morning is that a march came through Westminster calling for more division and strife, not that people from across the religious divide shared prayer, food, and friendship with one another to help comfort one another in the face of a horror that still hurts ten years later and which has caused suffering around the world.We may feel like we are a small island working for good, but whether the work is communal or individual, there are usually far more people doing good than being destructive (as we saw after the London riots/looters). Ultimately however, we do good and we seek change because of who WE are, not because of who anyone else is, we only have the power to decide who we will be in the world, and we are constantly challenged to be better. We may not complete the task of repairing the world, but we must never give up either.

Blogging Ellul; Remembering 9.11

2011-09-11T00:34:00.000-07:00

10 years ago, Rosh Hashanah fell on September 15th. I imagine every rabbi in the world rewrote their sermons that New Year. 10 years on, the horrors of 9.11 still choke me, who knew no one killed and had never before then visited New York. So much pain and violence then and since then, often justified by twisted readings of various religions.It is hard to find comfort when faced with such horrific actions, but in Ellul, when we are remembering to look inwardly at ourselves, to examine our relationships and how we are in the world, we are reminded on this poignant and painful anniversary that the world is still very much broken, just as each of us is. Every act of goodness and healing we undertake, for ourselves or others, takes us a small step closer to the wholeness we pray for for ourselves and for humanity in our hope for a messianic age of peace and harmony for all. Human orchestrated evil and suffering continue to be a reality, but so do acts of heroism and beauty. In Ellul we must each commit to being the perpetrators of such goodness, not because of who others are and whatever evil they may bring into the world, but because of who each and every one of us is. The root of the Hebrew word for peace - shalom - is to do with wholeness, showing us that only when we are whole do we have peace. The world is broken and we are each broken in our varied and different ways. We strive this Ellul for wholeness for ourselves, and for those around us, and for the world, aware that we must work even harder because so many others have had their potential and wholeness cut short. We can make ourselves whole, but we can only make society whole with others, and so in Ellul we also reach out to repair our relationships, and perhaps even to seek new ones that through dialogue and growing understanding allow us to create more wholeness in the wider world. We begin with ourselves, but we do not end with ourselves.

Blogging Ellul: What's your recipe?

2011-09-08T23:23:00.000-07:00

Several times recently I've been asked if I can run a session on how to balance a crazy busy work life and Jewish life, particularly shabbat. This post is dedicated to all of those who have asked, and those who haven't. Everyone finds different ways of managing, from those I used to see saying their morning prayers on the underground (not a spiritual exercise that would work for me I'm afraid) to using shabbat to treat oneself to pre- made food or the opposite; cooking until 11pm or at 7am before shabbat. So many of us seem to constantly struggle between our work obligations and the way we'd like to live our religious lives, whatever faith that is. Perhaps it is for some a matter of priorities. For many of us a difficulty with saying no and therefore a need to squeeze ever more in! The question that keeps being asked of me tends to be about how one prepares shabbat, especially meals, and do a full time job. There are no quick answers, other than perhaps don't be ashamed to buy food in if you can afford to, or, as I do, treat cooking as a pleasurable past time which it's ok to do at late hours! Of course having a partner willing to muck in and take some of the load also helps massively, and I certainly couldn't do it without G. But we have over time also developed quick and easy recipes to help organise ourselves more speedily; a slow cooked shabbat lunch which doesn't require much pre cooking, a chicken thrown in the oven before I've jumped in the shower on a Friday morning, or challah dough left in bread machine overnight to be quickly plaited and proven in the morning (though of course our corner shop is even quicker!). My favourite new 'cheat' is an incredibly easy desert which brings back memories of childhood but can be encouraged to grow up! Chocolate crispy crunch cakes! I now try to always have in stock

-chocolate chips-cornflakes-dried peel/ glacé cherries/ crystallised ginger (what I consider the grown up part)-cup cake casesWhich can make easy and surprisingly popular home made deserts.Melt chocolate, mix in cornflakes and whichever grown up ingredients you fancy, spoon into cases and leave in the fridge to set.

Do you have a quick, pull out at the last minute recipe? Do share so that all the busy among us may make our own lives a little saner, whilst still enjoying home cooked loveliness. Of course we should probably also all take note to give ourselves the occasional break and not try to be everything to everyone. We are all works in progress though and these things take time to come! Shabbat Shalom

Blogging Ellul: Justice justice

2011-09-08T00:24:00.000-07:00

The High Holidays are classically a time for giving to charity; the unetaneh tokef prayer tells us that through Teshuvah (return) Tefillah (prayer) and Tzedakkah (just giving) we can put our lives back into some balance after the mistakes of the last year and in the language of the liturgy, avert a bad judgement. Tzedakkah is usually translated at charity, but it's root lies in the word tzedek - justice. In last weeks Torah portion we were told 'Justice, Justice shall you pursue' and that doesn't always mean giving cash when asked (though as the synagogue knows this is certainly something we need more of). Tzedakah means giving justice to the world as well, so giving up some time or donating food to the needy, or clothes to a charity shop is also Tzedakah, and in giving Maimonides reminds us that the highest level of Tzedakah is that which empowers the receiver to live with dignity and independence. Indeed standing up to a wrong one witnesses on the street might also be seen as Tzedakah, or challenging prejudice heard around the dinner table or at kiddush. I recently began following @InjusticeFacts on twitter which provides regular reminders of small and large injustices in our world; there is so much still to do. As we spend Ellul putting things back in balance in our personal worlds, we are also encouraged to return justice and balance to the wider world, and each of us making the effort to do this adds a little more justice to a world which increasingly frustrates in its imbalance and extremes. Teshuvah and personal work alone is not enough, Tefillah and communal coming together is not enough, we must join these two to a wider sense of what is right in the world and work for those things beyond ourselves and our own community to really start to avert the bad judgement humanity may have already created for ourselves.

Blogging Ellul: You decide

2011-09-07T02:09:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I went to spend the evening enjoying my brother speaking on the occasion of his 10th anniversary of being drug and alcohol free. It was an incredible evening, and I was, and am, very very proud of him. He spoke warmly and openly, and actively seeks to help others find the healing he has. My brother reaches out to others suffering from addiction, and tries to help them see their problem, however he knows it is they who must see it. He could only get clean when he decided to make the change, and he makes that decision day after day as he goes through his new life. We all have these opportunities, to decide every single day how we are going to treat ourselves, our bodies, our world, and our relationships. Some days we do better than others, but during Ellul we take time to remind ourselves that we have the choice. Things don't have to stay as they are, and while we have to make the decision to change ourselves, there are so many people out there who can help work with us on that change.

Blogging Ellul: Making time

2011-09-06T00:08:00.000-07:00

Today is a day of very poor time management for me. I've managed to fill my diary from 9am almost straight through to 10.30pm because I'm in one particular area and getting lots done while I'm up there. Saying 'no' is not something Rabbis do very well, and this rabbi in particular. I'm going to return to the theme of making time during Ellul, but for today I am reminded of the importance of making time for a relationship with myself and my family, not just making sure I'm always doing the best in relation to everyone else (which is also important). I know lots of friends and congregants who constantly struggle to get the work-life balance right, coming home late at night and not finding time for what they need. Surely we work better when we rest well, and today I need to learn from what I say and not what I do!

Blogging Ellul: Being the change

2011-09-05T01:37:00.000-07:00

Mahatma Gandhi (always a good place to start) tells us to be the change we wish to see in the world. It can seem difficult to imagine that the small actions of one person can ever make an impact, but of course we can only ever take responsibility for ourselves. Not for the actions of those around us. Jewish mystical philosophy takes a similar approach however, and encourages us to start with what is manageable - ourselves - before working out to our family, community, country, the world... this concept is at the heart of tikkun olam - repair of the world, and helps us get started, while remembering that to start with oneself is not to finish with oneself. Indeed Rabbi Elazar reminds us “the world is judged in accordance withthe majority of its deeds, and the individual is judged inaccordance with the majority of their deeds. Therefore,one person can tip the scales for humanity by performing asingle act of kindness” (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 40b).This month of Ellul asks us to press the refresh button, and remember to begin by being the change we wish to see in the world, helping us to be the best version of ourselves we can be, and perhaps tipping the balance for humanity. I think Andy Warhol also puts this rather well: "They always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself". If we don't make it happen, it won't just happen for us...

Blogging Ellul: A Muslim reflection on repentance

2011-09-04T01:15:00.000-07:00

As we prepare to engage in teshuvah - return through repentance, our yearly cycle reminhds us that there is always more to learn. I have always dicovered much about myself by learning with and from another, perhaps someone with a different approach, so throughout this month I hope to bring you some voices other than mine with their reflections too. Todays reflection is from Muhammad Houghton who I met on a trip with St Ethelburgas Centre for reconciliation and peace last November when we engaged in a trip to the Holy Land and experienced together some of it's holiness, and it's unholiness. Muhammad kindly agreed to help us reflect on repentance from an Islamic point of view:

There are many events recorded in the Qur’an and Hadith (events in the life of the Messenger of Allah) that truly place the origins of Islam in a particular time and place. It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said "Allah is happier about the repentance of one of His servants than one of you would be about finding your camel which had strayed away from you in the middle of the desert." Whilst we can imagine the relief and joy of an Arab tradesman at finding his camel, it is not always easy to offer true repentance when we may have to overcome our own ego and pride. For Muslims the best example has been set by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. It is narrated that he said: 'By Allah, I ask Allah's forgiveness and turn towards Him in repentance more than seventy times a day." Five times a day Muslims try to focus our whole attention on worship of our creator and seek his forgiveness of our sins. In reality I, for one, seem able to overlook many of my own shortcomings and can’t even recall the specifics when performing the obligatory salah (prayer). Many Muslims have spent the Holy month of Ramadhan in Makkah spending the whole night in prayer and the pursuit of forgiveness. Muslims know that it is the prayers, pleas and supplications that we make close to the time of breaking our fast that Allah has promised to answer. It is the big events, the fasts, the feasts and the Holy days that help to focus our thoughts on repentance. Pilgrimage is important too. The Hajj pilgrimage is now just two months away, during which pilgrims will stand for a whole day in the plains of Arafat with their hands aloft in the hope of forgiveness. But in Islam it is not enough to seek forgiveness from Allah if our sins have impacted on our fellow human beings. Restitution must be made as a precondition of forgiveness. This is often the really hard part.

Muhammad Houghton is a convert from Christianity to Islam. He works in the City as a Chartered Accountant and spends his spare time engaged in voluntary activities in Milton Keynes and looking after his twin girls and his baby daughter.

