Dear Friends,

The weather is getting warmer and some of us are vaccinated and the schools may go back, so all in all things are improving. I came across an article last week written by three individuals who work for Potential Projects: Rasmus Hougaard, Jacqueline Carter and Nick Hobson and it starts “…it feels as if the world we know is faltering… now more than ever it’s imperative to demonstrate compassion.” That made me sit up and think! Here are some points that I took from it that you may find interesting and which I am now trying to put into my day-to-day living:

• Compassion is the quality of having positive intentions and a real concern for others
• Compassion on its own is not enough it must be combined with wisdom
• To have wise compassion you have to have compassion for yourself, don’t let yourself get out of balance, don’t self-criticise all the time
• Check your intentions before you speak
• Compassion is a trainable skill, it doesn’t come naturally to everyone
• Develop a genuine caring for people’s feelings and well-being

Turning to the Synagogue, as you know we are represented on the Board of Deputies by three people. Sadly, both Robert Sacks and Carol Cohen are stepping down from their position as Deputies. Deborah Nerva-Cohen is continuing. It is so important that we have a voice in this forum and can raise key issues that concern us. Please can I ask you to contact Lee if you would like to explore what this involves and Deborah or Annette Nathan will be happy to talk to you about the detail. We need your help! In the meantime, can I thank Robert and Carol for all the work that they have done for the Synagogue.

I am so proud to tell you that in spite of lockdown and school disruption, our Holocaust Memorial Day Programme for schools is being delivered virtually and has been very well received. We have already delivered to South Hampstead High School and there are some other schools who would normally attend the Synagogue, who have also asked us to do the same. An enormous thank you goes to Peter Bohm who is the driving force behind this project (never taking a “no we can’t do it” for an answer), to Cantor Heller for spending hours putting together much of the material, to presenters Rob Nothman and Hilary Solomon, and everyone else involved.

Our member, Alisa Jaffa, is in conversation at AJR online on Thursday 4 March from 4-5pm. She will be talking about how her early experiences in Nazi Germany have affected her life and perspective, and what it feels like to give testimony for the AJR Archive. Please use the link below to register for the talk which is free:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/voices-from-the-archive-a-conversation-with-alisa-jaffa-tickets-141414846613

World Jewish Relief have a number of online events over the coming months that you might be interested in – www.worldjewishrelief.org/get-involved/events/1102-globetrotting-with-world-jewish-relief

I have had some enquiries about Pesach. More will follow in the next few weeks but we will be holding a Zoom Communal Seder on the second night, Sunday 28 March. Pop this in your diary.

Lastly can I remind you again that it is Purim next week on 25 February at 7.00pm. As I said last week it will be run by the children, with the children and for the children but held virtually. This promises to be a special event so please do plan to join us and send pictures of your fancy dress to Lee (lee@synagogue.org.uk).

That is all from me for this week. Stay safe and stay well.

Jackie

Dear Friends

I love snow!! The current weather, which I know is not welcome by many of you, has lifted my spirits. I love the mountains (yes, I know there aren’t any in London!), I started skiing when I was six, so as soon as I see snow I literally smell the mountain air and imagine that I am gliding down a gentle path to a warm and welcoming lunch. It also makes everything look pretty, the trees are magical and the London grime is hidden. I am easily pleased!

Anyway, that is enough of my musing for this week, I have a few things to tell you. We held our first Shabbat Schmooze Zoom after the service last week and I want to remind you that it is taking place at noon every Saturday after the service. It’s a chance to make kiddush and chat with friends. Claire Walford’s Candle Lighting continues on Friday evenings at 7.45pm, after the Erev Shabbat Service. This is another opportunity to see each other at the end of the week. Two opportunities for you to speak to each other and feel part of our community, please do join in. 

We are hoping to bring you live Shabbat Services on BelsizeLIVE this week with the Rabbi, Cantor and Ben Wolf broadcasting from the Synagogue. Our livestream is in the process of being fixed and in the event it is not ready we will have recorded Services for you to watch instead.

