Volume VII No.3

July 2016

ESTMINSTER

UARTERLY

Flavius Josephus

There is never a bad time to go to Israel

Evolution and the Jews

The Scapegoat

‘Lots’ of Urim & Thummim

Jerusalem by Night R. Stillman

LIFECYCLE EVENTS

From the Rabbi

Evolution & the Jews

Taking the Oath Amusement Arcade The Scapegoat

Book Review

The Genizah Collection

Yiddish Today

A visit to a Mosque

Tolstoy & the Jews

Sayings of the Rabbis

There is Never a Bad Time to go to Israel University for a Day

Poetry Page

Urim & Thummim

Slaves in Egypt?

Hebrew Corner Editorial Education Report

Letters to the Editor

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Inside this issue

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4

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5

6

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9

10

11

12

13

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18 20 20

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23

Dear Friends,

Anti-Semitism is once again on the

agenda, both in British politics and in our

society in general. The leader of the

Labour Party was very slow off the mark

and seemed reluctant to deal with the

problem. As with anything in life, if you

do not deal with a cancerous growth

immediately and radically, it spreads.

Unfortunately things have reached a stage

when prominent members of the Party

and other people are making

irresponsible remarks. They are equating

Nazism with Zionism and making anti-

Semitism front line news.

This despicable approach is undignified

and unworthy of those who profess to

believe in justice and compassion. The

Jewish community is not homogeneous in

its affiliation, it supports different

political parties, and Jews unsurprisingly

have differing views on every aspect of life

including politics. This is apparent from

the sarcastic Jewish joke that ‘where there

are two Jews there are three opinions’. It

is therefore a tempting approach to

colour all Jews with the same brush. This

is both irresponsible and scurrilous. The

Jewish community should not be a target

of animosity and false accusations. The

blood libels of the past surely have, or

should have, disappeared a long time ago.

Lies and misinformation do us great harm

and do not do justice to the society which

we hope to build.

The State of Israel came into existence in

May 1948 because the world realised that

the long-awaited homeland for the Jews

was not only their - and our- right but

also well deserved. It is worth

remembering that the vote at the United

Nations and Israel’s Declaration of

Independence brought about an attack, by

the Arab World of the day, on the newly

created State. Its purpose was to destroy

Israel and push its inhabitants into the

sea. Ever since, Israel has had to fight for

its survival. Of course Israel has made and

is still making mistakes but it does not

deserve to be constantly bombarded,

causing its inhabitants to fear for their

lives. Indeed it and the rest of world

Jewry do not deserve to be continually

harassed or accused of either apartheid or

discrimination. Israel, a land full of

invention, is so often the first to show

goodwill and humanity, offering

assistance when natural disasters strike.

There is no doubt in my mind that anti-

Israel sentiments are closely linked to anti

-Semitism, as illustrated by the following

tale:-

Lot, the unfortunate one of Biblical

history, was stumbling blindly

through the torrid sand when a

Voice spoke: ‘Just to keep the

record straight, this has nothing to

do with your being Jewish!’

A treasure-trove of American

Jewish Humour by Henry D.

Spalding (p.312)

Today’s anti-Semitism has donned

another cloak, as Frederic Raphael in his

book Anti-Semitism writes: ‘An elaborate

distinction has been drawn between anti-

Zionism - an honourable contagion - and

hatred of Jews in general’. In accordance

with that principle, Gunter Grass

announced just before he died (15 April

2015), that Israel was the greatest, if not

the only, threat to world peace. He,

however, forgot to tell the world, that in

1944, he was recruited willingly into the

Waffen SS.

I think that there are other threats to

world peace and whilst Israel is of

concern, there are other forces such as we

have seen in the cases of Charlie Hebdo,

or the other atrocities in Paris and

Brussels. The exploitation of humanity

and the suppression of women’s rights in

many parts of the globe are more

dangerous and threatening.

Recently I have been asked to share my

thoughts and feelings regarding my friend

and colleague Rabbi Hugo Gryn. He was a

Holocaust survivor and a staunch

supporter of Israel. In his book Chasing

Shadows he says ‘The sad truth is that

tyranny and race hatred did not end when

the Second World War ended’. Indeed

seventy-one years after the horrors of that

devastating war, surely it is time for

hatred to come to an end. Rabbi

Friedlander, a great teacher of the history

of the Holocaust, used to quote the

Prophet Micah (6:8) ‘It hath been told

thee, O man, what is good, and what the

LORD doth require of thee: only to do

justly, and to love mercy, and to walk

humbly with thy God’.

I pray that we will realise that the world

is, as Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav said ‘A

narrow bridge’, so we must all see it as a

challenge rather than a battle.

With all good wishes and B’Shalom for a

wonderful Summer.

Yours sincerely,

RAS

FROM THE RABBI

… if you do not deal with a cancerous growth immediately and radically, it spreads

3

COMMENT

4

When the young Charles Darwin joined

HMS Beagle as its on-board naturalist in

1831, he could hardly have imagined the

effect that his discoveries were to have on

Victorian religious belief. The voyage

lasted five years during which Darwin

visited parts of the world hardly known to

western man, observing, collecting and

exploring; in 1859 he finally published the

results as On the Origin of Species by

Means of Natural Selection, or the

Preservation of Favoured Races in the

Struggle for Life.

The book shook England’s traditional

beliefs to the core. The Bible had guided

the Jews and all the Christian churches to

accept that the world was 6,000 years old;

that every word was historically accurate

and that ‘the world had been created by a

sudden divine fiat and all the species of

animals as well as man were ready-made.’

Geology, palaeontology and the study of

animals, insects and plants, all played a

part in disturbing the foundations of the

Victorians’ cosy belief in God’s work of

creation, as the Bible told it. Even before

Darwin, Charles Lyall’s Principles of

Geology had sought to explain the creation

of the material world by placing it millions

of years before Noah’s flood.

Theories of gradual evolution over a very

long time, as opposed to instant creation,

were simply theories, though scientifically

thought through. Darwin, however, was

able to add practical proof to those ideas.

What applied to the animal kingdom had to

apply to man. Never, since the

Reformation, had the Church been dealt

such a blow; and this was not a matter of

affiliation or forms of worship, but of the

deepest belief, belief in the Bible story as it

had been accepted for nearly two thousand

years.

A.N. Wilson, in his book, God’s Funeral, a

remarkable account of the problems of

belief and the coming of atheism, suggests

that God gradually withdraws from man

through the books of the Bible, until in the

book of Esther he is not mentioned at all.

He says, ‘It is one of the reasons, I suspect,

that the Victorians, who were so well-

versed in the Bible, found the religious

developments in their century so alarming’.

If the theory of Natural Selection disturbed

the Christian community, how much more

was it a problem for the Jews? They had

been brought up for thousands of years to

believe that God created the world in six

days, that Eve ate of the forbidden apple

and brought sin into the world and that

history started when Noah saved mankind

from the flood.

Creation, according to Darwin and Lyall,

now insisted on a far longer period of a

gradually emerging world, contradicting

the Bible story and turning Jewish history

on its head.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews still adhere to the

traditional account, refusing to accept that

the Bible is a man-made story to explain in

an easily understood way, how the earth

was formed. But even in the Middle Ages,

long before Darwin proved his theory,

Maimonides said that not every statement

in Genesis is meant literally; that Jews

should understand the Torah in a way that

was compatible with the findings of

science. He went so far as to say that if

science and the Torah told a different tale

then either science was not understood or

the Torah was misinterpreted. He was

prepared to accept that the view of the

creation in Genesis was not to be taken

literally. This remarkably forward-looking

view of creation was shocking in its time,

but has since proved to be an important

cornerstone in the understanding of the

Jewish acceptance of evolutionary theory.

By the end of the nineteenth century

Kabbalists had explained the apparent

conflict of the Bible story and the theory of

Natural Selection. It is a part of the

Kabbalist contention that the whole of

creation is in a constant state of evolution

from lower to higher forms. They take the

view that the Biblical ‘day’ was actually a

much longer period, that the 6,000 years

since the flood, was therefore very much

longer and Darwin’s theory fitted in quite

well with Biblical belief. This idea makes it

difficult to explain the ‘evening and the

morning’ phrases, so important to the

Genesis tale. Nevertheless, the Jewish

calendar was fixed in the fourth century

and still dates from the notional creation of

5,700 years ago.

If, as Darwin insisted, all living matter

comes from one single atom, and each

evolved separately from it - the survival of

the fittest - then it can be explained by the

belief that God started the ball rolling in the

first place. Any difficulty we may have in

accepting the Biblical truth could be a part

of what was once known as the ‘hidden

Torah’, an interpretation of the mystery

which may not be ours to know. Rabbi Dr.

Louis Jacobs, in the book which created

such a scandal among Orthodox Jews when

it appeared in 1957, We Have Reason to

Believe, deals with the point. ‘If eternal

truth is to be revealed to man and

expressed in his language so that he can

grasp its substance, it can only be

transmitted in a manner which reflects the

thought-patterns of the age in which the

revelation takes place.’

Progressive Jews find it easier to accept the

Biblical story of creation and to reconcile it

with scientific discovery than do the

Orthodox, who tend to turn away from

change or development as far as Judaism is

concerned. But while accepting Darwin’s

theory of Natural Selection, we have no

need to put away our Bibles. Those ancient

storytellers hold our attention every time

we read that first book, draw to their story

great artists and musicians, and ensure that

the privilege of being Jewish can never be

lost.

PB

Evolution and the

Jews

we have no need to put away our Bibles

Charles Darwin

(1809-1882)

ANGLO-JEWISH HISTORY

5

Until the passing of the Promissory Oaths

Act of 1868, no Jew could take his seat in

Parliament, however legally he may have

been elected. This applied to a Dissenter

and an Atheist as well as a Jew, as he had

to swear an oath ‘as a member of the

Church of England’. This he was obviously

not prepared to do. Catholics had been

granted full emancipation in 1829, though

their oath ended ‘solemnly abjure any

intention to subvert the present Church

establishment’.

Baron Lionel de Rothschild had been

elected five times as Member for the City of

London, each time appearing in the House

but unable to take his seat. In 1847 a Bill

was introduced in the House of Commons

to allow a Jew to swear on the Old

Testament, without commitment to the

Christian faith. It passed all three readings

the following year but was defeated in the

Lords. The issue was repeated in 1849.

