SAMS newsThe St Albans Masorti Synagogue Magazine

Issue 101 Rosh Hashanah 5776 / 2015

Inside this issue

From the Rabbi 2

From the Co‐chairs 3

From the Treasurer 4

SAMS Kol Nidrei Appeal 5

SAMS 25th Anniversaryevents 6

25 Years of SAMS 8

Noam at SAMS 9

Hats off for Baby Mitzvah 10

SAMS Tots 10

Sunflowers 11

SAMS Book Club 11

Seventy Years On: VJ DayRemembering Jewish Prisoners of the Japanese 12

The Synagogue in Bhamdoun 14

Perplexing Parsha Pleasure 15

What’s in a Name? 16

Who is the Prime Minister? 16

Truly Pickled 17

Care Group 18

Festive Food 19

Chol HaMoed Challenge Page 20

The Happiest Days? 21

Who We Are 22

Meet the Trustees 23

Contact Us 24

Our thanks to the anonymous donor who

sponsored this magazineto be printed in colour

שנהטובהשנהטובה

I look at my son now, just over 1 year old, and then look backat his birth photos, and it is difficult for me to comprehendthat this is the same person. How could that tiny bundle ofjoy have morphed into this walking babbling little person?He was born a blank canvas, and now, a year later, he iswalking, beginning to talk, becoming aware of the worldaround him, and interacting with it on his terms.

These developments are so striking not only because of thespeed in which they are occurring, but also because of theleaps and bounds in which they are progressing. When Ihaven’t seen a close friend or relative in a significant periodof time, the difference in appearance or character can beobvious, versus someone I see regularly.

Does that mean then that a significant change has notoccurred? Or is it simply that I am not aware because I donot perceive it? The changes do not occur on a day‐to‐day basis, but slowly over time. Hair does not changecolor overnight, wrinkles do not appearwithin a week, and personalgrowth does not occur in amonth. All of these are acontinual processthat is almostimperceptible ifviewed on aconstant basis.

Every year, wegather togetherduring theHighHolidaysto try andtake an ac ‐counting ofour souls, aheshbon nefesh, from theprevious year, and to seekways to improve for thecoming year. It can be aprofound change if takenseriously.

In this upcoming season, we gather inour community center, the synagogue,where we highlight this process as we aresurrounded by one another. Together, we liftourselves up and push one another to reach everdeeper depths of our inner selves. But, why therein shul? A contemporary rabbi, SolomonGoldman, replied to this question with thefollowing words:

I come to the synagogue to probe my weakness and mystrength, and to fill the gap between my profession and mypractice.I come to lift myself by my bootstraps.I come to quiet the turbulence of my heart, restrain its madimpulsiveness and check the itching eagerness of everymuscle to outsmart and outdistance my neighbour.I come for self‐renewal and regeneration.I come into the sadness and compassion permeating thesynagogue to contemplate and be instructed by thepanorama of Jewish martyrdom and human misery.I come to be strengthened in my determination to be free,never to compromise with idolatry, pettiness andfanaticism.I come to behold the beauty of the Lord, to find Him whoput an upward reach in the heart of man.

As the new spiritual year isapproaching, and we gather under

one roof in a solemn spiritualmood, may we again be ableto renew our spiritual

strengths; may we all divewithin ourselves

and our lovedones, to bring outthe best and holy;

may we renew ourbonds of loveand caretowards those

in need; may weface the

challenges of ourdaily life with

courage anddeter mination,

and may westrengthen ourcommitment to our

Jewish People, our holytraditions and the Source of

all life: God.

Perhaps, this year, we will see one another in a completelydifferent light, with a profound change, as we all, together,undertake this process of hesbon nefesh, a spiritualaccounting of ourselves and our actions, so that we canlook at each other in a year and without a doubt perceivethe holiness we have achieved, and the positive change weenacted in our lives.

Shanah Tovah u’Metukah,A Sweet and Happy New Year

From the RabbiRabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth

2

From the Co‐Chairs Simon Samuels and Moira Hart

In previous years its been usual for one of the co‐chairs towrite an article in the shul magazine, but this time we feltit would be nice to make it from both of us.

This is, of course, a special year for SAMS. It was inOctober 1990 that SAMS held its first service. Back thenMargaret Thatcher was prime minister, West Germanyand East Germany were two separate countries, theaverage price of a house in the UK was £72,000 and thetwo ends of the Channel Tunnel hadn’t yet beenconnected in the middle. One of your co‐chairs was atrainee accountant in Birmingham, whilst the other wasliving in Edinburgh lavishing care and attention on threelittle boys and learning her aleph bet so she could teachat cheder.

SAMS now enjoys extraordinary high levels ofcommunity engagement. That is a tradition that we aredetermined to maintain.

Our 25th year has so far proved to be a celebration ofachievement. On a cold Sunday morning in February westarted the year off with our Jazz brunch, and in earlyMarch we had over 40 children at their own 25th birthdayparty. In mid May we had the very special ‘25 Fridaynights’, where every single member of the communityeither hosted or was invited to share Friday nighttogether. If ever someone asked you what do we mean by‘community’ at SAMS, then look no further than Friday15th May 2015. And in mid July we had our 25thAnniversary Garden Party where the English summerdidn’t dampen our spirits.

But we are not finished yet and have planned three veryimportant events for the remainder of this year. Shabbaton 3rd October is our ‘real’ birthday, and we will bemarking that with a special anniversary shabbat. OnSunday 25th October we are having our ‘SAMS at 25: ACelebration’ evening where we will hear from a range ofdistinguished speakers from our own past, from thewider Masorti movement and from the wider secularcommunity. On the evening of Sunday 13th December wehave our final 25th anniversary event, which is a party foradults.

Perhaps our greatest challenge is to not lose theenthusiasm and energy and sense of community that allof these different events have generated. So whilst our agenext year might not end in a ‘0’ or ‘5’, there is no reasonnot to continue to celebrate our community. Even if 26Friday nights is even more of a challenge to organise than25 Friday nights was, then we are sure it’s a challenge weare capable of meeting.

And no reflection on our 25th Anniversary year iscomplete without a great big thank you to our 25thAnniversary supremos – have worked tirelessly to ensurethese events have been a success.

Every year brings changes to the community’s leadershipand this year Alan Green’s tenure as co‐chair ended. Alanregularly bought a sense of perspective, a calmness andan ability to steer the trustees towards a sensible outcomeon many, many occasions. The community owes him ahuge debt of gratitude. Sadly, our new cheder year startswithout replacement for the head of cheder for the firsttime in nine years.

For the whole Jewish community this is a time forreflection and to show gratitude for the past year, and tocelebrate the birth of a new one. Your co‐chairs along withtheir families wish everyone in the community, yourfamilies and your friends, the most healthy, happy andsweet New Year.

Issue 101

The way we were: Moira and Simon in 1990

4 Issue 101

It is my pleasure to be writing my firstformal communication to the communityfollowing my election as SAMS treasurer inMay this year. I want to take theopportunity to thank the outgoingTreasurer, for all her work for SAMS overthe last four years. She has very success fullyoverseen the community’s finances in aperiod of great transition, as we amongst other things havewelcomed Rabbi Rafi to our fold on a permanent basis anddeveloped and moved into our new home. She has set thestandard high, and I will certainly do my best to follow herexcellent precedent.

And so, as we celebrate our fourth New Year in our newbuilding in our 25th anniversary year, I am pleased to be ablereport that SAMS finances are on a firm footing. In heroutgoing report at the AGM suggested as much, but Ithought it might be worth reiterating some of thatinformation to give you a flavour of how we stand today andwhat we might expect in the coming year.