Coming up fast is Purim on 25 February at 7.00pm. This is our usual Purim – run by the children, with the children and for the children but held virtually. We would love parents and grandparents to send us in pictures of your children/grandchildren in fancy dress and/or waving groggers, or munching on hamantaschen. Or you can send us pictures of yourselves doing the same! The best pictures will be put into our magazine, Our Cong, although they will be too late for the upcoming edition. This promises to be a special event so please do plan to join us and send your pictures to Lee (lee@synagogue.org.uk).

If you have spare books that you no longer need, Langdon have a book warehouse in Harrow and would welcome donations. They have an amazingly large space filled with shelves of catalogued books, which they sell online. They also supply books to residential care homes and no books go to landfill. The warehouse has Langdon residents working alongside volunteers. To make it even easier for you to donate they will collect books from your homes . Please contact Langdon on 020 8951 3942 and ask for information on New Chapters. It’s not just books – they will also collect CDs, DVDs and records.

Finally, I wanted to let you know that the Kirsh Foundation run weekly free lectures, as the Lockdown University, on a range of fascinating subjects. If you would like to get onto their mailing list please contact Judi Ferreira at judi@parway.co.uk

That is all from me this week, stay safe and stay well

Jackie

Dear Friends

As Holocaust Memorial Day arrived my thoughts inevitably turned to my parents, grandparents and the many great aunts and great uncles that I never met. The various on-line memorial services were very moving to watch but as the week progressed I realised that the current Covid vaccination programme has given me an emotional insight into what they might have experienced. Many of my phone calls with friends currently consist of comparing notes on who has and has not been vaccinated, who has or has not had a second vaccination date given to them, where excess doses might be available for those who just turn up and so on. We spend so much time and energy talking about it and yet we have no influence over it. Just as I started to go down this particularly dark rabbit hole, along came Kosher Kingdom in Golders Green to brighten up my day, make me smile and make me realise how fortunate I am to live here and now. Jewish News published an article to say that Stamford Hill’s leading Chasidic singer Shloime Gertner has recorded a jingle to play in the store, to remind Kosher Kingdom shoppers to follow coronavirus restrictions. Here is the link to the article, scroll down and you can hear the jingle, I hope it makes you smile too – https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/chasidic-singers-catchy-tune-promotes-covid-compliance-in-golders-green-store

Anyone who watched our Shabbat Services on BelsizeLIVE would have noticed we had some technical issues. One of the main components that is used to stream the Services is faulty and needs replacing. Unfortunately it won’t be replaced in time for this week’s services so we will be playing a pre-recorded Service to you with the Rabbi recording his sermon and the Torah reading from home. I hope that we will be back live from next week.

I am delighted to be able to announce that from this Shabbat onwards, until regular services resume, we are introducing a Social Zoom that will allow safe, socially distanced, interactive on-line schmoozing. Justyn Trenner has organised this for us and it will take place at 12 noon for about 20 minutes. There will be kiddush and hamotzei followed by a chance to chat to friends. Don’t forget that Clare Walford’s Friday evening Zoom kiddush continues too.

I want to thank Caroline Loison and Frank Joseph for organising a great Zoom Quiz last Sunday, we had so much fun even if we couldn’t work out which flag belonged to which country. If you couldn’t make it, then hopefully you will be able to join us on something else soon.

Coming up this Thursday evening at 8pm is the talk organised by the Tikkun Olam Committee with JAMI on “Getting Through Lockdown”. If you missed the flyer, then please contact Adam Rynhold who can send you the Zoom details. You should also have seen that we are holding our Purim Service virtually this year on Thursday 25 February at 7pm. A date for you to put in your diary.

I have spent some time listening to on-line talks run by the How to Academy, my next one will be to hear Bill Gates talk about how to avoid climate disaster. They have an extensive programme and ticket prices vary but you can go onto their mailing list for free. https://howtoacademy.com/

That is all from me for now, stay safe and stay well
Jackie

Dear Friends,

First of all thank you to everyone who took the time to email me last week, to say how much you enjoy my emails and are pleased that they are back. I really do appreciate it and it makes me feel very connected the Community.  

