Shabbat Shalom (Noach) 1. From the Rabbi - Three Attempts to Speak About Prayer I have lived on the lip of insanity, For neither lips nor the brain are the limits of the scene in which prayer takes place. Speech and devotion are functions auxiliary to a metaphysical process. Common to all who pray is the certainty that prayer is an act which makes the heart audible to God. Prayer is not a thought that rambles alone in the world, but an event that starts in man and ends in God. There must be a time when the man of prayer goes to pray as if it were the first time in his life he had ever prayed; when the man of resolutions puts his resolutions aside as if they had all been broken, and he learns a different wisdom: distinguishing the sun from the moon, the stars from the darkness, the sea from the dry land, and the night sky from the shoulder of a hill. Of course Jewish, Christian and Muslim prayer traditions are different, but, of course, all spiritual practices aimed at bridging the gap between a finite individual a shared conception of a singular deity will overlap. I am hugely excited that next Sunday, 1st November at 8.00 pm, I will be joined, at New London by our local parish priest, Rev Dr Andres Berquist and the librarian of the Muslim College, Imam Dr Mamdou Bocoum. The Director of the Council of Christians and Jews, David Gifford, will be in the chair. I expect that, in contra-distinction to last nights BBC Question Time, our discussions will be enlightening and spiritually engaging. This is an important event for New London (indeed the first inter-faith programme since I have joined the Synagogue), you are all most warmly invited to join us. 2. The Week Ahead The Kabbalat Shabbat service this evening begins at 6.30 pm. This evening there will be two services - Minyan Chadash will be in the Hall and the Main service will take place as usual. The services will be followed by a - home-cooked Shabbat meal for the whole community for those who have booked. The dinner is now full. Tomorrow morning Shacharit is at 9.15 am in the Synagogue and this week we celebrate the auf ruf of Richard Kneller who is marrying Katherine Newton on November 1st. - Mazal tov to both families. Katherine and Richard invite you to join them for a celebratory Kiddush in the New London Hall following the Kiddush. There will be a Children's Service beginning at 11.00 am in the Bet Midrash. On Sunday Shacharit will be at 9.15 am in the Bet Midrash. As the Bet Midrash is now used as a classroom (so we need to vacate the room quickly), we will not be providing breakfast upstairs, however, you are welcome to make yourself a drink in the kitchen. The Cheder meets as usual at 9.45 am On Sunday afternoon at 1.45 pm the Tombstone Consecration in loving memory of Stefan Rose will take place at Cheshunt Cemetery. Babes in the Wood will meet on Monday from 11.00 - 1.00 pm as usual. Starting this coming Thursday October 29th (until December 2nd) at 7.30 pm "Listen to her Voice" - Biblical Women in Art and Judaism (in association with LISHMA and SPIRO ARK) This series will retell the lives of ten remarkable women – warriors, prophets, priests, queens, wives and mothers. The course will also become a journey into the role of women in modern Jewish faith. £60 for the course or £12 per individual session. To book email Spiro Ark - http://www.spiroark.org/events/528/listen-to-her-voice-biblical-women-in-art-and-judaism/ Next Shabbat the sermon will be given by Reli Yisraeli, Shlichah – Emissary of the Jewish Agency for Israel - to the Assembly of Masorti Synagogues. Reli and her husband Yoel have recently moved and are now local to New London, we are delighted to welcome her to the neighbourhood. On Sunday week, 1st November, at 8.00 pm - Prayer: An Interfaith Panel "What takes place when a person prays? What is role of a fixed liturgy? Do we have to understand our prayers? Does God always listen?These questions and more will be addressed by a panel of religious leaders. Also on Sunday 1st November at 11.00 am - “ALL CHANGE AT KINGS CROSS” A Walking Tour with Blue Badge Guide Rachel Kolsky. Explore the newly renovated St Pancras station and unlock the secrets to the surrounding area's history, including The gothic splendour of the old Midland Grand Hotel, a German Gymnasium, film locations, a canalside nature reserve, a state-of-the art music venue and the church with a memorial which inspired the telephone box all feature on this tour...something for everyone. Booking essential @ £10 per person (cheques payable to NLS) To reserve your place, please call the office 0207 328 1026 3. Dates for your diary... * NLS series on Prayer - history, theology & spirituality * Or These are a few of my Favourite Prayers Sunday 15 November 2009 - Mitzvah Day - Mitzvah Day is a Sunday each year when synagogues, organisations and groups commit to a project that benefits our society and is “do-able in a day”. In the afternoon of Sunday 15 November, our Hall will be transformed into a cross between a warehouse, a sorting office and a loading bay! We’re collecting, packing and dispatching various goods to organisations that help refugees and asylum seekers. As a people, we’ve known what it means to be displaced so this is close to our hearts. If you would like to volunteer some time, contact Angela Gluck by clicking here. 4. Mazal tov to Jennifer and Stephen Latner on the birth of their grandson Rupert Harry. Mother and baby are doing well. We wish Gina a speedy healing. Shabbat Shalom Stephen Cotsen The first extract in the Rabbi’s weekly message is a poem by the thirteenth century Sufi poet Rumi. |
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