For the year ending March 2015, our unaudited financialstatements show an excess of income over expenses of justunder £2,800. This surplus is slightly distorted by a one‐offrate rebate that we received during the year of almost £8,500reflecting a backdating of our rate‐free period, so the under ‐lying performance was in reality a surplus of costs overincome – a deficit – of just over £5,500. This was our first yearof full rental on the building, our first year of normalisedbuilding costs with no major capital expenditure, but also agood year for membership growth and income, and for bothdonations and grants. So a good financial performance andan indicator of what our position could be if we can managecosts effectively and are successful in our fund raising efforts.

For the year ahead, our budget projects a deficit of just over£14,000, although this includes a one‐off benefit of receivingadditional Gift Aid in 2015/16 relating to the prior year.Excluding that, our projected deficit is around £32,000,however this is based on the conservative assumption thatour costs are rising faster than our income, but also prudentlyassuming no further donations will be received other thanthose already pledged, and no income from grants.

In fact actual performance in the current year to date hasshown that the continued strong growth in our membership,the successful commencement of our Investing inMembership fundraising programme and carefulmanagement of our costs, in particular as relates to therunning of the building, is already well on its way towardsreducing this budgeted deficit. I should also reiterate that wedo have considerable cash reserves to deal with any actualdeficit should it arise.

But we must not be complacent, becausewith the growing community comesgrowing costs of supporting it. As we growinto and use our building more extensively,so the costs of upkeep and maintaining itwill rise. We are always looking at ways toimprove the experience for our membersand visitors alike and this may mean

additional capital expenditure on enhancing our buildingand its facilities, as well as on religious and culturalexperiences.

With this in mind, our Investing in Membership programmeremains a key focus for us this year, but there multiple waysin which you, as a member, can contribute and support yourcommunity:

1) Easyfundraising

Sign up to the easyfundraising.org.uk website – SAMS willreceive money each time you buy something on the internetif you use this site to go through to your normal shop! We’llalso receive something when you sign up.

2) Donations

Currently, we are receiving building or Investing in Member ‐ship donations from a large number of families from ourcommunity. If you think you can give a regular or monthlysum in addition to your membership fees there are two easyways to do this:• Email me at treasurer@e‐sams.org• Use the website to set up a regular donation online at:

https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/donatesteps.aspx?beneficiarycampaignid=1040

All donations large or small are very much appreciated andreally do make a difference.

3) Leave SAMS a Legacy in your Will

Not only will SAMS benefit, but any amount left to SAMSwill be outside of the scope of your estate for inheritance taxpurposes. We will be communicating more on this subjectover the coming months.

Anything you can do to help is very much appreciated. Andif you do have any questions on the state of our finances, onplanned capital projects or on any of the fundraisinginitiatives that I mention, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

I want to thank the members of the Finance Committee, ourbookkeeper Jane, and Simon, Moira and all the trustees fortheir help and support. I look forward to working with youall during my term as treasurer.

Wishing you Chag Sameach and a very happy and healthynew year from Jane, Jacob, Louis, Ruby and myself.

From the TreasurerNick

Issue 101 5

SAMS Kol Nidrei AppealSimon Samuels

People often say time flies but it really doesn’t feel like five years have now passed since we signed the lease for ourbuilding. Indeed, it still feels a bit odd not to use the prefix ‘new’ before the word building. But I think we have to admitthat it’s not that new anymore.

And as we all know, after a while the signs of wear and tear start to show through. Since we moved into the buildingwe’ve held over 300 shul services, over 100 Sunday morning cheder sessions as well as hundreds of other religious andsocial events. So this year part of the SAMS Kol Nidre Appeal is about raising money to redecorate our not‐quite‐so‐new building.

The cost of redecorating the entire building is around £4,000, but if need be we could do it in stages. The cost ofredecorating the main hall and the downstairs entrance lobby is around £2,000. If you can help make this happen thenwe can get our building back to its old new look.

What your donation can buy us:

• You can pay for the wall paint – each pot for the walls costs £50 and we need over 40 pots.

• You can pay for some brushes — each professional brush costs £35, and we need 10 of these.

• You can pay for the wood varnish and treatment – each pot costs £20 and we need 20 of these.

• You can pay for the time of our decorator – he will cost us over £1,000.

As part of the Kol Nidre Appeal it is usual for SAMS tosupport a charity that is in some way related to Israel. Thisyear we have chosen a charity called Children of Peace. Theirmission statement is ‘Friendship, not Conflict’. Children ofPeace seek to protect all of the children and their communitiesin Israel and Palestine – regardless of culture, faith, gender orheritage. They focus upon building alliances with like‐minded organisations and establish projects and programmesin the arts, education, health and sports for Israeli andPalestinian children, aged 4‐17 years. They stress that theiraffiliates must share their principles of the protection of allchildren, conflict resolution, peaceful co‐existence, co‐operation between communities and respect for the faith,heritage, history and values of each community in the MiddleEast.

The money they have raised has assisted regional arts,education, health and sports projects – including fundingchildren’s soccer teams, helping to buy musical instrumentsand providing funding to carry out important research on childhealth issues.

A successful and peaceful future for Israel and the Middle Eastis very much in the hands of the children as they are the future.This is why we feel Children of Peace would be a veryworthwhile cause for SAMS to support this year.

6 Issue 101

SAMS 25th AnniversaryLauren McQuillan and Debbie Harris, Events Co-ordinators

OurSupper Quiz

July 2015

Issue 101 7We are reaching the culmination of our Silver Anniversaryyear. We have enjoyed a number of exciting eventscelebrating 25 years of SAMS. Most recently members acrossthe community hosted 25 Friday Nights when the vastmajority of our members shared a meal to bring in Shabbattogether. We also had a very successful Supper Quiz withfantastic food prepared by Micky Harris and his family anda lovely garden party hosted by Diana and Simon Samuelson a slightly chilly, but fortunately dry, Sunday evening inJuly. We have three more events to conclude this significantmilestone for SAMS.

Full details of all of these events will be sent out by email and we do hope that members and their families and friends will joinus. If you would like further information, please contact the SAMS office on 01727 860642 or info@e‐sams.org.

SAMS at 25

Anniversary Shabbat – 3rd October 2015 at 9.45am

SAMS’s first service was held in October 1990. On 3rdOctober we will be having a special service to rememberthose humble beginnings of services in members’homes, with a borrowed Sefer Torah and a home‐madeportable Ark. The service will feature some of thosewho attended that first service and chart the progressof how our services have evolved over the years andwill be followed by a special kiddush. We do hope thatmembers old and new will be able to join us for this

commemorative shabbat.

SAMS at 25

A Celebration – 25th October 2015 at 7.30pm

We will be celebrating the development of SAMS overthe years with our members and the local communityon the evening of 25th October. There will be a numberof speakers including the St Albans MP, Anne Main, ourMayor, Councillor Salih Gaygusuz, Rabbi JonathanWittenberg, Rabbi Jeremy Gordon and, of course ourown Rabbi Rafi. We will have an exhibition of photosand articles about our history, entertainment from aSAMS choir and light refreshments including acelebratory glass of bubbly! Details of tickets at £10 each

will be sent by email shortly.

SAMS at 25

A Party – 13th December from 6.30pm

Our 25th year is ending in style with a grand party! Youare invited to put on your glad rags and dancing shoesfor a night of great food and entertainment. Catering willbe by Adafina the excellent gourmet kosher food brandthat runs the 1701 restaurant at the Bevis Markssynagogue and the kosher concession at Selfridges.Entertainment is from Shir, one of the major bands onthe UK Jewish music scene, who have a fantasticreputation for top quality performances. This will be anelegant and enjoyable evening of celebration where wetransform our shul into a smart party venue for the night

to commemorate the end of our 25th Year.