In 1850 David Salomons was duly elected

as Member for Greenwich and insisted on

taking his seat. He was ordered by the

Speaker to withdraw immediately. This he

refused to do. The House moved to

adjourn and Salomons voted in the division

which followed. The House was in uproar

and Lord John Russell, the Prime Minister,

ordered him to withdraw. He duly replied

in a quiet but firm speech, which won the

sympathy of the House, although Russell’s

motion was passed. The matter then went

to the Courts, which declared Salomons’

occupation of the seat invalid and fined

him £500 for each vote he took in the

House. In 1855 he was elected Lord Mayor

of London.

Two more Bills were presented to allow the

oath to be taken by non-Christians, each

time being refused by the House of Lords.

Finally the two Houses met together in

conference and the Jews Relief Act of 1858

was passed allowing Jews to omit that part

of the oath requiring the words ‘on the true

faith of a Christian’. On 26th July 1858

Lionel de Rothschild held the Old

Testament, his head covered and swore the

oath, ending ‘so help me, Jehovah’.

The actual form of the oath today runs:

I, (Insert full name), do swear that I will be

faithful and bear true allegiance to Her

Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and

successors, according to law. So help me

God. Those who do not wish to swear on

any religious grounds may affirm, in which

case the last phrase is omitted. Quakers

were already permitted to affirm, a right

which was granted in 1866 as their faith did

not allow them to swear an oath at all.

Charles Bradlaugh was elected in 1880 and

as an atheist refused to swear. He asked to

affirm and not to take the Oath of

Allegiance. He was denied his seat.

The Oath of Allegiance is taken by all new

members on taking their seats and by all

members at the start of a new Parliament.

Those who wish to swear on a sacred text

are offered the choice of a New Testament,

an Old Testament (in English, Hebrew or

English and Hebrew), on the Koran, the

Granth (the Sikh scripture), the Welsh

Bible, the Gaelic Bible or the Cornish Bible.

The books, which may not be handled by

non-believers, are kept in slip-cases. The

text is also available in Braille.

The First Jewish President…

and her Mother

The year is 2020 and the US has

elected the first Jewish President.

She telephones her mother a few

weeks after Election Day and

invites her to her inauguration.

Her Mother immediately begins

complaining.

‘I'll need to book a flight and it's

going to cost such a lot - it is just

too much of a bother.’

Her daughter counters, ‘Mom! I'm

the President! I'll send Airforce

One for you!’

‘I'll need to catch a taxi and carry

my luggage. It's just too much!’

‘Mom! I'm the President! I'll pick

you up in my limo! Then my guards

will carry your luggage for you!’

‘I'll need to book a hotel.’

‘Mom! Don't be ridiculous! I'm the

President! You can stay at the

White House!’

‘Okay, fine,’ she finally agrees and

on 20th January 2021 Susan

Goldstein is being sworn in as

President of the United States.

In the front row sits the new

President’s mother, who leans over

to a senator sitting next to her and

whispers, ‘You see that woman over

there becoming President of the

United States?’

The Senator nods. ‘Well’, says the

proud mother, ‘her brother is a

doctor!’

Taking the Oath

Lionel de Rothschild being introduced in the House of Commons 1858.

Henry Barraud

William Holman Hunt (1827-1910) was

one of the founder members of the Pre-

Raphaelite Brotherhood. This article

does not cover Hunt’s whole life, even in

outline. It is the story of two of his early

‘Holy Land’ Paintings, The Finding of

the Saviour in the Temple and The

Scapegoat, with a brief account of why I

believe Christian Zionism was important

to him, and a summary of his active

support for political Zionism in his later

years.

My interest in Hunt began in 2009,

during a stay in Jerusalem. I visited the

house which he built in 1876 and in

which he lived with his second wife,

Edith Waugh. I drank coffee in their

kitchen at 64 Street of the Prophets. I

read Hunt’s original letters, parts of his

autobiography, and letters he wrote to

the Jewish Chronicle and The Times. Art

Historian Nick Tromans’ chapter

‘Palestine, Picture of Prophecy’ in the

book Holman Hunt and the Pre-

Raphaelite Vision made me wonder why

so few Pre-Raphaelite cognoscenti know

about Hunt’s passionate belief in

Zionism - Christian, yes, but also

political, and being of its time,

unashamedly colonialist/imperialist.

Two Vocations, Not One

As a young man, Hunt joined Dante

Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais

and others to establish The Pre-

Raphaelite Brotherhood. In 1851-3,

drawn to religious themes for his work,

he painted The Light of the World.

While painting, he underwent a genuine

religious experience. By 1853 his

painting The Awakening Conscience was

expressing a religiously moral outlook to

which other Pre-Raphaelites did not

seem to aspire.

In 1854, Hunt paid his first visit to the

Holy Land, consumed by now with two

vocations rather than one. The first was

to revitalise religious art. He travelled in

search of ‘accurate topographical and

ethnographical material for further

religious works’. Ethnographical

accuracy combined with biblical

symbolism.

Being a Pre-Raphaelite meant painting

with meticulous detail what the artist

saw in front of him. Authentic colour and

scenery were important. Painting Christ

and his disciples as Jews, as he thought

they ought to look, was part of this

process. But his other aim was to hold on

to his commitment to Christianity with

absolute conviction. This dual purpose

led him to return six more times to the

Holy Land, spending seven years of his

life there. ‘I wanted,’ he wrote, ‘to use

my powers to make more tangible Jesus

Christ’s history and teaching.’ But it

was his need to keep believing, his

struggle to make sense of his Christian

beliefs in the world as he experienced it,

that led to his Zionism.

The Finding of the Saviour in the

Temple

During his first visit to Jerusalem in

1854-55, Hunt was impressed by the

eccentric Canadian prophet of Christian

Zionism, Henry Wentworth Monk. Monk

thought developments in travel that

enabled people from Europe to reach

Jerusalem were signs of divine

intervention which would lead to the

return of the Jews and the ultimate

second coming of Christ.

Dazzled by the heat, light, scenery and,

the mix of people and cultures - Turkish,

Arab, Jewish, Christian, Muslim - Hunt

set about painting The Finding of the

Saviour in the Temple. But this

presented him with challenges. He was

clearly a Christian. Jews were reluctant

to sit for him, to model characters -

Rabbis in the temple - of the first

century. They suspected him of being a

missionary. Only through the good

offices of Frederic Mocatta and Moses

Montefiore, who both happened to be

visiting Jerusalem, was it conveyed

through a Rabbi that this artist was not

seeking to convert Jews but to paint

them.

A few Jewish men posed for him, but he

was still concerned about their attitudes

to Christianity. So he left a space on the

canvas for the Holy Family, and painted

these in when he got back to London.

Mary was modelled by Mary Ada

Mocatta, wife of Frederic, and Christ by a

boy from The Jews Free School. For the

completion of the interior of the Temple,

Hunt used the Alhambra Court at the

6

LEGENDS OF THE BIBLE 5

The Scapegoat

The Scapegoat (1854-6) William Holman Hunt

Mary was modelled by Mary Ada Mocatta, wife of Frederic, and Christ by a boy from The Jews Free School

Crystal Palace. Actually, this was in the

style of the medieval Moorish rulers of

Granada in Spain.

The Painting of the Scapegoat by the

Dead Sea

Probably because he had had trouble

persuading people to model for him, Hunt

next decided to paint a goat. The

Scapegoat - now at the Lady Lever

Gallery, Port Sunlight - depicts the Sa’ir

La’Azazel, the scapegoat mentioned in

Leviticus 16, sent into the desert by the

High Priest on Yom Kippur, to carry away

the sins of the Children of Israel. A

restorationist, Hunt saw this animal as a

symbolic precursor to Christ, the

sacrificial lamb of God. Odd as it may

seem to us now, he hoped that by looking

at The Scapegoat, Jews would have cause

to reflect on its meaning.

In 1854 Hunt arrived with his entourage at

the Dead Sea, Sodom, to paint The

Scapegoat. The company had the

protection of the British Consul in

Jerusalem, and camped alongside a

Sheikh’s tent. The Sheikh’s son Suleiman

watched the artist curiously, not

fathoming what was happening. Then, as

Hunt danced to keep warm in the cold

desert wind, Suleiman realised what was

going on. This artist, he announced, must

be a holy man. Hunt was invited to visit

Suleiman’s father, the Sheikh. The

Sheikh’s daughter was offered to him in

marriage, but he declined. Then the goat

died. After returning to Jerusalem - with

sand and salt crystals to spread at the feet

of the next model - Hunt sent two men

across the Jordan to find a second goat.

Sadly this one perished too. A third goat

survived and so, I am glad to say, has the

astonishing painting.

Why was Hunt a Zionist?

In a life that encompassed two marriages,

six separate visits to the Holy Land, and

commitment to an artistic career, Hunt

was sustained by two different belief

systems. His portrait of Henry Wentworth

Monk, shows Monk holding a Bible in one

hand and The Times in the other. Hunt’s

twin sources of moral and historical

authority came from the British Empire’s

value to the world, and also that of the

Bible. In his own handwritten letters, I

read how Hunt, the Christian, was

tortured by doubts about certain truths,

specifically the literal truth of the

Resurrection. Seeing that one prophecy -

that of the return of the Jews - was

beginning to be fulfilled before his eyes,

allowed him to believe in all the other

prophecies and miracles about which he

suffered anguished doubt. It brought calm

to his soul.

What did he actually do to help the

Zionist cause?

It was after his fourth and last visit

Jerusalem in 1892 that Hunt became an

openly committed political Zionist, in that

he began to put pen to paper writing

letters to friends, The Times, and the

Jewish Chronicle. After writing to the

Jewish Chronicle, advocating Zionism on

political grounds, Hunt explained in an

interview in The Daily Chronicle that he

wanted to see the Turks removed from

Palestine, and a Jewish State created ‘to

the full extent of the Promised Land as

indicated to Moses’. The Arabs, he argued

would rather be ruled by Jews than by

Turks, and in any case had no aspirations

themselves either to rule, or even to own

land. In April 1896 he lectured in

Shoreditch Town Hall in aid of the B’nai

Zion Association. In July 1896 Hunt met

Theodore Herzl at a meeting of the

Maccabeans. Hunt, known as ‘one of the

most high-profile gentile supporters of the

cause of Zionism in Britain’ in the 1890’s

was invited to respond to Herzl’s address.

In his diary, Herzl complained that Hunt

‘claimed to have the idea of a Jewish

political entity even before I had it’.

