Elul Thoughts: Day 22
Some of us, when we consider our lives, may need to take ourselves apart, into nature, to find our own way of turning, teshuvah, repentance. Perhaps we have been taught not to trust our own natures, or could it be…
Israel’s election shows we have all become distracted from the goal of peace
Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner reflects on the Israeli election result in this piece for The Jewish Chronicle.
Elul Thoughts: Day 21
Rabbi Simcha Bunam distinguishes between sincere and insincere teshuvah. What might this mean for us? Rabbi Bunam was asked: “Why was the scene of worshipping the golden calf forgiven though we do not find it said in the Scriptures that…
Rabbi Charles Wallach z”l
Reform Judaism mourns Rabbi Charles Wallach z"l who died on 23 August. He was 69. Rabbi Charles Wallach was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Graduating with the class of 1975 at Leo Baeck College he served communities around the world…
Israeli athletes visit Newcastle Reform Synagogue
This year's World Transplant Games took place in Gateshead and Newcastle. Newcastle Reform Synagogue (NRS) were delighted that Nadia Stock, who received a bone marrow transplant 16 years ago, is one of the competitors. Nadia’s parents, Lisa and Paul, suggested…
EHRS Elul Dog Walk – celebrating the new year for animals
The first of Elul is the Jewish new year for animals, according to Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1. In Temple times it was the time that tithes should be calculated on flocks and herds. Just as Tu B’Shevat, the time for…
The Young Ones at EHRS
On Sunday 18 August, 26 babies and toddlers from 15 families came to Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue for our first “Tea and Tots” event. This event is part of the synagogue’s commitment to young families, for the past two…
Elul Thoughts: Day 20
Today’s reflection tells us that individual righteousness cannot exist without awareness and care for one’s generation. Care of trees was interpreted as meriting divine protection. [One] essential attribute of a righteous person’s proper attitude (intention/kavanah) in their actions is care…
Elul Thoughts: Day 19
As we come closer to the High Holy Days, the question of repentance and change draws nearer. Lucy Benjamin’s PhD thesis dissertation is on Hannah Arendt and climate change. Reflecting on the High Holy Days and teshuvah she writes: "As…
Elul Thoughts: Day 18
Reading this next passage might suggest that the rabbis were not especially interested in nature and what we now call the environment (as if we, too, were somehow not part of it.) Interpretations, however, insist that whatever we do should…