Radlett’s Big Friday Night In

Radlett Reform Synagogue are holding an innovative “Big Friday Night In” on Friday 24 February.

Instead of the usual synagogue service, the community has planned interactive resources and activities reaching out to all members including those who live further away.

Rabbi Paul Freedman said: “The idea for our ‘Big Friday Night In’ came from work our Board members were doing on our Community Vision. We recognise that it can be quite difficult for some of our members to come to synagogue on a Friday night, either because of the distances and traffic involved or fitting it around family or dinner. We already stream our services, but this takes outreach to another level, creating an interactive, inclusive Shabbat, and helping our geographically dispersed members to have a sense that that we are all part of a much bigger community, participating wherever we are and in whatever way suits our own circumstances. We have already had excitement from members who have moved a long distance from the synagogue building and from those who are on holiday. We have specially prepared resources in the form of a Shabbat kit to order with candles, juice, challot, and Shabbat blessings, audio files, discussion sheets to download and interactive live-broadcast sessions, including songs for children, welcoming Shabbat together and a Q+A about our Czech scrolls”.