OurGardenParty

June 2015

25 Years of SAMSMoira

As a long‐standing member of SAMS (we joined circa 1992)I was asked whether I could look back over the last 25 yearsand share some of the community’s highlights. Well, it hasbeen a bitter sweet journey and I have spent rather too manyhours looking at old photographs, reading old SAMS Newsand simply getting lost in time.

How can I choose particular events to share with you? Thereis so much that is special about SAMS but I think the mostspecial thing, on reflection, is not what we have done but thepeople who are part of our history. There are many familiar,happy, smiling faces staring out from the photographs; somedearly familiar, my mother and father – Norma and Victor,who are no longer with us, and some that I can no longer givea name to. There are sadly a number of others who are notwith us but they have all played a part in making SAMS whatit is today.

During this 25th anniversary year we have held a number ofevents to celebrate but on 3rd October we are holding a‘SAMS at 25: Anniversary Shabbat’ as this is the closestShabbat to the very first service that was held by SAMS on6th October 1990. To quote from an earlier history, ‘The firstservice was held in a member’s house (the mists of time seemto have corrupted the memories of those who were there andthey are unable to agree on exactly which house) and wasattended by some fifteen people. The Sefer Torah wasobtained by the World Council of Synagogues on loan froma synagogue in Philadelphia. The first cheder class was heldthe following January with eight children between the agesof five and ten. By the end of the first year SAMSmembership had doubled.’

In October 1998 The Herts Advertiser carried the headline,‘Synagogue to welcome flying rabbi’ – this was to announcethe appointment of our student rabbi, Elliot Cosgrove, whocommuted from New York on a monthly basis to support thecommunity. In July 1999 the Jewish Chronicle ran with theheadline ‘A ‘blooming’ St Albans Masorti to appoint firstrabbi’ which announced the appointment of Rabbi AndrewBloom. Paul Glantz joined SAMS as rabbi in September 2000and by September 2004 the Jewish Chronicle ratherprosaically announced, ‘SAMS appoints new rabbi’; this wasRabbi Jeremy Gordon. Rabbi Rafi formally joined us in 2010having already worked with the community as a studentrabbi.

SAMS News reflects the ebb and flow of community life –the communal seders we have celebrated together (the firstone was organised in 1991), Purim and Chanukah parties,Lag B’Omer events, Shavuot picnics, sukkah building – it’s awonderful backdrop for everything else that happens in thecommunity. The photographs show cute pictures of babies

born, our smilingyoungsters markingb’nei mitzvah, andlots of cold, muddyand weary peopleplanting trees for TuB’Shevat. To mis ‐quote BenjaminFranklin ‘for thatʹsthe stuff com ‐munity is made of’.

As we have grownwe have found thewherewithal toreach out into thewider communityand have gotinvolved in manyprojects. In May1999 the chederchildren collectedtoys for Kosovorefugee children, in2002 we ran anamazing foodfestival at St AlbansTown Hall and in2009 we gotinvolved with theMitzvah Dayproject. SAMS sup ‐ports interfaithinitiatives andworks closely withmany other faithcommunities in thearea and since 2012the Sunflowers playgroup has beenrunning for parentsfrom the localcommunity.

We owe so much tothose first familieswho planted a seedwhich so many people have tended and cared for over theyears so that it has grown into the SAMS we know today – avibrant, thriving community with a beautiful building, arabbi and wonderfully supportive members. Do put 3rdOctober in your diary and come and celebrate SAMS at 25.Here’s to the next 25 years!

Lag B’Omer 2006

Founder members at SAMS 21st

Rabbis Jeremy and Rafi

Mitzvah Day, 2012

Purim, 2014

8

Joel has been a fantastic, influential Noam leader thisyear. As a consequence Noam at SAMS has been reallysuccessful with numbers flourishing, especially in theage 8‐12 group. We continue to struggle with age 13‐16group, with events being cancelled due to lack of interest.Perhaps this is a sign of the times as there is a lot ofpressure in this age group with exams and school worktogether with competing against the draw of technologyand school peers. However, our events in the youngerages have been extremely well attended and we havefound that our post‐shabbat lunches continue to bepopular with 20 attendees on most occasions. Parents

have also enjoyed these lunches and having anopportunity to socialise in a relaxed atmosphere — andthey have been invaluable at washing up!

One memorable event was the Mitzvah Day event,sandwiched between cheder and the Mitzvah Day bake‐off. We had about 20 children of mixed ages who reallygot stuck in and learnt about the values of Mitzvah Dayin an entirely fun setting. We are currently in the processof organising next years schedule with our new Noamleader and of course we must thank Joel who has beenamazing for our children and our community.

Issue 101 9

Noam at SAMSLeonie

Hi, I’m Guy.

I wanted to introduce myself as the Noam community worker for SAMS this year. I’ll be doing my best to fillJoel’s very large boots, working with the young people in the community on shabbat activities and other events. I amwriting this from the middle of Noam camp, which for me has always been the high point of my year’s Masorti experiences,so I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about my relationship with Noam and tell you a bit about my own journeyin the Masorti world.

My time in Noam began at the age of 14 when I was pried away from my parents and shoved onto the coach on the way toNofim Alef camp in Spain. My experiences over the subsequent two weeks completely changed my life and introduced meto wonderful new people, and exciting ideas and activities. It was an incredible time for me, and the friendships and memoriesthat I made will stay with me forever – these are the things that have brought me back every year since 2007. I can’t waitto share my love for Noam with all of you and encourage the next group of young people to participate and become leadersin our amazing movement.

Noam also opened my eyes to a way of being Jewish that felt totally comfortable and fitted in with all other aspects of mylife — something I hadn’t ever found before in the Orthodox world. It gave me a feeling of empowerment and understandingthat allowed me to engage with Judaism in my own way and at my own level. This connection has changed and developedover the last nine years, especially through the time I have spent on Drachim, Noam’s gap year programme, and Kelim, themonth-long intensive study course at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. At the age of 14 I never would have imaginedbeing involved in so many meaningful Jewish experiences, but looking back now I am so grateful that Noam, through itsaffiliation with the Masorti movement, has offered these opportunities to me and to so many others.

I’m so excited to be starting my next stage within Noam and the Masorti movement at SAMS. Having visited the community,I have always been struck by its warmth and family atmosphere, and felt incredibly welcome. I’m looking forward todeveloping bonds with you all and I hope that I can contribute in particular to the development of the young people in thisspecial community.

Please come introduce yourself to me, I would love to meet you! Please also feel free to get in touch with me at my Noam e-mail address – guy@masorti.org.uk.

Shanah Tovah!

Take me to your Youth Leadernew

10

Following on from Mitzvah Day last year,when one of SAMS’ projects was to knithats and scarves for the Homeless Drop‐inCentre in St Albans, a call for help was putout by SAMS member Louise who is amidwife at Northwick Park Hospital.

Well, I for one could not resist thisespecially as my grandchildren don’t thinkits ‘cool’ anymore to wear Granny’s knittedgarments. Baby hats for newborns, bothpremature and full term, is what Louisewas asking for and oh what fun they are toknit! A single hat takes no time at all, and several can bemade from just one ball of wool. So, I dug out my trustyknitting bag and used up all the ends of balls. I evenscrounged wool from friends and families. That source hasnow dried up, but The Pound Shop (other budget storesare available) sells good value wools.