Blogging Ellul: Finding full humanity

2011-09-02T01:33:00.000-07:00

In large part Ellul is here to give us time to consider our relationships with each other and heal them, so that we might more fully return to ourselves and to God on Yom Kippur. Sometimes this may mean making a direct approach to someone and acknowledging that what you said or did was wrong and/or caused pain and apologising for this fact.Today, however, purely by chance, I was reminded that sometimes it's also about having very normal day to day exchanges and experiencing and being open to the full humanity contained in them. It was a very small thing really, but one that was the perfect start to a busy day and a busy shabbat.When I don't have time to make challah (special bread for shabbat) I tend to end up buying it in our local Arabic shop Solomon's, which picks up 2 boxes of challot, bagels and rye breads from a kosher bakery in Hendon every Friday. During the last month I've apologised to them for buying such good smelling bread when they are fasting, and they have grinned appreciatively. This morning I asked how Eid had been for them, and at the end of the conversation, the sales man wished me Shabbat Shalom. Of course this isn't going to change the world. But it changes my immediate surroundings, and brings a humanity to what is otherwise a very sensible business venture for them and a wonderful convenience for me. Building slowly slowly on trust between individuals, perhaps we can, step by step, create a sense of comfort and joy in our beautiful differences which are, after all, what make us human and interesting. So while during Ellul we look to improve the relationships that are perhaps more meaningful and long term, we can also take the opportunity to explore those relationships that are more functional, and instil in them human warmth and encounter, building local community, and appreciating our differences.Shabbat Shalom

Blogging Ellul: Greening the new year

2011-09-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

During Ellul we try to put our relationships with each other right, but it's also important for us to consider our relationship with the world we have been entrusted to care for. I'm not going to say much, other than to recommend '18 Green Tips for Rosh Hashanah' and a the more local and honey focused 'Bee the Change' which have specific recommendations for the upcoming festivals.
Enjoy!

Blogging Ellul - Soul Candles

2011-08-31T02:22:00.000-07:00

One of the traditional customs of Ellul is to visit the graves of loved ones and pay our respects. One woman at our Rosh Chodesh group suggested last night this might be because we need to look back and honour/correct the past before we can move forward, and I thought this was a beautiful idea for Ellul. For me it is also about honouring the memory of those who have gone, through the good that we do. One of the greatest compliments paid to me after my dads funeral was from Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand who hadn't known him but came to support me. She said she recognised in the words and memories shared about dad that I was the continuation of so much that was good about him. Thus during Ellul when we visit graves, we can assess how much our behaviour reflects that which honours those who helped make us who we are. It's also a comforting reminder that they continue to be present in our lives through the good we do. Superstitions also exist about souls acting as intercessors for us during this period, but that doesn't do much for me.
A few years ago I stumbled across the custom of Soul Candles, which I have explored with various groups ever since, gathering to make candles, remember souls dear to our hearts, and honour a women's custom from the Shtetls of Eastern Europe. I won't go into too much detail here because the source of the information is always much more powerful, and I found out about Soul Candles from Janet Enkin here. This beautiful custom is easy to set up for yourself. When I do it I use beeswax as rolling candles is much easier than making melted wax etc. Even children can do it. I source wax and wick here. And some ideas on how to are here. But for me, the most important part of this ritual is the remembering. Sharing our memories, hopes and prayers with the candle (as Bella Chagall's mother seemed to), and more important, with fellow candle makers.

We used this as one of our creative and learning elements at our Rosh Chodesh meeting last night (hence the slightly wonky creations above) as well as exploring the reasons behind placing stones on graves (and making them more personal by painting them).
However you choose to remember this Ellul, may your memories be for a blessing, and encourage you to be the living embodiment of all that was good in your loved ones life.

Blogging Ellul

2011-08-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

Today is Rosh Chodesh Ellul and I'm thinking about taking on another challenge (on top of actually going through Ellul and preparing for the High Holidays and making real teshuvah - return). The challenge has been set by Rabbis on twitter, encouraging us to #blogelul - by following the hashtag (for those of you who know tweetspeak) you will find Rabbis blogging their way through Ellul, posting a little something every day of the month before Rosh Hashanah to provide you with food for thought and hopefully a little encouragement on your own journey of preparation for the Yamim Noraim - the days of awe.
I'm not going to make a promise, but as far as possible, I will try and contribute a little something every day of the week (except Shabbat). BUT, there's lots else going on too: you can check in at the WLS website for a daily thought here
or check out Jewels of Elul for a huge variety of contributors. Of course the Movement for Reform Judaism Machzor (high holiday prayerbook) has a reading for each day of Ellul that you can use for thinking time without logging on.
For my part, I will try to contribute a little something every day (or as often as I can) refecting my own walk through Ellul to Rosh Hashanah, and perhaps enjoying a little company on my stroll from all of you and your thoughts. There may even be some guest contributors... watch this space!

The circle of life

2011-08-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

This has been a week with pretty much everything except a Bar or Bat Mitzvah in it; Baby blessing, conversion ceremony, 2 aufrufs, a wedding this Sunday, and sadly, a funeral. All these lifecycle events have left me not a lot of time to blog, but it is to some degree the privilege of marking these highs and lows with people that drew me into the rabbinate in the first place, and the relationships born out from these moments as well as from communal sharing are incredibly important to me.
Lifecycle moments are things that in general Judaism is fantastic at marking and honouring, and in the case of our mourning rituals in particular, in helping us emotionally process. The power of observing these rituals isn't always obvious until one has done them, but they help to move a person through the emotions that they need to feel, helping them back into living life fully again.
At West London we have a lovely tradition, which I hadn't seen until I began working here, of (usually) welcoming new members, whether they be converts or babies, after the mourners kaddish. This reminds us that although it is important to mourn and to remember, life is always beginning anew, and this, too, is important to ritualise.
As we move next week into the month of Ellul I'll be exploring with my Rosh Chodesh (new moon) group rituals of mourning old and new, helping us honour the cycle every year before the New Year which is rapidly approaching! Sharing these rituals with others, and of course, as I've said before, making them our own, is a constant challenge, and one it is always an honour to be pursuing and empowering others to do to.

Tolerant, open, pluralist or multicultural

2011-08-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

This week I had the pleasure of a few days reminiscing and learning at an alumni and academic conference for Paideia which I wrote about in my last post.

At the opening ceremony, Professor Moshe Halbertal, who has long been a contributor and supporter of Paideia, gave a short lecture on the nature of how we approach diversity as a society. It struck me as a really helpful way of considering the various ways we have and can create ways to deal with the other/s.

He outlined four different approaches:

1. The Tolerant society; this interested me as I've always disliked the word 'tolerance' - it sounds like someone is being put-up-with. Halbertal explained it as a society in which the other is wrong but the majority agree to suffer them. John Locke was the great proponent of this approach. It acknowledges that one can't coerce someone to believe something, only to do - there is no real religious act without internalisation; so you might be able to insist on empty practice but not real religious engagement and thus it is meaningless and shouldn't be tried. Tolerance doesn't undermine the concept of truth for the majority, because it gives the other the right to be mistaken. It is a rather paternalistic and patronising approach.

2. The open society suggests there is one single truth claim, and that we can come closer to it through discussion together with the other. Halbertal referred us to John Stuart Mill's 'On Liberty' as the best expression of this. Mill, according to what I understood, argues that the limit of tolerance is whether those you tolerate, tolerate you, though I may be imposing on what was said as I've always felt this a big issue in our acceptance of other strands of Judaism.

3. The Pluralist society; this doesn't suffer the mistakes of the other but does grant the other respect. Isaiah Berlin was the example of a thinker Halbertal gave of this. The pluralist argues that you can't grade one way of life against another as all embody a different standard. A pluralist appreciates that anothers way isnt for them but can see it's value. While the open society hopes to move towards truth through openness to the other, the pluralist questions if there is one truth. But Halbertal was clear that this is not relativism. Relativism says there is no one ultimate value, this is rather an expression of a pluralism of values.

4. The Multicultural society; which we are yet to really achieve! Multiculturalism doesn't just tolerate or support the other, and it doesn't just affirm the value of the other but acknowledges that the existence of the other impacts my life and a deep conversation with the other makes my life more meaningful and my understanding deeper. In a multicultural society the presence of the other enriches you.

Halbertal asked whether religion can be pluralist and not just tolerant? He argues that the sacred is often that which is allowed the least compromise. My own reflections were that perhaps it should be the most. I was also reminded of Moses standing on mount sinai and asking to see all of God. God says no, no one may see me and live - a clear expression that no human has a monopoly on truth. Or, as Halbertal quoted from Krister Stendahl: in the eyes of god we are all minorities.

These are all ideas I need to do more thinking and reflecting on, but which I appreciated deeply. May we all be minorities enriched by each other, comfortable with that we share, and celebrating our differences.

Growing European Judaism

2011-08-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow (Sunday) I am off to Sweden to attend the 10th anniversary conference of an incredible institute, Paideia, The European Centre for Jewish Studies, where I was a fellow 9 years ago. The school was founded (if we're condensing the story) after the Swedish government found it had rather a lot of Nazi bullion in their vaults. They donated some of it to the Jewish community in Sweden, on condition that they didn’t set up another memorial, but found a way to invest it in the future of European Jewish life. For the last 10 years, 20 or so students every year, from all across Europe and Israel, have been given the opportunity to study with leading scholars, engaging with both our textual tradition and cultural expression to empower a new generation. A generation who are maintaining Jewish life and innovating in communities across Europe. I gained a huge amount from my year there, from incredible, enduring friendships, new ways of thinking and theologising, teachers I will never forget, and a sense of confidence in my own Judaism that allowed me to give back to Jewish life at home.

(Purim at Paideia in 2003 with Goshka from Poland and the Agi'ot from Hungary, and some strange English girl who loves her sari)

However some Israelis and Americans have been known to scoff at what they see as a ridiculous venture; why build a school in Europe which remains a graveyard, a place of memories?
On a recent trip to Prague I got chatting over shabbat dinner to a 16 year old American boy taking part in a programme called ‘Pilgrimage’. They were touring all over Europe, visiting several concentration and deportation camps, before going onto Israel. I asked him why this programme was important and he responded that we must remember. I pushed him a little further. What does that remembering do? ‘It helps us honour the dead, and remember why it’s important to be Jewish today’. I was troubled by the fact that a tour to places of mass murder should be billed as a religious pilgrimage, but more troubled that this murder would be the motive for anyone’s involvement in Jewish life. If there are no more vital reasons than that, we are in serious trouble as a community.
Yes, we absolutely must remember and honour all that was lost, so much potential never to be fulfilled, and our calendar has sanctified this memory and loss in Yom HaShoah. But, as I said to the young traveller, wouldn’t one or two camps be enough? Why so many? These memories and sites, as Israeli philosopher Yeshayahu Leibowitz puts it, are important for Europeans to engage with – they are a European problem, not a Jewish problem. It happened to the Jews, it is not why we are Jewish, and when we use these memories to create identity and community, it cheapens that memory. The loss of the Shoah is felt acutely by many of us, and it's a sad reality that we are slowly moving into a period when our children will not meet survivors. Their stories need to be heard and preserved, but not so they might inspire us to cling on to Judaism. There must be something more compelling in the Judaism we are handing on to the next generation – something vital and joyous if we want them to continue it.
Just as Paideia is doing, we need to empower the next generation of Jewish leaders, and more importantly community members, to know what their Judaism adds to their lives that is positive, meaningful, and empowering, because if there is only the memory of this immeasurable tragedy, each generation will have fewer and fewer reasons to pass Judaism on to the next generation. I would love to see shuls full on Simchat Torah and Purim rather than Yom Kippur and Yom HaShoah, reassuring me people are enjoying their Judaism, and that thus it has a future.
I think it was inspired that the Swedish government decided to invest in a Jewish future rather than in remembering the past, and by providing students with the confidence to engage with text and feel Jewishly literate as well as culturally Jewish, Paideia does a huge amount to ensure a future for European Jewry that is meaningful and positive. And in the meantime, I can't wait to hear what all the fellows have been up to around Europe over the last decade, and to kick start the new year for a new batch of fellows, including one of my own students, who I know will be making a huge contribution to Jewry somewhere in the world in the years to come (no pressure!)

