DUE TO THE CURRENT SITUATION WITH THE CORONA VIRUS …

www.sps.uk.com

The

A P R I L 2 0 2 0 N I S S A N 5 7 8 0

DUE TO THE CURRENT SITUATION WITH THE CORONA

VIRUS AND FORCED CLOSURE OF SPS, WE HAVE

ADVERTISED SOME FORTHCOMING EVENTS ALTHOUGH

THEY ARE VERY LIKELY TO BE CANCELLED.

WE WILL BE STREAMING THE EREV SHABBAT AND

SHABBAT MORNING SERVICES.

IF CIRCUMSTANCES ARE SUCH THAT WE HAVE TO CANCEL

SCHEDULED EVENTS, WE WILL LET YOU KNOW BY EMAIL.

IF YOU ARE NOT ON EMAIL, PLEASE CONTACT LYNDA, OUR

ADMINISTRATOR, ON 020 8886 0977, TO CHECK IF THESE

EVENTS ARE STILL GOING AHEAD. NOTHING IS TAKING

PLACE AT SPS AT THE PRESENT TIME AND THE SITE IS

NOW CLOSED.

WE WISH YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES SAFE AND WELL IN

THESE EXTREME TIMES AND LOOK FORWARD TO

RETURNING TO NORMAL IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

Rabbi Yuval and Lynda, our Administrator, will be

available by phone and email.

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Yom Hashoah/Yom Ha’atzmaut ..... Page 8-9

Community ................................... Page 14

Directory ...................................... Page 15-16

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WE ARE HERE TO HELP

On behalf of the SPS Welfare

Commi�ee we wanted to let you

know that if you are self-isola ng

or affected by the Coronavirus we

can offer you any support to the

best of our abili es.

Whether picking up shopping,

collec ng medical supplies,

pos ng mail or just a friendly

phone call please do not hesitate

to make contact either by phone

or email the Synagogue Office,

the Welfare Commi�ee or any

other member of the Council. All

the contact details are listed in

the back of 'The Gate'.

Keep careful and well

André M Grossman

Chair of Welfare Committee

Rabbi Yuval invites you, your family and friends to all the Shabbat &

Pesach services.

He will be streaming them online via Zoom and Facebook -

h<ps://www.facebook.com/SouthgateProgressiveSynagogue/

We will email details every week.

If you are worried about the situa on or need support please contact

Rabbi Yuval on 020 8886 0050 or email [email protected].

Please also let the Rabbi know if you are aware of any members who

could benefit from extra support at this me.

You may also contact the members of the Execu ve or

the Synagogue office on 020 8886 0977.

All phone numbers are in The Gate Directory on page 15.

www.sps.uk.com 4

We have had a posi ve start to the year with a very successful Fish ‘n

Chip Quiz supper with our wonderful quiz-se�ers, Carol and Michael

Stanfield. Thanks to everyone who helped set up the hall in the morning

and all those who joined in clearing it all up during and at the end of the

evening.

It was interes ng going round the tables and listening to comments; the

majority very posi ve. Although the fish was a li�le bit late in arriving,

there was plenty of food to keep everyone happy throughout the

evening and a good profit for Synagogue funds was made.

Sunday 8th

March was the Purim Spiel. Unfortunately, due to a prior

arrangement, I was not able to a�end but understand it was very

successful and enjoyed by young and old alike. Thank you to the RAC,

House and Educa on commi�ees for collabora ng to ensure everything

went smoothly. There are some great photos on our Facebook page.

As men oned in my February JoHngs, the first Harry Jacobi Memorial

Lecture was due to be held in May. However, due to the Coronavirus, it

has been agreed to postpone this Lecture un l the Autumn. Once a date

has been agreed you will be no fied and I hope many of you will be able

to support it.

Following a sugges on from the Listening Project, we are holding an

AJernoon Tea and Crazy Golf at Trent Park, on Sunday 14th

June. Details

are on page 5 (opposite). This promises to be a fun aJernoon for all the

family so do try and join in.

Our new Social commi�ee, chaired by Julian Sampson, will be organising

different social ac vi es including walks and talks. If you would like to

be involved in being on the commi�ee and/or helping organise any

future events, please do contact him on 07979 313 626.

Have a good Pesach and enjoy your Seder, wherever it might be.

B’shalom

Co Vice Chairman

JOTTINGS FROM THE CO VICE-CHAIR

www.sps.uk.com 5

SPS Social & Cultural Commi�ee present

Afternoon Tea & Crazy Golf!

At

On Sunday 14 June from 3:30pm

Next to Trent Park Country Club

£16 adult, £10 under 12s and £5 under 4s!

Kids – bring your parents – and grandparents!

Places limited – book early to avoid disappointment!

Contact Peter on 07957 233 647 / [email protected]

www.sps.uk.com 6

Religious AcAviAes Commi<ee

Welcome to April’s RAC joHngs!

Firstly, I am very pleased to say that my appeal for new members to

join the Religious Ac vi es Commi�ee has been answered and I am

very pleased to welcome Anita Best to our lovely commi�ee. I would

be very happy to welcome more of you onto our commi�ee, so if you

would like more informa on or just to have a chat then please do

contact me.

For the last 4 months, the main news item has been the Coronavirus

(CoViD-19) which has now been classed as a Pandemic by the World

Health Organisa on. We have con nued running Shabbat and fes val

services during that me but with the spread of the disease within

the UK, it may be necessary to postpone or cancel celebra ons and

even services. We will be guided by government recommenda ons

and will inform members through emails and the SPS website.