Whatever prayer means to you, you will

know that our liturgy refers frequently to a

land promised to us, as Jews, by God.

DF

About the Author

DF lived in Israel before moving to

Manchester in 1977. She is a playwright

who has based her play, The Scapegoat,

on the research she has detailed above.

The Scapegoat was commissioned by

Manchester Art Gallery in 2009. It had

readings at Tate Britain and the London

Jewish Museum. It runs in two timelines -

Britain and Israel today and Britain and

the Holy Land in Victorian times. It is

about art and religious Zionism. In it, The

Scapegoat steps out of his frame and

speaks – then and now. Hunt`s ideas

and art are seen at different times,

through the eyes of various people, as

well as objectively. Religious Zionism is a

pivotal concept and theatrical motif in the

play.

D has written fifteen plays and has

published many stories and poems.

More recently, she has completed a

novel – Mrs. F.

7

The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple (1854-5 ) William Holman Hunt

8

Of all the people who have been thrilled by

a visit to the Taylor-Schechter Genizah

collection in Cambridge, I wonder how

many will have given more than a cursory

thought to the two women who were

responsible for bringing it to the attention

of the world.

Until I read this book, the subtitle of

which is How two Lady Adventurers

found the Hidden Gospels, I had always

imagined that the twins Margaret and

Agnes had had a chance meeting with a

shady dealer in Egypt and somehow been

offered some scraps of manuscripts which

had, on examination, been revealed as

ancient Hebrew documents. I had not

realised that these two women, born in

1843, had travelled widely and amassed

many other interesting items and artefacts

before the documents, which became the

Genizah collection, came into their

possession.

Their mother having died two weeks after

their birth, their father, a Scottish solicitor

determined to bring them up himself.

They had no other close relatives. It was a

strictly religious household. Their father

saw to it that they were as well educated as

boys would have been at that time. When

he realised that they both had a gift for

languages he promised to take them to any

country whose tongue they had mastered.

While still quite young they were fluent in

French, German and Italian so the three of

them explored much of Europe. When the

girls were thirteen, their father inherited

an enormous sum of money from a distant

relative who was also a client, and, as a

result, had to go to America for a year in

order to tie up the affairs of this man. He

left the twins in the care of good friends,

having arranged that they were sent to

boarding school. He was away for a year.

When they left their school he sent them

to a finishing school in Knightsbridge,

which taught them the finer points of what

would be required of young ladies from a

good family who would marry and run a

home.

They were only twenty three when their

father died. They were suddenly alone -

and very rich. They had always enjoyed

travelling round Europe with him and they

wanted to go further afield. So in 1868,

they undertook the first of their

adventures; they travelled to Cairo. They

invited one of their former school teachers

from London, Grace Blythe, to accompany

them. They travelled by a wonderfully

circuitous route, the description of which

is riveting. The author gives us

information on contemporary world

affairs and puts the travel in that context.

They returned from their trip and moved

to London where Margaret met and fell in

love with a priest, James Gibson, and they

became engaged in 1872 - although the

marriage was postponed several times.

The girls decided to study Greek, and

having acquired the ability to speak and

read that language, they went on another

trip – to Greece. Back home in 1883

Margaret married Gibson – 17 years her

senior – after an eleven-year engagement.

He died only three years later.

Margaret was devastated and Agnes took

her to Cambridge to help her to get over

her loss. There they met a Librarian and

Keeper of Manuscripts who was also a

clergyman and a collector of antiques. The

girls invited him to visit them in the Easter

holidays. He and Agnes fell in love and

married in 1887 and the three settled in

Cambridge. Sadly, that marriage too

ended in the early death of the bridegroom

- just over three years later.

In Cambridge, Agnes and Margaret met

Robertson Smith, a Professor of Arabic,

and through him were introduced to

Solomon Schecter. He was the Cambridge

Reader in Rabbinics and he was a pious

Jew. The Romanian-born Schecter had

been persuaded by Claude Montefiore to

move to England from Berlin where he

was a tutor, and he was now a member of

Christ’s College.

When Agnes’ husband died, the two

widows decided that they would travel

again. This time they wanted to tread the

paths of the Israelites’ forty-years in the

desert and to see where Moses had shown

them the Ten Commandments. They

particularly wanted to visit the monastic

library of St. Catherine’s. To do that, they

had to get the permission of the

Archbishop of Mount Sinai but eventually

they were able to visit the library.

There are many more chapters about the

various voyages and adventures of these

unusual women but is not until Chapter

twenty-three that we finally learn about

the sixth-century Syriac copy of

Maccabees which had been shown to

Agnes and which prompted them to start a

completely new venture.

Back in Cambridge, the women sorted

through the various fragments of

manuscripts that they had brought back

and decided to show them to Solomon

Schechter. Thus was born what finally

became the Genizah collection. This is, for

me, the most important part of the book.

The author JS, Professor of Philosophical

Theology at Cambridge University, spends

quite a lot of time giving us the

background story concerning the

religionists who were, at that time,

interested in the origins of the Old and

New Testaments. Through her thorough

research of the subject she wanders down

some side tracks which, although they

have some bearing on the twins’ saga,

could have been condensed to smooth the

flow of the narrative. However, the

descriptions of the hazardous and

extremely uncomfortable conditions of

travel undertaken by these intrepid

women do much to show just how

dedicated these voyagers were.

There is a large bibliography and there are

copious explanatory notes if one wishes to

delve further into this fascinating story.

This is a beautifully researched book and,

despite its depth of detail, it is eminently

readable and I recommend it most highly.

CC

By happy coincidence. a group from

Westminster Synagogue recently visited

the Cambridge Geniza Collection and a

report of their visit appears opposite.

BOOK REVIEW

SISTERS OF SINAI

by

JS

Vintage 2010

According to the Mishnah ‘all sacred

writings may be saved from a fire,

whether we read them or not, and even if

they are written in any language, they

must be hidden’. This is the basis on

which the Geniza – a storage place - is

established. On 24th May a group of

Westminster members enjoyed a

fascinating visit to the Geniza Collection

at Cambridge.

This extraordinary repository of old

books, documents and papers was

deposited in the Cambridge University

Library under the direction of Solomon

Schechter, Professor of Jewish Studies at

the University. He was made aware of a

huge number of ancient Jewish

documents in the Ben Ezra Synagogue at

Fustad, old Cairo, by the two sisters who

were exploring Sinai and the Middle

East. The first document he examined

was to put in train a remarkable series of

events culminating in the work of

scholars, translators and conservators

over many years. It was, Schechter

realised, a part of the original Hebrew

version, hitherto undiscovered, of the

Book of Wisdom, Ecclesiastes.

Amazed by what he saw, Schechter went

to Cairo in 1895 to examine the Genizah,

a hidden storeroom in the Synagogue

where for centuries the community had

thrown into this deep hiding place all the

papers they no longer needed. Schechter

brought thousands back to Cambridge

where his team examined the fragments

of paper, some unreadable, where they

discovered a huge quantity of material.

Among the most exciting were

documents in the hand of Moses

Maimonides, many signed, which

included personal letters and advice to

those who wrote to him asking for help.

The language in which the documents

were written was mostly Arabic, but in

Hebrew script, some dating back to the

Second Temple. They included Rabbinic

literature, poetry, personal letters,

official Islamic documents, papers on

medical theory and practice and

astronomy, Ketubot and pre-nuptial

agreements, even shopping lists and

household accounts. They revealed

much about the everyday life of these

Egyptian Jews. A Haggadah included in

the collection had five questions instead

of four!

Among the most interesting papers were

children’s schoolbooks, one in full colour

(above) showing the Hebrew alphabet

arranged for children to copy, and others

in an uneven childish hand perhaps the

doodles of an inattentive scholar! There

were many illustrations of spells, amu-

lets and talismans, and one with musical

notation from the convert, Obadiah of

Normandy.

The cosmopolitan nature of

contemporary Egypt was clear in a

Koran in Hebrew and a Bible in Arabic.

There were fragments from the Dead Sea

Scrolls dated many years before those

found at Qumran, and there were many

palimpsests (one text written over

another).

The Taylor-Schechter Research Unit

(Charles Taylor was a colleague at Cam-

bridge) comprises the largest collection

in the world of early Hebrew fragments,

and has occupied scholars since it

arrived at Cambridge in 1896. We were

fortunate enough to listen to a talk about

the Geniza Collection, by Dr. Zvi Stamfer

of the University of Jerusalem, now

working at the Unit and after many

questions he showed us some of the

items in the collection laid out on tables.

It was a most remarkable visit and we

were grateful to those who arranged it.

Before the Plenary Session of the Board

on 15th May, a meeting was held of the

Women’s Group Committee. This group

was formed to strengthen the

representation of women on the Board,

and to encourage them to speak at

meetings. A summer meeting will be

arranged, for women only, on 17th July,

at which it is hoped to invite speakers.

At the full Plenary Session, the Board

was delighted to welcome the new Israeli

Ambassador, H.E. MR. He spoke about

Israel’s Independence Day, and the

strong relationship between Israel and

the UK. Deputies then discussed the

situation regarding the anti-Semitic

views of some among the Labour Party.

LE, Labour MP for Liverpool, explained

that she and others like her, were doing

their best to deal with that situation

amongst their colleagues - a small mi-

nority in the party.

Deputies had been given copies of the

Board’s new Plan – Working towards

2018 – which set out the aims of the

Board for the current Triennium. By

2018 it hopes ‘to find new ways of

educating the wider community about

Judaism and dramatically expand the

reach of projects such as the Jewish

Living Experience exhibition’.

9

OUT AND ABOUT

Visit to the

Genizah collection Board of Deputies

Serendipitous?

That we see, on this yellowed parchment

Wrinkled and faded, but still clear

The Rambam’s own bold hand

True servant of his piercing mind.

That here, wrested from time’s gut

With love, patience and great learning

The sweet songs of a long lost poet

Stand shy as a bride under the chuppah.

That this scrap of ancient vellum

With a few words of Ben Sira

Should fall into the hands of Schecter

The one man who understood its worth.

No, no! This is not serendipity

This is the guiding hand of the Almighty.

JS

ANGLO-JEWISH HISTORY

10

How many of us remember our

grandparents lapsing into Yiddish ‘so that

the children can’t understand’? We didn’t

want to understand, for Yiddish was an

ugly foreign language that belonged to the

far distant past, reminding us of gestures

and catchwords that had no bearing on

our English surroundings. They say that

however long you may have been speaking

a new language, you will always revert to

your native tongue when you count and

when you swear. But if Yiddish has died

out in ordinary conversation between

Jews it has left its mark on the English

language.