London Calling

2011-08-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

It's been a pretty strange and depressing week. The news has been terrifying, and online it's been hard to distinguish between rumours and fear and actual, vile violence and horror.
Some jokes have been born, and some political satire, but mostly people have been trying to establish why it happened, how it happened, what are the causes? could it be stopped? My own liberal sensibilities have clashed with my deep sense of shock and outrage, and debates have flown back and forth. One of the most interesting discussions for me was on Tuesday night, when a group of WLS Young Adults had an evening of study before breaking bread together to end the fast of Tisha B'Av, which commemorates the destruction of the Temple and so many other disasters through history, caused by humans inhumanity.
We poignantly began with the first verse of Lamentations "How does the city sit solitary, that was full of people! How is she become as a widow! She that was great among the nations, and princesses among the provinces, how is she become divided". It seemed we could have been talking about London. Then we explored the reasons the rabbis variously gave for the destruction of Jerusalem: I wrote earlier in the week about the causeless hatred attributed in Talmud Gittin 55b-56a, but in Shabbat 119b various different reasons are posited for the destruction; from the desecration of shabbat to the neglecting of children's education. No one cause was agreed upon, but all of them together seem to suggest a need for individuals to take personal responsibility, and to take communal responsibility. Perhaps as our arguments go back and forward, this same balance is still what we need to find. Of course one of the main differences is that Jerusalem was destroyed by a conquering army. London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool were set upon by their own citizens.
There have of course been warming examples of people taking this communal responsibility. While I am one of many that would fear interfering in direct violence (the numbers filming on iphones rather than getting involved speak to this). But together many have also come together to make a positive difference. The hordes clearing the streets have helped to put things right, and support for those publicly hurt like Ashraf Haziq and Aaron Biber have touched many. But of course there are so many others whose stories haven't captured the headlines who need support. There are ways to donate all over London. Of course it won't undo what has been done, which will take at least a generation to fix if the right work is done, but it shows that there are positives we can contribute to, even when feeling scared and hopeless.

Is there light after such dark nights London?

2011-08-09T01:51:00.000-07:00

There is something surreal about waking up yet again to reports of rioting in London. Rioting which essentially consists of damaging property and looting. As my brother joked on facebook yesterday, in the middle east they are protesting and rioting for their freedom, here there are riots for flat screen tv's and trainers.
And there are plenty of reasons protests (perhaps not riots!) might be sparked; unemployment, social inequality, social deprivation, services being slashed - none of which have quick fixes, but all of which are a serious reality we have to face up to. But as this brave woman points out, these actions make no sense as they are destroying communities and have no cause. http://www.twitvid.com/4JTZH.
Ultimately my Jewish response is to wonder what help and support victims of these riots might need. Can we help with the clean up? (perhaps follow @riotcleanup on twitter for ideas of where help is needed) Is there support we can offer to people, especially the elderly, too scared to go out? On Tisha B'Av, when we remember so much human destruction, perhaps the best thing we can do is to help clean up and repair a little corner of London, if we are able to. Indeed watching communities come together to face the clean up and support each other brings a little hope in the light of morning after the dark nights we have seen. In the longer term bigger things need healing and repairing, and we must pay attention to these too. Healing takes time and we mustn't give up on it just because it is slow, and we must all, whatever community we are from, pay attention to making sure it happens and is not forgotten. Healing for all, not some, must be the hope for London and the world, as we continue to strive for Tikkun Olam - repair of our broken world.

Tisha B'Av - the 9th of Av

2011-08-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

Tisha B'Av is one of the most solemn days of the Jewish Calendar. On it, we mourn the destruction of both Temples, both said to have been destroyed on this date (Av being a Hebrew month) as well as various other disasters, including the expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290 and Spain in 1492 having occurred on this day. Growing up I remember attending very moving Tisha B'Av services, which were expanded to include other human disasters like Hiroshima - a day to mourn our inhumanity towards one another if you will.
One of the most taught texts around Tisha B'Av is that of Kamsa and Bar Kamsa from the Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 56a). The story is essentially understood as being about needless or causeless hatred between Jews, hatred which used the destruction of the Temple.
From Oslo to London, Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, there's been a lot of hatred witnessed of late, hatred accompanied by violence, with causes and justifications given, but all rather pathetically. Yet while it has always been an important part of the fast for me that we in the progressive world acknowledge humanity's cruelty to one another on a wider level, there is something important for us as a Jewish community in taking time to consider the needless hatred and division we allow to permeate our community, particularly in the UK. We waste so much energy, print space, and creativity worrying about what and how everyone else is doing, and/or what they'll think about what I'm doing. We obsessively try to place things in boxes and forms which have little relevance to being a good Jew, or a good person, and often criticise and undermine out of ignorance. We also let things slide out of ignorance, unsure how to challenge or break the box open.
Perhaps we need to worry less about what the other guy does, and more about what I can learn from them. Less about where she prays, and more about whether everyone has a prayer experience that will ensure they get what they need to sustain themselves and their spiritual life. I know my home model is very unique, and it does take patience for a practising orthodox Jew to live with and love me, and vice versa (good job he probably gave up reading these months ago as he hates the label orthodox!) but surely such a small community doesn't have the resources or time to be throwing stones at one another, when we could be (and often are) building schools, JCC's, etc. Perhaps G has it right, and labels are just really unhelpful. Ours is the generation of grass roots and wandering Jews. We don't need labels, we need engagement. As Denis Prager wrote over a decade ago, perhaps we need to talk about engaged and disengaged Jews, rather than box people into denominations.
Even within denominational communities how we engage with one another can be less than kind, and surely this is the message we need to take from Tisha B'Av this year. Enough of the needless hatred and the looking over our shoulders at everyone else. Let's be engaged Jews, fulfilling ourselves and our prophet's dreams of building a messianic age of peace and friendship for all, everywhere. Consider your homework set! :)

Make your own

2011-08-06T16:44:00.000-07:00

This has been the week of learning about bread making. On Sunday I attended a fabulous sourdough masterclass run by a good friend, and this evening I ran a challah workshop for a few women at home (don't panic WLS folk - it was a test run - we'll do one at shul too sometime). We began by making the dough so that it could prove and rise while we learnt about the biblical origins of challah, a little about what the Rabbis did with it, the idea of separating the dough, and what forms it has taken around the world.
Along with the fun of baking and giggling together, I always enjoy teaching in this way because I learn from everyone else, whether it's new ways of reading the text, or new ways of plaiting the challah so it rises up and not out!

There's something incredibly satisfying about creating bread for oneself, particularly bread as special as challah, but sourdough too was very satisfying. My mum always said we eat salt and challah because salt and bread are the basics we need (it's also because Leviticus 2:13 commands us to salt meal offerings) and producing these basics for ourselves is very empowering. We can make them healthier, or sweeter, plaited or ladder shaped,

but as with all rituals, when we learn about them and engage with making them for ourselves, just as making bread is empowering, making and understanding rituals is empowering and they suddenly come to life and mean so much more.
We may pick and choose (and I think we all pick and choose, whatever denomination we choose to pray with) but what we pick should be something that makes us as excited as kneading dough and producing our own challah made us on Wednesday. Only if these things really engage us and bring something meaningful into our lives will they have any chance or need for continuity. Shavua tov and hope you enjoyed your challah! (this was supposed to post Friday afternoon but just discovered it didn't!)

Moving and journeying

2011-08-04T09:20:00.000-07:00

After a rather prolific week last week I've been totally drowning this week and while lots of blogs have started in my head nothing has made it onto the screen. So this is a beautiful reminder that we are always journeying and changing, and the next scene is just around the corner.

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

When I travelled to India as a student I think I hoped to find myself. I discovered very quickly that I had had to take myself with me.

Good news anyone?

2011-07-29T04:12:00.000-07:00

Last week there was little cheer in the news as I began pondering my Friday sermon; famine in Africa, crashing Euro, phone hacking. By the end of the week I felt there would be so much to say on all of these, but that I needed my own spirits lifting, and perhaps others did too. This week hasn't been any better, with a horrendous massacre in Norway, Amy Winehouse's tragically early death, famine continuing to rage, and further horrors of phone hacking. I don't often do this, but the sermon I gave last Friday was aimed at giving a little good news, and I had several people take the time to write and say how much they appreciated it, so I thought after another terrible week, it might be worth sharing here! It was written to be delivered rather than read, but I hope it might bring a bit of cheer and hope in human kindness:

I don't know how many of you travelled here on the Central line tonight, but those of you who have used it this week, may have spotted a new art installation. Michael Landy, perhaps best known for destroying all his personal belongings round the corner from here on Oxford Street in 2001, has collected together people's stories of stranger's kindnesses shown to them on the tube, and woven them into pieces displayed along the Central Line.
Travelling on the tube can be a rather soul destroying experience. We all try and avoid eye contact, and disappear into a book, an ipod, or a game. Living in a city of over seven and a half million people, it is incredible how lonely moving about in the city can be, though of course it can also be a pleasure to go about in anonymity. Yet every now and then, human warmth is extended across that small gap between the rows of seats, and it is these that are recorded in Landy's work. You don't have to travel on the underground to read them; they are available on the Art on the Underground website, but there is something touching about the idea of stumbling across these little tales - reminders even - as we make our way about the city. There are tales of help offered, medical advice and general care for the sick being given, those with little giving what they can to buskers, people travelling out of their way to return mobile phones, women being advised they have their skirts tucked into their underwater, even random gifts of origami, and a random act of kindness that began a 30 year friendship.
This is just one example of a story that struck me:
"I was on the tube and noticed a girl sitting opposite me, sobbing. My fellow commuters all looked very uncomfortable and stared downwards, clearly embarrassed. I went and sat on the empty seat next to the girl, gave her a tissue and asked her what was wrong. She replied that she was ok and blushed. 5 minutes later, she looked up at me, smiled through her tears and mouthed "thank you". When she got off at the next stop, everyone looked up from their papers and started talking to each other. "That was very thoughtful" "I wasn't sure if it would help or not" "I'll help next time""

Everyone had wanted to do something, but hadn't been sure where to start. A similar act of kindness was offered to me once on a train back from Brighton where I had been spending a shabbbat on a student placement. A rather drunk man got on the train 2 stops before our destination, and of course sat down at the table directly opposite me. He started trying to chat, and I responded, not wanting to be rude, and believing we need to relate to those around us more. But he quickly lapsed into a drunken attempt to woo me! Not that I don't appreciate being told I'm beautiful, even through beer goggles, but in a nearly empty train carriage, this was just a little unsettling for a lone traveller, especially as my explaining that I was a married woman hadn't seemed to deter him. From the back of the carriage a second chap got up, made sure he made eye contact with my admirer, and sat directly behind me, making oit obvious he was keeping an eye on things. As we arrived at Victoria, my anonymous supporter accompanied me to the door of the train, and asked if he could walk me to the tube, to make sure I wasn't going to be followed and had company. He hoped, he said, that someone would do the same for his mum or sister. I was so touched by the man's chivalry, but even more by the simple fact that he was willing to take a personal risk in reaching out. While we may shy away from human contact on the tube, how many times have we wondered if we should do something, but felt our own safety in jeopardy. I’m not suggesting we all need to put ourselves in harmsa way more often, but the fear of getting involved does prevent us from reaching out and helping – I certainly know it has stopped me in the past.

