London: 16:17 Birmingham: 16:17 Sheffield: 16:12 Southport: 16:17 Jerusalem: 16:24 London: 17:25 Birmingham: 17:29 Sheffield: 17:30 Southport: 17:36 Jerusalem: 17:44 Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish New Year for Trees and Holocaust Memorial Day both take place next week and we have a range of ways for you to mark both days in addition to the events being run by our communities.
Because of the restrictions posed by the national lockdown, we know our members may struggle to celebrate Tu B'Shevat this year. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, we are thrilled to be able to bring you a range of engaging programmes.
On Monday, we'll be broadcasting from Israel as Rebbetzen Freda Kaplan, formerly of Hampstead Garden Suburb United Synagogue and now a United Synagogue educator in Israel, will explore the world of farming in the Land of Israel. "Turning the Desert Green" is on TheUS.tv on Monday 25 January at 7.30pm.
In "The Birthday of Trees" on the evening of Tu B’Shevat, Wednesday 27 January at 8pm, the JNF's Rabbi Dr Alan Kimche, formerly of Ner Yisrael, and Rabbi Gideon Sylvester, the United Synagogue's Israel Rabbi, will look at the importance of planting trees in Israel with a focus on the Rabbi Lord Sacks Forest.
And on Tu B’Shevat day, Muswell Hill United Synagogue's Rabbi David Mason will host a traditional Tu B'Shevat 'seder' and introduce viewers to a range of unique and tasty fruits. "Why is this fruit different from all other fruits?" is on Thursday 28 January at 1.30pm.
All programmes will be available to watch live or on-demand after they are broadcast via this link. We also have a number of lunch and learns to watch to explore the festival in more depth.
Holocaust Memorial Day 20201
Scroll down to the 'Spotlight on our Communities' section for details of some of the HMD events being run by our communities. In addition, we are proud to be partnering once again with the National Holocaust Memorial Centre to bring you a series of events to mark HMD 2021.
In "Race, Science & All That Jazz", on Sunday 24 January at 7.30pm, join Dr James Smith CBE, co-founder and Life President of the National Holocaust Museum, and a panel of experts to explore the Nazi ban of jazz music as the ‘degenerate’ creation of blacks and Jews.
On Wednesday morning we'll be with Chelsea Football Club for Light in the Darkness, a live event with Holocaust survivor Dr Martin Stern MBE and Lord John Mann.
You can watch "Auschwitz, Art and Hope" right now: a fascinating interview with Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss MBE, step sister of Anne Frank, and Director of the Resistance Museum in Amsterdam, Liesbeth van der Horst.
And on Wednesday at 4pm we are delighted to partner with JRoots for "Passing on the Torch", an unprecedented online gathering of Holocaust survivors and their descendants.
All programmes are free to watch on TheUS.tv via this link. See below for details of the national HMD 2021 and how you can watch live.
Mental Health Awareness Shabbat
The United Synagogue is proud to support the Mental Health Awareness Shabbat brought to you by Jami. It was initiated with Jami by Rabbi Daniel Epstein of Cockfosters and N Southgate United Synagogue. He will be leading a special Kabbalat Shabbat service at 3.15pm tomorrow which you can watch by clicking here. Many of our communities are running events over the weekend and you can join them - regardless of where you live - by clicking on the links in the 'Spotlight on our Communities' section below.
Global day of Tefillah, Prayer
As Covid-19 death rates continue to rise around the world, Chief Rabbi David Lau of Israel has called for a global day of prayer today to unite Jewish communities in prayer, wherever they are. Prayer is an essential part of Jewish life and even more so in response to hard times.
Chief Rabbi Mirvis is encouraging our communities to join Chief Rabbi Lau’s initiative to help us stand in solidarity with Jewish communities and all others around the world who are also suffering from the pandemic.
You may wish to consider reciting Psalms 91, 121 and 130 too as well as your own personal prayers. Psalms 121 and 130 are on pages 510 and 516 respectively in the green siddur. You should feel free to recite personal prayers too.
The Chief Rabbi has composed this special prayer in English in response to the pandemic
We are broadcasting daily prayer services and you can join online. See our 'Ner Tamid' project description below for more details and we will say extra prayers during our Kabbalat Shabbat service tomorrow.
The Chief Rabbi continues to emphasise that it remains more important than ever that we strictly observe the guidelines set out by the Government in order to be responsible to ourselves and others, and to take the vaccine when it becomes available to us.
