London: 17:57 Birmingham: 18:01 Hull: 17:55 Sheffield: 18:00 Southport: 18:05 Jerusalem: 17:10 London: 19:00 Birmingham: 19:08 Hull: 19:08 Sheffield: 19:11 Southport: 19:18 Jerusalem: 18:27 You can find details of this week's Torah reading, Maftir and Haftarah in our weekly Daf Hashavua by clicking here. While Pesach celebrates 'zman cheirutenu', the time of our freedom, it also brings with it uncertainty as our community faces a second Pesach lockdown and seder nights without family and friends.
Thankfully this year no kosher l'Pesach food shortages are predicted and the range of stores and caterers offering food deliveries and click and collect options is the widest we’ve ever seen.
Our 'Seder in a Box' initiative sold out in just four days but you can see a list of KLBD Licensees supplying ready cooked meals and provisions for Seder via this link.
Our friends at KLBD work so hard all year round but never more so than in the run up to Pesach and we thank them for all they do. The KLBD Pesach website is full of practical information to help us get ready for Pesach, with a list of supervised and approved products, recipes, timings and interesting articles. Do check it out.
In this email you'll find a whole host of useful links to help get ready for Pesach.
KLBD product 'in extremis' guidelines
Spoeaking of food, due to the current lockdown, our friends at KLBD have again this year compiled a list of Covid-19 in extremis emergency guidelines allowing the use of some regular products. These guidelines are intended only for circumstances when regular supervised products are not available, or if people are in isolation and unable to go shopping themselves or have kosher for Pesach supervised products delivered to their home. We hope they will be of use.
Rabbi Jeremy Conway, Director of KLBD, explains why KLBD has produced the guidelines this year in this article for the Jewish Chronicle.
Prepare for Pesach with US!
As well as getting our homes ready for Pesach, we've put together some wonderful online programmes to get our minds ready too. These complement the excellent events being run by our communities.
With insights into the Rabbi Sacks Haggadah, a tour of an Israeli winery, a pre-Pesach concert and an evening of text-based learning, there’s something for everyone. There are further details below and you can click here to find out more. You can also see a superb range of programmes for children run by Tribe by clicking here.
Koshering your home for Pesach
Getting ready for Pesach doesn't mean cleaning the house from top to bottom. In fact, if there are certain rooms you never take food into, there's no need to clean them or even do 'bedikat chametz' (the search for chametz) there. Join Rabbi Adam Hill, Rabbi of Potters Bar & Brookmans Park United Synagogue and an experienced kashrut supervisor for KLBD to learn the basics of getting your home ready for Pesach in this video.
Sell your chametz!
If you haven't already, you can sell your chametz through your local United Synagogue Rabbi. KLBD also offer this service online for the whole community which you can access here.
Rabbi Sacks' Seder guide
The United Synagogue education team recently unearthed a fascinating booklet called Mah Nishtana produced in 1981 by Rabbi Sacks zt'l. Rabbi Sacks was then the young rabbi of Golders Green United Synagogue, and he brought together a team of United Synagogue rabbis and ministers to write Mah Nishatana. It contains some wonderful ideas that are still relevant forty years later and might enhance your Seder nights this year. Please click here to download it.
Erev Pesach on Shabbat
A quirk of the Jewish calendar means that this year, erev Pesach falls on Shabbat. It last happened 18 years ago. It throws up a number of interesting challenges: how can you have challah for Shabbat when you also need to get rid of your chametz? We've produced a short guide which you can read here and a longer article which you can read here.
Fast of the Firstborn siyum
Traditionally, firstborn men attend a short 'siyum', the completion of a tractate of Mishnah of Talmud. This removes the requirement to fast on the Fast of the Firstborn. We'll be offering a siyum online this year hosted by Golders Green Synagogue following our daily davening there. Shacharit will start at 7.00am and the siyum will be around 7.35am next Thursday morning (25 March) live on the United Synagogue Facebook page.
Lockdown: one year on
Twelve months ago today, on March 17, 2020, all United Synagogue shuls were closed down due to Coronavirus. One year on, the United Synagogue’s Chief Executive, Steven Wilson, shares his reflections in this short piece.
