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December 2012 Shofar the magazine of finchley progressive synagogue שופרChanukah

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Page 1: Shofar December Edition

December 2012

Shofarthe magazine of finchley progressive synagogue

פר שו

Chanukah

Page 2: Shofar December Edition

Left: Our fabulous Rikud dance group in action

Photo credit: Last month’s beautiful cover was taken by Zara Woolf. Thank you Zara!

Copy deadline is the 10th of each month. Please email all content to [email protected]

2

And so 2012 is nearly at an end, and what a year it’s

been! A year of extremes that included everything

from the excitement of spectacular Olympic games to

an American election and the destruction of the storm

Sandy across a vast continent.

I look forward to Chanukah candles and a plethora

of concerts that this time of year usually means for

our family - and without wanting to sound too ‘Miss

Worldy’- I hope that peace will become a reality for everybody, and that 2013

brings us closer to that goal.

We are also looking forward to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our

FPS community next year, which made us wonder: How do you create a

synagogue family like ours in the first place? What are the crucial ingredients

that come together to form a spiritual and practical community? In other

words, where’s the magic?

You can read our various attempts at an answer in this Shofar, and I invite

you to come up with your own take on what ‘makes’ a synagogue, and what

makes this particular shul such a warm and lovely place to be.

Happy Chanukah to you all from your Shofar team!

From the Editorpat lehner

Page 3: Shofar December Edition

3

From the Rabbi

The miracle of Chanukah has been slightly ‘over

egged’ by Jewish tradition. The oil and candles

and unexpected leftovers have lubricated the

story for generations and made it all the more

powerful for a December celebration. We love

fanciful tales and myths that promise a little

magic. But perhaps the real message is a slightly

different one. Chanukah means dedication.

Chanukat Habayit is the dedication of a house.

It’s a delicious irony that at each Chanukah

we are in a sense dedicating something, our

chanukiah, home, perhaps even the synagogue.

As we light the candles there is a recollection

(sometimes unconscious) that each person,

in each era, in each family chooses the form

of Judaism that is right for them and that is

there. No longer Hellenists vs Maccabees or

Assimilationists vs Pious; our situation is more

nuanced now and our lighting candles at

Chanukah recalls it. Maimonides insisted we

light the chanukiah in the window for all to

see: a public declaration of our Judaism, not

always an easy thing to do. Electing to be part

of a synagogue is just such a choice. We who

read Shofar choose a synagogue, not just gym

membership. We see the worth and value in

being part of a cultural, religious, educational

and concerned institution that has walls

and ceilings and is a place to go. Chanukah

encourages that thought along with the

chocolate money and latkes.

This year we are thinking of the rather

different experience of being a Jew in Belarus,

one of the three remaining communists states.

Being Jewish and joining a synagogue is much

more of a struggle there. That’s why, led by

our Twin community Mogilev group, we’re

raising money this Chanukah to help that

synagogue community rent a dry, warm part of

a building and dedicate it for themselves. We

hope our Chanukah will result in their Chanukat

Habayit - a dedication of a space that will be as

comforting, inspirational and warm as many of

our synagogues are here.

rabbi rebecca qassim birk

miracles

We see the worth and value in being part of a cultural, religious,

educational and concerned institution that has walls and ceilings and is a

place to go.

Page 4: Shofar December Edition

4

From the Councillaura lassman

For many people

synagogue life just

happens. The majority

of members are

blissfully unaware

of the trials and

tribulations of

managing: the tears, the frustrations, the

challenges and the achievements. There is

so much happening and so many volunteers

enabling us to achieve our goals, that I wanted

to share just some of the matters that Council

has been addressing recently.

finances

It’s budget time of year and we were

pleased to see that we could break-even this

year after an effective £15,000 deficit in 2011.

Looking ahead, we will be challenged to find

sufficient resources in 2013 to provide all the

services (in their broadest sense) that FPS

would like to deliver: education, worship,

pastoral care, cultural events, social action,

support for the wider community and a building

fit for purpose.

While recognising the economic hardship

that some of our members are experiencing,

we also have to raise enough funds to maintain

and develop the community. Members will be

receiving their subscription invoices shortly and

we would ask any households that can offer

more than their own membership fee to make

a donation so that we can cope with reduced

subscriptions where they are needed.

