12th December 2020 / 26th Kislev 5781
Vayeishev / Mevarachim HaChodesh
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 18th & 25th December - Book Here
Shabbat Services - Saturday 19th & 26th December - Book Here
Monday 14th at 6.45am, Tuesday 15th at 6.45am, Wednesday 16th at 6.40am, Thursday 17th at 6.45am & Friday 18th at 6.45am in Shul and on Zoom.
Sunday 13th at 8.15am in Shul and on Zoom
Ma’ariv: Monday 14th, Tuesday 15th, Wednesday 16th & Thursday 17th 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 kindly sponsored by
Irene and Felton Wald in loving memory of their parents
Rivka bat Pinchas (z’l) and Chaya Peral bat Avraham (z’l)
Shabbat Shalom,
Cranbrook US
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News and Views
We have just started celebrating Chanukah on Thursday. The festival commemorates the fight of the Maccabees with the Syrian Greeks at the beginning of the period of the Second Temple. The Greeks defiled the temple and placed idols inside it. They also forbad the Jews to practice their religion, specifically studying Torah, Brit Milah and Shabbat.
The Maccabees, led first by Matisyahu, and later on by his son Yehudah, fought against the Greek regime, and finally beat an army far greater and better equipped than them. A band of poorly trained soldiers against the might of Greece with all of its modern weapons, and yet the Maccabees prevailed. It was clearly a miracle. Once the Greeks had been defeated the Maccabees entered the temple, cleaned it, and reconsecrated the altar which had been defiled by the Greeks. Finally, they lit the Menorah with the last remaining vial of oil which was unblemished and had the seal of the Kohein Gadol [high priest]. A miracle occurred, and the vial which was only supposed to last one night lasted for a whole eight nights.
There are clearly two aspects to the story - the military victory and the fact that the oil lasted for all of eight days. While we mention the victory of the Maccabees in the prayer Al Hanissim, we commemorate the festival by lighting the candles for eight nights, showing that the main miracle was the lighting of the candles. Why should we give precedence to this miracle above the military one? It is also interesting to note that the Chanukiah is one of the most important symbols for Jews. It is up there with the Magen David - the star of David. Why is it so important?
There is a great deal of significance in the lights. The Greeks tried to darken our lives, by forcing their culture and values upon us. Their culture and belief system were purely based upon nature and natural phenomenon. They glorified in the physical - the perfection of the body, but denied the concept of spirituality and centrality of spirituality in all of our lives. Eat, drink, enjoy the prowess and power of the body. Nothing else exists, because nothing else can be proven. The Greeks only believed in what they saw.
The miracle of the victory showed that there was more than what meets the eye. The Greeks were blind to the possibility that there exists more than the eye can perceive. A baby being born is more than science, the heights and achievements of mankind are more than can be explained by atoms and neurons. The very fact of Jewish existence moves beyond the perception of man. That we should continue to exist as a nation through so much destruction is a miracle.
We are more than our physical structures. Man too is created in the image of G-d and we can achieve G-dly things. The Torah shows us how to act, how to achieve those lofty levels of spirituality. It is no surprise that Torah is considered to be like light, and the soul is also compared to the light of G-d.
We light the candles to exemplify this important lesson - Am Yisrael Chai - the Jewish people lives, and we are a nation that exemplifies the centrality of spirituality and light in the world.
Shabbat Shalom and Channukah Sameach from Rabbi Steven, Siobhan, Maya and Talia.
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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!
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Service Times - Vayeishev
Kabbalat Shabbat in Shul at 3.15pm
Candle Lighting before 3.36pm
Shabbat morning at 9.30am
Shabbat ends at 4.45pm
Kabbalat Shabbat next week in Shul at 3.35pm
Shabbat Candle lighting and Shabbat Begins next week (Miketz) at 3.37pm.
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Rosh Chodesh Tevet is next Wednesday, 16th December (B'Yom Revi'i); today we bless the new month. The Molad (the time of the first sighting of the moon in Jerusalem) is on Tuesday, 15th December at 4.51am and 2 chalakim. Shacharit will be at 6.40am on Wednesday morning.
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Service Times
Friday 25th (Fast of Tevet - 6.15am to 4.44pm)
- Shacharit will be at 8.15am in Shul and on Zoom.
- Kabbalat Shabbat at 3.15pm
Shabbat 26th
- Morning Service at 9.30am
Sunday 27th
- Shacharit will be at 8.15am in Shul and on Zoom.
Monday 28th
- Shacharit will be at 8.15am in Shul and on Zoom.
- Ma'ariv at 7.30pm on Zoom only
Tuesday 29th, Wednesday 30th and Thursday 31st
- Shacharit will be at 8.15am in Shul and on Zoom.
- Ma’ariv at 7.30pm in Shul and on Zoom.
Friday, 1st January
- Shacharit will be at 8.15am in Shul and on Zoom.
- Kabbalat Shabbat at 3.45pm
Normal service times resume on 2nd January
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Zoom Service Details
Weekday Shacharit: in Shul and on Zoom
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 6.45am, Wednesday at 6.40am.