Shabbat shalom,
Richard Verber Communications Director United Synagogue
P.S. Next week we'll be sending You&US out on Wednesday so do send us your news and views early and look out for the email in your inbox! The Pesach 2021 online programme With Pesach fast approaching we are offering a whole host of insightful and engaging online broadcasts on TheUS.tv. Ranging from pre-Pesach learning, to wine-tasting, music and comedy, there is something for everyone! All programmes will be available to watch live and on-demand after the event on TheUS.tv. Tribe Trumps Tribe recently sent families 'Tribe Trumps - the Pesach Edition'. With these cards, you can battle it out to win the most number of cards and pick up interesting facts along the way, and also discuss aspects of the Pesach story which jump out at you. The PDF download version of these cards can also be found by clicking the link below. Let my people Le-go! Tribe and the Jewish News invite all children to enter our Pesach competition! Build a model out of blocks for your Seder table and win a superb prize. We've already had some great entries. Send your designs to competition@tribeuk.com by this Monday (22 March) and you might win a 500-piece Lego set and be featured in the JN! The Great Escape There's fun for all this family with this superb Seder night 'Escape room' devised by Belmont United Synagogue's Rabbi Marc & Lisa Levene. Unlock the mysteries of the Pesach Seder, crack the codes and solve the puzzle! You can find the full instructions and booklet by clicking the link below. Is it kosher for Passover? Our friends at KLBD have been scouring the country for products which are kosher for Passover. Hit the link for their fabulous streamlined site for all your kosher queries. There are also notes on medicines, toothpaste and cosmetics. Please note this site is only applicable to products which are sold in the United Kingdom. Pesach Scavenger Hunt Itching to get out and about as lockdown restrictions ease over Pesach? Tribe have designed an exclusive and exciting scavenger hunt for the whole family, based in either Regents Park or Bushey Park. Sign up for free via the link below and we'll send you all the details on this twist on the traditional matzah ramble! WATCH NOW How is This Haggadah Different? Join the US' Rabbi Michael Laitner and Koren Publisher's Aryeh Grossman to explore a number of fascinating Haggadot, with amazing graphics (including comics!) and essays, described by some of the authors themselves – Adam Cohen, Jordan Gorfinkel, Erica Brown and Daniel Rose. These Haggadot make for wonderful additions to the Seder table. Available from Jewish bookshops and www.korenpub.com. Watch via the link below! WATCH TONIGHT AND ON DEMAND A Taste of the Four Cups Ahead of the festival of Pesach, join Rabbi Dov and Rebbetzen Freda Kaplan of United Synagogue’s Israel team for a virtual tour of Bat Shlomo Vineyards, to learn more about the process of wine-making in the Land of Israel. You can watch it by clicking the link below. WATCH THIS SUNDAY EVENING Exploring Pesach The United Synagogue presents a pre-Pesach evening of Jewish learning, featuring: 'Ha Lachma Anya' – a virtual invitation to the Seder with Dayan Ivan Binstock and 'Why is this food different?' – a presentation from Rabbi Jeremy Conway, Director of the KLBD. Sunday at 8.15pm, on TheUS.tv. BOOK NOW Cook Along with Naomi Nachman Cook along with Naomi Nachman – the acclaimed chef, author and Instagram sensation! Naomi will lead a cooking demonstration of three different dishes to use over Pesach on Tuesday 23 March at 7:15pm. Sign up now to receive an ingredient list and the Zoom details by clicking the link below. There's not one but two Divrei Torah from the Chief Rabbi this week! Click here to watch a D'var Torah on Parashat Vayikra. And click here to read the Chief Rabbi's Pesach message. KENTON UNITED SYNAGOGUE Kenton presents: Daniel Greenberg CB Join Kenton as they hear from Daniel Greenberg CB, a barrister specialising in legislation and the legislative process. His talk will be titled '30 Years in the Corridors of Power: a Perspective on the Pressures of Parliament'. Tonight at 8pm, live on Zoom. BELMONT UNITED SYNAGOGUE An evening with Shir Musicians Join Belmont for a live show with Shir Musicians Maurice Chernick and Ivor Goldberg, who will be playing songs from their varied repertoire of world music. Join in with the singalong on Zoom on Sunday 21 March at 8pm. Book now by clicking the link below. FINCHLEY UNITED SYNAGOGUE Mayor Election Series Join Kinloss for their Mayor Election Series, where tonight at 8pm Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence will be in conversation with Zack Polanski, Green Candidate for West Central London. To register for the event, please click here. COCKFOSTERS & N SOUTHGATE SYNAGOGUE CLC presents: Evy Cohen Evy Cohen is the granddaughter of Haimaki Cohen, and will be sharing the amazing true tale of her family and Princess Alice of Battenberg during WWII, live from the beautiful countryside of the Perche region of northwest France. Tuesday 23 March at 11am. MAGEN AVOT UNITED SYNAGOGUE Tour of the British Museum Join Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum for a special pre-Pesach tour of the British Museum. In this unique online tour you will be guided room by room to discover how Egyptology relates to the Exodus. Sunday 21 March at 8pm. Book now by clicking the link below. This week we have a special topical joke by Richard Marcus, Head of Campaigns at the United Synagogue.
Why can't you eat eight French potatoes on Pesach?
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