But there are so many small ways, day to day, that we can make a difference, without taking any risk. Random, small acts that will bring a smile. The Union of Jewish Students suggested some delightful ideas in 2009 for Mitzvah day, including:
•Leaving a bar of chocolate or some money in a vending machine.
•Tucking a £1 book token into a book in a bookshop
•Buying 10p sweets and giving them to bank tellers.
•Leaving a book you've already finished reading on a train or in another public place and writing a nice little note inside the cover.
And my personal favourite:
•Typing out, printing off and cutting up some random nice things to say about people, such as; "You Look Lovely Today!", "Nice Shoes!", "Your Hair Looks Great!" etc and slipping these little bits of paper all over the place, e.g. on seats on the bus or train, in newspapers, in amongst chocolate bars in shops, in people's bags of shopping when they are looking the other way...
But of course the easiest and cheapest thing, is to smile.
Pirke Avot (1:2) tells us that the world stands on three things: Torah, Avodah, Gemilut Chasadim – Torah, Worship, and acts of loving kindness. Those small, gentle kindnesses that we have so many opportunities to demonstrate each day, keep the world in balance, and perhaps help each of us stay in balance too.
Shabbat Shalom!

Prayer in times of mourning

2011-07-27T03:39:00.000-07:00

It hasn't been the happiest of weeks, and I was touched to see posted on our West Hampstead Yeshivah facebook page the prayer below, although it's since vanished. It was posted for Amy Winehouse,

whose talent and soulful voice are a real loss to those of us who were fans, but whose fullness of being cannot be replaced for her family, friends and loved ones. The prayer is written by Marianne Williamson whose blog on the prayer can be found here. Perhaps this beautiful expression of loss and departure will be a source of strength for each of us over the years.

Dear God,
Please take the soul and spirit of this dear departed one into the sweetest corner of Your mind, the most tender place in Your heart, that she, and I, might be comforted.
For now she has gone, and I pray, dear God, for the strength to remember she has not gone far.
For she is with You and shall remain so forever.
She remains within me, for we are all in You together.
The cord that binds us one to the other cannot be cut, surely not by death.
For you, dear God, have brought us together, and we remain in eternal connection.
There is no power greater than You.
Death is not Your master, nor mine.
These things I believe and ask my heart to register.
I surrender to You my grief.
I surrender to You my pain.
Please take care of Your servant, my dear one who has passed.
And please, dear Lord, take care of me.
Amen.
Marianne Wialliamson- from Illuminata

Norwegian Horror

2011-07-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

Just before shabbat on Friday afternoon I received an email from a colleague, asking me to mention victims of a bomb in Oslo during our service that evening. We didn't know very much, but what I gleaned online before heading down to the sanctuary was that 15 were injured and 2 dead. By the close of Shabbat, when I checked the news again, the reports were of much higher numbers, and radio 4 was describing the fact that they expected a much more 'rigorous' debate on multiculturalism in Norway as a result of the events in Oslo, and a sadness that a nation so deeply engaged in peace making (notably the Oslo accords) was attacked in such away.
It now seems the perpetrator was Anders Breivik, described by Norwegian media and cited on Huffington Post as a blond, blue-eyed Norwegian man. Not only did he detonate an enormous fertiliser bomb but attacked a Labour children's summer camp, firing shots at children who were forced into the water to swim for safety. The death toll now stands at 98 and is expected to rise. A deep feeling of shock pervades.

The media reports were very quick to make certain assumptions. It is inappropriate to politicise such tragedies, though very quickly discussions turned to political debate multiculturalism - assuming that these atrocities were committed by an 'outsider', someone who is 'other'. There have, of course, been many twitter comments, but some included the question from Nitin Sawhney; why is no one describing Breivik as a terrorist (on Saturday night), and thechurchmouse on Sunday night who wondered why he was being called a Christian, fundamentalist or otherwise. We are always searching for ways to explain and categorise, and often this involves assumptions, reveals our prejudices, and leaves us putting others into ill-fitting boxes.

I've spent some of this evening re-writing my short piece for Pause for Thought tomorrow morning to incorporate this weekends news, though it is always hard to find the words. Ultimately, as someone not directly affected, the sadness is that the world is still imperfect and these horrors are still committed by us against each other. All those killed had the potential to do so much and be so much, and that potential is now lost to the world. We must all do more. Meanwhile my thoughts and prayers are with those mourning their loved ones, all over the world, but particularly in Norway, as a result of in/human violence.

Potiche - standing on the shoulder (pads) of giants

2011-07-20T00:45:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the very lovely pleasure of going to see Potiche - a fabulous night out with brilliant 70's touches and a delicate (and at times not so delicate) sense of humour.
The gender battles of the 70's may be well behind us, and they are funny (if not a little scary) to look back on. There is still a long way to go, but Potiche warmly reminded us of just how far we have come, and I know I am a beneficiary! I grew up with women Rabbis, indeed I'm not sure I knew men could be rabbis! It was never a question for me if it would be possible for me to be a Rabbi, only if it was right for me. It was never a question I would go to university, only if I wanted to.
I was asked last year on BBC Arabic News, after the ordination of the first woman rabbi in Germany since Regina Jonas, why it was important to have women Rabbis. I replied that if you exclude 50% of the population from any job, you are missing out on 50% of the talent.
There have been many ways women have been empowered and empowering over the last 35 years since the period Potiche is set in. Some have had to imitate men, some have used their femininity. We are not quite there yet, but hopefully we are approaching a time when men and women will all be able to use every part of their personality and (or even regardless of) their physicality, masculine or feminine, to excel as individuals, rather than having to manipulate types and codes.

Appearances do matter? The weighty question.

2011-07-14T02:00:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I click on these things, but this morning my Yahoo mail offered this insightful and important piece of news to the world. Jonah Hill (of Superbad, Funny People etc.) who has a successful comedy career, has shed a lot of weight and appeared in Mexico with his new form. Very important news, particularly when famine is hitting East Africa.
Having been a rather petite child, since hitting puberty I have always had to fight against my weight. I attended weight watchers before I was Bat Mitzvah, was bullied at school, tried appetite suppressants and despite being in the gym 3 times a week and eating healthily, I never seemed to lose much. At one point my (not Jewish) GP, in desperation, pointed out 'no one was fat in the camps you know?'. Helpful. Thanks.
3 years ago I was, with medical assistance, able to overcome a hormone imbalance and shed over a third of my body weight. I will never be slim, and I'd still like to lose a few more pounds, and have to always focus on eating healthily, but what has been most remarkable is the difference this has made to people around me.
I don't feel any different. I have more stamina, and more shopping options, but otherwise, my world looks the same. But to those looking at me, it seems to have made a huge difference. I was never aware that people were rude or unkind to me, but I am now aware of how much nicer the world is to me. Particularly in café's and restaurants and shops. I've had some hilarious encounters with individuals, particularly in communities I served in as a student, blurting out some comment about my former weight, and ex-school teachers informing me I have now 'found myself' after the weight loss. I haven't found myself. I was always here, but for some reason the weight around me stopped people seeing me as fully.

Me in 2007

Weight seems to be one of the last PC prejudices. Of course there are good health reasons for people to lose weight. But why should this affect day to day interactions and relationships? I was, I suspect, seen as someone with no self control. Losing weight or being slimmer means I have will power and control over my impulses (which in my case it really didn't!) It is possible I now do hold myself with more confidence (although I'm not aware of this, classmates from Rabbinical school have said it is so). If this is the case, I suspect it comes from a deep sense of this body being more acceptable to others, not me, or indeed G who married me almost at my biggest.

Having control over our appetites and impulses is an important spiritual idea in Judaism, and saying blessings over each thing I eat helps me to stay conscious of what and how much I am eating. But seeing each person for who they are is also important. We are often unaware of the instant judgements we make on meeting a person (according to a workshop with NCBI I attended the first things we see about a person are colour and gender) not to mention the prejudices we all carry with us. We can't pretend appearances don't matter - we all make snap judgements on what and who we see in front of us. But this shouldn't affect how we approach others in life, and perhaps if we are more aware of our prejudices, we can consciously change how we allow them to affect our responses to others.

Phone Hacking - a Jewish Response

2011-07-11T04:56:00.000-07:00

The response to the ever emerging depths of insensitivity and outlandish disregard of the law and human decency by tabloid journalists at the News of the World has been deepening shock over the last week. Many have been disgusted by the callousness with which murdered school girls and grieving families have been treated, no to mention the ways in which some of this behaviour even misled investigators.
But don't we as a society also have a responsibility? Journalists have been pushing the boundaries further and further to get that extra bit of precious insight and information because it sells more papers, and we are also hungry for knowledge.
It is ironic that all this really came to fruition in the week of parashat Balak - when Bila'am is charged with the task of cursing the Israelites by Balak. Only praises come out of his mouth, including the form of the song which opens many shabbat services - Ma Tovu - 'How good are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel'.
Now I love camping (not the glamping kind either), and I think I'm pretty good at furnishing a tent, but it's a strange thing that the blessing Bila'am finds coming out of his mouth is in praise of our tents! Didn't the Israelites have any more redeeming qualities?
The Rabbis also wonder about this, and for them, this praise of the tents actually informs us of something very important about how we should live as a society (which is what the Israelite encampment was). Baba Batra 60a sees Bila'am's blessing as praising the Hebrews for preserving personal privacy, despite living in an overcrowded camp with not very thick walls! How did they manage such a feat? They set up their tents so the entrance of one was never opposite the entrance of another - they could never see inside another person's home and private domain. I'm sure conversations were overheard at times, but they did what they could to ensure each family had privacy. It is this privacy that we have seen so thoroughly shattered in the last week, and which we must insist on in our own lives, tastes, behaviours and demands, in order to demonstrate to those who would feed our demands, what is worthy of news, and what is just intrusion, interference, corruption and unacceptable.

Supermarket Encounter... What's so bad with my marge?

2011-07-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

I had a bit of a run in today at the supermarket. As I was taking my non-dairy margarine down off the shelf, so that I might indulge in some shabbat baking (being on holiday at the moment I have time to play with recipes I usually don't have time to contemplate!)
As I took it down, a woman asked me how it compared to another big brand - I said I couldn't tell the difference, but I always baked with it so not sure one would! She then launched into a rant - 'I hope it isn't like XBrand - they're full of hydrogenated fats! They are terrible for us, they're killing us! I don't know why they keep putting it in things, or why supermarkets keep selling it! They obviously hate children. And if we buy it, as a community, we must also hate our children! And kosher products are particularly bad when it comes to this! Why do we not love our children?'

Well. I didn't quite know what to say. I nodded understandingly, and said 'wow, I should really look into that'! I spent the rest of my shop avoiding eye contact as we continually bumped into each other (I showed her where soap was) mostly out of guilt for my complicity in poisoning my loved ones and hating my non-existent children!!

With relief I looked at my marge when I got home. I do love my children-yet-to-be! No Trans fats or hydrogenated oils! Thank heavens! Though if anyone can recommend shabbat baking recipes without dairy or marge I'd love to hear them! But it did peak my interest. I've heard about how terrible palm oil products are for the environment (a good way to protect out children's future environment!)- and unfortunately it's very hard to identify as often it isn't listed on our ingredients. The problem with hydrogenated fats are less what they do to the environment, and more what they do to our bodies, significantly increasing the risk of heart attacks.