We are not very good at fundraising

although there have been some very generous

donations over the past year. There are also

opportunities for enterprise and this will be a

focus in the year ahead. FPS has to be self-

sufficient and this is a challenge that can be

stimulating and embraced; wouldn’t it be great

if we could reduce subs next year because we

have established other revenue streams?

organisation

We have been reorganising the Council

and committee structures to make them

more suited to the way we live now. Council

meets bi-monthly and rather than having

many committees meeting regularly, we are

establishing working groups that will focus on

action in particular areas of synagogue life.

The groups will identify and respond to defined

projects so that volunteers have manageable

tasks and the potential for real achievement.

These working task groups are organised

under three areas: Beit Tefillah (Worship),

Beit Midrash (Education) and Beit Knesset

(Community). Officers and Council members

are attached to one of these groups to maintain

co-ordination and cohesion.

Finance and Operations are the

responsibility of Treasurers and Hon Secretary.

If you would like to be involved in one of the

task groups please let me know.

60th anniversary

Planning is well under way with the aim of

providing something for every member during

the year. Please see the enclosed brochure

for the calendar of events. Make a note of the

dates if something appeals to you and if you

would like to participate in the organisation

of any of these events please contact Jacquie

Fawcett [email protected]

Page 5: Shofar December Edition

5

actions for members

Subscriptions / Deadline – 31 Jan 2013Check your invoice – the majority are direct

debit so you do not need to take any further

action unless there is a mistake.

Add your voluntary donations and send a

cheque or advise an increase in direct debit.

Mogilev / Deadline – 16 December 2012We are collecting for our twinned community

in Mogilev. Put whatever donation you can into

the envelope enclosed and return to FPS over

Chanukah.

CHANUKAH  CELEBRATION  FRIDAY  14  DECEMBER  

4.30pm   Candle  making,  glass  painting,  baking,  games  and  more  

5.45pm   Supper  for  youngsters  

6.30pm   Lighting  the  Chanukiah    and  Shabbat  Family  Service  

7.30pm   Latkes,  donuts  and  songs  

GET  YOUR  CHANUKAH  GOODIES  FROM  THE  SYNAGOGUE  SHOP  

candles  ♦  cards  ♦  dreydls  ♦  games  

Page 6: Shofar December Edition

6

60th Anniversarylionel lassman & darren beach

The Hebrew term for Synagogue, Beit Knesset,

means a ‘House of Meeting’ and that has always

been its primary function. We can learn at home

by reading a book but when we come together

to learn in the Synagogue, we create a meeting

of minds. We can pray alone, any time, any

place, but when we come together to pray in

the Synagogue, we create a meeting of souls.

We can eat in a restaurant, sing in the shower,

dance in the street and chat on Skype; but when

we come together to do all of these things in the

Synagogue, we create a meeting of bodies.

When you have a meeting of bodies, a

meeting of minds and a meeting of souls, you

have community; that unique and elusive

phenomenon that is, above all else, what

Synagogue must be.

We connect with other people through our

workplaces, our educational institutions and our

hobbies but we do not create community in the

most encompassing sense. Community is cross-

generational, interdisciplinary and permanent; it

has the potential to touch on every aspect of our

lives and our being. It is a place where we can

receive as well as give; it is a place where we can

teach as well as learn. It is a place where, at any

stage of our lives, whatever our interests and

skills, whatever our needs and means, we can

find a home.

Building a Beit Knesset that is a place of

meeting and a true community is not easy and

it becomes harder as our society becomes more

individualistic, fragmented and commercially

driven. At times it can be a tireless and thankless

task but it is most certainly the task that drew

me to the Rabbinate and that underpins Liberal

Judaism and Liberal Jewish Communities.

Rabbi Anna Gerrard works for Liberal Judaism as

part of their new Rabbinical Team, with specific

responsibility for Outreach and Community

Development. Anna is committed to dynamic,

progressive Judaism that speaks to today’s Jew,

interested in thinking about Liberal Judaism’s

relationship to the State of Israel and passionate

about wild swimming.

anna gerrard

When you have a meeting of bodies, a meeting of minds and a meeting

of souls, you have community; that unique and elusive phenomenon that is, above all else, what Synagogue

must be.

what makes a synagogue?

Page 7: Shofar December Edition

here’s an idea for a chanukah present!

James Woolf, one of our members writes:

If any synagogue members have children,

nephews or nieces, etc and enjoy reading

poems to them, one of my poems appears in a

new collection - 50 Funny Poems for Children -

produced by a new publisher called Thynks.

