London: 20:09 Birmingham: 20:19 Sheffield: 20:20 Jerusalem: 18:39 London: 21:19 Birmingham: 21:30 Sheffield: 21:41 Jerusalem: 20:00 Welcome to our new-look email! We'd love your feedback.
We hope you enjoyed your Yom Ha'atzmaut celebrations this week despite the challenges of the current situation. Our communities came together virtually for singing, Hallel, concerts and even barbecues (shame about the weather!)
Shabbat shalom,
Richard Verber Communication Director Our new look! We do hope you find the email cleaner, fresher and easier to read on a phone which we know more and more of you are doing. Please do let me know your feedback! If you have any problems or are receiving it to different email addresses - perhaps a work account instead of a personal one - just let us know and we will fix it! Coronavirus support Our friends at the JLC have brought together a wealth of useful resources to help the community access financial and welfare support, in addition to what the United Synagogue offers and your own community. The JLC Community portal also contains guidance on mental health, social care and NHS information. CORONAVIRUS COMPOSITION Please send us your lockdown photos! As a response to these challenging times, the musical team at New West End Synagogue have commissioned a stirring and beautiful setting of Psalm 23 (Mizmor L’David) from composer Benjamin Till. They would like to share it with the world accompanied by photographs of messages from you! KLBD RESTAURANTS AND CATERERS Grab yourself a kosher take away Our colleagues in KLBD (our Kashrut Division) have put together a list of the KLBD Restaurants and Caterers that are currently offering take aways. Many do deliveries too so why not grab yourself something hot and delicious sent straight to your door to save you going out to the shops at this challenging time?
COCKFOSTERS AND N SOUTHGATE SYNAGOGUE A Street Map of Jewish History Cockfosters and N Southgate's online learning programme invites you to join them for a four-part series exploring the personalities behind Israel's street names. The second lecture will be broadcast over Zoom on Tuesday at 11am. All welcome. This week Rabbi Dr Moshe Freedman shares a proverb from Sefer Mishlei, the Book of Proverbs. “She is clothed in strength and beauty and she laughs about the last day.” (Proverbs 31:25)
These famous words are said by many families on Friday night evening as part of “Eishet Chayil”. Eishet Chayil is traditionally understood to be an allegory – speaking about the virtues of Jewish women or perhaps God himself.
Interestingly, the Midrash Tanchuma, written more than 1,000 years ago, says that our verse refers to our foremother, Sarah (Chayei Sarah 4).
The Midrash explains that “She is clothed in strength and beauty” refers to the clouds of glory that surrounded Sarah tent.
The nineteenth century Etz Yosef commentary by Rabbi Enoch Zundel ben Joseph suggests that this not only refers to the Divine Presence that was with her, but it also symbolizes her high level of prophecy – that was even superior to Abraham’s.
Rashi echoes this comment. He writes that Isaac brought Rebecca to the tent of Sarah, his mother, and she “was Sarah”. That is to say, she became modelled after Sarah, his mother (see Rashi on Genesis 24:67).
Why do “strength and beauty” refer to the clouds of glory above her tent? Strength and beauty are not an obvious natural combination. Brute strength is often ugly, and beauty is often fragile. But strength and beauty do come together when describing the Divine. As we say in Tehillim, Psalms: “The voice of God comes with power. The voice of God comes with beauty.” (Psalms 29:4)
Perhaps this is why it was included as part of Eishet Chayil: our verse can be understood to be referring both to Sarah – our quintessential female Jewish role model – and to God, echoing two of the traditional understandings of whom Eishet Chayil is about.
Rabbi Dr Moshe Freedman is Rabbi of New West End Synagogue
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