Perhaps this takes us back to the fact that the best food is that which we've made ourselves, and involved as small a number of processed products as possible - perhaps this might be my next 3 month challenge! It would need a big clear out of our cupboards, but I know we already do better than in years gone by (G taught me one can make a curry from scratch - it doesn't have to be from a jar!) but there's obviously still a long way to go, and we need to do better both for our own bodies, and the environment - not to mention those of our (as yet non-existent!) children.

Real Women

2011-06-30T05:32:00.000-07:00

Devorah, my hebrew name, can mean a bee, but the root also implies a woman of words. Sometimes though (often in fact), others put it far better than I could! This piece by Hanne Blank says pretty much what I would want to! Men and women are different, but so are women and women, and men and men. In the words of the wonderful Brian: 'We are all individuals'. When we can all feel comfortable in our own skin, and with others in theirs, we will have come a long way.

Thanks to AS for sharing this link.

Faiths in London

2011-06-28T05:47:00.000-07:00

London is an incredibly diverse place, and it's one of the reasons I love it. I'm told by people born across Europe and elsewhere who now live here, they can't believe how tolerant it is relatively. That's not to say things are perfect, and there's always work to do!

In July, St John's Wood and Maida Vale communities will be coming together on an interfaith walk around the various faith communities in the area, in aid of the Salusbury World Refugee Centre - threatened with closure unless it can raise funds by August. It's not theological, it's not dialogue in the traditional sense of it, but it is an opening up of hearts and minds in a local community, so that the sanctuarys behind so many doors might be accessed, and so the people who pray in them better can be better understood. And just as importantly, they are coming together to do some real local 'tikkun olam' - repairing the world. WLS will be sending a group of walkers and is looking for volunteers to show people around on the day - drop me a line if you'd like to get involved!

I was also touched today by a video 'Inspiration through Faith' made for a competion run by Project Mosaic - a charity set up by a woman whose fire-fighter brother died at ground zero on 9/11. We are planning an interfaith event to mark 9/11 along with Westminster Faith Exchange, and the video reminds us of the diversity of London, and the goodness at the heart of each faith. We can always read what we want to into texts, for good or bad, so it's good to see us all finding the good and spreading the message! Hopefully it will help us to see the good in the other too!

Over my head

2011-06-23T06:39:00.000-07:00

As regular readers will know, I am a person that loves ritual, and in particular making ritual personally meaningful. In true Reform style, we should only do mitzvot that we have engaged with to understand their meaning, particularly to us personally. Likewise if a mitzvah is empty and you don't understand why your are (or are not) doing it, you haven't done the work held at the heart of Reform Judaism. There are lots of reasons why people do and don't do things, but engaging with their meaning and understanding them makes the rituals and mitzvot meaningful, and our Jewish life more engaging.
One of the ways I have always enjoyed engaging with mitzvot and rituals is to encourage learning about a ritual before making an item (where relevant) to help in its performance. During my shopping amnesty a friend taught me the skill of making beaded kippot (which until then I'd been buying at great expense from America), a feminine, crafty and creative way of engaging with the idea of covering out heads in respect and awe of heaven and God.

"Cover your head in order that the fear of heaven may be upon you."
B.T. Shabbat 156b (nb. The first mention of head covering is in the Talmud)

"Rabbi Hunah ben Joshua never walked 4 cubits (2 meters) with his head uncovered. He explained: 'Because the Divine Presence is always over my head."
B.T. Kiddushin 31a

And I may have become carried away! Having made kippah after kippah, and discovered more and more people wanting to get hold of them, I've decided to use them to try and raise money for a fantastic project at West London Synagogue - an Asylum Seekers and Refugees drop in centre, as well as a way of helping people connect with this ancient idea of ritualising our respect for God and a religious sanctuary. http://folksy.com/shops/Dobbieclaypot

Welcoming in the convert

2011-06-16T01:06:00.000-07:00

"When a proselyte comes to be converted, one receives him with an open hand so as to bring him under the wings of the Divine Presence."
(Leviticus Rabbah 2:9)

Today I'm excited. I'm looking forward to a day accompanying candidates to the Reform Bet Din (Rabbinical Court) who have applied for conversion. This is one of the greatest privileges of being a Rabbi.

Judaism isn't a religion that goes out to seek conversions (although there were times in ancient Israel when conquered nations were converted), and I often meet people who believe it is impossible to convert to Judaism. One of the reasons we don't seek conversions is that we don't believe the only good way to live is as a Jew, and this is an important theology.

Nonetheless, people do seek us out for conversion when they find it is their path. At our synagogue we run one of the biggest conversion courses in Europe, and over the last few years have on average taught around 1/3 of the movements converts. Teaching on the conversion course (which we call Jprep - short for Jewish Preparation) is one of my favourite parts of the week. Firstly because it is so wonderful to engage with a group of people who are so passionate about and engaged with Judaism, and who are involved in a true struggle to make it their own. But it is also one of those opportunities, like dialogue, where I often learn more about myself as I am pushed to respond to questions and to find new ways to explain Judaism and Jewish life.

We set out on a journey with our students, and gradually watch them begin to talk about 'us', and 'we'. They are almost always nervous on the day (one Rabbi once said to me if a candidate isn't nervous, it doesn't mean enough to them!). They are also often individuals who will continue to give a huge amount to the Jewish community. Indeed Midrash suggests these individuals, who choose Judaism, are dearer to God than those born to it:

"Dearer to God than all of the Israelites who stood at Mount Sinai is the convert. Had the Israelites not witnessed the lightning, thunder, and quaking mountain, and had they not heard the sounds of the shofar, they would not have accepted the Torah. But the convert, who did not see or hear any of these things, surrendered to God and accepted the yoke of heaven. Can anyone be dearer to God than such a person?"
Tanhuma (ed. Buber), Lekh Lekha 6:32

Having studied with and guided these incredible individuals, it is always moving to see their hard work and often long held desire come to fruition. After an interview with the Bet Din we accompany candidates to the Mikveh, a ritual immersion which importantly doesn't wash anything away, or purify someone - we are all impure without the Temple, but rather is a ritual of transformation (this is true in all the contexts in which it is used, though many misguidedly think of it as purifying). This beautiful ritual helps mark a shift in a persons life, and can be seen as a womb-like metaphor, birthing this new stage in a persons life. Rather than washing anything away, I like to think of the Mikveh as adding a layer to the person, although of course it is their own hard work and dedication that has already added this layer.

Once a person emerges from the Mikveh they are a Jew, and can never again be reminded that they are a convert, unless they choose to discuss it. They are as Jewish as anyone born into the faith, and all areas of communal and ritual life are open to them (in Orthodoxy this is not entirely true as a convert cannot marry a Cohen, a Priest, a restriction that also applies to divorcees). Of course there are lots of political issues with which conversions are recognised by whom (and this isn't restricted to orthodox restrictions on progressive converts, but orthodox conversions have also been rejected by the Chief Rabbinate in Israel and London and other Batei Din have rejected various Israeli courts). While these political issues are understandably painful for all, today I encourage candidates to feel proud of what they are a part of, not what they are not, and try to remind Jews of the respect and love that should be offered to all converts. Our community is infinitely stronger for them, and I'm looking forward to a day of welcoming and blessing them!

Dairy Delights

2011-06-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

Shavuot (Feast of Weeks/Pentacost) begins tomorrow night and I love the opportunity to celebrate a festival where dairy is the order of the day. Cheesecake, sambusak, halek (date honey left over from Pesach) with creme fraiche, scones with clotted cream, etc etc etc. (I've also been trying to make my own elderflower cordial to celebrate the flowers that bloomed on Mount Sinai and to symbolise that Torah's scent is as beautiful as flowers).
There are lots of reasons given for the custom of eating dairy, from the laws of kashrut being given and the Isralites not wanting to shlep 2 sets of dishes around (milk and meat) so out of piety choosing to follow the oral law and only eat dairy, to various gematria (numerology) explanations, my favourite of which is that chalav (milk) has the numerical value of 40, marking the 40 days and night Moses spent up Mount Sinai.
Today, however, I think there's another compelling reason to enjoy a festival that celebrates dairy products over meat eating. Producing 1kg of meat produces as much carbon dioxide as a 3 hour drive, and emissions from cattle are an enormous contributor to CO2 emissions. Although there are exceptions, G and I have tried to limit our meat consumption, saving it only for Shabbat and festivals, but as a former veggie, I'm delighted there's a festival where there's an excuse to eat dairy (and enjoy our best dairy cutlery that rarely gets an outing!) I'm also excited that reports tell me that in the next few months Titanics should be stocking organic kosher meat. The extra expense will be another reason for us to keep meat for special occasions and as a delicacy, cutting down our consumption and the environmental impact. Now we just need to get the £1.99 chicken consumers on board, and instead of meat free Monday, have everyone saving meat for shabbat - now that would make an impact!

Making Tikkun Olam Fun...

2011-06-03T06:33:00.000-07:00

I haven't yet worked out how to embed You Tube videos on blogspot (if it's even possible! Any wise bods want to help me?) But I thought this video from 'Shalom Sesame' was a great way to start the weekend - making healing the world fun, and teaching it as a core value!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-uxS_HfUac&feature=player_embedded#at=31

Word Twists

2011-05-27T00:45:00.000-07:00

This week a re-jigging/development of a former blog here is my contribution to the Progressive voice at the Jewish News (p.14 in the Print version, p.19 in the electronic version here).

It was nice to be able to tie it in with this weeks Torah portion (especially as Progressive Rabbis are not allowed to contribute to the Torah commentaries in the paper), but I was mostly fascinated by how they managed to choose a quote to highlight, totally out of context, to make it look like a piece about how everyone hates us and we should all be in fear! This is almost always pretty much the last thing I want to say, working hard to ensure Jews identify because their Judaism is a thing of meaning and joy, not because anyone has died in the past, or might be attacked in the future. These anti-Semitism's are serious issues, but as Yeshayahu Leibowitz used to say, they are issues for non-Jews to worry about and work on, not to be made part of our identity.

Of course when anyone is attacked the strongest defence is that which comes from outside the group, not within. Which is part of what I was really trying to say - when we are comfortable with difference, our friends and allies will want to stand up for us, and we will be emboldened to stand up for others, leaving us free to celebrate Judaism, or whatever our identity is, not practice it in fear.

Keep talking

2011-05-26T02:01:00.000-07:00

As you may know last November I was privileged to be part of a trip of Muslims, Christians and Jews from across the political spectrum (as far as possible) exploring many issues, but particularly how dialogue around Israel and Palestine might be improved in the UK, acknowledging that it is often either an elephant in the room, or a discussion that destroys conversations and trust.

It is a discussion that the group continues to have, and this means a huge amount to me, as it is a conversation that people want to have, and that we need to be better at having. There are always different ways of reading stats or understanding an event through different lenses. One of the participants, Ray Gaston, whose blog and writings and general wisdom I have already hugely enjoyed learning from, posted a response by a Jewish academic I have long respected and occasionally met at interfaith conferences; Amy Jill Levine, to the Methodist Report. The report caused a lot of hurt and worry in the Jewish community, but was also the cause of a lot of productive dialogue, and had some important things to say, even if the whole was hard to hear.

For me, the trip wasn't about changing anything on the ground there, but improving our conversations here, so I really appreciate the continuing discussion we are all able to have, and I thought this post was a good example of that:

http://interfaithenabler.blogspot.com/2011/05/old-habits-die-hard-critique-of-recent.html

Are we what we eat?

