Monthly Archives: March 2023

Mosaic Masorti News

Sale of Chametz
Rabbi Anthony is happy to sell your chametz over Pesach. A simple form, attached to the email you received on Monday, should please be returned no later than Tuesday 4th April.

Web site
There is so much going on. Please look at the website to get a flavour of events that you can savour. www.choosemosaic.org
We have not listed items that are featured across Mosaic as they are in the bulletin.

Thank you
We thank Jo Lewis and Gillian Gurner for organising an excellent day touring Jewish Oxford.  Gillian writes: “After our enjoyable trip last Sunday, organised by Jo Lewis and Gillian Gurner,  Mosaic will be organising another event of interest and judging by the happy faces on the photo, a great day was had by all. If there is a place you would like to visit, please advise Gillian or Jo via the shul office. We are looking for places around one hour’s coach journey”.

 

 

Mazeltov to Andy and Julie Dysch
We extend a hearty Mazeltov to Andy and Julie Dysch on the occasion of their daughter Faye’s engagement  Icon to Will.  May they have many years of happiness.

Talmud class
The Talmud class is now having Pesach Holidays.  It will recommence on Thursday 20th April..

Michael Harris – Second barmitzvah
Michael has asked us to thank the community for making his second barmitzvah so special.

Seder
Rabbi Anthony and Abi have plenty of space at their seder table on the first Seder night.  If you’d like to attend, please contact rabbianthony@mosaicmasorti.org.uk  and you won’t need to do the mahnish tana! You can however help to find the afikomen, but cannot hide it if you are going to be looking for it!

Saturday 15th April – It is in 2 week’s time – starting at 0915 sharp. Come early, to get a good seat in the front stalls.  
This is our first timers’ Shabbas In Stanmore. Join in, in the wonderful atmosphere, which will be oozing out and there will be lots of kwelling from lots of people from lots of parts of the shul. We have contributors from ages 2 – 103.  Drop Gillian gillian.lucas@hotmail.co.uk  or Traci tspivack@yahoo.co.uk a line, if we have missed you out, or if you can now manage it now and had previously said no. We want you on board.

Yellow Candle is celebrated on Yom Hashoah on Monday 17th April
The yellow candle campaign, to remember those who perished in the Holocaust, is now well underway and additional candles can be purchased individually by congregants as per last year. A donor from the shul has donated one candle free of charge to every member family. If you wish additional candles please notify edwin.lucas6@gmail.com  The cost of the Yellow Candles through the shul office will be £2 each. You can also purchase them through the website yellowcandle@maccabigb.org at £2 per candle plus £2 postage and packaging. In order to ensure as many people as possible have access to Yellow Candles, candles are limited to a maximum of 6 candles per household.

We are delighted to announce that Candice Mendes da Costa, who is the Mastermind behind the Yellow Candle campaign in the UK,  is coming to chat to us during the Shabbas Service,  about the Yellow Candle Story on Saturday 8th April. 

SAVE THE DATE: 14th May
Yom Masorti is back! Mark your diaries or electronic devices for, Sunday 14th May.  It is going to be an uplifting afternoon of celebration and conversation with the whole of the Masorti community.  Register your interest in joining here to be the first to hear more and know when tickets go on sale.

Birthdays
Shula Arnhem 31/3, Michael S Harris 2/4, Johanna Marx 5/4.

Anniversaries
Michelle & Dan Honey on their 31st anniversary 5/4.

Yahrzeits
Jonathan Fenster remembering his uncle, David Lukes
Lore Lucas remembering her husband, Ronald, and Edwin Lucas remembering his father
Sue Levy remembering her father, Woolf Hilton
Shelley Cooper remembering her mother, Renee Cooper
Marilyn Finester remembering her father, Harry Dean
Caroline Alexander remembering her father, Michael Swerling
Linda Harris remembering her mother, Evelyn Joan Weston
Robert Pinkus remembering his mother, Sylvia Pinkus
Jackie Kalms remembering her husband, Ashley Kalms
Michael S Harris remembering his father, Joseph Harris

.

Sponsoring a kiddish 
If you would like to sponsor a kiddish for any special occasion, like a
birthday, anniversary, before going on a special journey, coming back from a special journey, new home, restored good health, please advise Ann in the office and she will see if the date is free
admin@mosaicmasorti.org.uk.

 

 

 

Refuah Schlemahs and Meetings with Rabbi Anthony 
We always mention people who are unwell at the Shabbat service and to wish them a speedy recovery. If you would like a person mentioned, please notify edwin.lucas6@googlemail.com by sunset
on a Friday.