Recently a Christian minister, speaking on

‘Thought for the Day’, and referring to a

cheeky street-sleeper for whom he had

bought a cup of tea, admired his

respondent for her chutzpah (except that

he pronounced it shut sper!). That same

word appeared not long ago in the Times

crossword. There is no other word in the

English language to define so precisely the

pert, daring nerve of such behaviour. And

how else can one express the nuisance

value of getting home having forgotten an

item of shopping but by having to shlep all

the way back again? And is there a way in

English to describe the naughty charm of

a small boy except by calling him a

lobbus? Schmooze, meaning to chat to

someone or t0 gossip, especially to butter

them up, is quite common – there is even

a Schmooze Wine Bar in Liverpool -

obviously a suitable place for relaxing at

the end of the day!

Most words with a Yiddish origin derive

from everyday activities such as schluf

(sleep) or schtum (to keep quiet).

Expressions of surprise such as ‘0y veh’ or

‘oy gevalt’ are often used by non-Jews in

similar circumstances. Wikipedia,

explaining the meaning, kindly offers the

example ‘when you realize you're about to

be hit by a car, this expression would be

appropriate’!

Many such words of Yiddish origin come

of course from America, especially New

York. A schemozzle means a mess or

confusion in any tongue, and many words

starting with schm or schl often derive

from Yiddish. The influx of Jews from

Eastern Europe into New York brought

with it many ‘folk’ words from their

country of origin, which in turn have been

borrowed by industry and commerce. The

rag trade became the schmutter trade, and

on the West Coast the Jews in the film

industry frequently used Yiddish to

express themselves. Jimmy Durante, the

comedian, was known as schnozzle

Durante for his big nose. One of the most

popular songs of the Hollywood era was

My Yiddishe Momma, made famous by

Sophie Tucker, but later recorded by Al

Jolson, who was Jewish, and Tom Jones

who isn’t.

The Jewish love of food has brought many

Yiddish words into everyday English.

Nosh is used frequently, and even appears

in the names of small cafes on the High

Street. Beigels (now bagels), gefilte fish,

blintzes, latkes, all have their derivation in

Jewish Eastern Europe but can be seen on

any supermarket shelf (and not the kosher

counter). Many Americans talk of lox

instead of smoked salmon.

Few Jewish families in England today

remember any Yiddish except the

occasional words they use in everyday

conversation. An exception to this is

among the Charedim, ultra-orthodox Jews

who maintain much of the life they knew

when their ancestors lived in the shtetls of

Eastern Europe. An investigation into

education facilities in Stamford Hill and

other such Jewish areas has revealed that

some of the unregistered schools there use

only Yiddish for teaching, and it is often

the language of the home. Many Jewish

children are growing up with little or no

English, surely an extraordinary state of

affairs for those born here, or whose

parents were born here.

Nevertheless, most would agree that the

language of the Jews coming from Russia,

the Ukraine, Poland and other Near

Eastern countries should not be lost

altogether. The Yiddish Theatre of the

East End enjoys revival performances

from time to time, while the Jewish

Museum is currently showing the Theatre

in virtual performances online. Spiro Ark

offers courses in Yiddish and there is a

Yiddish Choir performing in London.

One journalist and broadcaster who is

much involved with the Yiddish scene is

DM, who frequently writes and speaks

about the Theatre and other Yiddish news.

David is the grandson of Ruth Shaffer, the

first Chairman of the Memorial Scrolls

Trust at Westminster Synagogue, and

great grandson of perhaps the greatest

Yiddish writer of them all, Sholem Asch.

A recent edition of the Jewish Chronicle

included an article suggesting that Yiddish

derives, not from Germany or Eastern

Europe but from much earlier Turkish or

Iranian traders using the silk road.

However, Jewish academics dismiss the

idea as fanciful, and maintain the

traditional origins most of us know so

well.

However unpleasing we may find the

language to the ear, and however much we

may wish to gloss over some of the less

attractive elements in our past, we cannot

deny that Yiddish is a vital part of all

Ashkenazi Jews. It belongs to our

tradition and it would be a tragedy if it

were to disappear altogether.

Yiddish Today

Jimmy ‘Schnozzle’ Durante

Yiddish… has left its mark on the English language

11

My visit to the Islamic Centre in Stanmore

was arranged through a friend connected

with Harrow Interfaith, a very active

North London group which works

together to improve relations with many

different religions. I was unsure as to how

to behave when I went in, but from the

shelving all around the entrance hall it

was clear that this was where I should

leave my shoes! All of the women coming

and going had bare or stockinged feet, and

I had been warned to bring a covering for

my head. Then my delightful hostess took

me through to the prayer hall, for women

only. In fact I saw no men at all while I

was there.

The Stanmore Mosque - it is actually a

fully equipped Islamic Centre - used to be

a nursing home which the community

bought a few years ago. It is not a

beautiful building but is a lively and busy

one catering for all ages. It offers a

meeting place for older Muslim women -

rather like our day centres - who can have

a meal and meet friends. There is a

kindergarten, on Montessori lines, whose

children seemed busy and happy, a

bookshop and a big kitchen which caters

for any of the community who need some

sustenance.

The women’s quarters consist of fully

carpeted rooms leading into each other,

light and airy though very warm and there

seemed to be constant traffic in and out of

the big room where women were praying,

mostly enveloped in a large white garment

which covered them completely. I saw

several women carrying these; clearly they

had been freshly laundered and ironed,

ready to put on. It was the time of midday

prayers, with a man’s voice coming

through a loud speaker to lead the

worshippers and a low drone of chanting

voices. I noticed that no one used a

prayer book of any kind, nor was there

anything resembling an altar or ark or

bima, though there were lines woven into

the carpets showing the direction of

Mecca and where the worshippers could

place themselves. I was also shown a

large glass cabinet, full of temples and

shrines, beautifully made in gold and

silver.

Muslims use no seats when praying; they

move continually, prostrating themselves,

kneeling and using their bodies and arms

in supplication. Observant Muslims pray

five times a day: at dawn, noon,

afternoon, evening and night. If such a

prayer is missed it cannot be made up, the

worshippers can only ask forgiveness.

When they leave the room of prayer it is

completely empty, with no images,

pictures or furniture. The women are

totally cut off from the men, by a screen

much more opaque than a mechitza or

gallery. It is impossible for the sexes to

see each other at all. I visited the Mosque

at the time of midday prayers, but there

seemed to be no formal service, no

beginning or end. People came in and out

as they wished, some stayed a few

minutes, others for a longer time. The

doors remained open all the time.

I asked my friend U many questions

which she answered frankly and easily.

She told me that many of those who used

the Mosque had come to England from

East Africa, as so many Asians did. Most

of the women I spoke to had excellent

English, though they spoke to each other

in either Urdu or Arabic. They wore

western clothes though well covered up.

Some of the older ones wore voluminous

black garments, though none had their

faces covered. I asked about the children

of the community. There is nothing in

Islam to compare with a Bar - or Bat-

Mitzvah ceremony, or even Confirmation.

The children, as they grow to adulthood,

decide on their own commitment to their

religion, but it is not a family celebration.

On Friday afternoon, the Muslim Sabbath,

the Mosque is apparently crowded. At the

midday service there is usually a sermon,

given by the Imam, often in English and

Arabic. The special prayer services start

then, rather than earlier in the morning,

but Saturday is also a very busy day, more

of a social event, with children’s classes

(the madrassa), and the opportunity for

families to visit together.

It seemed to me that I was in a foreign

country. In any synagogue today a visitor

would feel at ease whatever religion he

belonged to, but Muslim mosques are still

in a different world, as were the

synagogues 300 years ago. Perhaps in

another 300 years English people will

visit a mosque and feel at home, but I

rather doubt it.

PB

Observant Muslims pray five times a day: at dawn, noon, afternoon, evening and night

A Visit to a Mosque

OUT AND ABOUT

Westminster Chai

Shavuot is traditionally about

study, and this year the

Synagogue introduced

Westminster Chai, a whole day of

workshops, lectures and activities

in extremely varied sessions, at

which twenty speakers covered a

wide range of subjects from

Cooking and Yoga to Israel and

Jewish History.

The brainchild of Jonathan

Zecharia and modelled on

Limmud, people were able to dip

in and out of any of the twenty

interesting and enjoyable events.

It is hoped that similar days will

be held in the future.

12

COMMENT

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy is

acknowledged as one of the greatest

novelists of all time. Those of us who have

read War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and

Resurrection, to mention but three of his

vast output, are aware of the breadth of

his understanding of the human condition

and the ultimate responsibility we have

for our actions. It is true that Tolstoy, like

many geniuses, had a blind spot, namely

failing to apply his profound insight into

human relations to his personal life; his

marriage to Sophia Andreyevna reveals

his lack of sensitivity and self-absorbed

nature, particularly in the last years they

were together. His marital problems

aside, what did this man have to say about

the condition of Jews living in the Russian

Empire?

The question is of interest because some

commentators have described his views as

anti-Semitic, a charge that may surprise

many people who have read and admired

Tolstoy's prose. Tolstoy makes a few

references to Jews in his novels. In War

and Peace, for example, there are five

references to Jews, all of which I would

describe as benign; and in Anna Karenina

and Resurrection there are altogether

nineteen mentions, again either benign or

descriptive of appearance and talent.

Tolstoy did not create a fully developed

Jewish character in his novels and some

have interpreted this as an indication of

latent anti-Semitism. This is quite

preposterous, since one could argue that

other minority groups living in the

Russian Empire were not included in

works of literature. It is true there are

frequent comments or allusions to

religion in his novels, but this would be

expected from a man who was steeped in

Orthodox Christianity. Tolstoy's non-

fiction writings, essays and letters, do

express his opinions of Jewish affairs, and

these suggest a degree of ambiguity

towards Jews. Human beings often

display a tendency to be inconsistent, and

when it comes to Tolstoy's

pronouncements on matters pertaining to

Judaism and Jews, that is exactly the case.

As the man became more and more

convinced of his ‘understanding’ of the

Gospels, he became less able to accept

those who did not share his religious

views. The fact that Tolstoy re-wrote the

Four Gospels, editing out the miracles

attributed to Jesus, says something of his

self-styled Christianity. However, there

are examples of Tolstoy acknowledging

the special contribution Jews have made

to humanity. In his essay What is a Jew?