2011-05-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend is the second London Gefiltefest - a very eggciting addition to the calendar! I was hoping to contribute by facilitating a session there but have unfortunately had to cancel last minute. I know I am missing out!
It's a good opportunity for us to reflect on our eating habits and what they say about us. Artist Lee Price has recently done a fascinating series of photos exploring women's relationship with food, including secret eating, binging, and she writes:

"In regard to women/food issues, I think that many women are brought up, both through our immediate families and through society, to nurture others at the expense of our own needs. We hide our appetites, not just for food but in many areas of our lives, and then consume in secret. In some of my most recent works the women seem to be coming out of the closet, eyeing the viewer - not censoring their hunger." http://www.dazeddigital.com/photography/article/10234/1/rise-lee-price

Judaism is very interested in putting boundaries around what we eat, as many other groups do in order to delineate identity and social norms, not just those around gender, which of course differ from culture to culture. I didn't grow up keeping strictly kosher, but began to at university as it provided me with a daily reminder of who I was and that what I eat says something about who I am. Although they aren't always fulfilled, I also believe kosher principles embody ethics and ideas that are important, in terms of care of animals, care of the land, health, pleasure, and while kosher slaughter is controversial, I do believe if you are going to take an animals life, doing it by hand humanises the process and the slaughterer.

But not wanting to engage in that particular debate today, there are so many issues to consider when putting food into our bodies. The first is human labour. You all know my preference for Fair trade and food is a growing market in this arena. But there are also issues of fair employment in the Western World and in Israel there's the brilliant idea of kosher certification given to affirm workers in restaurants are paid fairly and treated well.

And then there's what goes into our food. Much of Jewish cookery isn't necessarily famed for it's healthy ingredients (shmaltz, calves foot jelly, latkes, and some more shmaltz) although there's plenty of new food writers offering new healthy alternatives and updates. At home we tend to try and save meat and special treats for shabbat (an idea the Swedes have taken on too with one day a week known as 'Godistag' - goodies day (not sure that's a direct translation but is how it always looked to me!) We also try to have salads and fresh fruit that are bit of a splash out that we might not treat ourselves to during the week, showing who we are by what we eat on what day. Then again resisting treats when at a desk is a continual challenge.

And of course one of the most important functions of food is that it brings us together. If we can overcome all our differences and find ways to bring different communities together over food, it is a real unifier and helps to normalise relationships. But we also have to be aware that food can be a divider, and I know that while kashrut is a way for me to identify with a peoplehood it also sets me apart as different. Maintaining the balance between my sense of identity and peoplehood, and not putting up social barriers is a delicate one, and one I am often conscious of.

Whatever the issues you are most passionate about in food, I'm sure Gefiltefest will be a wonderful place to explore and learn - and eat!
B'tei avon/ Bon appetit!

A month on... the ethical shopper

2011-05-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

At the start of 2011 I committed to three months no shopping (apart from food), and once I had completed my cold-turkey, I committed to being an ethical consumer. I have always made and effort to buy ethically where possible - receiving fair trade catalogues and getting organic veg boxes delivered. Now I wanted to take this a step further and stop using my desire to consume (or even need) as an excuse for enslaving others or wasting what I already have.
So for just over a month now I have been purchasing again, but only second hand or fair trade, which seems to be the only way to ensure no one has suffered for my pleasure. There has been one slip up, when I purchased a hat on a sunny day, forgetting that I needed to hunt around more! But there's also been a few pleasant surprises: I managed to find a cute designer bag (Paul Smith) in a charity shop for £5, and also discovered that ethical shops like People Tree have special on line offers and deals much as any other retailer, making items briefly more affordable! I've also managed to give a pre-Pesach sermon about my experiment, which I'm told touched someone that really needed to hear it.
Of course the bottom line remains that in many ways, shopping has become a past time and not something many of us do out of necessity. But having made the change, I seem to be doing ok at not returning to my old ways. Making sure that the Jewish ethic of Bal Taschit (not wasting) as well as not abusing our workers, and the environmental ethics that come into play all take priority is something that today takes a little work, but is increasingly essential!

We've got a flag!

2011-05-11T00:35:00.000-07:00

I've always loved this Eddie Izzard sketch about flags, and it's one that was quoted a lot at university by my friends. I thought of it again last Friday as I was walking home from West London's fantastic Yom Ha'atzmaut Oneg Shabbat (Shabbat celebration for Israel Independence day).
As I left the synagogue, having enjoyed dinner, speeches, and dancing with Shir who always get us up and dancing dancing together, I looked up into the hall where the celebrations were winding up but were still going on. I could hear Israeli music and clapping, and in the window were hanging a string of small Israeli flags. I smiled, and then as I looked back at the street, noticed who was around me, also looking into the window. For those of you who don't know West London Synagogue, we are situated just off the Edgware Road, also known in London as Little Lebanon - essentially the Arabic quarter, bustling with Arab shops, restaurants and shisha bars. It's a fantastic area, but as I saw 3 of our Arab neighbours glancing into the same windows I had been, I was surprised to find this made me a little nervous.
On an incredible trip to Israel and the West Bank last November with 4 Muslims, 4 Christians and 4 Jews, I was reminded of how words mean different things to different people. One of the most powerful of these words is 'Zionism' which means very different things to different people, and one is not always aware of the others definition. What saddened me most was the fact that I was aware of a fear in myself that by being seen to celebrate the establishment of Israel as a modern state and haven for Jews, we in London were opening ourselves up to attack. As many of you will know, I'm often unhappy with how the Israeli government conducts itself, and am personally a strong believer in the need for justice and rights to be accorded to the Palestinian people. Neither side is going anywhere, so must somehow learn to live so that all can enjoy peace and dignity and live without fear, a common denominator on both sides.
One of the aims of our trip (for me at least) was to explore how we improve the conversations and dialogues around these issues in the UK, where so often it is either the elephant in the room, or a herd of elephants that trample over the whole conversation and destroy it. Walking past those windows, I was acutely aware of how much work there is to do, and how saddened I was to note an internal fear of attack that I so rarely feel.

A little further up the road, flying high above an Exotic Car dealership, two more flags greeted me, this time the St. George's cross - England's flag. Again I was aware that these made me a little uncomfortable, and how sad that was! I am an English woman, whose family have on one line been here since 1710. The sadness is, that these flags and emblems have so often been co-opted by the far right, that rather than a proud National symbol, they become a symbol of racism and fear of the other. When I lived in Sweden, I was at first surprised to discover a Swedish flag flying outside my apartment block, and often appearing on buses and street posts. But why should the flag represent keeping people out? Can we feel proud of our national identity whilst also welcoming those who will add richness and diversity to it as many of my great grandparents did? Perhaps the problem goes back to Eddie Izzard's sketch, and a reminder of how flags and nationalism were powers misused in the past, and continuing to be used today by those who would use them as symbols that divide and exclude, rather than welcome and unify. So maybe it's time to claim our flags back, whilst also acknowledging we shouldn't be fearful of the flags of others, which add colour and diversity to a world that would be very dull otherwise!

A Postscript...
Someone wrote on Facebook in response to this:
You made me think Debbie... Do you think something can be a sign of unity without excluding? Why do we need to be brought together by a flag that symbolizes the unity of a single group and not just be satisfied with all being one and the same by default - just people?

I thought this was an excellent point, as dividers can often be perceived of as negative, particularly nationalistic ones. But here was my response:
Unity doesn't have to mean uniformity, but flags ultimately identify one group as not another, which you're right, can be divisive. It reminds me of the flags of the Israelite encampment in the desert - each tribe was distinct, and had thei...r own flag, but they were all one unified camp. The real challenge is to have people feel comfortable with difference - when we can do that we've come a long way! The reality is we will always have differences, so learning to celebrate those rather than use them to attack and denigrate each other seems a good way forward!

Deep Dark Congo

2011-05-05T23:35:00.000-07:00

Tim Butcher in his incredible travel book 'Blood River' describes the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as "the broken heart of Africa". It is a broken heart which is so mysterious and dark to us in the West, that most of us are not aware, or are somehow not outraged, that it is the scene of such incredible violence, murder, theft, and inhuman brutality that we cannot even conceive of it. Why does it get so little attention? Is it because we feel helpless? Is it because we don't know? Or is it because it is this mysterious, deep, dark, other which we can ignore because it is so distant, and because to open our eyes in part incriminates us.

On Wednesday, Rabbis David Mitchell and Colin Eimer organised with Vava Tampa from Save The Congo to take a petition signed by 61 Progressive Rabbis to the foreign office. Rabbis Janet Burden, Janet Darley and myself joined, as did supporters Baroness Cox and David Amess MP. An extract from the petition helps to highlight some of the problems:

"Any system which allows the murder of innocent civilians at the behest of a cruel regime must be an affront to humanity and to the strong ethical exigency within Judeo-Christian teaching. The world has still not learned the lesson of the genocide of the last century. The imperative ‘Never again,’ that emerged out of the Holocaust, tragically continues to be transmuted into ‘Again’ and yet ‘Again’.

For the last 13 years this has been the plight of the Congolese people. They have been decimated by wars that are being waged for the control of the Congo’s easily appropriable and highly valuable natural resources. There is already a devastating catalogue of atrocities, including: mass killings and displacement, the destruction of livelihood, an orchestrated campaign of sexual atrocities against women, men and children and an humanitarian crisis on a scale that defies comprehension. Millions have died, countless of them women at the hands of endorsed rapists, and millions will continue to perish from the ensuing HIV-AIDS pandemic.

Whilst we await the specific policy details of your strategy to help to save the Congo, we implore you to:
1. support and strengthen MONUSCO with the needed helicopters, heavy transport, intelligence and staff to effectively carry out its mandate;
2. hold accountable those alleged by the UN, or indicted by the ICC, to have orchestrated, perpetuated, ordered or financed crimes under international humanitarian and human rights laws;
3. bring additional pressure on the Rwandan, Ugandan and Burundian authorities to ensure that their territories are not used as a trading or transit ground for conflict minerals from the Congo or for weapons that fall into the hands of armed groups in the Congo;
4. ensure that corporations within your jurisdiction trading in minerals in the Great Lakes region of Africa observe due diligence standards, as set out by the UN and OECD, and bring considerable pressure on the Congolese authorities to end their militarisation of mines."

Just one story that was told to me outside the Foreign Office by our Congolese friends: A woman was raped by a militia, upon the remains of her recently murdered husband. She has now become a campaigner for raped women and is considered a source of strength for so many. The stories of the victims (the civilians) and survivors of the DRC are incredibly distressing, depressing, and in this case, awe inspiring.

One of the biggest challenges right now is just making the voice of Congo and her innocent civilians heard. It is such a vast place, and so little is known in the West, and even less feels possible, but we must make this voice heard, and change must come. Genocide and rape should not be quietly unrecognised and shrugged off because we feel helpless. Not to mention our implicit and often unknown culpability through the theft of the Congo's rich mineral resources. The people of Congo need something to change, and we must must must stand up and shout. Do find out more at www.savethecongo.co.uk

A poignant and moving New York Response

2011-05-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed coffee this morning with an incredible friend who is a vicar that was ordained in the US and was working in an interfaith chaplaincy centre in New York on September 11th 2001. She volunteered for nine months after the tragedy in a morgue where bodies from the towers were being brought, praying and providing solace.
Of course yesterday's killing of Bib Laden came up, and she expressed to me a frustration at the idea that this was jusitice being done. No justice can ever be done for what happened, and the scars that 9/11 has left.
When I got back to my desk, an email from her was waiting for me. It seemed like such a dignified response from those who were at the heart of dealing with the trauma and tragedy:

Dear NYDIS Members & Partners:

Sunday’s killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has evoked many reactions. He was a fanatical global terrorist who among his many crimes against humanity, instigated the U.S. embassy bombings in Africa, the bombing of the USS Cole, and the September 11th attacks. He was an unrepentant mass murderer, and he has paid the ultimate price for his crimes. We regret that he will not receive justice in a court of law, but he will be judged by God, and that may bring some solace to those who have suffered.