Louise says ‘Many expectant mums don’t think to bring ina hat for their newborns, and we always put a hat on themwhen they are born. It is really appreciated by these littlebabies and their families and really helps us keep these

babies from getting cold. I don`t know ifyou know, but if a newborn baby gets coldthen they don’t feed. If they don’t feed thenthey get low blood sugars. If they get lowblood sugars then they become verypoorly. So, a hat is so important.’

I haven’t kept count of how many hats Ihave so far delivered to Louise, but I knowits a few hundred. This is an ongoingproject because, believe it or not, babies arebeing born every day so our continuedsupport is vital. I have a basic baby hat

pattern for different sizes which can be modified to anystitches you care to use. Stalwart supporter and knitterextraordinaire Norma, who has produced the majority ofthe hats which have so far been knitted, has some gorgeouspatterns for those of you who would like something a littlemore challenging.

Thank you to those of you who have contributed towardsthis vital work and your ongoing support, but we still needmore knitters so please do contact me. My email addressis pauline@paulinesymons.com

Hats Off for Baby MitzvahPauline

Keep the date:

Keep the date:

Sunday 22nd November

Sunday 22nd November

SAMS TotsHannah

Our 0-5-year-olds have

enjoyed some wonderful

activities recently:

educational, spiritual and

social. Our new mums

have been enjoying

getting to know each other

over lunch or brunch with

their adorable babies

(what a baby boom we’ve

had!). We had fantastic

fun making challah at a

special Kabbalat Shabbat

(see photos) and the ice

cream picnic on Shavuot

went down a treat!

Looking forward to many

more exciting activities this

year… keep an eye out for

a special Havdallah, High

Holy Days children’s

services and our

awesome Chanukah

party!

Issue 101 11

SunflowersHelen and Hannah

This is Sunflowers’ third year of operation and thegroup is going from strength to strength.

The baby Seedlings session in the small room isflourishing.

The booking system, using Eventbrite, is going well.100 families are registered; up to 30 families may bookper session. There are on average 35 children in themain hall each week.

The average number of children per month so far thisyear is 134 compared to 81 in the same period last year.

Our local Liberal Democrat councillor Anthony Rowlands visited on 15th June. Anthony was instrumental in helpingus obtain permission to use the building. He was very impressed with Sunflowers:

‘On a recent visit I was so impressed to see the play group in action attracting local families from all faiths and none.The young children were clearly enjoying all the different activities on offer. This is exactly the type of initiative whichstrengthens community links. That is one of the principal reasons why I am so pleased that the Masorti Synagogue havebeen able to establish a flourishing home in the heart of Ashley Ward.’

If you would like to bring under‐fives do come along, we will be happy to welcome you any Monday 9.30‐11.30 — orjust come and visit!

We would like to thank all the wonderful volunteers for helping to make Sunflowers such a success.

Councillor Anthony Rowlands with SAMS Co-Chair Moira Hart

SAMS Book ClubPauline

The problem with a good book is that I just canʹt put itdown, at the cost of all the other things that I should bedoing such as housework, laundry and sleep.

Itʹs great that SAMS has a thriving Book Club. Itʹsrefreshing to have the opportunity to share one’s thoughtsand to hear other peopleʹs opinions about books. Thereʹsusually a mixture of verdicts — some love the book weʹvejust read and some hate it, some find the story line feasibleand some find it impossible to believe (thatʹs fiction foryou!), some enjoy the writing style and some donʹt. All thisresults in a very lively discussion. Some of the books wehave read are:

The Girl on the Train by Paula HawkinsWe Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen JoyFowlerThe Miniaturist by Jessie BurtonA Shepherdʹs Journey by Ishmael KhaldiNever Coming Back by Tim WeaverAn Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris

The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman (mypersonal favourite, so far!)Eleanor Marx — A Life by Rachel Holmes

At the time of writing this article we are currently readingOn the Move — A Life by Oliver Sacks

Do join us for lively discussion, tea/coffee and biscuits andto democratically choose the next book. We meet every fewweeks at SAMS. Look out for details of ourmeetings in the weekly SAMS email. We lookforward to seeing you there.

SAMS Book Club

12 Issue 101

Seventy Years On: VJ Day 15th August 1945 Rememthe Japanese

Charles, a Singapore Jew, was a gunner inthe Straits Settlement Volunteer Force. Hisexperiences as a prisoner of the Japanese arerelated in Martin Sugarman’s, Under theHeel of Bushido, a remarkable book whichsets out to record the ‘Last Voices of JewishPOWs of the Japanese’. For reasons of space,I shall focus only on those captured inSingapore.

Shortly after the fall of Singapore inFebruary 1942 Charles was sent to ChangiGaol. Other members of the SingaporeJewish community, including DavidMarshall Z”L (also a private with the SSVF)and my father‐in‐law, Sassoon (Sonny) Grimberg Z”L, werealso there. After 18 months, Sonny, as a member of the LocalDefence Corps – a Singapore approximation of a Dad’sArmy – was sent to a detention centre for civilians at SimeRoad.

Charles, on the other hand, only remained in Changi untilJune when he was transferred, by freighttruck, to Bampong (Ban Pong), a transit campof unimaginable squalor in Thailand. By theend of the five‐day journey two of the men inthe truck were dead. A few months later, hewas transferred to Chungkai, one of severalbase camps established for the infamousBurma‐Thailand railway project. There, hebecame too sick to work – malaria, dysentery,beri‐beri . . . and was sent to Tamarkan (ThaMakhan). Tamarkan was the camp directlyinvolved in the notorious bridge‐building buton completion of the bridges (there were twoof them) it had been transformed into ahospital camp.

The senior British officer at Tamarkan wasColonel Philip Toosey.

Sugarman notes that while there Charles met‘another Jewish soldier colleague’, MauriceGareh Z”L, ‘shrivelled with illness’ and‘covered with ulcers’. But Maurice was not just a ‘soldiercolleague’. On his father’s side, he was Charles’ cousin.His mother was my mother‐in‐law’s sister. The meetingof these two very sick men must have been shocking.

After a period moving from camp to camp,putting up telephone wires or blastingthrough rock in the blistering heat, Charleswas sent back to Singapore, and from there hewas loaded onto a cargo ship which set sail forJapan. Battened down in the hold, conditionsfor the men were appalling, but with nothingleft to lose they forced the guards to allowthem on deck. Then, during a storm the shipran aground off Taiwan and broke up.Finally, the POW’s were loaded onto anothervessel. Charles later recalled that as theyapproached Japan they were terrified of beinghit by American bombs which were fallingmore or less all around them. Once in Japan,

they were put to work in a factory near Osaka.

Then they were moved to Nagasaki.

Fortunately, by August 1945, they had been moved yetagain, and after the Japanese surrender Charles was able toreturn, by a somewhat circuitous route, to the security of

running an import and export business inSingapore. He married. He joined theTanglin Club – a bastion of Britishexclusivity that had not always beenoverwhelmingly welcoming to the localpopulation. But times were changing.When I first met him in the 60s, he waswell liked, outgoing and hospitable.

David Marshall had a ratherdifferent war, the first year ofwhich he spent in camps inSingapore. Then, in May of1943, he was sent to Japan. Hisultimate destination was aniron mine in Hakodate. There,in temperatures way belowfreezing, David labouredabove ground, in the open,shovelling earth. Later hewas to say that he would nothave survived another winter.

In an interview recorded inthe National Archives ofSingapore he remarks:

The Bridge on the River Kwai has been accorded so many accolades that it has become almost synonymous withcinematic excellence. Charles Simon Z”L saw things differently. He was there – a POW working on the Burma‐

Thailand railway. He was outraged by the thinly veiled portrayal of Colonel Philip Toosey, a man for whom he hadgreat respect, as the deluded, collaborative Colonel Nicholson.