It is almost a year since John and I decided to shield ourselves and I find that is extraordinary as the weeks pass in our lockdown routine. However, I am sure that my week is like a Harry Potter staircase (always changing pace and direction) as the day to do the ironing seems to come round quicker than any other day. I think that I am fortunate as I have John to keep me company, my HR work and the Synagogue to keep me busy and no children living here to home school. I know that for many of you it is not so easy and I was recently sent this quote, part of which made me think “just don’t patronise me!” and part or which resonated with me. I hope some of it resonates with you too. The ideas come from Gyles Brandreth – writer, broadcaster, former MP, founder of the National Scrabble Championships. Here are some of his ideas to help us through lockdown: 

• Be a leaf on a tree: belong to something bigger than yourself, a community of some sort. 
• Cultivate a passion: have something in your life you really love doing. This can be anything, no matter how mundane or esoteric.
• Break the mirror: we should stop thinking about ourselves, look up and turn our attention outwards. 
• Audit your happiness: make a list of the things that make you happy and make a list of the things which make you unhappy, then try to make the first list longer than the second. 
• If you want to be happy, act happy: it is possible to tell yourself to cheer up. A quote from the Dalai Lama adds to this: ‘Choose to be optimistic, it feels better’.

I hope by now that all those of you who are older members will have received a phone call from a volunteer who work with the Tikkun Olam Committee. We want to check that you are OK and just have a chat. If you haven’t had a call or know of anyone who hasn’t then please let Lee know in the office. 

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. The AJR held their remembrance service yesterday on Zoom with Rabbi Altshuler and Cantor Heller taking part. We are sorry for posting the wrong details in last week’s NFTS but you can watch a recording of it here – www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsoqrSG7d4o. We will mark Holocaust Memorial Day this coming Friday night at our Erev Shabbat Service.

On 11 February at 7.30pm the Jewish Musical Institute are holding a gala evening, which is free to join. The gala concert will be available on all JMI platforms worldwide – you will be able to simply click on either of the following links from 7pm and click in. www.jmi.org.uk/worldtour or www.facebook.com/events/1087998298325214/

The Leo Baeck School in Haifa is holding a free Zoom event on Sunday 7 February at 2pm: Rabbi Leo Baeck, Living a Religious Imperative in Troubled Times. This will be a conversation between author Michael A. Meyer and Lord Daniel Finkelstein. If you would like to attend this then please contact Adam Rynhold who will send you a link to register.

Lastly please don’t forget our synagogue events, The Big Belsize Square Synagogue Quiz this coming Sunday at 7.30pm (register for it by contacting the office) and our session with Jami on mental health, Getting Through Lockdown: taking care of myself and my friends. 

Stay safe and stay well,

Jackie

Dear friends,

With encouragement from the Board I am starting my weekly email again during this lockdown. I had thought that the quote: “just when you thought it was safe to go into the water again…….” came from the 1975 film Jaws but on checking Google, I find that this is a warped version of the original. Jaws in known for two quotes: “ You’re going to need a bigger boat” (not really relevant to us!) and “You’ll never go in the water again” (also not relevant!). So I’m am going to stick with the first version, it summarises my thought that I hope you didn’t become bored with my last set of emails.

I think this current lockdown is harder than the previous ones and I am not quite sure why. Maybe it is the shorter and darker days, the unknown length or the constant stream of contradictory stories in the press. I have days when I am optimistic and days when I feel quite low, and on those low days I look forward to the familiarity of the Shabbat services which are so reassuring. I hope you are continuing to watch them on BelsizeLIVE even though none of us can attend in person. I would like to remind you that Claire Walford continues to run her Zoom Shabbat Candle Lighting and Kiddush on a Friday at 7.45pm. Please do join if you can.

We are working on providing some more Zoom activities/events for you, social and educational. We hope to do something linked to the service and also maybe a speaker during the week. More information will follow soon. As well as this, please do send me any information that you have on interesting events and speakers and I will add them to this email. Please do book into the Big Belsize Square Synagogue Quiz taking place on Sunday 31 January at 7.30pm, it is free and you just need to let the office know that you want to be part of it.

This coming weekend is Mental Health Awareness Shabbat. Jami are putting on a number of events and you can check these out here – www.synagogue.org.uk/news/mental-health-awareness-shabbat

I am going to keep these emails short and for now there are no gardening tips, as my resident expert tells me there is nothing much to do at this time of year.

Stay safe and stay well.

Jackie