Americans, and New Yorkers in particular, have lived in fear of him for a decade, and while his perversions of Islam have brought untold hardship to many Muslims across the globe, we pray for and live in the hope that justice, peace and truth may prevail.

We are mindful of the extraordinary efforts and sacrifice of so many Americans in the days, months and years following September 11, 2001. Through your generosity, NYDIS is proud to have helped lead 9/11 recovery efforts and to alleviate the pain and suffering of the victims’ families, survivors, and the tens of thousands of recovery workers who now suffer from toxic exposure at Ground Zero. Many have rebuilt their lives, but we must remember that many thousands continue to struggle with the impact of 9/11 physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

The death of Osama Bin Laden does not lessen that grief; his death does not restore the enormous losses resulting from 9/11 or other terrorist attacks or the subsequent violence of war. As people of faith, we do not celebrate the death of any human being, even of one who caused such devastation and destruction. But we do hope his death will bring some relief from the fear and anger and pain felt by those who have lost so much.

On behalf of the many New York City faith communities that are our members, we join our government in cautioning Americans and the global community to embrace our Muslim neighbors and employ terrorism mitigation and preparedness best practices to shield ourselves from those who would do us all harm.

In the days following 9/11, New York showed itself to be a most compassionate and caring community. Let us celebrate that and reach out to all who suffer in the face of disaster and adversity. Let us come to their aid, showing them compassion, bringing them hope, and help to heal this broken world. As we pursue justice, let us also sow peace, and let the legacy of 9/11 be increasing liberty and justice for all.

Faithfully,

Ruth Yoder Wenger, Executive Vice-President & the NYDIS Board of Directors

www.nydis.org

http://www.nydis.org/nydis/nydisnet/2011/Alert_050311.html

Mourning and Celebration

2011-05-01T23:08:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 4.45 this morning to get ready to head to the BBC studios to give my Pause for Thought. I glanced at facebook on my phone, and the first status, from a friend in the US, looked like a joke. 'Bin Laden dead'. As I scrolled down it was repeated again and again... on went the radio, and yes, it seems to be true. It seemed even more unreal after reports yesterday that one of Gaddafi's sons had been killed in Libya.

I had been warned when I started Pause for Thought that when big news breaks I may need to do last minute re-writes, and I assumed this would be one of those occasions, so out came a pen and I jotted down a few notes. When I got to the studio, the mood was very different - it's bank holiday, we're not focusing on the news. I was surprised, but then Vanessa Feltz pointed out it's a risk to speak about something quite so soon after it is news, especially as things often change. So I write this with caution...

What struck me after my facebook and twitter rambles was the mixture of responses. Many seemed amazed, joyous, and the throngs in Washington gathering outside the White House certainly have reason to be. But some responses are more measured, and I think this is wise. On my last Pause for Thought, and on a recent blog post, I told the story offered in a Midrash of God chastising the Angels for celebrating at the suffering of the Egyptian army in the Reed Sea (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 39b).

While it is understandable that those who have lost loved ones to terrorist violence will want to celebrate today, it is not a Jewish response (certainly not MY Jewish response) to celebrate at the defeat of an enemy. It is a time for us to reflect, on the thousands of lives lost, both soldiers and civilians, and in particular the thousands of victims of terrorism in Pakistan, who are so often ignored by us in the West. I hope and pray that more lives will not be sacrificed or murderously taken. As we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, we remember those lives lost and the shock so many of us felt at watching the attack unfold before our eyes. It is yet to be seen if the world is safer today because of Bin Laden's death. In the (paraphrased) words of Pirke Avot (Sayings of the Fathers 2:21), it is not our duty to complete the work, but neither can we refrain from it - we must all continually strive for peace, and a world where all are safe and secure. Perhaps we will not see it achieved in our lifetime, but those who say it cannot be done, shouldn't stop those who are doing it.

Too many innocent lives have been lost, in the US, in the UK, in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq...... let us remember those lives, rather than celebrate the demise of one, and hope no more must be given, or taken.

Read more here

Chatunah Malchutit - Royal Wedding Musings!

2011-04-29T01:02:00.000-07:00

'A bit like Marmite' comment on the Royal Wedding by Street artist 'Bambi' on Liverpool Road, N1, London.

Love it or hate it, it's hard to escape the Royal Wedding in London today... even at shul tonight there'll be celebratory music and a special prayer. And of course we've got an extra day off!
There's a rota of Progressive Rabbis who write for the Jewish News on the comments page, and this week was my week, so it had to be the Royal Nuptials that got my attention. If you have a paper copy my musings are on page 12, or if you'd like to see it online, the link is below and the electronic page is 17.

http://www.totallyjewish.com/the_jewish_news/view/c-16187/jewish-news-jn-687-280411/?no_login=1

Crossing the Reed Sea

2011-04-24T02:06:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the start of the seventh day of Pesach, when the freed slaves are said to have crossed the Reed Sea (one of my Grandfather's pet peeves is that a typo is constantly repeated - Yam Sof in Hebrew is the Reed Sea not the Red Sea). Some of my favourite midrashim come from this episode, so I thought they would be a nice warm up for the last days of chag, as we journey out of Pesach, over the sea, heading for Sinai and Shavuot.
The first is the story of Nachshon Ben Aminadav, and is told in Shemot (Exodus) Rabbah. When the tribes arrived at the Sea, no one knew what to do. God has promised salvation, but how could they escape the rapidly approaching Egyptian horsemen with a Sea in front of them. Nachshon saw everyone dithering, and was the first with the faith to trust God and Moses. He took a step into the water, but nothing happened. He carried on, water rising first up to his knees, then his thighs, then his belly. Everyone nervously watched, as he kept heading in, water up to his shoulders, then his chin... the gathered masses held their breath, and so did Nachshon, who just kept going. As the water reached his nose a huge cheer went up, as finally the water parted, and he could pass safely through, leading the other tribes behind him. His faith and courage in God and in Moses, this guy who had come from nowhere to lead them, was remarkable, and shows us all that sometimes we need to get our feet a little muddy before it all comes good.
The other midrash which I love, and which I mentioned on my Pause for Thought last week, is from the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 39b). Having allowed the recently freed slaves to make their way across the sea, the Egyptian army was in hot pursuit. The midrash suggests that in part to punish the Egyptians for their compliance with the enslavement of the Hebrews, but it seems also to protect the Israelites, God brought the sea back down upon them, killing the army. Having saved the Israelites, the ministering Angels burst into songs of praise and celebration but God stopped them. "The works of my hand are drowning in the Sea and you would sing in my presence?" Some of my biggest struggles with Pesach are around the suffering caused to the Egyptians and attributed to God - this isn't an image of God I'm very comfortable with. But this Midrash seems to remind us that the Rabbis of old were also uncomfortable with this image of God, and wanted us to remember that we don't celebrate at another's suffering, even if they are ostensibly an enemy.
I hope we can all work to understand this on a spiritual level, as well as a practical one, knowing that our inner world and thoughts about others affects us more than it affects the other, and hatred and wishing evil on the other harms us before it gets out into the world to harm anyone else.

Pesach Fatigue - still a long way to journey

2011-04-22T03:21:00.000-07:00

As we approach shabbat and then another day or two of chag some start to feel a little fatigued of Pesach, of potatoes and eggs and matzah and ground almonds. But it is a little soon to get tired! I have always loved how the Jewish calendar continually takes us on journeys; cycles of torah, cycles of liturgy, cycles of time; and this time of year is a really important example of that. We are still in Pesach but we have already begun 'counting the Omer' - a count that leads us directly to Shavuot.
Counting the Omer began on the second night of Pesach. One of my favurite websites for counting the Omer (and thinking about it) is The Homer Calendar which describes the origins of the counting of the Omer very well: "On the second day of Passover in ancient times, our ancestors brought the first sheaf of barley (amounting to a measure called "an omer") reaped that season as an offering to God. From that day, they began counting the 49 days to Shavuot, when they would celebrate the beginning of the wheat harvest by offering the loaves made of the first wheat. Even after the Temple was destroyed and offerings were no longer brought, they continued to count the days from Passover to Shavuot in accordance with the biblical injunction (Lev. 23:15)".
So as with many of our festivals, there are important agricultural origins. But once the Temple had been destroyed, and sheaves and first fruits could no longer be offered at the Temple, Shavuot began to take on new meanings, primary of which was the celebration of the receiving of Torah at Mount Sinai. This means we are on a very special journey in spiritual terms through the Omer.
At Pesach we become Free, but this is not necessarily an anarchic free for all. We are freed from slavery to Pharoah, to a role of serving God. With freedom comes responsibilities, and this journey to Shavuot gives us time to prepare for those responsibilities.
One of our biggest responsibilities today is figuring out how to make these meta-narratives of freedom, revelation and responsibility compelling year after year, and how to find ourselves in these narratives. Every year we come to the narratives of the Torah and the festivals with new experiences, different lenses. But this creates part of our responsibility. We revisit the same narratives and stories year after year, so year after year it is our duty to do the hard work of finding meaning in them, and finding ourselves in them. Whether we believe them to be literally true or to hold deep spiritual or meta-truths, finding what meaning (and of course joy - you know me by now!) they can add to our lives, keeps them real, and keeps us growing and learning. So this Omer, as we walk from freedom to revelation and responsibility, it is the responsibility of each of us to do the hard work of making these narratives ours, of finding meaning in them, and of making sure our Judaism is compelling for us. If it is not compelling and meaningful for us, then it won't be for those who come after us. It is a big responsibility, sometimes the most challenging one to us as Progressive Jews. It involves hard work and effort, but work for which the reward is all ours.
There are lots of ways of making the Omer more meaningful - Homer Omer (link above) has several suggestions, and the Reform Judaism Pilgrim Festivals prayer book also has a calender of readings for the Omer you can follow each day. You can follow tweetWLS on twitter for a daily Omer tweet, and WLS is also using the Omer to focus on social action and supporting refugees by donating nappies and rice. Whatever you do to make your Omer more meaningful, remember it is your walk to walk, and no one else can do the hard work for you. Walk well!

Passing on Traditions... Serach bat Asher

2011-04-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

Alternative seder symbols are not as unusual today as they were twenty years ago. From Oranges on the seder plate (from Susannah Heschel, to symbolise the fruitfulness of the community when all are included) to Miriams' cup (which according to the learned Annette Boeckler at Leo Baeck College has much older roots than we often give credit to, to olives to hope for peace and freedom in Israel. As a rabbinic student my Midrash teacher suggested I explore the figure of Serach Bat Asher for an essay, and she has been providing me with inspiration ever since. She is someone I would love to see brought into the seder because I think she represents something very compelling about Pesach.