Charles Simon. Photographcourtesy of Harry Elias

David Marshall, as he was in the war

and in later years. Photographscourtesy of Jonathan Marshall

…the Japanese cruelty was cold‐blooded, permanent andeternal … That was a major shock, the feeling that there werehuman beings…who were not even human…

But he continues:

The cohesion of disparate prisoners…was somethingtouching…there was an unspoken…comradeship…It kept thehumanity alive within me…

The experience strengthened in David a commitment tosocialism and in 1955 he led the newly formed Labour Frontto a narrow electoral victory. He was, briefly, Chief Ministerin the Singapore Legislative Assembly. He resigned in 1956when, after heading a delegation to London, he failed toachieve ‘Merdeka’ (independence) – full internal self‐rule forSingapore.

He went on to form the Workers Party, but with the rise ofLee Kuan Yew’s People’s Action Party David’s politicalinfluence waned and he became better known as a firebrandtrial lawyer. He always seemed largerthan life. On Sundays he would throwcurry lunch parties at his house by thesea in Changi. Circulating among theguests would roam an amiable beer‐drinking horse, a peacock, and David –in baggy shorts and barefoot.

In 1978 he finally retired from his lawpractice to become Singapore’sAmbassador in Paris. It had been along and eventful journey from forcedlabour in Japan.

Finally, David Arkush Z”L. Sadly, hedied at the age of 100 earlier this year.Charles and Sonny and David Marshallare long since gone. Unlike them,David was not a part of the SingaporeJewish community. He was born inGlasgow and enlisted as a lieutenant inthe Army Dental Corps. In August1941, four months before Pearl Harbour, he was posted toSingapore where, despite the war in Europe, life waspleasant for the British forces.

Then, the supposedly impregnable fortress fell. Thereceived wisdom that this was due to the ‘fact’ that theBritish guns were fixed immovably facing southward out tosea while the Japanese came from the north – bandy‐leggedlittle men cycling through the Malayan jungle – is not strictlyaccurate.

It is truethe gunswereindeedfixed in position on the coast, but most of them were capableof a full 360‐degree traverse and could readily be firednorthwards inland, as some were. The real problem was thatthey were almost exclusively equipped with AP (armourpiercing) shells, suitable for use against warships, ratherthan HE (high explosive) shells which are more effectiveagainst an advancing army.

The inevitable surrender took place on 15th February 1942and David Arkush became a prisoner of war. He took thesame route as that taken by Charles – first Changi, thenBampong, then Chungkai.

As a dentist he was invaluable to the POW population andon occasion to the Japanese also. As importantly, being theson of a chazan, and in the absence of a rabbi, he became alynchpin for many of the Jewish prisoners.

At Changi he organised the firstJewish service that all Jewishprisoners could attend. The only areathat men from all the various prisondivisions could enter was the hospitalsection. So that is where the servicewas held – in a bombed and rooflesscinema. David was a quiet force whoviewed a problem as something to beresolved. At Chungkai, when CharlesSimon needed to say kaddish on theyahrzeit of a family member, heturned to David, who gatheredtogether a minyan, and kaddish wasrecited ‘in a jungle clearing’.

This event seeded a group whichcontinued to hold regular services forthe next three years. In 1943, Davidalso organised a seder for which heprocured, along with other

improvised ceremonial essentials, rice cakes made with sagoflour and a grated‐coconut‐based charoset.

Many years later, when asked whether there was anythingthat kept him going, he said simply ‘I believed that God waswith me and that I would survive’. With this strength hehelped ordinary men become extraordinary in their struggleto retain a sense of identity, of being human, and ofsomething else, something timeless on the banks of yetanother alien river.

This wartime sketch of David Arkush was done

in the Chungkai POW camp by a known artist

named Ashley George Old and is dated 6th

April 1944. Courtesy of Jonathan Arkush

Photograph courtesy of Jonathan Marshall

Issue 101

mbering the Jewish Prisoners of

14

The Synagogue in Bhamdoun

This article is dedicated to the loving memory of David Sklar Z”L and Alan Sober Z”L, two Jewish young menwho lost their lives in 1982 in the defence of our people. David was my neighbour in Maalot, and Alan a good

friend from Kibbutz Sde Eliahu (and England), where I spent three wonderful years.

I was more than a little worried, very suspicious and yetintrigued.

Was this a good idea to follow a local Lebanese man whohad spotted my kipa and had, through sign language,indicated to me to follow him to a place of Jewish worshipin the town I had just arrived in, and essentially invaded?The streets were so narrow and winding, that I had toleave the Israeli armoured personnel carrier that I, as ayoung 24‐year‐old paratrooper sergeant, commandedtogether with five other soldiers.

He led me and two of my team down the winding streetsin this stunningly beautiful area of the Shouf mountainsand then, rounding a corner, I noticed the jagged teethmountain railway gauge track before us, and beyond thata large white‐washed building with, unbelievably, a largeMagen David in white concrete relief on its side. This wasthe synagogue of Bhamdoun.

We had just arrived in the Lebanese town of Bhamdounon the main road between Beirut and Damascus. Theprevious days had seemed like ablur. We left the Israeli border on6th June 1982 in an armouredcolumn and overnight arrived atNabatiya in South Lebanon. So farso good, then we were ordered tomove on north into the Shoufmountains. Arik Sharon had toldBegin’s government we would bestopping at 40 km in but we keptgoing. My driver told me that, onthe clock, we were already 100 kmfrom our start point at the Israel –Lebanon border. Then, on the 9thJune, the Syrians stopped us.

We drove straight into an ambush. In the close terrain ofhills and woods two battalions of Syrian tanks targeted usfrom both sides and a Syrian commando battalion rainedaccurate fire on us as we came in. We were stopped in aplace called Ein Zahalta, which we understood was amixed Druse and Christian town. We soon found out thatboth communities pretty much hated each other, whichwas quite alien to us.

What followed was a living hell of two days and twonights of shelling, air strikes and small arms fire. My

company lost all of our officers and a third of our guys,who were killed and wounded. The company next to uslost about half their guys, including 12 soldiers killed by asingle artillery round.

Our company commander pulled our unit together andwe walked in a wide circle around to the rear of the Syrianlines and took a key road junction. I found myself on myown with an RPG bazooka and M203 rifle/rocket launcherat this junction. Overnight our aircraft struck anddestroyed several tanks and personnel carriers whichstood burnt out the following morning, right around me !

The only damage I had was that my watch had been shotoff of my hand by a bullet I presume was meant to kill me!

Later in the morning, I had a surreal moment when, stillcompletely alone, I took a Syrian soldier prisoner when hepopped out of nowhere with an RPD machine gun, afather of two from near Damascus. How did I know that?Because the two of us, Israeli and Syrian, then spent thenext few hours sitting on the grass verge, talking about our

lives and families in brokenArabic. All of this whilesurrounded by so much deathand destruction, and a warwhich seemed so futile andstupid, akin to a scene in aclassic Tom Stoppard play.However, the arrival a fewhours later of a group of Israeli,rather than Syrian, soldiers wasa huge relief (for me at least !).

Let’s go back to Bhamdoun. Thelocal man led us around to themain entrance of the shul. Thishad two large circular façade

doors, which I presumed to be men and women’sentrances, with temple‐like steps leading up to them.Quite grand, as was the interior, albeit bare and anythingof value had disappeared. The doors of the empty ark layopen wide.

Inside the floor was littered with torn up pages fromsiddurim and leaves blown in from outside.

Our impromptu Lebanese guide explained that, prior tothe war there had been six or so elderly Jews who had

Haim with a local Lebanese policeman in Sidon.