(1891), he states:

The Jew is that sacred being who

has brought down from heaven the

everlasting fire, and has illumined

with it the entire world. He is the

religious source, spring, and

fountain out of which all the rest of

the peoples have drawn their

beliefs and their religions. The Jew

is the pioneer of liberty. The Jew is

the pioneer of civilisation. The Jew

is the emblem of eternity.

In 1885, in What I believe, Tolstoy makes

statements that are dismissive of Judaism

rather than anti-Semitic per se. His

Examination of the Gospels asserts that

Christianity did not follow Judaism:

Moses gave us the old law ‘an eye

for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’

and Christ repealed this law with

his own law ‘Resist not evil, or him

that is evil’.

Tolstoy appears to dismiss the Torah for

being replete with ‘such minute,

meaningless and often cruel rules’, as

opposed to Christianity, which for him, is

centred on love; quite how that love is

demonstrated is left a little vague. Giving

up property and living the life of a peasant

may be one interpretation of the love

espoused in the Gospels. In The Gospel in

Brief, published in 1882, when Tolstoy

was in late middle age, he declared - in my

view, misquoting or misrepresenting

Jesus - that the ‘Jewish Sabbath is a petty

detail and an invention of man.’ These

twists and turns continued throughout

Tolstoy’s life. In a letter to Getz, a Jewish

journalist, he stated:

The moral teaching of the Jews

and the practical example of their

lives stand incomparably higher

than the moral teaching and the

practical example set by the

people of our quasi-Christian

society… Judaism, by adhering to

the moral principles which it

professes, occupies a higher

position than quasi-Christianity in

everything that comprises the

goals of our society’s aspirations.

In 1906, he again shifts his ground,

commenting on the irreligious nature of

Judaism. But when in 1903 the Kishinev

pogrom took place, he wrote in protest at

the treatment of Jews, and contributed to

Sholem Aleichem's anthology in memory

of the victims.

If Tolstoy had been an out-and-out anti-

Semite he would not have attracted

Jewish disciples, like the talented

composer and pianist Goldenweiser, and

would certainly not have written articles

defending Jews and the contribution of

Jewish thought to civilisation. So how

does one explain the contradictions? One

may ask, how do we, as individuals,

explain our own contradictory behaviour?

Tolstoy as one of the monumental figures

of the nineteenth century has legitimately

Tolstoy and the Jew for All Seasons

Portrait

by

Ivan Kramskoy

(1827-1887)

Tolstoy with his wife Sophia Andreyevna

13

been taken to task for his conflicting views

about Jews and Judaism. I believe we

have to view his pronouncements as

reflecting his own uncertainties and

loathing for what he had been and what

he aspired to become, he also, as a man of

his time, mirrors the background

antiserums of Orthodox Christian society.

He started his adult life as a libertine,

went through a self-defined conversion,

led an austere life for decades, attracting

acolytes who subscribed to his main view

that love, as taught by Jesus, was the most

important driver for human happiness.

He antagonised the Orthodox Church,

being excommunicated in 1901, and

effectively created his own brand of

Christianity. He became very blinkered,

wishing to control his family and friends

and as a result attracted people whose

motives may be regarded as questionable.

The evidence quoted for asserting Tolstoy

was anti-Semitic, in the sense we

understand the term today, is not

convincing. He, like the majority of his

contemporary Christians, reflected

sentiments that were critical of Judaism.

For Christians, throughout the ages,

Judaism was regarded as the first phase in

God's revelation to the world; it is

Christianity that completes the story.

What such people fail to appreciate and

respect is that Christianity’s sister faiths

of Judaism and Islam stand alone; they

are not dependent on any other belief

system. Today, such awareness is more

prevalent, but there is still much to do

educationally to present Judaism as

distinctive. It is a viable religion in its own

right and is intellectually, culturally and

historically different from Christianity.

PB

Recently, members of Temple Emanu-

El in Tuscaloosa, AL, recipients of MST

#501 on loan, wanted to know the exact

age of their Scroll. Although the sofrim

who catalogued the Scrolls in 1964 did

record estimated ages in their notes;

unless a sofer/et has signed and dated

the parchment - or there is a another

specific point of reference - with the

naked eye it is difficult to date a Scroll

any closer than within fifty years. The

decision was made to carbon-date MST

#501.

An orphan Scroll, (i.e., the Czech town

of origin is unknown) originally thought

to be from the eighteenth or nineteenth

century, it was shown to have originated

between 1223 & 1315 CE. This would

make it between 700 & 792 years old,

and thus one of the oldest known

complete Torah Scrolls in the world. It

is likely that other such Scrolls may be

part of the MST collection – a noted

American sofer has suggested that a

fragment in the MST museum is

possibly from the fourteenth century.

Unfortunately, carbon-dating is an

expensive process, so it may be some

time before the Trust is able to follow

up such suggestions.

Some of the interesting visitors that

have toured the MST Museum recently

include Luciana Berger (MP for

Liverpool Wavertree), Rabbi Daniel

Freelander (President of the WUPJ),

Samara Hutman (Los Angeles Museum

of the Holocaust), Nathalie Tamam

(Conservative Friends of Israel), Oliver

Urquhart Irvine & colleagues (Librarian

of the Royal Library, Windsor), and the

Prime Minister, David Cameron.

RAF

The

Sayings

of the

Rabbis

People are accustomed to look

at the Heavens and wonder

what happened there.

It would be better if they would

look within themselves to see

what happens there.

RMMK

All the 613 commandments are

included in the Ten

Commandments.

R

Forget not the day of the

Sabbath. Its mention is like a

pleasant offering. During it, the

dove found resting place, and

there the weary may relax. YL

MEMORIAL SCROLLS TRUST

FROM AROUND THE WORLD

J and I had planned to go to Israel with

our good friends, T and CS, in the

autumn of 2014. But when Hamas began

shooting rockets from Gaza in the

summer of 2014, and with tensions

mounting, we decided to postpone our

trip. Our families were relieved, but

some of our friends in London were not

so understanding. They challenged us:

Wasn’t this exactly the time when Israel

most needed support from the diaspora?

In the spring of last year, I received an

e-mail from the New Israel Fund (NIF)

advertising a study tour that would focus

on meeting with groups funded by the

NIF. The tour seemed exactly what we

were after, and so we signed up and

made our plans to travel to Israel

between 25 October and 6 November.

But, as the departure day approached, it

was déjà vu all over again. Seemingly

random terrorist attacks, resulting in

new security measures and lots of

tension - should we go or shouldn’t we?

In fact, the decision was not hard.

Especially after having aborted our trip

in 2014, we decided that if the NIF tour

was going ahead, then we would too. We

told ourselves that if we were only willing

to visit Israel when things were calm, we

might wait a very long time.

The decision to go proved to be an

excellent one. Our group was thirteen in

total – nine Americans, two Brazilians

(our friends, T and C) and two

Australians. As you can see from the

‘team photo’, we weren’t exactly diverse

with respect to age – other than our

guide on the bus (in the middle), we were

all in our 60s or early 70s. But there was

considerable diversity in terms of

experience with Israel (several had lived

in Israel in their youth, while it was the

first trip for about four); and in terms of

interest in, and knowledge of,

Judaism. It was a great group - which

was fortunate since we were together for

seven days, from first thing in the

morning through dinner, with meeting

after meeting. No one tried to dominate

the conversation. Everyone listened to

everyone else. Everyone seemed to like

and respect everyone else. As we all

know, this is not so common.

The New Israel Fund

Let me acknowledge at the outset that

the New Israel Fund is a controversial

group. It is an unapologetically left-wing

organization that supports groups in

Israel that, in its view, support its

objectives. These objectives are

described as follows on its website:

‘The New Israel Fund (NIF) helps Israel

live up to its founders' vision of a state

that ensures complete equality of social

and political rights to all its inhabitants.

Our aim is to advance liberal

democracy, including freedom of speech

and minority rights, and to fight

inequality, injustice, and extremism that

diminish Israel.’

Among the groups that it funds - and

perhaps its most controversial grantee -

is Breaking the Silence, a group of ex-

IDF soldiers who were appalled by some

of the things they had to do as soldiers

on the West Bank to enforce what they

refer to as the occupation, or during the

various Gaza wars. The soldiers who are

part of Breaking the Silence feel that it is

important for all Israelis to hear their

stories, which they publish in books and

articles and distribute on the Internet.

But Breaking the Silence also tells its

stories at various international

conferences and meetings and, in the

view of many Israelis, provides fuel and

ammunition to Israel’s enemies. The

debate doesn’t seem to be about the

accuracy of the stories; the debate is

about whether Breaking the Silence is

doing more harm than good. And it is a

fierce debate. With this disclaimer out of

the way, on to some impressions.

Where do things stand with respect to

the two-state solution?

All the reading that I did before the trip

led me to suspect that no one in Israel

still thought that there was any chance of

a two-state solution. Looking from

outside, it might seem logical that a two-

state solution would be good for Israel as

well as the Palestinians. But, as time has

gone by, it has seemed increasingly

unlikely that either side is willing to

make the sacrifices and compromises

that would be required to bring it about.

What I hadn’t read about, however, and

what I was especially interested in, was -

what’s Plan B?

It was therefore a surprise to learn that

many of the left-wing groups that we met

still hold on to the dream of a two-state

solution. They don’t seem to believe that

it will happen anytime soon. And they

can’t really describe how it might come

about, given where everyone is today.

It’s more a hope than a prediction.

When we asked how a two-state solution

could emerge in the current political

environment, several people responded,

somewhat desperately, ‘We need better

leaders’. But as Naomi Chazen, an

Israeli academic and former head of the

NIF in Israel, later said at one of our

dinner meetings, ‘Saying you need better

leaders is not exactly a strategy.’

We heard an alternative analysis and

outline of the future from Benny Begin,

Menachem’s son, who is a member of the

Knesset for the Likud party. He was one

of the few people whom we met who was

not on the left. His starting point is one

that many will recognize: ‘We’ve tried to

make peace, but we have no partner.

We’ve put excellent deals on the table,

but the Palestinians just say ‘no’. We

tried leaving Gaza, and all we got in

return were rockets.’ People like Naomi

Chazen splutter with rage when they

hear this summary - their view is that

Israel also bears significant blame for the

failure of the peace process. But Begin’s

view is widely held, and so too I suspect

is his view of Plan B. ‘We will carry on

carrying on. The economy is growing;

yes, there are ‘episodes’ of terrorism but,

There is Never a Bad Time to go to Israel

14

all in all, life in Israel is good.’