The first mention of her is in Genesis in a big long list of names of those who travelled down to Egypt with Jacob to be reunited with Joseph. We are told the names of all the sons that go down to Egypt, and their sons who went with them. It must have been an impressive caravan. But in the midst of this long list, we hear about the sons of Asher:
וּבְנֵי אָשֵׁר יִמְנָה וְיִשְׁוָה וְיִשְׁוִי וּבְרִיעָה וְשֶׂרַח אֲחֹתָם וּבְני בְרִיעָה חֶבֶר וּמַלְכִּיאֵֽל:
And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishvah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serach their sister; and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel (Gen 46:17).

It did not escape the beady eye of the Rabbis’ that this mention of a sister was strange. Generational lines in the Bible do occasionally mention women, but not often, and in these lists she is the only female other than the matriarchs and Dinah (Jacobs' only daughter), so there must have been some significance to Serach. We do hear about her once more in Torah (and the previous mention is cited again in Chronicles), though we are not told much more. In Numbers 26 a census is taken of the Israelites in the desert, to see who would be able to fight and aid in conquering Canaan. The census is taken, and important names in the tribes are recorded. In verse 46 we hear “And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serach”. So we know who Serachs' father and brothers were. But this mention of Serach in Numbers suggested to the Rabbis and writers of Midrash, that not only did she go down to Egypt with Jacob, but, she also left Egypt with the Exodus, some 400 years later.

For the Rabbis, these 2 mentions were the starting point for a wonderful narrative around Serach. She joins a small group of men and women who are considered to have never died, and she becomes a tool of the Rabbis, who used her in Midrashim to fill in gaps in stories, for example an anonymous woman in 2 Samuel 20 is named as Serach. In this way, a rich life tapestry is woven for Serach, with no need for modern novels to bring her to life (though I do think she would be a great candidate for such a work!) The first question the Rabbis needed to answer is what on earth she did to merit such a long life. So the Rabbis ascribe Serach the task of informing Jacob that Joseph is still alive. The original account doesn't mention much of anything, let alone Serach, but in Midrash it is explained that the brothers feared the news might shock Jacob to death, and so Serach delicately delivers the news of Josephs' presence in Egypt in song, and enables him to take it on board gently. Jacob blesses her saying ‘if this is true, the bearer of the news shall live forever’ (Midrash HaGadol 46:25).

Serach also helps to solve a riddle left to us in Exodus, when we learn that Josephs' bones were taken out of Egypt with the Israelites. How did they know where to find them? Serach showed Moses of course ! As she was there when Joseph would have been buried, and when his coffin left Egypt with the Exodus (Sotah 13a), she begins to provide a generational link between those who came down to Egypt, and those who left. In a similar vein she is said to have provided the prophetic proof that Moses was the leader that the slaves had been awaiting . In all of these tales she is the key bearer of information, and a link from one generation to another. The Rabbis suggest that Serach must have been a woman of incredible integrity and merit to warrant such an honour, but what is fascinating is that a woman so closely linked to the exodus story, and who is such a key transmitter of information from generation to generation, gets no mention in the Haggadah, the text that tries to do exactly what Serach does, according to tradition.

Serachs' presence through Jewish time does not end in the Tanakh, and she even pops up in the Rabbinic period itself, where we read in a collection of Rabbinic sermons from sometime around the 6th century (Pesikta de Rav-Kahana 11:13):
Rabbi Yochanan was sitting and expounding, how the waters were made into a wall for Israel. Rabbi Yochanan explained they were like opaque walls. Serach the daughter of Asher grew angry and said, “I was there and they were like nets”.
So not only is Serach a key transmitter of inter-generational information, she is permitted to contradict a Rabbi in her transmission of how it really was when they crossed the Red Sea! Few women are given such privilege in Rabbinic Literature, and those that do, such as Beruriah, have been known to meet rather nasty ends!

But what was Serachs' end? There is a synagogue cemetery in Istfahan, Iran, that is named in her honour and claims to have her grave located in their midst . In the Rabbinic tradition, however, no burial place was necessary for her, because she is one of only 10 or 11 people who is said to have not died, but to have entered paradise (or the Garden of Eden) alive (Midrash Avot, Otzar ha-Midrashim). This was the result of Jacob’s blessing, and allows her to be present throughout Jewish time. This meritorious woman, who has appeared at crucial moments in Jewish History to perform righteous and important deeds, and who has been the holder and giver of oral tradition, does not die, but continues indefinitely, and could, potentially be called upon to tell us how things really were again. Perhaps next to Elijahs' cup (who also never died) we should have a Cos Serach, a cup of Serach.

Unfortunately we will not live forever. But, like Serach, we are all important as links in the chain of Tradition. We all have Serachs' power to pass something meaningful onto the next generation, as gently as Serach did with Jacob, or as forcefully as she did with Rabbi Yochanan. Pesach asks us to hand on something of importance, meaning and joy to the next generation. Perhaps Serach will appear to help us, but in case she doesn’t, all of us will have to learn and explore for ourselves, to ensure that the next generation have something they also feel able to hand on. May something powerful and freeing be transmitted to you, so that you might pass it on.

Inheriting Pesach

2011-04-15T00:30:00.000-07:00

When two people marry they always bring together different lives and customs, but Pesach really epitomizes that! Trying to figure out how to lead seder and eat the foods one loves from home really defined our first few sedarim as gradually we created our own minhag. But as I've already mentioned, it was clear early on in our marriage that my mother in law was the person to inherit baking recipes from rather than my mum whose coconut pyramids were legendary but whose cinnamon balls always became biscuits.
For the first few years G's mum would arrive a day or two before Pesach with a box of Kosher for Passover ingredients, and start cooking in our kitchen. Plava (a wheat free cake), almond macaroons and cinnamon balls are all legendary, and even though we would never normally bake this many things in any other week, we have to bake all of them for Pesach, and tea and cakes and fancies is an important part of the festival! Over the years, my mother in law has gradually handed the mantle of baking over to me (as well as buying us an electric whisk after a rather tough year of hand whisking 500 eggs (or so) for all the baking). Finally she felt her work was done and left me with the recipes scrawled in my little pesach recipe book, and an expectant husband excited for all the goodies of his childhood.
I've also taken to making sure there's enough to do little visits to our grandfathers to deliver some treats, making sure they get a taste of the good stuff and, more importantly, a visit and a hug.
So here are her recipes for Almond Macaroons and Plava - may you (and I) bake as well as my mother in law.

Almond Macaroons (makes around 16-20 depending on how big you make them)

*4 oz ground almonds
*8 oz castor sugar
*Whites of 2 large (3 medium) eggs
*1 oz fine matza meal
*Split almonds for decorating

1. Mix almonds, matza meal and sugar
2. Whisk egg whites into stiff peaks
3. Fold in dry ingredients into eggs until well mixed
4. Place in small balls on greased baking paper on a tray, flatten with a fork and decorate with almonds
5. bake at 180 degrees C for around 15-20 minutes (until golden brown - I left the ones in this pic a leeetle too long!) and cool

Plava

*12 eggs, separated
*2 cups sugar (can lessen depending on taste)
*Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
*1/4 cup cold water
*1 cup matza meal (cake meal)
*I cup potato flour (sifted together with the matza meal)]
*Cinnamon and icing sugar

1. Beat yolks with sugar till thick and creamy
2. Add liquids and grated lemon rind, then stir in sifted dry ingredients.
3. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into mixture lightly
4. Line a deep square or oblong pan with paper and pour batter in
5. Optional complicated part: Mix cinnamon and icing sugar with a little water (not too thick) and drizzle in lines down length of mix, then drag a knife across width ways to make a pattern
6. Bake at 160 degrees C - when edges are crisp and middle has a knife come out from it clean.
7. Cool (on a rack if possible)

Pesach Pot Roast

2011-04-14T12:36:00.000-07:00

Pot roast is my dish of the year - I discovered a fabulous pot roast last Pesach for beef, and then a wonderful chicken pot roast from Rover cottage (the web page I used has gone but basically it's this without the butter!)
This pesach I'll be making both the beef and the chicken for our guests on second night seder, and they are so easy I wanted to share - they always impress and are moist but easy to do! Be warned, they go further than you think - we always have left overs!! Delicious with potatoes and rice, and totally pesadich!

* 4-5 lb Brisket (I use pot roast)
* 2 cups mixed dried fruit (prunes pitted)
* 1-1/2 cups water or stock
* 2 medium onions sliced
* 1 cup medium dry white wine
* salt & pepper to taste

Brown meat in heavy pot; add onions & brown over medium heat; add wine, other liquid & dried fruit; bring to simmer; add salt & pepper to taste; simmer covered for 2-1/2 hours or until tender. Remove roast from pot to slicing board; skim fat from gravy; slice meat. Arrange on platter & top with fruited gravy. (Serves 8 to 10)

Making the Pyramids sweet and balls of cinnamon!

2011-04-14T07:16:00.000-07:00

Coconut Pyramids were always the indicator to me that Pesach was coming. They were the only baking that never went wrong for my mum, (she has many skills, just baking isn't really one of them) and my sister and I would always have the messy task of moulding little pyramids before they were baked.
At university my co-chair of J-soc in the second year was a bit of a marketing man, so we created rather provocative posters of sexy men and women, the former saying 'come and taste my cinnamon balls' the latter 'come and lick my coconut pyramids'. We certainly got some campus attention, especially as we were a rather small society. We even earned ourselves a little notoriety when Christian Union officially voted they were offended by our campaign. We did actually bake and offer both on our stall, and it was a lot of fun!
My mum's cinnamon balls always went flat, but my mother in law is a genius baker and with her guidance I've finally managed to master that more complicated Pesach treat. Pyramids are so easy though that we even have our Jewish preparation students prepare them for our mock-seder, and they never fail, even when we can't figure out how to turn the ovens on!

Coconut Pyramids:
Ingredients:
3 Eggs
200g dessicated coconut
100g caster sugar
Optional glace cherries/chocolate chips

Beat eggs and sugar until creamy
Add coconut
Dip hands in cold water to form cone like pyramids (these can be topped with a choc chip or a slice of cherry)
Bake on a greased tin in the middle of the oven at 190 degrees celcius until lightly browned (7 - 15 minutes).
Cool and serve -store in an airtight container and should last through Pesach

Cinnamon Balls:
170g ground Almonds
450 g castor sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Whites of 3 eggs
Icing sugar

Beat eggs to a stiff froth
Add sugar, cinnamon, ground almonds, and fold in thoroughly
Roll into balls
Bake on greased and lined tin at 175 degreed celcius for 25-30 minutes
Roll in icing sugar and store in an air tight container.

Angry Mess

2011-04-12T15:08:00.000-07:00

When I told my aunt on Sunday that I was making Eingemachtes she fell into rapturous memories of my great-grandmothers beetroot jam at Pesach. My mum made it a few times and I have such happy memories of it I wanted to have a bash! The recipe I found in my grandmothers cook book used ingredients I didn't have to hand, so I found this online from another blog and so far, we've been rather pleased!
A friend at work remembered his mum making it at Pesach too - and he said it always looked so awful on the stove they called it 'angry mess' instead! G, however, has decided it is the Ashkenazi version of Halek (date syrup mixed with walnuts and eaten as charoset by Iraqi Jews, and us!)

Either way, it's very sweet and very sticky and I can't eat too much at one sitting, but I'm rather pleased at my first ever attempt at jam! It reminds me of childhood Pesachim and it's one less pre-made product we'll be buying!