5th December 2020 / 19th Kislev 5781 Dear Member,
Please see below our weekly e-newsletter.
All Members attending services at the Synagogue are required to wear their own face coverings. These must cover the mouth and nose at all times whilst in the Synagogue. In line with the US Guidelines, if you are unable to wear a face covering for any reason, you will NOT be permitted into the Synagogue.
Kabbalat Shabbat - Friday 11th, 18th & 25th December - Book Here
Shabbat Services - Saturday 12th, 19th & 26th December - Book Here
Monday 7th and Thursday 10th at 6.50am, Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th at 7am & Friday 11th at 6.45am in Shul and on Zoom.
Sunday 6th at 8.15am in Shul and on Zoom Ma’ariv: Monday 7th, Tuesday 8th, Wednesday 9th & Thursday 10th in Shul and on Zoom at 7.30pm. Booking is available on line select Cranbrook United Synagogue from drop down and then tick Prayer Services. In the following weeks please see the website for future times of services.
We appreciate that due to the lock-down those of you who have had a Yahrzeit and especially those who have suffered a bereavement have not had the opportunity of saying Kaddish.
Members with internet access should be booking in on-line for all services via the United Synagogue Website using the following link: https://myus.theus.org.uk/events. select Cranbrook United Synagogue from drop down and then tick Prayer Services. This week’s Cranbrook News has been sponsored in honour of Shabbat Shalom,
Cranbrook US
News and Views The BBC news reported that the deforestation that is occurring in the Amazon forest in South America has hit the highest level in 12 years, with as many as 10,000 miles of forest cleared in July alone. Despite greater emphasis being placed on protecting the environment by eco-warrior Greta Thunberg and others demonstrating outside Westminster and other first world governments, the world’s physical world is under threat, and it seems that we are on a single minded road driven towards the destruction of our planet.
The Torah does not give any specific commandments regarding preserving the environment. There are no ‘thou shalt’ or ‘shall nots’ regarding nature conservation. Needless to say, the Torah was written thousands of years ago, before global warming was a concept, let alone a concern. However, there are clear indications that preserving this wonderful world is more than just a commandment, it is a basic and fundamental right that is required of mankind.
The first thing that happens in the creation of the world is that Adam and Eve are placed in the Garden of Eden, in the words of the Torah to “work it, and to guard it”. On the most simple level, it means that Adam and Eve had a responsibility to the earth, to serve it - in other words to preserve and develop this world, and to ensure that they didn’t destroy it in some act of hubris and arrogance. Prior to this G-d gave dominion of this world to mankind. Such a dominion might confer upon man a sense of his own power over nature to the extent that everything be destroyed or used for his own purposes. G-d tempers this sense of power and entitlement by making man serve and guard the world. It is such a shame that we have seem to have forgotten this most basic of requirements - to be the preservers of our own world.
The Midrash takes this idea one step further. Hashem, while placing man in the Garden of Eden tells him: “I created everything in this world, and everything that I created was for you. Please be sure not to destroy my world”. It is clear from the Midrash that the pristine way in which the world was given to us is plainly for our benefit. Destroying it is therefore not within our interests. The only reason that we might destroy it is for short term gain, but in doing so, the long term loss of those trees could be catastrophic and could cause disasters that could render all of those short term profits made by unscrupulous individuals and uncaring countries redundant.
There has been much made of the environment in the last few years, and perhaps it is time that not only the few brave souls stand forward but that we too think very seriously about placing the environment higher up on our radars. After all, we are all Adam and Eve’s children. We too have to guard and protect this world - our Garden of Eden.
I wish you all a good Shabbos, with love from Rabbi Steven, Siobhan, Maya and Talia.
Lunch and learn is an interactive, informal and inspiring discussion programme for women. Each time we learn a different topic based on Jewish concepts and find relevant, modern ideas that we can bring into our lives based on the wisdom of ancient texts. No prior Hebrew or Jewish knowledge required. Under non-Covid conditions, we used to meet in the shul and have lunch together.
As it stands, feel free to bring your lunch to the table and eat while we learn! Service Times - Vayishlach
Kabbalat Shabbat in Shul at 3.35pm Candle Lighting before 3.38pm Shabbat morning at 9.30am Shabbat ends at 4.46pm
Kabbalat Shabbat next week in Shul at 3.15pm Chanukah Candle lighting at 3.15pm and Shabbat Candle lighting and Shabbat Begins next week (Vayeshev) at 3.36pm.