You can order copies from

[email protected] or from

your local bookshop. Alternatively, the book

is available via Amazon. (click “more buying

choices” and then go through the publisher,

Thynks).

Just in- for a discount you can order direct

through James, you can get in touch on

[email protected]

7

As we think about the meaning of synagogue

in our lives, I can reflect on the recent High

Holy Days when I attended a liberal, reform and

united service in the 25 hours of Yom Kippur.

This won’t be (at this point) a compare and

contrast as Shofar readers probably know what

will come out on top; but it gave me a unique

opportunity to see what synagogue really

means for me, and many of us.

Kol Nidre on home turf, and running late,

I was met with very beautiful and emotive

singing that took me straight to the meaning

of this most important day. As I reflected on

my year, I felt held by the collective gathering

that a packed service can bring. I had a sense

of being part of something significant and of

not being alone. The music was so evocative

and I felt privileged to be able to experience

something so powerful and soulful.

Out of my reverie and straight into a

Reform service at a synagogue that is near to

family and yet very unfamiliar. The children’s

service was carefully crafted to be respectful

60th Anniversarysarah barnett

the shul crawl of Yom Kippur and yet engage the young with

this day and Judaism in general. Bar FPS, few

synagogues can be counted as super friendly,

but we were wholly welcomed and of course

the service was so familiar to us. All the way

across N.W London, and a whole different

progressive movement, there we were united

by the same songs, history and traditions.

And then to United. The final, Neilah service

I experienced in the synagogue of my youth.

The overwhelming sense of warmth that comes

with seeing people you grew up with, who you

haven’t seen for over 10 years, but they still

know everything about you. Perhaps this would

have felt invasive in my twenties but instead

it felt like I was being looked after and cared

about by this shul. It was like a very caring

aunt.

As I sat at the back and, having lost my

place in the service, I asked the people around

me for the page number, and three rows of

women had no idea where we were. We all

laughed as we recognised the very social aspect

of going to synagogue, even on Yom Kippur.

Page 8: Shofar December Edition

8

Beit Tefillahservices at fps

Saturday 1 December Shabbat B’Yachad including

Amy Grossmith-Dwek Bat Mitzvah

Friday 7 December Shabbat Resouled Unplugged

Saturday 8 December Shabbat morning service

Friday 14 December Chanukah Chavurah service

Saturday 15 December Shabbat morning service

including Sam Hamerton Bar Mitzvah

Friday 21 December Shabbat Resouled

Saturday 22 December Tziltzelai Shabbat including

Rebecca Sheridan Black Bat Mitzvah

Friday 28 December Erev Shabbat service

Saturday 29 December Shabbat Morning service

people

shabbat services - december

congratulations and mazal tov

To the family of Amy Grossmith-Dwek

on her Bat Mitzvah

To the family of Sam Hamerton

on his Bar Mitzvah

To the family of Rebecca Sheridan-Black

on her Bat Mitzvah

the winners of the 50/50 draw were:

October1st Eliza King Lassman

2nd Jordan Helfman

3rd Edgar Jacobsberg

November1st Lionel King Lassman

2nd Jeffrey Segal

3rd Jemma Helfman

yahrzeit list

There is an FPS Yahrzeit list from which we

remind those who would like a Yahrzeit to be

announced, that the date is coming up. If you

do want to be reminded please provide the

office with:

Name of the Honoree, Date of Yahrzeit

(Hebrew or secular depending which date is

to be observed), Name of Observer/s

Page 9: Shofar December Edition

9

Beit Knessetwhat’s happening at fps

cafe thursday

Thursdays @12.30pm

yoga

Mondays @7.oopmTuesdays @7.30pm Contact Richard on 020 8349 9602

bridge club

Mondays @7.45pm in the Small Hall, for

details please contact Gunter on 020 8346 5208

book club

Wednesday 12 December @8.00pm, for details

please call Sheila on 020 8445 3284

film club

Sunday 2 December @7.30pm, ‘Crossing Delancy’. For details please see page 11

rosh chodesh

Celebration of the new moon by women

gathering for learning and spiritual exploration

(over a glass of wine).

Rosh Chodesh Tevet: Women’s role in Judaism

Tuesday 11 December (note change of date) @7.30pm in the library.

Tzedek is the Jewish community’s international development charity. We are now recruiting for Trustees to help steer Tzedek on its next three years of growth and success. Our Trustees are required to execute good judgement in steering the organisation, to make sure we remain fiscally sustainable as well as true to our mission, and bring skill, experience and energy to the organisation. This is the perfect opportunity for someone who is ready to give back to the Jewish community and make a difference in the world.