Above: detail of the front of the Bhamdoun synagogue;

right: the entrance to the synagogue.

Issue 101 15

been regularly attending shul. I sincerely hoped that theygot the Torah scrolls out okay. I thanked him and returnedwith my fellow soldiers to our vehicle thinking – wow, wemust be the first Israeli soldiers in wartime to enter anoperational shul outside of Israel for over 2,000 years.

So what happened to the Jews of Bhamdoun ?

The records I found (in French) indicated that the shulitself was built in 1944‐45 on land purchased by theaffluent Sephardi (Mizrachi) Jewish community of Beirut( Messrs Sasson, Metta and Safra), to cater for familiesstaying in Bhamdoun on holiday. There were a number ofkosher restaurants that catered for them: the Srour andGreek‐run Panioti for example, and apparently they spenttheir evenings together in various local cafes, the Jewsbeing well integrated with the Lebanese at that time.

The small local (Ashkenazi) community then basedthemselves at a nearby house to make use of the new shuland, until the start of the Lebanese civil war in 1975‐76,Jews could worship freely. This changed when the PLOclashed with Syrian troops in the area and the shul wasclosed in May 1976. It is recorded that the shul was laterdamaged by shelling during the continued civil war in1983, after my visit the previous year. Less than 100 Jewsremain in all of Lebanon today, and I doubt that any of theJewish gentlemen of Bhamdoun remain.

Interestingly, those records also state that the Israeli armyentered Bhamdoun on 25th June 1982. Well, I also checkedmy former paratroop brigade history ( published as a bookalled Ketz HaKrav) and my unit and I were there muchearlier than that (c 12th June), so I stand by my claim tofame!

Perplexing Parsha PleasureBeverley

I will start with a confession: My understandingof Torah is less than negligible. Still, for me, thebest part of the Shabbat service is the Torahportion (Parsha). Some stories are shocking(Lot’s daughters’ seduction of their father —Genesis 19:30 to 19:38); some are disturbing,with a G‐d who seems capricious, insecure andvengeful ( the G‐d who destroys the world bymeans of a flood; the G‐d who asks Abraham tosacrifice his son; the G‐d who says to Moses thathe will never enter the Land of Israel because hehad hit the rock, rather than having spoken tothe rock); some seem simply absurd (a talkingdonkey capable of seeing angels — Numbers22:30). I feel simultaneously intrigued (by thescandal, the jokes, the exoticism), alienated(who wants to be ‘chosen’ by a G‐d that has all‐too‐human attributes and apparent weaknesses)and confused (why do we in the 21st century CEallow ourselves to be governed by events thattook place 1,400 or 1,500 years BCE?).

So it was with great trepidation that I attendedmy first Parsha study session with Rabbi Rafi.

I didn’t want to expose my ignorance; and Ididn’t want my scepticism to cause offence. Insome strange way, I was afraid my claim to aJewish identity might be threatened.

My anxieties (neuroses) turned out to beunjustified. The Torah – forgive me – is a‘broad church’. It is a millefeuille – or even aquintilliard‐feuille. It would seem that thereare so many layers, so many legitimateperspectives: theological, historical, allegorical,philosophical, ethical, legal, culinary, poetical,anthropological, etc, etc. It can handle my naïvequestions – and so can Rabbi Rafi and the otherparticipants.

So if you saw the notice in the SAMS weeklyemail about the parsha study sessions, andthought they were not for you, think again: Tryit, you’ll like it!

Weekly Parsha Study on Wednesdays:• 10am session at Shul, • 8pm session at the home of Rabbi Rafi

16 Issue 101

What’s In a Name?

My interest in genealogy doesn’t only extend to visitingancestral homes (well shtetls really!) in Lithuania. I havealways been fascinated by names. I was always told that ouroriginal shtetl name was Tibianski but it got changed toPearlman when my great‐grandfather arrived in SouthShields (see SAMs magazine article Sept 2013).

So when I first met my lovely husband, I must admit I didask ‘what kind of Jewish is name is Hougie? Is it made up?What’s the story?’ He wasn’t really sure, just that it was hisgrandfather’s name when he arrived from Baghdad, Iraq inthe 1920s. When we got married and people asked me aboutthe name, I did find myself agreeing that ‘yes it is a made upScottish name’, feeling unable to fully explain its Iraqiorigins. Well finally it seems we know. Andrew’s mum hadalways said that in Baghdad ‘Hougie’was a diminutive ofIsaac. What we didn’t realize was how names were passeddown the generations. Andrew’s very careful and complexgenealogical work has made some of the puzzle clear. Theuse of family names (or surnames) in Iraq, for Jews and non‐Jews, was somewhat inconsistent. Some people had familynames, some did not. And those that did might change themfor no apparent reason. What was consistent was that oneʹsfatherʹs name became part of oneʹs own name (rather likeHebrew names here), so using our patriarchs as examples,Isaac would be called Isaac Abraham Terah (or IsaacAbraham and a family name) and Jacob would be calledJacob Isaac Abraham (or Jacob Isaac and a family name).This applied to women too, so Dinah would be called Dinah

Jacob Isaac (or Dinah Jacoband a family name).

My husband found hisgreat‐grandfather listedin his grandfatherʹs UKnatural isation papersas Hougie HeskelHaron Moshi. Fromthis he could deduce that hisgrandfather (Shaoul Hougie) hadoriginally been called Shaoul Hougie HaronMoshi (in this case the family name was ‘Haron Moshi’), andhad dropped ‘Haron Moshi’ when he came to the UK,adopting "Hougie" as his surname. Andrewʹs great‐grandfather Isaac had been universally known by thediminutive Hougie and when Shaoulʹs brothers alsodropped ‘Haron Moshi’, that became the family surname.Confirmation came when checking Shaoulʹs burial recordswith the Spanish & Portuguese Jewsʹ Congregation, wherehis Hebrew name was given as ‘Shaoul De Isaac’.

Interestingly Andrew has a cousin in Australia who didn’treally like his father’s Hougie surname so has changed it tothe original name (Aaron). Maybe I should be thinking aboutchanging my name back to Tibianski!!!! What do you think?

Who is the Prime Minister?Ramon Luder

Some years ago I worked as a socialworker in West Essex with ‘Over 65s’. Iwill always remember Mr X, aged 82, aformer area manager for a majorbrewery. He lived in a first floor flat onhis own and was cared for by aneighbour as he had no family.

As part of his assessment I arranged ameeting with Dr W, a

Geriatrician, whoused the mini‐

mental test todetermine hiscognitiveabilities. Isat in on thisconversationwhich went

like this:

Dr W: Who is the prime minister ofthe UK?

Mr X: If you donʹt know, Iʹm not telling you.

Dr W: What is today's date?Mr X: Thereʹs a Telegraph on the

table outside if you want to know.

Dr W: Can you tell me the time?Mr X: Why? Canʹt you afford a

watch?Dr W: What is the name of this

place?Mr X: A hospital.Dr W: What is your date of birth?Mr X: Are you going to send me a

birthday card?Dr W: What year did the 1st World

War start?Mr X: Donʹt you have any history

books?

Dr W: Name the present monarch?Mr X: King George VI.Dr W: Repeat: apple, table penny,Mr X: Actually, I prefer bananas.Dr W: Can you subract 7 from 100

then continue?Mr X: Where do you get this stuff

from?Dr W: Repeat, no ‘ifs’ and no

‘buts’.Mr X: Iʹve had enough of this; Iʹm

going.

Mr X received care at home for a whilebut the risks became too great so hemoved into a local care home. Healways wore a jacket, shirt and tie andenjoyed his early evening tipple,retaining his sense of humour until hepassed away two years later.

