Shalom, Dear Members of Belsize Square Synagogue,

This past month has been a difficult one for us because of the horrific terrorist murders that took the lives of 17, including four Jews simply shopping for Shabbat.

We now know that one of those victims was Yoav Hattab, aged 21, son of the Chief Rabbi of Tunisia. At the start of the supermarket siege he tried to grab the terrorist’s gun. His last text from the shop to a friend, was to “light Shabbat candles to bring peace into the world.”

Such a contrast between the Jewish environment we try to create in our homes and the violent ways of many around us. There has been much discussion about the future of UK Jewry, about the increase in uncertainty and fear that has gripped parts of our community.

While there is some disagreement about the validity of the results, Jews are talking about the recent survey of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, showing 45% of British Jews believe that Jews “may no longer have a long term future in Britain.”

I have been in this country for the past four years and am certainly not oblivious to the dangers of terror and the violent anti-Semitism gripping much of European society, including the UK. But from what I have observed, British Jews are thriving. Never before have there been as many opportunities for Jewish learning, life, observance and participation.

Since arriving, I have personally noticed a greater willingness in our own midst to stand up, to be counted, to participate in demonstrations for Israel and against all threats to Jewish honour and existence. While aware of the reality in London and other parts of the country, I do not believe in any overreaction. This is not Nazi Germany.
We should be grateful that terror threats and the rise of anti-Semitism have met a response from leaders of both major parties, police and security personnel, and our own community. We are not afraid and are protected in our freedom and Jewish life by the rule of law.

As Home Secretary Theresa May declared before the Board of Deputies: “Without its Jews, Britain would not be Britain”.

There is another way of looking at religion, very different from the “religion” of the terrorists or extremists, and that comes from our own Source of Life, the Torah . I am addressing the importance of each of the Commandments on Friday nights. I hope you will all come for the remaining sermons.

A recap thus far – Commandment 1: I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. One God, one humanity, the sanctity of all life is the basis of all Commandments. This is a God who cares less about the magnificence of the creation of the universe and who emphasises the importance of freeing slaves from bondage. Our compassion and goodness to all human beings is the gateway to God. That’s what our God expects, everything else is secondary.

Commandment 2: You shall not make any other gods besides Me (God). In modern idiom, this means that any time we place anything else – even “good” things – at the top of the pyramid of our value system, it leads to ruin. Humanity has tried placing nation, money, art and music, education, science, even love in place of God, and all efforts to do so have failed us. If you replace God’s Law, the supremacy of God over all, if you divide humanity in any way, if you worship replacement gods, you are violating the viability of our world.

Commandment 3: You shall not take God’s Name in vain. This Commandment in no way prohibits “swearing” or “blasphemy”. What it does prohibit is using God’s Name for unjust and immoral purposes. This Commandment is for all those who kill in the name of God, who find no inconsistency between God and using religion and/or God to brutalise other human beings.

Please come and discover the rest of the magnificence of the Ten Commandments, Aseret Hadibrot, and know why these Commandments, given at Sinai, are the foundation of Judaism and, for that matter, human existence as we know it.

My wishes to all of you for a month of learning, increased Jewish awareness, of life, of peace, of goodness, of sanctity in everything we do.

Rabbi Stuart Altshuler