So Plan B is the status quo. But is the

status quo truly sustainable?

Demography

While relations with the Palestinians are a

major challenge, they are, of course, not

the only challenge that Israel faces. In

different ways, we kept coming up against

the subject of demography. The following

table, which is based on data used in a

speech in June 2015 by President Reuven

Rivlin, compares the distribution of first

graders (about age six) in 1990 with the

projected distribution in 2018: Source:

http://www.president.gov.il/English/

ThePresident/Speeches/Pages/

news_070615_01.aspx)

As President R explained (though not

exactly in these words), modern Israel is

not your father’s Israel. In the past, Israel

had a secular Zionist majority, with

minority groups on the edges. But that is

not the situation today and, given

differences in birth rates, it will be even

less so in the future. In President R’s

words, modern Israel is an Israel of four

‘tribes’, each with its own very different

priorities.

What does this mean for the future of

Israel? Will each tribe work to promote

only the interests of its group? We met

pessimists and optimists on this issue.

One of our most powerful sessions was a

bus tour of Beit Shemesh, a city near

Jerusalem that now has a Charedi

majority. Our guide was MS, an Orthodox

woman who had run a co-educational

community centre. But once the

Charedim took control of the local

government, funds for secular activities

dried up, she was forced out of the

community centre, and the community

centre now maintains separation of sexes.

During the tour, she pointed out ‘modesty

signs’ that included requests for women

not to walk on a particular side of the

street - signs that apparently had been

declared illegal by the courts but which

were still displayed nevertheless. While

she still lives (for now) in Beit Shemesh, it

is not an exaggeration to say that she

hates the Charedim.

On the same morning that we had the tour

of Beit Shemesh, we met with ES, who is

the head of a group called Shaharit

(http://www.shaharit.org.il/staff/?

lang=en). He is a ‘glass half full’ man. He

agrees that the big challenge is figuring

out how

to build bridges across the four tribes, and

he runs programmes aimed at helping this

process. What exactly he was doing all

sounded a little vague to me, but he was a

captivating speaker and we admired his

enthusiasm.

Education

The challenge of building a future Israel in

which everyone respects one another and

tries to find common ground as best they

can is made that much harder by the

Israeli educational system. Perhaps we

should have known this before our trip,

but neither Janet nor I were aware of the

extent to which the educational system in

Israel is segregated. Schools do not

function as a melting pot. Each group

sends its children to its own schools, with

no interaction whatsoever. How bridges

between the tribes are supposed to be

built, and how a common Israeli identity

is supposed to be cultivated, when the

educational system is completely separate

is a mystery.

Other experiences and summing up

In reviewing what I’ve

written so far, I can see how some people

might think that our trip was depressing.

It wasn’t. We met so many people who

love Israel deeply and who are spending

their lives trying to make the country

better. We were inspired by them and

grateful for their efforts. If I were to write

a longer article I would tell you about our

meeting with a rabbi who organizes

counter-demonstrations whenever there is

a despicable Price Tag attack by the

lunatic fringe of the settler movement

against a church or mosque or, worse,

Palestinian homes. I would tell you about

a Shabbat dinner in Jerusalem with

members of the LGBT community at

which we did the blessings and sang some

songs, and the emotional response from

one Lesbian couple in particular who said

that this was their first Shabbat dinner of

this type they had been to as a couple.

I would also tell you about a tour in Be’er

Sheba that MB gave us of the local Yad

Sarah*, a wonderful organisation (run

almost entirely by volunteers) that

provides healthcare equipment for free, or

for a nominal charge, to all communities

in Israel.

And I would tell you much more.

It was an amazing trip. We know a lot

more than we knew before but, with Israel

in particular, the more you know, the

more you realize how much more there is

to learn.

BS

*An article about this organisation

appeared in the April 2014 issue of WQ

15

1990 2018

Secular Zionist 52% 38%

Israeli Arab 23% 25%

National religious 16% 15%

Charedi 9% 25%

COMMUNITY MATTERS

16

I thought your readers might like to know

about a fascinating annual event

organised by the Tel Aviv University Trust

which brings to London the University’s

top academicians to explain the very latest

research being undertaken by them and

their teams. This year’s theme was

‘Pursuing The Unknown’. The topics are

explained in detail orally and on screen by

the top professors of their particular

speciality and the areas covered are not

only those of pure science. For example,

last year we heard of the latest research

and potential help in Post Traumatic

Stress Syndrome, tragically the experience

of many of Israel’s bravest warriors on all

fronts; political issues too are brought to

our attention.

This year an illustrated talk was given by

Professor MW on A New Approach to

Drug Personalisation in Neuro-

Degeneration. Through minuscule stem

cell research (tiny skin cells taken from

one finger) it will be possible to isolate

groups of people who will in time find

totally personalised medication - vital

indeed for even the most rare of

conditions. Whilst the professor admitted

that this research was like looking for a

needle in a haystack, it was necessary to

find the right drug for the right patient -

searching through millions of samples and

mutations. There can be 20,000 lines of

neurones from just one person. In this

area, amongst other conditions, research

is being undertaken for Duchenne’s

Muscular Dystrophy, ALS, and other

genetic conditions found in some

Ashkenazi Jews.

We also had a session on The Dark Side of

Cyber - Past, Present and Future given by

MB. Inevitably there will be - and indeed

already are - necessities on how to

manage both new opportunities and novel

threats. The task here is to keep one step

ahead technologically but currently that is

a real difficulty with which we - and

particularly perhaps, people in Israel -

have to contend. MB quoted Socrates: ‘

The only constant in life is change’.

Apparently hackers with sophisticated

technology are already able to target even

just one victim. ‘Ransom Ware’ is a

malicious virus with the ability to attack

random files. Ransom payment is by Bit

Coins with the victim given a short time-

frame which, if not met, means deletion of

their files. Stoxnet is an Iranian ‘worm’

able to attack nuclear enrichment facilities

in Iran. A Chrysler car can be hacked

remotely and driven off the road.

‘Anonymous‘ is a movement which

believes in freedom of information and

which can give false information about

Israel and other countries. Of course

hackers are very dangerous and use quite

simple tools - Kalilynx is an operating

system free to download. UTube itself can

be very dangerous in this regard and free

WiFi, we were informed, can be the

hackers’ best friend. Frighteningly, we

heard that now cyber security is not

enough and many alarming examples

were given to us. We were told that we

need to think like hackers and share

information with each other. Examples

nationally and internationally came thick

and fast -raising my blood pressure; but

fortunately it was time for a break!

Following a most convivial lunch we

listened to a lecture by Dr VPKi entitled

Aiming at the Sweet Spot of Disease:

Targeting Sugars in Heart Disease and

Cancer. This is an issue brought to our

attention right now in our own press. I

found it fascinating to hear that a

nematode has 19,000 genes, a fruit fly has

14,000, chickens 16,000, grapes even

have thousands!…. whilst a human has

between 30,000 - 100,000! However, the

genome cannot explain biodiversity alone.

Dr VPK then spoke of what it is that

makes an individual different; what are

the fundamental building blocks of life;

and consequently what can go wrong.

Hearing of the building blocks of life in all

living bodies was hugely fascinating,

despite its complexity for a non-scientist

as I am!

Our last and totally fascinating talk was

given by Professor Asher Susser in

conversation with James Sorene CEO of

BICOM. They spoke of The Rise and Fall

of the Arab state: Ramifications for Israel

and the Region. This is perforce a very

brief and superficial outline of the most

pertinent points made in their chat, after

which followed a deep and interesting

discussion. Some of the original points

alluded to were the fact that the Middle

East is the front line between Sunni and

Shia Muslims. Whichever group loses out

will have significant implications; a Shia

crescent has emerged of Iran, Iraq,

Alawite Syria and Hizbollah in Lebanon.

Isis in Iraq is basically the old Sunni Baath

party.

Currently it looks as if the pendulum is

swinging toward Assad in Syria supported

by Russia. When asked what Russia’s long

term aim was, Professor S responded that

more clear was the short term objective of

not wanting trouble with his own Muslim

community - for example in Chechnya.

Israel has 1,000,000 Russians and Russia

has some common interests with Israel

and has no desire to have a confrontation

with her. An agreement on oil and gas

production between Greece, Cyprus and

Israel is in Russia’s interest - especially

against Turkey. Therefore this can be

considered an appropriate time for Israel

to be trying to build good relations with

Russia. The current situation is not to do

with the Israel/Palestinian situation but

Israel must work out a deal for a two-state

solution with the Palestinians. Currently

the main advocate for this is the military -

as opposed to the politicians!

This summary is the barest of bare bones

of an interesting in depth conversation

with subsequent audience participation in

questions and discussion. University For A

Day could not be more fascinating

scientifically and politically. From these

tiny snapshots just of this year’s

programme I hope you have the measure

of the breadth and depth of this riveting

event; its title could not be more apt!

HT

University for a Day

17

WHERE DO I GO TO

Where do I go to

Day after day

Season after season

As if a fruit

Or some animal

Unable to control

The time-span, pace or direction

Of my forward moving life?

Where do I go to?

Born in a given culture

At a destined time

Genetically programmed

I move forward

From season to season

From year to year

To go back where I came from

Stepping in and then out of Time

In and then out of Life

Life; by-product of Time.

CL

POETRY PAGE

JEWISH TRADITION

18

Decisions, decisions! If you cannot

make up your mind, what is there to be

done? Well, you might follow Aaron’s

example when he decided between two

goats, one to be sacrificed, one released

to carry off the sins of the people,

recounted in Leviticus 16. (The

scapegoat was the survivor – usage is

often confused.) Aaron resorted to

‘cleromancy’, casting lots, for which he

would have used Urim and Thummim.

The choice was subject to lots not

because it was hard, but because it was

God’s –Aaron had no criteria by which

to decide. Lots created space for the

expression of divine will, as stated in

Proverbs 16:33 (the only hint we have of

the physical procedure): ‘The lot is cast

into the lap; but the whole disposing

thereof is of the Lord.’

If lots were commonplace, use of Urim

and Thummim was confined to the king

or priest for matters of state, when

God’s will was paramount. In Numbers

27:21, Moses is instructed to appoint

Joshua before the priest EIeazar, who

‘shall ask counsel for him after the

judgement of Urim, before the Lord’.