Truly Pickled

Perhaps it is only fair — sometimes I get paid to visitinteresting places and sometimes my work gets me into apickle. The more interesting the place, the bigger thepotential pickle. Some years back, I had a very interestingtrip planned to rural Chiapas in southern Mexico butunfortunately it resulted in a pickle of truly haimishaproportions.

It all started well. A road trip with a team of environmentalexperts from local universities from Mexico City, downthrough Veracruz and into Chiapas. Sure, Mexican drivingcan be a little unnerving but that is to be expected, and thescenery was fine and the conversation good. We spent thenight in a nondescript hotel in the state capital and thenheaded out towards the Guatemalan border to do a day ofinterviews with communities in an environmentallysensitive area. The roads turned from tarmac to gravel andthen sandy tracks with disused oil pipes making up shortbridges over jungle streams.

After a tiring day in the field, we headed to the one villagein the whole area with a guest house. At this point it isworth noting that although my Mexican colleagues hadbeen educated at prestigious international universities andwere experts in their fields, they were not strong ondetailed planning. Forward planning is not reallymy strong point either but I had, at least, askedthem to book the guest house. Whenthey started joking about aguest house in this remoterural area ever getting full,I realised that we mighthave a problem. And sureenough, it was full.

I was now offered a choice: spendthe night with three colleagues inthe vehicle or drive three or fourhours on a jungle path to a smalltown with more than one guesthouse. Two factors influenced my

decision. Firstly, the need to keep windows closed toprotect against biting insects. Second, that one of mycolleagues was a keen marathon runner who wasconvinced that a super high fibre diet was the key to apersonal best. I decided against a night in the car.

So, we trundled off into the night with our headlightspicking out a sandy path through the thick forest. After acouple of uneventful hours, we slowly crossed yet anothernarrow oil pipe bridge, turned a corner and weresuddenly hit by blinding lights and surrounded bymasked men pointing automatic weapons and screamingat us to stop. It is a strange thing what goes through yourmind when disaster strikes – in my case, expectingkidnap, all I could think of was: ‘Sylvia (my wife) is goingto be so cross.’ Or perhaps that is the normal reaction ofJewish husbands? Anyhow, my attention was drawn tothe here and now by the barrel of a rifle pointed at myhead and the demand to get out of the vehicle. Giventhere were around 10 armed assailants and we were on asandy track in an asthmatic 4x4, our driver made thesensible decision to do exactly what they were asking.After a couple of minutes, one of the armed men startedquestioning me. I thought my Spanish was reasonable but

perhaps I had misunderstood — was he really askingfor my passport? And yes, of course, I could explain

what a European was doing in the middle of thejungle at night in a conflict zone. It

turns out that some Spanishor Italians had beensmuggling weapons forguerrillas in Chiapas and

this army unit thought theyhad struck lucky. When it was

clear that we really were justresearchers and not at all Spanish orItalian, the army unit sent us on ourway. Although my room in theguest house we eventually got toturned out to be little more than aconcrete cell, it felt good to arrive.

Issue 101 17

18 Issue 101

The Care Group’s main role is toprovide support to SAMS memberswho are in need. This may be a visit ifyou are unwell, helping if life is a littledifficult, practical help with lifts,shopping or meals and, of course, afamily welcome meal when SAMSnewest members (babies) arrive.

We would like to extend a warmwelcome to all SAMS new members.If you became a new member ofSAMS in 2015, please do join us for a“Strawberry Tea” on Sunday 6thSeptember at 3pm at Shul.

The Care Group is expanding and weare delighted to welcome newcomersto the Care Group committee, whojoin our members, Francine Cohen,Charlene Koppel and LaurenMcQuillan, and Rabbi Rafi. We arealso fortunate to have severalmembers offer their time on an ad‐hocbasis. However, we would welcomemore members to the group. So if youwould like to help out please contactthe shul office. If you are happy tooffer a lift when needed or can give alittle or more time we would love tohear from you.

We can only help when we know whoneeds help, so please do contact us ifyou, or someone you know at SAMS,requires practical help, a visit, a phonecall or a listening ear. The Care Groupcan be reached through the shul office(01727 860642, info@e‐sams.org).

The buddying scheme is now coveredby the Membership Group (see belowfor details) and our thanks to Dianaand Marilyn for helping our newmembers to feel welcome.

Care GroupVicky

Want to be aSAMS Buddy?

SAMS is a Shul, but more than that, it isa community, like a family. And whenpeople join our wonderful family wewant them to feel a part, to getinvolved, to feel at home.

But as we grow, this isn’t always so easy.Sometimes people may join and not feela part of what’s going on. That reallyisn’t the SAMS way.

One way to help people become a partof our family is to link new members upwith existing members; to be theirbuddy. Each buddy relationship willdevelop in it’s own way. Perhaps thebuddy will invite the new member overfor lunch. Or you may go out for a coffee.

The new member may have a questionand not be sure who to ask. They couldask their buddy.

So now you know what a buddy is, doyou want to be one?

My plan is to get a list of all who areinterested in being buddies so that I canmatch new members with existingmembers, either by geography, byfamily make up or some other way. So ifyou are interested in being a buddy,please let me know. I really hope to hearfrom you.

Diana

Issue 101 19

Chicken KabalahThis is much nicer if you marinate the chicken pieces thenight before. If you want to do this, make sure the sauce iscool before putting it over the chicken. Refrigerate andthen cook as below.

For larger quantities, take one‐third of a cup of each of thesauce ingredients for 18‐20 chicken pieces.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4‐6 chicken thighs with skin onchicken seasoningsalt and pepper

SAUCE

4tbsp lemon juice (bottled is okay)4tbsp dark soy sauce4tbsp clear honey4tbsp ginger syrup (from jar of stem ginger in syrup)

TOPPING

120g (4oz) blanched almonds175g (6oz) dried apricots2 pieces stem ginger (from jar), sliced into quarters

Oven180°C, 350°F, gas mark 4

Method

1 Season the chicken pieces and turn skin‐side downin casserole dish.

2 Put the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan andbring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes on very lowheat.

3 Pour the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle thealmonds and apricots over and add the pieces ofginger.

4 Cover with tin foil or lid and cook for 45 minutes.Then turn the chicken pieces over, cover again andreturn to the oven for a further 30 minutes. Uncoverand cook for a further 15 minutes.

Festive Foodas found in the Simply SAMS! Cookbook

Sticky PuddingParev. Suitable for freezing

Serves 8

Ingredients

60g (2oz) magarine175g (6oz) granulated sugar175g (6oz) stoned dates, soaked in 300ml (½ pint) boiling

water, then chopped225g (8oz) self‐raising flour1 egg1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda1 tbsp vanilla essence

SAUCE

90g (3oz) magarine140g (5oz) soft brown sugar4 tbsp parev whip

Oven175°C, 350°F, gas mark 4

EquipmentLarge cake tin

Method

1 Combine all the pudding ingredients and mix well. Putthe mixture in the cake tin and bake for 40 minutes.

2 Meanwhile, simmer all the sauce ingredients in asaucepan for 5 minutes.

3 When the pudding is cooked, remove it from the ovenand prick all over. Pour the sauce over the pudding andreturn to the oven for 5 minutes.

The Simply SAMS!

