A constituent of the Movement for Reform Judaism

Harlow Jewish News

December 2009Kislev-Tevet

5770

December means Chanukkah, a time of light and festivities. Our children are busy preparing for the festival and want to include all of us in the celebration. They would like to invite you all to our Chanukah Chavurah on Friday 18th December. This is always a lovely occasion for all and hopefully this year we will have the children singing Chanukkah songs too.

Our children are our future and the future of Judaism. They will be there for Chanukkah, full of enthusiasm, preparing in their own way to become active members of our community. We always worry at the lack of attendance of children and are now hopefully embarking on a new trend and hope that this will be the first of many celebrations from and with our children.

But we need your encouragement and support. It is so easy to say: “I won’t be missed, after all plenty of other members will turn up”. But they don’t - they, too, prefer to stay at home in front of their television sets on a cold and blustery night. And the children, in disappointment, will rightly say to me: “Why should we bother? Why do we have to come when adults don’t? Judaism can’t be that important!”

Your care now will ensure that our community has a future. Please don’t let our children down!

The Massuot Awards from the Movement of Reform Judaism aim to recognise and reward the achievements of young Reform Jews and their adult helpers who have made an outstanding contribution to their Reform and wider community. Massuot means ‘Beacons’ in Hebrew. The Awards are meant not only to honour the winners, but also to represent the achievements of all those involved in Reform Jewish youth provision and to inspire others towards the aspirations which the Awards symbolise. The Awards are based on the concept of tikkun olam, ‘repairing the world’ around which RSY-Netzer, the Zionist youth movement of the Reform Movement, bases its programmes. On behalf of our community I have nominated Hannah Brooks as an outstanding Cheder teacher and example to our children.Hannah has been shortlisted for an award and we will find out later in December whether she has won one of the prizes.Well done, Hannah!

Rabbi Irit

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Mazaltov to Caroline & Jonathan Bilmen on the birth of their second child Nathan Born on Friday the 13th November also to the proud Grand Parents Sharon & Malcolm Bilmen and the Great Grand Parents Beatty Bilmen & Rene Parnell

A reminder:

We will be having a Chavurah on Friday 18th December to celebrate Chanukah. We will start the evening by lighting the Chanukah and shabbat candles. We will then have a short service. While the food is being prepared we will have a party for the children. As usual please bring a non meat dish, enough for your family and for one extra person and the same for dessert.

If you are coming to the Chanukah party and bringing a child, you need to bring that child a wrapped present to the value of £5 and an extra wrapped present to be used for prizes. Please can the extra present be something useful for Religion school, so that if we have lots of extra presents we can keep them. It also needs to be something a child would like to win, so pot of glue no good but colouring pens are.

Hope to see you at all these services/occasionsCheryl

There are also 2 birthdays this month. Elliot Calvert 14 on the 6th Samuel Pollack 21 on the 13th

December 2009

Friday 4th 8.0 pm ServiceFriday 11th 8.0 pm Service Saturday 12 First Day ChunukahSunday 13st 4.30 pm Candle lighting and social event for new members, all welcome.Friday 18th 6.15 for 6.30 Chanuka Chavurah see below Saturday 19th Last Day ChunukahSunday 20th 3.15 Stone setting Rene Clayman at Cheshunt.Friday 25th No service

Youth News

From the Chairman

Isn’t it lovely when we have an opportunity to celebrate. Chanukah is just around the corner and although Melvyn & I will not be at the next Chavurah supper, we hope that may others will be available.

Please do help with the clearing up – the more hands, the lighter the work load and please remember that you must take away the rubbish. Nobody likes it when we have rotting food in both the fridge as well as the kitchen.

There are many things that I am pleased to report, are happening within the community and as requested, things are changing.

I am very delighted that the parents of the Hebrew classes have decided to fund raise for their children. I wish them every success.

We shall be having another dinner dance on Saturday 13th March 2010. Please put this date in your diary. As before, it will be a sit down meal and a live band.We had tremendous support for the last one, and we would appreciate the same if not more this time.