Sunday at 8.15am
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
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COVID PRECAUTIONS
MEN TO ENTER THROUGH THE FRONT DOORS.
PROCEED STRAIGHT TO A SEAT WITHOUT STOPPING. AVOID GREETING AND TALKING IN FOYER
LADIES TO ENTER THROUGH SIDE DOORS AND PROCEED TO SEATS KEEPING TO THE LEFT
ALL CLOAKROOMS ARE CLOSED KEEP BELONGINGS WITH YOU
MEN TO EXIT ONLY THROUGH THE SIDE AND REAR FIRE EXITS
LADIES TO EXIT USING THE MAIN STAIRCASE, KEEPING LEFT AT ALL TIMES AND PROCEED SLOWLY DOWN THE STAIRS TO FRONT FORECOURT
PLEASE OBSERVE THE 2M SOCIAL DISTANCING RULE AT ALL TIMES
WASH HANDS REGULARLY
Please remember the Guidelines are there for your protection and safety.
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David Leonard, Gia Nathan, Anita Silver,
Sylvia Lixenberg, Martin Solomons and
Stanley Weston on their respective birthdays.
Liz Levison on the birth of a great grandchild.
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Condolences to:
Sylvia Green on the loss of her husband, Arnold Green.
Maurice Green, Lawrence Green and Ruth Springer on the loss of their father, Arnold Green.
Ethel Moss on the loss of her husband, Dennis Moss.
Philip Moss and Debra Sands on the loss of their father, Dennis Moss.
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Keith Biller, Mavis Bonham, Betty Bush, Terence Chyte, Bertram Clapper, Ruth Clifford, Stephen Colman, Melvin Danser, June Decker, Paul Dobin, Hilary Epstein, Leila Fields, Esther Frankel, Antony Gadian, Julian Gold, Stephen Goldberg, Susan Goldman, Freda Goldstein, Norman Goldstein,
Gerald Grant, Alan Harrison, Betty Herman, Morris Huberman,
Michael Kenner, Sandra Kisby, Simone Kramer, Harry Lefcovitch,
Alison Lennard, Susan Levine, Norma Levinson, Shirley Lewis,
Maureen Linder, Debra Mandel, Sara Mandel, Barry Mandel, Stuart Mandel, Alan Marcus, Cyril Marks, Sheila Mason, Evelyn Masters, Estelle Mendoza, Howard Mendoza, Lawrence Michaels, Ethel Moss, Stephanie Mullish, Estella Nathan, Melanie Nathan, Gillian Newman, Leslie Palmer, Ivor Perl, Michael Pizer, Elaine Price, Angela Roberts, Alan Rogoff, Andrew Rutman, Eleanor Senchal, Stella Shaw, Simon Shaw, Doris Sheril, Warren Smith, Sylvia Stoller, Howard Temple, Harvey Tibber, Blanche Van Gelder,
Frances Wallace, Diane Windsor, Ruth Wolfe and Ronald Young.
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Bereishit - 27-30 December 2020
Introducing the online Bereishit winter programme! Be part of 30 plus communities and organisations, speakers from around the world, and all from the comfort of your own home! Two weeks left to book your place!
Keynotes: the South African Chief Rabbi, Eli Beer, refusenik Yosef Mendelowitz, Lord Mann, Rabbi Dov Ber Cohen
Choice of 4 tracks - Jewish Practice, Text, Jewish Horizons and Relationships, with sessions ranging from Dealing with Conflict to The Coca Cola Kashrut Controversy, The First Jewish American Spy, A tour of Chevron, Davening at Home.
Keynote interviews with James Libson, Jo Grose & Rabbi Liss on Shuls in 2021, Israeli nurse and cancer survivor Libbie Goldstein and more.
Book your place via www.bereishit.org and check out an incredible international lineup.The dates are the mornings of 27-30th December
Bereishit is introducing a special tribute session to Rabbi Sacks with Rabbi Daniel Rowe and Lord Kestenbaum, the former Chief Executive of the Office of the Chief Rabbi.
It is also running The Horizon International leadership conversation featuring
- UK: Claudia Mendoza, CEO of Jewish Leadership Council
- Hong Kong: Rachel Friedmann, Principal of the Carmel School Association, --Asia's Jewish K-12 through-school
- Germany: R’ Zsolt Balla, rabbi of Leipzig and board member of Germany’s Rabbinical Council
- Israel: Fleur Hassan Nahoum, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem and co-founder of the UAE-Israel Business Council
- Gibraltar: R' Noiky Roberts, international speaker, school leader & communal Rabbi
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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!
I look forward to hearing from you.
Philippa Stanton - Editor
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.
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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.
For £5 a month (for at least twelve months) you are entered into a monthly draw for one prize of £250, and a second prize of £100. There is no limit to the number of times you can win.
To join please fill out the application form by clicking here.
Click here for the September and October winners.
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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.
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