Shabbat Shalom (Parashat B'midbar)

1. From the Rabbi   

The count-up to Shavuot is reaching its climax.

The Omer has been ticking away these past 43 days and this coming Thursday evening we will celebrate. Our celebrations at New London will involve food – of course – and learning.

Shavuot is curiously bare as a festive celebration. In Temple times it was the festival of the first fruit and pilgrims would present the priests with baskets of fruit while reciting a special formula which spoke of their place in the holy narrative of their people. When the Temple was destroyed that ritual ended and even the special formula (which begins, ‘Our ancestor was a wandering Aramean’) was stripped away from Shavuot – it is now a core part of the Passover Seder, but just as nature abhors a vacuum, so too the Rabbis, and particularly the mystics.

First, Shavuot is connected to the moment of revelation – on Sinai. Next comes a charming midrash that suggests that the Children of Israel overslept on the night before revelation and God had to wake them/us up. So develops the tradition of fixing the error of the night of Shavuot –literally Tikkun Leyl Shavuot – preparing ourselves through the night to arrive at the dawn ready to consider ourselves as if we personally received the revelatory experience of Sinai (and now Shavuot draws from the narrative of Passover – as if you yourself went forth from Egypt).

The theology of our community is one of liberal supernaturalism. We are rational, we understand history, but we remain ‘souls open,’ turned towards the miraculous, so, when it comes to Tikkun Leyl, we know it is a Rabbinic construction and we can date the origins of this piece of the ritual and that. But to spend the night in study, to watch the sun rise in the morning and to greet the dawn with prayer is a glorious way to plug into the power of the day, the history of our people and the moment, at the heart of our Jewish experience, when God spoke at Sinai and the mountain quaked and the people saw lightening and heard thunder.

There will be Shacharit next Friday morning beginning at the normal time, but if you are persuadable, do join us for the dawn chorus. The learning through the night will be great fun, the angels may well appear and there is no better way to re-experience the moment of revelation.

Shabbat shalom

Jeremy Gordon

2. Annual Report
The Annual Report tabled at the AGM is available for you to download and read on-line. It contains reports on the year from the Rabbi, The Chairman and all committees. To download your copy click here

3. The week Ahead

The Kabbalat Shabbat service this evening begins at 6.30 pm. Tomorrow morning Shacharit is at 9.15 am.  Cecil Wand will be celebrating his 90th Birthday by reading the Haftarah and following the service, Cecil invites you to join him for a celebratory Kiddush.

Sunday morning is Rosh Chodesh and Shacharit will be at 9.30 am in the hall followed by breakfast.  Rabbi Elaina Rothman continues her Hebrew Reading group at 10.30 am. The Cheder is on half term and there is no Midrash shiur this week.

Sunday evening 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.

The office will be closed on Sunday and Monday for the holiday weekend.

On Tuesday evening Rabbi Gordon will conclude his series on great rabbis from the Talmud. This week we meet Reish Lakish,  gladiatorial thug turned Rabbinic master. These classes will be text based and open to all.   Cost £5 per session. 

Thursday 28th May from 7.00 pm - Shavuot evening programme -
In recent years the first night of Shavuot has become a major event in our shul calendar. Following the service at 7.00 pm, we enjoy a festive dinner with teaching from the Rabbi and an increasing number continue with an all-night study event which will take place for the first time at the synagogue now that it is too large to be in someone's home. This year the children of the community have a special tea before the service and will be treating us to a play about Shavuot before the dinner. We do hope you will come along - please book early (now would be good!)  for the tea or for the dinner, so that we can organise the catering. Dinner costs £15.00 per head (Children/students £8.00) Children’s tea only - £5 per head

Dinner will flow seamlessly (shortly after 10.00 pm) into our TIKKUN LEYL SHAVUOT, which will flow seamlessly into dawn (shortly after 3.00 am). Some wonderful talks and discussions are in store to stimulate and refresh, led by Michael Alpert, Aviva Dautch, Martin Dix, Angela Gluck, Rabbi Jeremy Gordon, Lester Kershenbaum and Rabbi Roderick Young. As well as food for the mind and soul, there'll be food for the body throughout the night. We'll follow the Tikkun with full morning services led by Minyan Chadash. There's no charge for the Tikkun or the breakfast. You can arrive late, leave early or have a treat and stay for the whole experience!

Catering help is needed for the  Shavuot Dinner - Please  email me (just click on my name below) if you can spare a few hours on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning  to make the salads and prepare for the dinner. 

Friday 29th May - First Day Shavuot
9:15 am      Shacharit
6:30 pm      Minchah and Maariv

Shabbat 30th May - Second Day Shavuot
9:15 am     Shacharit (includes Yizkor)
11:00 am   Children's Service 

3. Dates for your diary

Tay-Sachs Screening Day- Sunday 7 June between 11am and 3pm
Jewish Care is arranging a free Screening Day at New London for people over the age of sixteen in order to identify Tay Sachs Carriers, by nurses, Phlebotomists and Doctors registered to take blood samples. Results will take approximately 4/5 weeks and will be delivered to people’s homes. For further information or to secure an appointment, kindly contact Jess Clare on 07890611119.

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.

Saturday 12th September Selichot Concert at 9.15 pm
The programme for this year's concert has now been finalised.  
Deux Melodies Hebraiques  Ravel 
1. Kaddisch 
2. L’enigme Eternelle 
Ezk’rah elohim (from the Neilah service) – Julian Dawes (first performance)
Sonata for Cello and Piano – Second Movement – Julian Dawes 
Two Songs for Mezzo Soprano and Piano
1. Au Bord de L’eau    Faure
2. Lament   Duparc
O Lord Thou hast searched me, and know me (from Psalm 139) – Julian Dawes
Kol Nidre for cello and piano – Max Bruch

Andrea Hess - Cello    Camille Maalawy – Mezzo Soprano
Andrew Robinson - Piano    Julian Dawes – Piano
The New London Synagogue Choir

4. Beyond NLS

What You Can Do To Stop the BNP from winning seats in the European Parliament on 4th June
1. Get Involved - Join the Board of Deputies campaign at www.fight-racism.co.uk
2. Spread the word
3. Use your vote on 4th June - not voting is equivalent to voting for the BNP

JEWISH JOURNEYS WITH RABBI CHAIM WEINER
We have heard rave reviews of the recent trip to Salonika and a report will be featured in the June Newsletter. Chaim will be taking another group to Salonika this coming October. Salonika was once the largest Jewish city in the world and has a fascinating history of several hundred years. If you are interested in information about this trip, please email Rabbi Weiner at jewishjourneys@supanet.com.

5. Social and Personal

Mazal tov to Lynne and Paul Naphtali on the birth of Annabel (Hebrew name Chana) Lindsey on 13 May. A beautiful, healthy little girl, Paul tells us that  Lynne was, and is, incredible.

Bereavement - We are sad to announce the passing of a long-standing member, Thomas Bunzl. Our prayers for comfort are with Thomas’s wife, Marian and their children Jessica and Geraldine and all the family. The funeral will take place on Sunday at Cheshunt - please contact the office for details.

Shabbat shalom

Stephen Cotsen