For further information about becoming a Tzedek Trustee: www.tzedek.org.uk

This year the Purim spiel will take place on

Saturday 23 February. For the third year

running, the creative husband and wife team of

James and Philippa will be writing and directing

the Purim Spiel, but they can’t do it without

you. We’re going on an incredible journey with

a time travelling Spiel - Back to the Bimah -

which will be fast, furious and fun!

We need actors, young and not so young,

to take part. It’s a great opportunity for

community bonding so please put your best

foot forward and join us.

We would expect to have 8 or so rehearsals at

weekends (times to be arranged) in the run up

to the show.

To sign up, or for more information, email

[email protected].

tzedek is recruiting new trustees purim spiel

Page 10: Shofar December Edition

10

Beit Midrashlearning at fps

beit midrash onthursdayDon’t miss the final two installments of our Israel education course in partnership with Yachad

Thursday 6 December: The Conflict and International Law / Danny FriedmanWhen people talk about occupations,

annexation, laws of war and refugees, what

are they actually referring to? This session will

take participants through the basic terminology

of the conflict and frame some of the most

contested issues in the context of international

law.

Thursday 12 December: Jewish Sovereignty and Leadership / Hannah Weisfeld and Daniel ReiselWhen the rabbis of the Talmud look back at the

loss of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel

in the year 70, the conclusion they draw is that

Jewish infighting and disunity was as much to

blame as the Roman Empire. Together we will

read the story and explore the lessons it may

hold for us today and discuss where we might

take our personal inspiration from when our

vision for Israel does not match up to the reality

in front of us. This session will also explore

some of the personal stories of individuals

involved in social change in Israel and will look

at how we can best channel our energy from

the Diaspora to be part of a solution.

In addition, our regular program runs as before: • Beginners’ Hebrew• Advanced Hebrew• Delving into Judaism (alternate weeks),

for conversion students and others.

Led by Rabbi Rebecca Qassim Birk• Adult Bat Mitzvah class (alternate weeks).

Led by Rabbi Rebecca Qassim Birk• Pilates for all, led by an experienced trainer

Tea, coffee and cake break shared by all classes

Yachad course fee is £30. Pilates is charged at

£40 for the four sessions. For details please

contact Adrian Lister on

[email protected] or the

synagogue office.

Beit Midrash returns in the New Year from 17 January with Delving into Judaism, Hebrew

and new: Lessons in Liberal Legacy: The Sermons of Rabbi John Rayner led by Rabbi

Rebecca Qassim Birk

Also remember our other adult education

programs:

lunch & learn

Every Wednesday 12.30 – 2.00pmHot learning topics with tea and cake – bring a

sandwich or lunch.

cafe ivriah

An informal and lively Saturday morning chat

over coffee for Ivriah parents and others. Coffee

from 9.30am, discussion from 9.45-10.45am.

sandwich or lunch.

breakfast shiur

Saturday 8 December – 8.45amLoving Best: The Ramifications of Sibling Rivalry and the models in Torah - Rabbi

Rebecca Qassim Birk

“Now Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons”

Looking at the Torah’s candid descriptions of

parental favouritism.

Page 11: Shofar December Edition

11

Arts at FPS

Curtain Up! Is taking a Winter break and will

return in January.

2 December 2012, 7.30pm | Crossing DelancyIsabelle’s life revolves around the New York

bookshop she works in and the intellectual

friends of both sexes she meets there. Her

grandmother remains less than impressed and

decides to hire a good old-fashioned Jewish

matchmaker to help Isabelle’s love-life along.

Enter pickle-maker Sam who immediately takes

to Isabelle. She, however, is irritated by the

whole business, at least to start with.

Starring Amy Irving & Peter Riegert.

coming up

6 January 2013, 7.30pm | The Goodbye Girl(1977) with Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason

One of Neil Simon’s funniest films, The Goodbye

Girl is bound to have you laughing at one

hilarious moment after another. The scene

with Richard Dreyfuss, as a struggling actor,

tackling Richard III remains one of the all time,

memorable Shakespearean travesties.

On a recent visit to Israel I went to the cinema

in Haifa along with many thousands of the

mixed local population, both Jew and Arab.

I had gone to see the new James Bond film, in

English but with sub-titles in Ivrit. At one point

in the film a character let out a loud expletive

– “Christ”. The Ivrit translation was “Elohim”!