Cookbook is available via

the synagogue office

20 Issue 101

Chol HaMoed* Challenge Page* the intermediate days in the middle of Succot

H A N A H S A H H S O R P L D

D N F I S U L W K V L D F G O

Y O Y A J C M I D K E T R O G

O N L Z X C E N G Y P H U S B

M D K U Y O G E M R E R I Y C

K C K B L T T F O S B N T Z A

I S N R O A M C H L M P O W K

P D E L S M V O F I F L G H E

P U I J D G F T E S H U V A G

U C D G K A P P L E L G F K S

R G L H R K U F D Z C N T A K

A H A C C U S N F K Y F J D F

D J C E K Y M D A L L I F E T

Z C H I C K E N S O U P F Z M

R N T A L O D E G A I K E T W

Apple

Cake

Chicken soup

Etrog

Fruit

Honey

Kneidlach

Lulav

Rosh Hashanah

Shofar

Succah

Succot

Tefilla

Tekia gedola

Teshuva

Tzedakah

Wine

Yom Kippur

WordsearchWordwheel

a

l

g h

e

s i

m

l

How many words of three ormore letters can you makefrom the letters above? There isone nine letter word there too!

I didn’t like school.There, I’ve said it.

I remember telling my parents when I was about eightor nine, that the thought of spending seven hours aday for the next ten years being dressed in grey andtrudging from one mind-numbing class to the next, wasreally depressing. Unsurprisingly — although I believeI put forward a particularly strong case — neither ofthem said; ‘You know, you’re quite right. Here are somecomics and Atari games, go get yourself a Nesquik andput your feet up.’

I didn’t like any of the subjects at school. I rememberin one class we had to dissect a frog and remove all itsinnards. Although I didn’t really mind doing that, I didthink it was an odd way to start an English lesson.

Our English teacher was actually one of theworsterest. I really don’t think I learned nothing fromhim. As it so happens he also took us for games, whichmeant he gave us essay titles like; 'The Olympic eventof throwing a round, flat metal object - discuss.'

And I remember our maths teacher, Miss Williams. Hewas an odd bloke. He used to set us questions like; 'Ifit takes 3 men, 5 hours to dig a hole 2 feet deep….howcome our council tax is so high?'

And I hated sitting exams. That fear has stayed withme to this day. I recently had an eye exam and got74%. Which was a ‘B’. Which ironically was one of theletters I couldn’t read on the chart.

I found the whole revising thing impossible. Peopleused to say; ‘You can’t study everything, but of coursethe one bit you don’t study will be the bit that comesup’. Then what’s the point?

Geography was my worst subject. I mean, why didthere always have to be a fallow field? I didn’t evensit my geography exam — mainly because I couldn’tfind the room where it was being taken.

I don’t think I liked history, although to be truthful Ican’t really remember.

And I couldn’t stand physics. All that stuff aboutenergy and inertia. I couldn’t be bothered with that.

Religious Studies was quite interesting. I stillremember one of the exam questions;

Match the Biblical Character to the quote;

1) Better get the washing in love.

2) Just a little bit off the fringe and sideburns, butkeep the length.

3) Don’t turn ar….oh! Still, that should help with theslug problem.

Answers: Lot, Noah, Samson.

Because I make my living as a comedian people alwaysask me if I used humour to avoid being bullied. Wellunfortunately it didn’t quite work like that. If you’rebeing held upside down in a toilet bowl, there’s no pointtrying to say; ‘So, how many of you are from out oftown?’

And I’m often asked if I was the Class Clown. Well Iwasn’t. Although I did write all his material.

Six months ago I met up with a boy who used to bullyme. I’d contacted him through ‘Bullies Reunited’. Wehad a coffee together and chatted about our schooldays. He apologised for everything he’d done and I ofcourse forgave him. After all, we were only kids at thetime. He then excused himself and went to the toilet.When he’d gone I poured salt into his coffee, turnedhis jacket inside out, squeezed tomato ketchup intothe pockets and then, after shaking his wife’s handand saying it had been a pleasure to meet her, I ranout.

Although I had been bullied a little bit in school, therewas one boy who was picked on all the time. This wasbecause he’d been ‘outed’. Yes, it had been discoveredthat he preferred football to rugby. He was made towalk around the school playground wearing a sign thatread; 'Real Welshmen love rugby, I love soccer.' Wehad a tough headmaster, but a patriotic one.

My best friend in school was Martin Jenkins. He wasin 3D. Which was nice as most of the other boys wereonly two-dimensional. Martin was the one whointroduced me to smoking, drinking and gambling. Hisdad was the Vice-Principal so I suppose that’s whereMartin got his knowledge.

Oh and before I finish I just want to clarify one thingabout bullies. They say that bullies are really cowardsand that if you stand up to them, they run away. Wellno they don't. What they do is punch you until you passout. Happy days.

Follow Bennett on Twitter: @bennettarron

The Happiest Days?The Happiest Days?Bennett ArronBennett Arron

It’s hard to put your finger on just what’s so special aboutMasorti Judaism, especially because no more than ahandful of people join a Masorti community out oftheological considerations.

So what is Masorti really about for the people who belongto our communities? Anecdotally, we know people talkabout the following things:

‘A warm, welcoming community, where people arefriendly and we feel at home.’

‘A shul that reminds me of the one I grew up in, withdavening in Hebrew and familiar melodies.’

‘There’s no hypocrisy – I can say what I think, explore ideasand be open about my level of observance, and no‐onejudges me for it.’

‘A rabbi who’s learned and inspirational – but is also partof the modern world and gets where I’m coming from.’

‘A place where women are fully included and play asignificant role in running the service.’

These ideas have never been more important. Recentresearch has shown that while the UK Jewish communityhas stopped shrinking, this is largely because of ultra‐Orthodox birth rates. The mainstream community is stillcontracting. And while the Reform and Liberal movementshave managed to hold steady over the past twenty years,mainstream Orthodox synagogues lost over 30% of theirmembers – that’s over 20,000 families – between 1990 and2010.

The only mainstream denomination to have shownsustained growth is Masorti. We now have over 4,000 adultmembers compared to 2,600 ten years ago – that’s betterthan 50% growth. The number of Masorti communities hasalso risen from ten to 15.

But this isn’t about numbers. I’ve quoted these stats toshow that Masorti Judaism has the potential to dosomething important: to reach out to Jews who connectwith our values and for whom other forms of Judaismdon’t quite fit. We can offer people an emotionally andintellectually satisfying way in to Jewish life, helping themconnect with others, with the tradition, with Israel and, intheir own way, with God.

Masorti Judaism is the umbrella organisation for allMasorti communities in the UK. Our job is to support allour communities to do this vital work. Over the next three

years we’ll be focusing on a number of key tasks to makethis possible:

Training and recruiting rabbis to lead our communities.We’ve just recruited two new rabbis, Oliver Joseph andRoni Tabick, who’ll be working with Elstree andBorehamwood, New Stoke Newington and New NorthLondon Synagogues and we’re currently providingsupport for Zahavit Shalev, a Masorti rabbinical studenttraining at Leo Baeck College.

Developing leaders. As well as training rabbis, we want tonurture a new generation of community leaders by givingyoung people a high level of Jewish commitment, skills andknowledge. We’ll be doing this through our work withNoam and Marom (Masorti youth and young adults) andby sending young people on intensive study trips to theConsevative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. We’ll also continue torun our ground‐breaking Jewish Community Organisingleadership training courses for community lay leaders andvolunteers.

Outreach. One of our most important goals is to crack thenut of marketing Masorti and bringing new people into ourcommunities. How can we communicate with ouraudience of potential members, who are they, where canwe find them, and what is the most effective message forreaching them? We know the best way of reaching peopleis through personal connections. How can we enable ourexisting members to bring in their friends?

As a member of your community, you’re also a member ofMasorti Judaism. We’re here for you, and I invite you tobe in touch, ask questions and get involved.

Shanah Tovah – have a successful new year.

Who We AreChief Executive, Masorti Judaism

22 Issue 101