Conversely, if you took two goats to the

temple for a decision on which to roast

for your daughter’s wedding, you would

doubtless leave with only one, a

solution available to any Cohen, without

the help of Urim and Thummim.

Perhaps the restriction exempted them

from the injunction in Deuteronomy 18

to avoid the divining practices of the

Canaanites, on pain of death: ‘There

shall not be found among you any one

that maketh his son or his daughter to

pass through the fire, or that useth

divination, or an observer of times, or

an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer,

or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a

wizard, or a necromancer ’.

However, some mechanism was

needed after the death of Moses. He

was the last personally, physically to

encounter the Lord. Thereafter, Divine

Will descended through three channels,

for which the key text is 1 Samuel 28:6.

It tells that after Samuel died, Saul

received no word from God before

battling the Philistines, neither in his

dreams (the first channel), nor by

prophets (the second), nor by the

oracular Urim and Thummim. Although

Saul had enforced capital punishment

for Canaanite divination, he now sought

out the Witch of Endor, a necromancer.

Once persuaded that he was not

entrapping her, she raised Samuel’s

shade (she was shocked when her spells

worked!), who protested at being

disturbed but prophesied the death of

Saul the next day. Capital punishment

was duly meted out. His body and those

of his son Jonathan and closest

followers were displayed by the

Philistines on the walls of Beit She’an at

the foot of Mount Gilboa.

Evidently belief remained despite the

interdiction, and when the sailors cast

lots to decide who was responsible for

the storm, Jonah ended up in the whale.

Urim and Thummim were not on board,

but there was no sin, perhaps because

the Lord was ordaining events. Biblical

cleromancy had disadvantages. It was

sortition (after the ‘sortes’ used by the

Romans) of tokens from a bag or cache,

but it did not oblige the Almighty to

reply as Saul repeatedly discovered, and

it demanded ‘clean hands’. In 1 Samuel

14, another (earlier) query concerning

the perpetual Philistine conflict

received no answer. Understanding the

cause to be disobedience, Saul was

nevertheless able to cast lots for the

sake of finding the offender: his son had

broken the king’s vow by tasting wild

honey. We do not know what indicated

a genuine response – without which

there was a risk of self-delusion like the

famously ambiguous Delphic oracle

telling Croesus that by attacking Persia,

he would destroy a great kingdom, in

the event his own. Compare with the

Biblical procedure of simple

alternatives, Urim for one, Thummim

the other: it forced the petitioner to be

precise. Repeat queries narrowed the

possibilities, as in the selection of King

Saul in 1 Samuel 10:19.

There were also advantages. Why not

draw lots to simplify a rational decision

that is too demanding of resources? In

ancient Athens, public funds and

appointments were awarded by lot,

putting everyone on a level footing. The

constitution of Ross, a suburb of

Pittsburgh, provides for lots to resolve

electoral dead heats. It was invoked in

November 2015 demonstrating

Proverbs 18:18 ‘The lot causeth

contentions to cease and parteth

between the mighty.’

Solomon had a way with contentious

decisions like the motherhood dispute.

The story rests on a feature also found

in lots, known in decision theory as

‘revealed preference’. It is expressed by

Piet Hein, Danish mathematician and

author of ditties like the following:

Whenever you're called on to

make up your mind,

and you're hampered by not

having any,

the best way to solve the

dilemma, you'll find,

is simply by spinning a penny.

No - not so that chance shall

decide the affair

while you're passively standing

there moping;

but the moment the penny is up

in the air,

you suddenly know what you're

hoping.

Exodus 25 details the construction of

the Tabernacle - Ark of the Covenant -

sacred vessels and Aaron’s vestments,

including the girdle (in the King James

Version) ‘curious’ for ‘intricate’, ephod

(apron) and ‘breastplate of judgement’.

Urim and Thummim were ‘...put into

the breastplate … Aaron shall bear the

judgement of the children of Israel

upon his heart’. The breastplate, of the

same material as the ephod, was

encrusted with twelve precious stones

‘Lots’ of Urim and Thummim

19

with the name of each tribe. It hung by a

gold chain from shoulder clasps (‘ouches’)

of onyx also inscribed with the names of

the tribes. But Urim and Thummim are

not described, implying that the Exodus

compilers never saw them but thought

they pre-dated the Ark of the Covenant.

There is no mention of them after the

destruction of the first temple in the

Deuteronomic history books of Joshua,

Judges, Samuel and Kings. In current

theory, Deuteronomy was written in the

seventh Century BCE under the Assyrian

hegemony, and those history books were

based on it. The rest of the Pentateuch

was compiled during the later Babylonian

exile, from diverse older sources.

Compilers in exile would know the

Babylonian practice in which dreams,

prophets and divination were means of

communication with the Gods, as in all

early Mesopotamian culture. ‘Tablets of

Destiny’ were worn on the breast of

divinities who interceded with mankind –

there are evident parallels with the Bible.

The compilers would have had no model

to describe stones lost with the temple,

implied in Ezra and Nehemiah. They

recount that on the return from Persia to

Judah, priests unable to prove their

descent were excluded, until a priest with

Urim and Thummim might arbitrate –

but there was none.

Josephus wrote in Antiquities 3:8 that the

oracle ‘ceased to shine’ two centuries

before his time, with the death of

Hyrcanus of the Maccabees, but on this

occasion he appears to be mistaken – it

was much earlier. He writes - in Whiston’s

translation - that a supernatural radiance

shone from the breastplate in God’s

presence, and from one or other of the

onyx shoulder ouches which he identifies

with Urim and Thummim. His account

matches many fanciful rabbinical

versions, of flashing rays of light, or of

gemstones realigning to spell out

messages. It is no surprise that rabbis

have disagreed ever since on whether the

Urim and Thummim existed in the second

temple. Maimonides considered that they

must have, as an essential part of the

vestments of Ha’cohen Ha’gadol, but that

the Holy Spirit no longer resided in them.

That set up debate on the vestment

essentials, or whether they were really

parchment on which Ha‘shem was

inscribed, inserted into the breastplate.

All these texts portray a Judaism more

attached to physical symbols than a strict

observance of the Second Commandment

would permit. Hosea 3:4 relates a

prophecy to the erring Northern Kingdom

before the Assyrian conquest, eighth

century BCE, ‘For the children of Israel

shall abide many days without a king, and

without a prince, and without a sacrifice,

and without an image, and without an

ephod, and without teraphim’.

The teraphim were domestic tokens,

probably anthropomorphic like those

representing Truth and Justice found on

some Egyptian mummies. In Genesis 31,

when Rachel takes her father’s teraphim,

Laban asks Jacob why he stole his ‘gods’.

We should perhaps regard these sacred

artefacts and Urim and Thummim as

fading remnants of Canaanite and

Mesopotamian practices while Judaism

evolved towards abstract monotheism.

A final possibility: Esther 9:24 recounts

how Haman cast lots with the Pur to

determine when to slaughter the Jews,

hence Purim. There may be a shared

Babylonian root, but it sounds a note of

caution: it is similarly possible to theorise

(quoting a Lubavitch rabbi) that

Yom Kippur is from k’Purim, ‘like Purim’,

rather than kappurah, atonement. But

why?

Magic stones have a fine record in

prompting our faculty for fiction: Urim

and Thummim feature in Conan Doyle’s

short story The Jew’s Breastplate and

Coelho’s The Alchemist, among others.

Perhaps most inspired of all, Joseph

Smith claimed that the Angel Moroni

furnished them for translating the Golden

Plates into the Book of Mormon. The

Golden Plates are famously lost, perhaps

buried alongside the Urim and Thummim

in some remote, mid-western landscape.

One cannot help the uncharitable thought

that if so, may they all stay put!

JF

Annual General Meeting Report Before the 58th AGM of the Synagogue on

19th May, members were addressed by GM,

Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies.

She spoke about the Board’s work,

particularly in regard to its fight against

anti-Semitism. She said that the Board’s

Executive was holding meetings with the

Labour Party, with the National Union of

Students and with Parliament to deal with

the concern of British Jews at increasing

anti-Semitism.

After the presentation of reports from

various committees and from the Minister,

elections were held. The meeting approved

the resolution to amend the constitution of

the synagogue so that same sex couples are

treated identically to mixed sex couples

when considering joint membership. It

also noted the decision to permit the

Minister to perform same-sex marriages in

the sanctuary.

JEWISH TRADITION

20

הּברּו קֹורנר

Jewish people throughout the world will

have celebrated Passover by telling the

story of the Exodus from Egypt and how

Moses led the Jewish slaves across the

desert to the Promised Land. ‘When we

were slaves in Egypt…’ we read with our

children every year. But in the cold

light of archaeological discovery there

may be a different story. An article in

Haaretz in 2012 seems to disprove the

legend of Jewish slavery.

‘There is absolutely no concrete proof’,

the author says, ‘that the Jews were ever

in thrall to the Pharaohs, or even that

they were in Egypt at all.’ No pottery, no

writing or inscriptions, no state records

have ever been found to prove (or

disprove) the story. It would have been

impossible, the archaeologists maintain,

for a race of people to have lived in one

region for a considerable period of time

without leaving a single trace of their

existence.

The story was taken up by S. DS of the

Hebrew Union College, who puts the

question, ‘Was the whole Biblical story

of the Jewish Exodus just a myth?’

Certainly it appears in the Books of

Micah and Amos, but not earlier than

that. The Jews, then, if they did not

cross the desert from Egypt, must have

been native to the land of Canaan. What

was the point of the Biblical account?

It is Sperling’s view that the whole

legend of the Jews leaving Egypt and

everything that happened to them on the

way - the crossing of the Dead Sea, the

Tabernacles and the priestly background

- was a fiction ‘to enable the Jews to

assert their distinctiveness’. The Jews

were not the only early monotheistic

religion; the Zoroastrians, mainly from

Persia, posited the idea of worshipping

only one God as early as two thousand

years before Christ, whereas the Exodus

can be dated roughly to 1200 BCE.

However, any attempt to date the

journey without archaeological evidence,

must be only a guess. The essence of

Judaism, the revelation on Sinai, could

not have taken place on the journey, if

the journey itself never happened.

Canaan at this time belonged to Egypt so

if the Exodus story has some basis in

fact it means that the Israelites were

only moving from one Egyptian-held

territory to another.

The difficulty for us in accepting that

much of our ancient history is based on

myth and legend, is that without such a

fascinating background, told over

thousands of years, our religion is

destabilised, the foundation is shaky.