It was no accident because on a later occasion

another character shouted “Oh Christ” and

again the sub-title read “Elohim”.

Are we to deduce from this that the author of

the sub-titles acknowledges that the Christian

messiah is indeed God? Or am I reading too

much into it?

Lionel Lassman

Another member quickly came up with the

following: ‘Christ’ (Christos) is the Greek

translation of Hebrew ‘anointed’, i.e. Messiah -

would that work better as an expletive?

Best,

Wika (‘victorious’ from the Latin Victoria)

Dorosz

curtain up!

the screen on the grove

lost in translation

Page 12: Shofar December Edition

12

My Kind of Judaism

this is a shorter version of an article which was first published in shofar in january 1998. sadly kay died in october. we wish her family long life.

I did not choose to be Jewish, but it has never

occurred to me to wish to be anything else.

I grew up in Stamford Hill, North London, in

the 1930s – a perilous time for Jews – but it

wasn’t until I wrote an affectionate memoir

of my family and relations last year that I fully

realised how complete and close was my Jewish

background.

It was not a matter of being religious; so far

as I know neither my mother’s nor my father’s

side of the family belonged to a synagogue.

But everyone knew what to do when the Jewish

holidays came round, how to behave, what to

eat, how to mourn for a levoyah or celebrate

a simcha. Judaism was part of my being, and I

always kept on my guard against the goyim.

Many writers of the time – Belloc, the

Chestertons, Buchan, to name but a few – were

anti-Semites. The aristocracy and many of the

working class were anti-Semitic as a matter of

course. Fights between Mosley’s Blackshirts

and the Communists (among whom were many

Jews) were commonplace. After Jewish Girl

Guide meetings I and a friend used regularly

to walk from Stoke Newington to Stamford

Hill (to save the tram fare), stopping to buy

roast chestnuts or baked potatoes, and we felt

perfectly safe in a way that today’s children

might not. Yet she told me only recently that

when she was on her own she once cracked the

bottom off a milk bottle and used it to protect

herself against a gang of loutish, name-calling

junior Blackshirts going home from a dance

hall.

But along with fear went a fierce pride in

being Jewish. When I went to Tottenham High

School for Girls on a scholarship there were only

two other Jewish girls in my class. We always

came top of the form – another matter of pride.

One day a teacher announced that a

German Jewish refugee was to join us. We

knew something of Hitler’s persecution, and

thought sentimentally of doing good to this

undernourished, haunted waif. But when Anna

arrived she was large and smiling, with two

black plaits swinging from her head. She learnt

English in a term and soon was getting top

marks in class, too. Because we didn’t attend

Christian prayers we Jewish girls were easily

identified and several of our teachers were

anti-Semitic. I sometimes heard the epithet

(dirty Jew) as I was walking to school and my

sister used to go the long way round to avoid

one particular boy at the end of our street.

When she got a job later at Swan and Edgar’s

Piccadilly store, she was sacked for being

Jewish. Swine and Edgar was what she called it.

No Race Relations Act in those days!

So being Jewish was bred into me, but not

Judaism as such. That I chose for myself at a

very early age. I was always of a speculative

disposition and at 16 I read a book called

“Conditions of Happiness”, which led me

to conclude that spiritual growth was a

kay pilpel

...everyone knew what to do when the Jewish holidays came round, how to behave, what to eat, how

to mourn for a levoyah or celebrate a simcha.

Page 13: Shofar December Edition

13

necessary part of life. A little later two of my

acquaintances tried to recruit me into the

Communist party. Many young people at that

time believed that only Socialism could change

society for the better. I refused: I wanted no

part of a purely materialistic creed.

I met my future husband when I moved

from an insurance company, where I was a

typist, to a become secretary to the editor

of a little advertising trade paper off Fleet

Street, where he was working as an apprentice

journalist. It was a dingy, Dickensian place and

production was often interrupted by air raids.

When he finally asked me out (according to me

after six months; according to him only three),

I refused on the ground that he wasn’t Jewish

and my parents wouldn’t approve. Luckily I was

wrong on both counts.

We married in 1951 and in due course we

joined a synagogue, the members of which

in those days used to meet in one another’s

homes, in church halls or the library. Two of

the members, older than us, had markedly

different attitudes to their faith. He was pious,

very observant, good, a committed Jew. His

wife, just as dedicated, told me that she did

not believe in God, but she worked tirelessly

for the shul. Those two sides – the spiritual and

the practical – seem to me the essence of our

religion.