 

 

 

 

Rabbi Anthony is always available to chat to congregants and can meet up also in your home. If you have any wishes, or ideas, please advise Rabbi Anthony  rabbianthony@mosaicmasorti.org.uk

 

March 30, 2023

Mazal Tov

Mazal Tov on their birthdays to Sheila Martin, Daniel Brown, Alison Knight.

March 30, 2023

Mazal Tov!

Mazal tov to Sandra & Bernard Fisherman on their 60th wedding anniversary and to Doreen & Gerald Wolff on their 50th wedding anniversary.

March 30, 2023

Mosaic Jewish Community 2023 AGM – save the date

The Annual General Meeting of Mosaic Jewish Community will take place on the evening of Tuesday 23rd May, at 1a Halsbury Close Stanmore, and online. The formal Notice convening the meeting and giving details of the board positions which we’re asking for nominations for, and how to submit other resolutions to the Meeting, can be found HERE.

March 29, 2023

Birthday Kiddush

Mazal tov to Toni Waxman on her 90th birthday.  Congregants are invited to join Jack Kushner and Toni for kiddush after the services on Shabbat 1st April.

March 29, 2023

Thoughts for the Week

PESACH

To me, the most powerful and poignant words in our Passover Seder are b’khol dor va-dor chayav ha-adam lir’ot et atzmo k’ilu hu yatza mi’mitzrayim – ‘In every generation, we must each consider ourselves as if we ourselves had come out of Egypt’.  We are not only to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt, we are to relive it, re-experience it, re-enact it.  We taste the tears and sweat of hard labour, the bitterness of slavery, we drink the promises of redemption, and we savour on our lips the sweetness of freedom and liberation.  British Jewish writer and political activist Israel Zangwill put it perfectly when he wrote, ‘On Pesach, Jews eat history’.

We do this to remember the past and to look forward to a future redemption but, most importantly, to make us aware of our responsibility in the present – to consider our behaviour towards the stranger, the oppressed, the enslaved, the refugee, to give us empathy for their plight.  Daily we read about the plight of refugees fleeing persecution, longing for a safe, secure and peaceful existence.  Rabbi Julie Schonfeld has written a beautiful piece entitled ‘The Fifth Child: The Refugee Child’.  That child asks, ‘Who will keep me safe and when can I go home?’  I encourage you to read this, at

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/04/14/passover-seder-prayer-ukrainian-refugees/, and perhaps you may wish to incorporate it into your Seder this year.

As we recite each plague, we take a drop of wine out of our glasses. Wine symbolises joy, and we acknowledge that our joy is diminished when others suffer.  We can never be totally free until everyone is free.  This Pesach, our thoughts are with the many people over the world who are not free, and we pledge to work towards a world redeemed.

We hope many of you will join us at our Communal Seder on Second Night Pesach, Thursday, April 6th, starting at 6:00pm.  Please check the website for details, and also for information about the services we will be holding over the Pesach period.

May I wish you Chag Pesach Sameiach,

Rabbi Rachel Benjamin

 

March 29, 2023

British Summer time begins!

This is to remind you that the clocks go forward at 02.00 on Saturday night/Sunday morning 25th/26th March.

March 23, 2023

Mazal Tov!

Mazal tov on his special birthday to Denis Hart

Mazal tov also to Marian & Gordon Marks on their 65th wedding anniversary.

March 23, 2023

Liberal Judaism’s Community Briefing

Thursday 23 March – Biennial Preview with Rabbi Larry Hoffman and Dr Joel Hoffman. A fantastic opportunity to find out more about our Biennial and a chance to meet two of our keynote speakers ahead of the weekend (19 – 21 May 2023). This session is usually our Council Collab session but as a special one off this is open to all members of LJ.

Rabbi Larry Hoffman is Professor Emeritus at the New York campus of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he served for almost half a century. He is known internationally for his lectures to popular audiences and his spiritual approach to synagogue consultation. He has written or edited 49 books to date, including My People’s Prayer Book, a 10-volume edition of the Siddur with modern commentaries which won the National Jewish Book Award. He will speak about how our movement and our communities can develop and evolve, transforming themselves to engage the next generation.

Dr Joel Hoffman is another sought after speaker from the USA, renowned for his depth of thought, engaging style and sense of humour. He is a pioneer of applying modern translation techniques to ancient languages and has written a number of acclaimed books and articles.
He will share with us the wisdom that the Torah and other ancient texts have for our modern society and Judaism.

All community briefings take place at 8pm and can be accessed via this zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83901914864

Tickets for our Biennial weekend can be purchased here: https://www.simpletix.com/e/lj-biennial-weekend-lj-matters-tickets-118879

March 23, 2023

2nd Bar Mitzvah

Mazal tov to Mosaic Masorti member, Michael Harris, on his 2nd bar mitzvah.  Linda is delighted to invite congregants to join the kiddush to celebrate this special occasion.

March 23, 2023