Without the scholarship of the

archaeologists and historians we are not

in a position to argue. But thinking of

the shifting sands of the desert it is

surely possible that such artefacts and

remains that would prove the story to be

true are long gone. This is what we

would like to believe. What of the Jews’

precious system of ethics and moral

philosophy. To quote Sperling, ‘The

biblical authors were attempting to

foster Israelite religious, social and

political solidarity. As long as the

Israelites were conscious of their

foreignness, they would be able to

maintain their alleged religious and

moral superiority’.

But even if we are not presented with

proof, we are still able to cherish the

Bible story and tell it again on Seder

night. For its most valuable asset is the

bringing together of one of Judaism’s

greatest traditions, to enable Jews to tell

it every year in an atmosphere of family

comfort and belief. Many other such

accounts of brave deeds and valued

exploits do not need to be precisely true.

Christians believe in the Immaculate

Conception, Muslims in the exact

teachings of the Koran. They serve to

link peoples together so that they can

follow their faith whatever it might be.

The basic meaning of the word

kapara is to cover, covering.

We find in Numbers the word

kaporet which covered the Ark:

‘And you will make kaporet,

pure gold’. (Numbers, 25:17).

The word kofer means to pay a

fine in order to avoid

punishment. God told Noah to

make an Ark of Gofer and cover

it (ve’kafarta) with pitch. All

these words have the same root

chaf, fey, reish.

The word kafar in Arabic

means a person who does not

believe in the Muslim

orthodoxy. The same meaning

in Hebrew kofer- a person that

denies the existence of God.

Also, from the same root,

kofer, a plant which is

mentioned in the Song of

Songs. ‘My beloved is like

Eshkol Hokofer in the

vineyards of Ein-Gedi. The

kofer is similar to Henna and in

Sanskrit is called Karpura.

The Day of Atonement is called

Yom Kippur and also stems

from the same root. L’echper

means to atone over sins. The

word and ritual called kaparot

is mentioned in Leviticus. ‘The

goat on which the lot fell for

Azazel, shall be set alive before

the Lord, to make atonement

over him, to send him away for

Azazel into the wilderness.’ In

this case the goat designated

for Azazel was sent off to the

wilderness, bearing the sins of

Israel. The custom is still being

practised today but instead of

goats, fowl are used, and the

wilderness is replaced by the

sea.

iA

Hebrew Corner

Were the Jews

Slaves in Egypt?

...a fiction ‘to enable the Jews to assert their distinctiveness’

21

What a pleasure it was to see so many post-B’nei Mitzvah students, who are currently involved

in teaching in our Hebrew Classes. They were out in force at a reception for the Westminster

Synagogue Patrons Group where they mingled with the guests, who were delighted to meet

some of the congregation’s young people on whom the future of the Synagogue rests. The Prime

Minister, who was the Guest of Honour, was

introduced by Lord FE, whose own daughter is soon to

be Bat Mitzvah.

We greatly enjoyed DC’s short and amusing speech. He

also reassured those present of the Government’s

concern at increasing anti-Semitism in this country

and its determination to eradicate it. After chatting

with many of the guests, he was then taken upstairs by

Rabbi T to view the Memorial Scrolls Museum.

How do you like the Shabbat music? After a recent Shabbat service, a number of members

joined our musicians to discuss changes to our liturgical music. The meeting was chaired by

Valery Rees and among the items discussed were new settings for the processionals and

alternative melodies for other parts of the Shabbat service. Those present were invited to vote

on their preferred versions. There will be further meetings on the subject.

As the Prayer Book Committee is working on new books, bringing the language of the Yom Kippur

service in to the 21st century, readers will be amused by Valery Rees’ letter on page 23.

We attended a joint Yom Ha’Shoah Service between the Westminster and West London

Synagogues at West London on 4th May at which Rabbi T gave a moving address recalling his

friendship with the late Rabbi HG who had been such a good friend and colleague to him during

his time at West London. The service also marked the opening of a memorial to Rabbi G,

twenty years after his sad death, and also the presentation of Scroll No. 310 to West London

from the Memorial Scrolls Trust at Westminster, in memory of RHG who had survived

Auschwitz to come to England and serve this community. A large congregation from both

Synagogues was present; many from Westminster were able to find friends from the older

Synagogue, to which of course we owe our foundation. The memorial to Rabbi G was the

opening of a small room off the Samson Concourse where visitors to the Synagogue can find a

moment of peace and spiritual refreshment. The new scroll was installed there, a suitable

setting for its final resting place.

Editorial

‘This year here, next year in the land of

Israel….Here is wherever any human

beings are still enslaved, or deprived of

their rights; the Land of Israel is the

symbol of the hope of redemption. The

journey of our ancestors is the journey of

every people, and of every generation,

until the Promised Land is reached by

all, and freedom becomes the heritage of

all God’s children.’ (JDR)

As a primary school teacher, earlier in

my career, an oft-repeated mantra was

that the key to success and ensuring

learning was to make lessons as

affecting, engaging and memorable as

possible. Recent experience made me

realise that the rituals and prayers

associated with Jewish festivals tend to

provide similar opportunities for us

spiritually; to live through each

experience almost as if one was there

oneself, in a way that is tangible.

An obvious example is that of Pesach, as

demonstrated by the above from Rabbi

R. We celebrate that now we are free but

recall a time when we were slaves, with

matzah, the items on the Seder plate, the

four cups of wine and the questions and

of course the enduring memories of

warmth, of family, of tradition that our

children are to pass down to future

generations. Rabbi R’s words make sure

that we cannot just leave it there; we are

reminded of key principles of progressive

Judaism, i.e. that we are part of a wider

humanity and that it is our job not to rest

until all have peace in accordance with

our duty towards Tikkun Olam (healing

the world).

A further occasion at which I found

myself feeling that proximity was at

Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial

Day) in May and the service that was

shared between our Synagogue and

West London Synagogue. The service

was dedicated to the memory of RHG,

former Rabbi at West London and

mentor to Rabbi T and a survivor of

Auschwitz. It was especially touching

that Rabbi Thomas was asked to deliver

the sermon and for our communities to

be reunited on such an occasion. The

service was warm, poignant, and a fitting

celebration of the life of a remarkable

man, whose kindness, wisdom and

dedication to his community touched the

lives of so many. Adding to the

symbolism, the service also celebrated

West London Synagogue's receiving of

their first Czech Scroll, and their

connection to the network of

communities around the world which

hold Scrolls. The service looked to the

future as well as remembering the past.

lit by Members of our community and of

West London gave readings and lit

candles. The children and grandchildren

of Rabbi Gryn featured prominently.

Reflecting on these services, I felt a

heightened sense of something that is

particularly beautiful and poignant in

Judaism and our cycle of festivals. Our

readings, rituals, prayers and songs

affect each individual as having been

present and moved in the same way as

were our ancestors.

To give other examples: at Shavuot, the

tradition is to study all night, the so-

called Tikkun Leyl as if we were the

Israelites waiting for Moses to return

from Mount Sinai with the Torah. At

Sukkot we build, eat in and maybe sleep

in a Sukkah (tabernacle). Perhaps the

most pronounced example of all will be

with us soon in the shape of the Days of

Awe, the Yamim Nora'im , or High Holy

Days, when we blow the shofar to begin

the process of reflection and teshuvah

(returning to God) through the month of

Ellul leading up to Rosh Hashanah and

the crescendo at Yom Kippur when we

are at one with the Eternal.

Once, years ago in Budapest, I was

castigated by a founder member of the

community who has since passed away,

when at the end of the Yom Kippur

service, I was not joining the others in

breaking the fast with the community.

She asked me why, when I declined her

offer of home-made cake, and I told her

that as I’d started my fast an hour late

the night before, I should be finishing it

later that night. Her response was, ‘Don’t

be so silly! Every Jew in the world is

breaking their fast now, and you should

join us’! As a Jew, the festivals do a great

job of drawing us all together, whoever,

and wherever we are.

Philosopher AH referred to Jewish ritual

as ‘architecture of time’, and in Judaism

we have, it must be said, some very fine

architecture from which to craft our

identities, to shape our values and

through which to live and breathe

spiritually as individuals and as a

community. Our Jewish identities may

play varying roles in our lives on a day to

day basis, but our cycle of festivals, in

connecting us so tangibly to the past, as

well as to each other in the present and

guiding us for the future, offer

exceptional richness and nourishment.

Crucially however, they also remind us,

as Rabbi Rayner points out, that we are

always building the future.

COMMUNITY MATTERS

22

Education

by

NY

Head of Education

it is our job not to rest until all have peace in accordance with our duty towards Tikkun Olam

POINTS OF VIEW

23

From HA

This photograph of Stolpersteine was taken during Phil’s

and my wanderings around Venice over the Easter

weekend. As far as I can tell, they were only laid in January

this year. They are in a small side street, Castello 6309, a

few hundred yards from our hotel and we happened upon

them just by chance. Most of the Stolpersteine have been

laid in the ghetto district of Cannaregio and although we

visited the area and took the tour of the Museum and

Synagogue, we didn’t notice any there. We were told during

the tour, that of the approximately 245 Jewish people

deported from Venice in 1944, only eight returned.

At our Seder this year, a bowl of tiny cut up bits 0f

paper with thee’s, thou’s and other such words was

placed on each Seder table so that anyone who

missed the older style of Haggadah could sprinkle

them over the new ones we were using. This arose

from an on-going joke among certain family

members who are mystified by the appeal of older

language. There is in fact a long tradition of

translating biblical and liturgical texts in a form of

language somewhat prior to that in common use at

the time - not just at Westminster Synagogue, but

going back many centuries, even millennia. Since there are many who still love the poetry of

the older translations, others too may wish to adopt this small symbolic freedom - and please

remember to sprinkle the words with a smile!

From VR

Selichot

Saturday 24th September

Erev Rosh Hashanah Sunday 2nd October

Rosh Hashanah

Monday 3rd October

Kol Nidre

Tuesday 11th October

Yom Kippur

Wednesday 12th October

Erev Sukkot

Sunday 16th October

Sukkot

Monday 17th October

Sukkot Last Day

Monday 24th October

Planning Your Diary

WESTMINSTER SYNAGOGUE Kent House, Rutland Gardens, London SW7 1BX

WESTMINSTER SYNAGOGUE Kent House Rutland Gardens London SW7 1BX

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publication in the Westminster Synagogue Quarterly, directly to the

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