Wishing you all a better 2010, than 2009

Hilary

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Serendipity strikes again…

My name is Mike Pinker. My family moved to Harlow in 1954 and joined your Community when it was in it’s infancy. I remember Friday night services being held in our home as well as in the homes of others in those early days.I returned to London in 1964 and, with my wife and daughter, am now a member of Hadley Wood JC in North London (United, I’m afraid). Services are very relaxed and we have a custom whereby members volunteer to sing the Haftarah they performed when they became Bar Mitzvah.My problem was that I had no record of the precise date of my Bar Mitzvah nor the Torah and Haftarah portions I recited. I remembered that my cheder teacher was one Wolf Blomfield who, Charkes Jackson informs me, drove all the way from Swindon each week to run it – and that was before the M4 and M25 existed. I also recall travelling to the West London Synagogue in Upper Berkeley Street each week to be taught my Bar Mitzvah portion by the great Rabbi van der Zyl who also officiated on the day – a particular honour – as mine was to be the first Bar Mitzvah in Harlow.As well as contacting Harlow JC for help, I got in touch with David Jacobs at the Sternberg Centre for Reform Judaism. David informed me that they did not keep records but, when I mentioned that I recalled an item on the event appearing in one of the local newspapers, he suggested searching the British Library newspaper archive in Colindale. This I did and came up trumps straight away. There on page three of the Friday 16th December 1960 edition of The Harlow and West Essex Gazette was a photograph of me, my father and Rabbi van der Zyl at the bimah with a caption stating that my Bar Mitzvah took place at Hare Street Springs Community Centre the previous Saturday, the day after my 13th birthday. A quick check on the calendar application on the ORT website then gave me the answers as to which Torah and Haftarah portions mine were. Job done.However, the most astonishing thing was that just 5 minutes after David and I had concluded our telephone conversation he rang back to tell me that his eye had been drawn to an old copy of The Synagogue Review which had been lying on the corner of his desk waiting to be archived….and there on the front cover was the same photograph that had appeared in the Gazette!It just goes to show that if you really want to discover something, Hashem will help you find a way.

I hope you find the photograph of interest. My dad looks proud but, from the look on Rabbi van der Zyl’s face, I may not have aquitted myself terribly well! David also sent me the article written by Charles Jackson which appeared in that same edition of the Review in May 1961. I do hope you have room to publish this as well to give you an idea of the early history of Harlow Jewish Community.I intend to visit Harlow soon to join you in one of your services and, hopefully, to meet up with Charles – one of the few surviving members from those dear old pioneering days.

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Rabbi Irit Shillore-mail: ishillor@aol.com Administration:Life President Charles JacksonVice-President Cheryl Peter

Chairman Hilary Garnelas Vice-Chair Ian Jackson Treasurer Malcolm Bilmen Secretary Scott Pollack Religion School:

Rabbi Irit Shillor Ruth Brooks

Contacts

Harlow Synagogue, Harberts Road, Harlow, Essex, CM19 4DT E-Mail: admin@harlowjewishcommunity.org.ukWeb site: www.harlowjewishcommunity.org.uk

01279 65571107941 468113

01279 42466801279 792926

07970 173 851 01279 302610 01279 43639707792 555589

01279 65451301279 445998

House Keeper Kuzna Jackson Marriage Secretary Sharon Bilmen New Membership enquiries: Vivienne Wright

Rites & Practices Cheryl Petar

Youth Liaison: Hannah Brooks

01279 302610

1279 436397

01279 835567

01279 792926

01279 445998

In case of bereavement, phone Charles Jackson

or Malcolm Bilmen

Ahada Bereavement Counselling The Movement for Reform Judaism: Sternberg Centre, 80 East End Road, London N3 2SYCentral Enquiry Desk: Board of Deputies (for all aspects of Jewish life)

01279 424668

01279 433217

07758 727328

020 83494731020 75435400

Chanukah Recipe

I did the recipes for November, but there was a lot to put in, so November’s ideas have now gone to ground.

I was watching a cookery programme, and watched the cook (don’t know who he was), he made carrot latkes, so I thought, put that in for December. Most of this is made up, except for the carrots, could not remember the exact quantities, so, make it to the consistency you like. I am going to give this a try, good luck everyone.

Kuzna

12 grated carrots – if you have a machine so much easier1 egg2 tablespoons of self raising flour, or plain flour with baking powderA little salt (optional)Touch of lemon juice optional (to keep the carrot colour)

1 Grate carrots – and drain the juices2 Put everything in a bowl and mix3 Deep or shallow fry until it looks cooked