I have always felt the comfort of prayer

among good people. When I contemplate that

scroll, originally covered in plain black velvet,

which was rescued for our synagogue from the

ruins of Slavkov/Austerlitz, miles and miles

from where I live, I feel a fierce kinship with

them. I do not want to betray their memory.

Those who suffered so appallingly just for being

Jewish will not suffer indifference on my part,

nor do I forget their terrible fate.

I find no difficulty in believing in God – or

good, as a Yorkshire friend of mine chooses

to pronounce it. When it comes to a choice

between chaos and order I have no doubts

about which side I am on. And I find no

difficulty in recognising the existence of evil in

society; how else would we recognise good?

To me arguments about whether God

exists are pointless. How can one prove the

quality of love, especially of a transcendental

kind, other than by pointing to a multiplicity

of good deeds in a naughty world? Mitzvot are

essential to make a good life. I feel the need of

a moral spindle, the encouragement of biblical

study, the guidance of the Commandments, the

prayers from which I draw inspiration, comfort

and strength. The candle of my belief has never

guttered, in spite of troubles and distress.

A letter-writer in The Times said: “belief in

God is an attitude of mind and a positioning of

oneself towards the world which arises from

experience, from confrontation with one’s

everyday problems, and from deep reflection on

the meaning of life”. I could not have put it so

clearly when I was growing up in the 1930s, but

looking back now over the span of many years I

realise how much I owe to being born Jewish –

and being proud of it!

When it comes to a choice between chaos and order I have no doubts

about which side I am on.

Page 14: Shofar December Edition

14

Sam Grant [email protected]. Posters

are up in the synagogue with all the dates on

and your child will have received one at Ivriah.

So, what are you waiting for? I’ll be seeing you

at Youth Club very soon!

So far in FPS Youth club we’ve been playing old

games and making up brand new ones, we’ve

had a successful Sukkot sleepover and trained

at ‘007 spy camp’. Did I mention we’ve also

gone through a zombie apocalypse? However,

this doesn’t even scratch the surface of what

else we’ve got planned. All the dates for 2013

are now out and finalised, so get them in your

diary. Youth Club happens every fortnight. If

you have any questions at all, get in touch with

fps youth club

Remember our Shabbat B’Yachad

on December 1!

Ivriah Sukkot term ends 7/8 December.

See you all in January!

december at ivriah

rikudSaturdays 3.00-5.00pmDance your shoes off!

Contact Denny Kingston on 020 8482 2149

mitzvah day 2012

Thank you to all the Mitzvah Day Chefs, Musicians, Bulb planters,

Ivy hackers, Tree planters, Leaf rakers, Chauffeurs, Ajex

representatives...

You are great!

Look in next month’s Shofar for photo spread and feature!

Page 15: Shofar December Edition

15

Page 16: Shofar December Edition

16

Contactsfps who’s who

finchley progressive synagogue

54 Hutton Grove N12 8DR

www.fps.org

020 8446 4063

Charity Number: 1071040

Rabbi: Rebecca Qassim Birk

[email protected] / 07939 227480

Emeritus Rabbi: Dr Frank Hellner

Synagogue Manager: Pauline Gusack

[email protected]

Community Manager: Angela Wharton

[email protected]

executive

Chair: Laura Lassman

[email protected] / 07957 545 569

Vice-Chair: Joan Shopper & David Aarons

01582 792 959

Treasurer: Richard Kravetz

020 8349 9602

Honorary Secretary: David Pelham

020 8445 8111

synagogue committees & groups:

Beit Tefilla, Contact, Education, Membership,

Events Plus, Babies & Toddlers, B’nei Mitzvah,

Hospitality Group, Security.

We are represented on the Board of Deputies

and Liberal Judaism. For further information,

please call the office.

shofar editor

Pat Lehner

[email protected]

Editorial assistant Sarah Aldridge

FPS is a constituent of Liberal Judaism

21 Maple Street W1T 4BE

020 7580 1663

LJY Netzer (youth dept) 020 7631 0584

ashley pageinsurance brokers

Commerce House2a Litchfield Grove

London N3 2TN

Tel. 020 8349 5100

janet tresmanmediator & collaborative

family law specialist solicitor

consultant at newman law solicitors

10 Hendon LaneFinchley, London N3 1TR

Tel. 020 8349 2655

[email protected]