Zoom Service Details
Weekday Shacharit: in Shul and on Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86385039085?pwd=aHU4bTJrT2I5b0syODU1T0szK3N6QT09
Meeting ID: 863 8503 9085 / Password: 695854
Ma'ariv: in Shul and on Zoom Monday to Thursday evening at 7:30pm
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82329373357?pwd=bmdvaGpMa2wrYkdDVFFSTDllTnBMZz09
Meeting ID: 823 2937 3357 / Password: 582038
Leslie & Suzanne Leigh (Golden),
Sharon & Norman Bick (Sapphire), Frances & Louis Bronzite (Sapphire), Eleanor & Harvey Weinfass (Sapphire) on their respective anniversaries. Bernard Chaplin, Esther Gordon, Barry Mandel, Neville Peters, Philip Sinitsky and David Wallace on their respective birthdays.
Condolences to: Jeffrey Wiseman on the loss of his wife, Rita Wiseman.
Mark Wiseman and Andrea Serantes on the loss of their mother, Rita Wiseman.
Muriel Gordon on the loss of her sister, Rita Wiseman.
We wish Long Life to everyone who is observing a Yahrzeit this week:
Ruth Abrahams, Susan Bass, Raymond Benn, Maurice Bitton, Stanley Brattman, Louis Bronzite, Jacqueline Burns, Ruth Clifford, Sylvia Cohen, Neil Curtis, Sophie Diamond, Rita Dryer, Mark Finkletaub, Helen Flax, Lydia Freedman, Patricia Gedalla, Karen Goldberg, Nina Goldberg, Renee Graham, Ernest Green, Alan Greenberg, Maureen Gruskin, Peter Herman, Rosalyn Herman, Helena Hockley, Rita Isaacs, Rosalind Jessener, Lillian Kirsch, Betty Kwintner, Peter Leach, Rose Levy, Janet Lewis, Hetty Liborwich, Leslie Linder, Ruth Lipman, Monica Mann, Brian Marks, Cyril Marks, Rosaline Metzger, Eva Meyer, Jonathan Meyer, Simon Meyer, Linda Mishkin, Sandra Pearman, Stuart Pessok, Jean Prince, Elaine Reed, Howard Robbins, Daveena Rogoff, Arnold Rose, Shirley Rothman, Richard Rubin, Andrew Rutman, Jacqueline Scott, Rachel Shaw, Rita Shenker, Cynthia Simmons, Linda Solomons, Ruth Starr, Rita Stedman, Ivor Wagner, Frances Wallace, Helen Walters, Eleanor Weinfass, Helena Weston, Stanley Weston, Norman Whyte and Melvyn Zussman.
Bereishit - 27-30 December 2020
- Keynotes by Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein, Lord Mann, Eli Beer, Mossad's Danny Limor, refusenik Yosef Mendelewitz, Rav Dov Ber Cohen.
- Interviews with Lawyer of the Year James Libson, Jo Grose & Rabbi Nicky Liss on Shuls in 2021, Daniel & Ilana Epstein review 2020, Aviva Landau interviews cancer survivor & Israeli celebrity nurse Libbie Goldstein
- Tracks from Text Track to Relationships to Jewish Horizons to Jewish Practice. Sessions including tour of Chevron, the first Jewish spy, Nach with Pnina Savery, Kashrut refreshed. Young families evening course on Tools for Happiness with Rav Dov Ber Cohen
It is all online, managed by online events company Vievma
Pesach 5781 - Shalom Magazine
Many thanks to everyone who submitted articles for the Rosh Hashanah Edition of the Shalom Magazine. We have had some excellent feedback from our readers. The next edition of the Shalom Magazine will be the Pesach 5781 Edition.
If you have any interesting or amusing articles with a Jewish content that you would like us to include, please email them as soon as possible to Philippa Stanton at stanton.philippa@gmail.com.
All articles, pictures and stories must be received by 1st February 2021 - however, I have already started collecting new articles, so please email me as soon as you can! Get your Company's name in print!
Not only do we need articles for the shul magazine, but we also need advertisements too. Adverts can be full size in colour, half page or quarter page.
Get your company's name seen by all our members, nearly 2000 of them. Contact the shul office for details. The 200 Club The 200 Club aims to raise funds for building and maintaining the Shul, but has extended its function to help with various events that need organising.
To join please fill out the application form by clicking here.
Click here for the September and October winners.
Shul Office Opening Hours As the Shul office is not open currently please call Estelle on 020 8629 2780 or Michelle on 020 8629 2783.
Rabbi Dansky is available out of hours. You can contact him directly on his mobile 07780 236697 or by calling the Shul office and selecting option 3.
Reverend Newman is available out of hours. You can contact him directly on his mobile 07882 054321 or by calling the Shul office and selecting option 4.
If you no longer wish to receive community information from Cranbrook United Synagogue, please unsubscribe here |