Shabbat Shalom (Parashat Emor)

1. From the Rabbi  

The heart of parashat Emor is a journey through the Jewish sacred calendar. It is a journey built, of course, on the foundation of the Shabbat – ‘for six days you shall do work but the seventh day shall be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred occasion, you shall not work.’

A longstanding member told me a new version of a tale I have heard a number of times about our founding Rabbi. They used to live near to Rabbi Jacobs and when the young-adult son was tinkering with his car on a Saturday as Rabbi Jacobs would be walking back from shul, Rabbi Jacobs would cross over the road and then cross back again in order not to walk past the ‘mahalel shabbat’ – the profaner of Shabbat – for fear of causing him embarrassment. The tale captures much of what was great about Rabbi Jacobs, but it also captures many of the failures of our community these past forty-something years; concepts central to the Jewish tradition – growth, development, observance … were peripheral at best. Of course we don’t want to become a community of judgemental pedants, but if we turn a blind eye to every fracture of the fabric of Shabbat we lose the greatest treasure we, as Jews, possess. So what should a Rabbi of New London say when they see a phone being used in Shul, when they are passed by a congregant coming out of a shop on Shabbat? It’s easy to be patronising, it’s easy to be offensive, it’s easy to feel that, as a gate-keeper and evangelist for Jewish observance, the Rabbi should always duck and hide. But all these easy options are deeply flawed.

Maybe the answer lies in speaking more passionately about why the observance of Shabbat matters, even in 2009, especially in 2009. Let me share this from Heschel’s The Sabbath;

He who wants to enter the holiness of the day must first lay down the profanity of clattering commerce, of being yoked to toil. He must say farewell to manual work and learn to understand that the world has already been created and will survive without the help of man. Six days a week we wrestle with the world, wringing profit from the earth; on the Sabbath we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul.

Or maybe the answer lies in my being clearer about what it might take, to become more serious about Shabbat. Let me share this recession busting, eco-friendly, soul-saving tip for Shabbat this week;

Turn things off; the computer, the mobile phone, the stereo, the rooter, the background buzz of electrical noise that suffuses our work lives. Just for a day, from half-past eight tonight to quarter to nine tomorrow. And listen to real people and yourself.

Shabbat shalom

Jeremy Gordon

2. Reflections: To read the online version of the weekly commentary on the Torah Portion -  Reflections, click the following link - http://www.masorti.org.uk/reflections.htm

3. The week Ahead

The Kabbalat Shabbat service this evening begins at 6.30 pm. Tomorrow morning Shacharit is at 9.15 am. Monty Godel will be reading the Haftarah to mark his 2nd Bar Mitzvah (83rd birthday). To celebrate this milestone, Monty and Joyce invite you to join them for Kiddush following the service.

On Sunday morning Shacharit will be at 9.30 am in the Bet Midrash. Cheder begins at 9.45 am and Rabbi Gordon will continue his Midrash Shiur at 10.15 am. At 11.00 am there will be a short ceremony to dedicate a newly refurbished and equipped classroom donated by Gina Sanders in memory of her mother, Doris Sinclair z"l.

On Monday morning from 11.00 am Babes in the Wood our group for mums, dads and babies under two, meets in the New London Hall. This week we have a special programme with Frances Bildner of Creative Wiz Kids - a special treat!

On Tuesday evening Rabbi Gordon will teach the first of three sessions on some of his favourite Rabbinic personalities from Jewish history. This week he will introduce us to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai - wandering mystic and hero of Lag B'Omer - which is celebrated this day.

Next Friday night we are organising a dinner for families celebrating a Bar or Bat Mitzvah either in the coming year or did in the past six months. Invitations have been sent out, if this applies to you and you have not yet responded we would appreciate an early reply.

Next Shabbat, the Minyan Chadash meets at 9.45 am in the New London Hall and there will be a Children's service at 11.00 am in the Bet Midrash. Following the service the outgoing Council invite you to a special Kiddush in honour of Adrian Marks who steps down this week as Chairman of the Synagogue.

4. Dates for your diary

Tuesdays 12th   19th   26th   MAY  -  8.00 pm in the Bet Midrash Learning at New London presents - Three Rabbis of the Talmud
In this adult education series Rabbi Gordon will look at three of the most provocative and remarkable Rabbis of the Talmudic period. On 12th May, we will begin with Shimon Bar Yochai, wandering mystic and hero of Lag B’Omer – which is celebrated on this day. Next up (19th May) is  Chanina Ben Dosa, healer and magician. Finally on May 26th, we conclude with Reish Lakish,  gladiatorial thug turned Rabbinic master. These classes will be text based and open to all.   Cost £5 per session

Monday 18th May at 7.30 pm - NLS AGM  To download a copy of the final draft Memorandum and Articles of Association click here

Sunday 24th May at 6.00 pm - Movies at New London present "Would I Lie To You?" The hit Jewish comedy that took French cinemas by storm.
Jobless, broke and down and out in Paris, Eddie Vuibert is going nowhere fast. When a local fabric seller comes to his aid in a street fight, he is mistaken for being Jewish and finds his whole world turned upside down. Given a job and a home, his life couldn't be better, but when he falls for the boss's daughter Sandra, will the lie catch up with him? Set among the Sephardi Jewish garment dealers of Paris, Gilou's film takes a comic look at religion, materialism, sexual indiscretions and male machismo. In France this film was the biggest ever box office hit for a native film.
Admission £6 (includes refreshments served from 5.30 pm) No need to book just come along.

Thursday 28th May from 7.00 pm - Shavuot evening programme - Service, presentation by the Cheder, Dinner, and study followed by an all-night study session and early Shacharit led by Minyan Chadash.

Sunday 28th June at 8.00 pm - The Louis Jacobs Memorial Lecture by Rabbi Michael Malchior, title - "Israel’s Future"
Tribalism and divisiveness threatens the unity of both the Jewish people and the State Israel. In spite of our religious and political differences, how can we create and put into action an agenda for the future of the Jewish community both in Israel and across the Jewish World? Having spent ten years in the Israeli Knesset including service as Cabinet Minister with responsibility for Diaspora & Israeli Society Affairs, Rabbi Michael Melchior is currently building an inclusive education system in Israel. He is also a leading campaigner on peace, ecology and human rights. He serves as Chief Rabbi of Norway and also leads a young community in Jerusalem.

Shabbat shalom

Stephen Cotsen