We pray that God will give us all healing and blessing. Shabbat shalom,
Richard Verber Communications Director United Synagogue Holocaust Memorial Day 2021 UK ceremony For the first time ever, the UK Holocaust Memorial Day 2021 ceremony, run by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, will be open to everyone and will be online. It will take place on Wednesday 27 January, from 7-8 pm, and everyone is welcome to join. The ceremony will be followed by 'Light the Darkness', where households across the UK will be lighting candles and putting them in their windows. To watch the ceremony, click on the link below to register. An interview with Lord Ian Austin US in the City presents an interview with Lord Ian Austin, hosted by Rabbi Jonathan Hughes. Ian sits as a life peer in the House of Lords and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dudley North from the 2005 general election until the 2019 general election when he stood down and spoke out against the anti-Semitic forces within the Labour Party. Tuesday 26 January at 8pm, live on TheUS.tv. NER TAMID PROJECT Daily digital davening Sadly, with many of our shuls now closed again due to rising infection rates, we've stepped in once again to organise daily prayer services. We will endeavour to broadcast prayers on our Facebook page three times a day (other than Shabbat) led by Rabbis from across our communities. WATCH NOW Shemot Snacks Borehamwood & Elstree Synagogue’s Rabbi Yaacov Finn continues to cook his way through the Parshiot – now we are onto the Book of Shemot. Each week Rabbi Finn will be bringing you a delicious new recipe to try! This week is lamb shank in red wine sauce - watch it by clicking the link below. HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY Passing on the torch JRoots in partnership with the United Synagogue presents the world's largest online gathering of Holocaust survivors and their descendants, to commemorate International Holocaust Memorial Day. Wednesday 27 January at 4pm. To register for the event, please click here. Where in the Torah do we find a lesson about nitpicking? Click here to watch this week's D'var Torah by the Chief Rabbi. WOODSIDE PARK UNITED SYNAGOGUE A conversation with Rabbi Marvin Hier Join Woodside Park as they hear from Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder, CEO and President of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, who will discuss his life's achievements, motivations and thoughts for the future. Monday 25 January at 8pm, live on Zoom. GOLDERS GREEN UNITED SYNAGOGUE Tapping into wellness Join Golders Green on Sunday 24 January for a fantastic programme for Mental Health Awareness Weekend, live on Zoom. The programme includes family yoga, a discussion with a panel of experts, and a break-out wellness experience session of your choice. Sign up by clicking here. HAMPSTEAD GARDEN SUBURB SYNAGOGUE The Rabbinic Chavrusa Join Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue for 'The Rabbinic Chavrusa' in memory of Rabbi Lord Sacks. Rabbi Friedman and Rabbi Lawrence will be discussing 'To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility'. Monday 25 January at 8pm, live on the HGSS Facebook page. HAMPSTEAD UNITED SYNAGOGUE JAMI Shabbat Join Hampstead for an opportunity to hear award-winning mental health campaigner, film producer, public speaker, writer and vlogger, Jonny Benjamin MBE and his father Michael Benjamin, who will speak openly about their experiences with mental health and the impact this has had on their family. Motza'ei Shabbat 23 January, 6pm. RUISLIP UNITED SYNAGOGUE Ruislip presents: Dr Eliyah Stromberg Join Ruislip as they hear from Dr Eliyah Stromberg, an author, spokesman, blogger and activist for families with children of needs, who will be sharing a glimpse of life as the parent of a child with special needs. Tonight at 7.30pm, live on Zoom. EDGWARE UNITED SYNAGOGUE Covid-19: Where are we now? Join Edgware for an evening with Prof. David Katz, Chair of the Jewish Medical Association and Professor of Immunopathology at UCL, and Dr. Ellis Friedman, Consultant in Public Health and Expert Adviser on Covid-19 to Dept. of Health & BMA. Monday 25 January at 8pm, live on Zoom. KENTON UNITED SYNAGOGUE Anshei Midot Join Kenton for the next episode of their 'Anshei Midot' series, where Morris Wiseman will tell us about the rabbi, doctor and philosopher, the Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204) and Leigh Lewis will discuss the life of the founder of the Chassidic movemet, the Ba'al Shem Tov (c1698-1760). Monday 25 January at 8pm, live on Zoom. COCKFOSTERS & N SOUTHGATE SYNAGOGUE CLC presents: Judge Vera Mayer Judge Vera Mayer made history by becoming the very first Israeli to be appointed a circuit judge in the UK. Although officially retired, thanks to Covid Judge Mayer still finds herself on the bench from time to time. This is a free event but booking is essential. Next Tuesday (26 January), 11am. RICHMOND UNITED SYNAGOGUE Holocaust Memorial Day Join Richmond Synagogue along with Richmond Council for a Holocaust Memorial Day programme, including an interview with a Holocaust survivor, and a range of fascinating talks from a number of different speakers. Sunday 24 January at 7.30pm, live on Zoom. This email was sent with love from the United Synagogue. If you no longer wish to receive this email, please unsubscribe here |