As I write this ar cle, we have just celebrated Purim. I was unable to

a�end due to it being the first mee ng of my Ba’alei Tefillah course

but from all accounts it was a great aJernoon that was enjoyed by all,

with something for everyone!

I would like to thank all the lovely ladies of the House Commi�ee for

providing the food and drink, Rachelle for the sandwiches, Barbara

Ostermeyer for the cakes, Jill for the goody bags and to Debi Penhey

who organised the aJernoon and all of the ac vi es. Finally, I would

like to thank Rabbi Yuval for the spiel, the study session and running

the aJernoon. It was a great success which we will repeat next year.

I am delighted that the SPS community will be joining with Arthur

Gold and his family for his Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, 18th

April. Please

do come along and join us as Arthur takes his next step in the Jewish

lifecycle.

www.sps.uk.com 7

Religious AcAviAes Commi<ee

April is a busy month with Pesach, Yom Hashoah and Yom Ha’atzmaut

and Yom Hazikaron all coming up. Unfortunately, due to current

circumstances, our communal seder will not be taking place this year.

Our Yom Hashoah event takes place on Sunday 19th

April star ng at

4pm. Rabbi Yuval will lead a service, followed by a talk en tled

“Holocaust humour is no laughing ma�er”, aJer which there will be a

film (Life is Beau ful).

The last of the fes ve celebra ons is the combined Yom Ha’atzmaut

(Israel Independence Day celebra on) and Yom Hazikaron (the Israeli

Memorial Day) which will take place on Tuesday 28th

April. It always

amazes me to see footage of Israeli drivers pulling to the side of the

road, stopping their cars and geHng out to stand for the two minutes

that the siren sounds. Compare that to the UK’s Remembrance Day

observance!

As well as all of the above, there are the regular Erev Shabbat and

Shabbat morning services!

As you can see, there is a lot going on this month and I hope to see

you at SPS.

B’Shalom,

Philip

www.sps.uk.com 8

Please join us on Sunday

19 April, 4.00pm as we

commemorate Yom Hashoah

with a short service

led by Rabbi Yuval

The Subject: Holocaust Humour, no laughing matter.

We will explore the role of humour as a coping mechanism in the lives of holocaust victims and survivors, and post-holocaust depictions of the holocaust through humour.

Refreshments will follow the talk

At 5:30 we will show the

Italian comedy-drama film

'Life Is Beautiful' (1997)

directed by and starring

Roberto Benigni. the film

is about how a Jewish

father uses humour to

shield his young son from

the grim realities of the

holocaust.

All are welcome to join us

for either the service and

talk, the film or both.

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On Tuesday 28 April

at 7.30pm

we will be

celebrating

Yom Ha’Atzmaut

(Israel Independence Day).

A short service will be held and

Rabbi Yuval will show a presentation

about how Israelis see themselves

through video clips and commercial

adverts.

There will also be Israeli music.

Refreshments will be served.

All welcome.

For catering purposes, please email

[email protected] or call

020 8886 0977 to let us know you will be

joining us .

www.sps.uk.com 10

March was a busy month for Ruach. Since we are currently

learning about Shabbat, we tried our hand at making Challah

and Kneidlach (Matzah Balls) for our Shabbat evening soup. See

photos (opposite).

With Purim approaching, we also made Homentashen. I am

reliably informed that it was all YUMMY!

Thank you to all the parents who took part in the family service,

and who enjoyed the students' performance of another short

play, this me about the Golden Calf.

The term finished with the Ruach Pesach Seder, featuring our

tradi onal Hard Boiled Egg Bashing Challenge, and new last

year, the song "Baby Sheep doo doo doo doo!"

During April, Ruach will enjoy a break for Passover, returning on

25th April, just in me to celebrate Israeli Independence Day,

with a special Yom Ha'Atzmaut Picnic in the park,

weather permiHng.

We wish you all a kosher, happy, and healthy Pesach!

Gwendolen Burton

Head Teacher

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Board of DepuAes

The March mee ng was held in the Birmingham Central Synagogue —

one of the few during the year held in the Provinces.

Lyn Davis and I were unable to a�end, but I viewed the mee ng via

YouTube; a live view is available for all monthly mee ngs, for anyone

interested.

The Guest Speaker was Jess Phillips, a local M.P who was well known to

the local Jewish community, several of whom spoke most highly of her.

She spoke with great humour even though much of the talk, and

following ques ons from the floor, was of a serious nature.

She said she would hold the new Labour leader to account over their

implementa on, in full, of the HRC report, which she was sure will be

damming in its finding. She said this with a degree of knowledge, as she

had submi�ed to the Commission a long statement personally. This, we

can be sure, was not complimentary to her own Labour Party. She holds

the Corbyn gang to be responsible for all that happened, and this also

included the office officials who were not in any way suppor ve of our

Community and ac vely hos le to Israel. She felt these would need to be

swept away under the new leadership. Time will tell.

The other main topic was the discussion as to if there should be a merger

between the Board and the Jewish Leadership Council. This was

proposed several years ago, and brought back to life by a new approach

from the JLC. The Board’s President, Marie van der Zyl, broadly supports

nego a ons subject to a final agreement , but it seems JLC are not so

keen if it means a full amalgama on. JLC appear to favour a closer

working rela onship to avoid duplica on of opera ons, which also

makes sense with the ght financial parameters which both

organisa ons work under.

Eric Bradman

Deputy for SPS

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Happy Birthday to all our younger members

celebraAng their birthdays in April

Community NoAces

Wishing a speedy recovery to all those who have been unwell during the last month, including:

Otto Dekan, Julianna Massil, Sylvia Brent,

Terence Feldman, Maurice Pam, Penelope Wurzal Lewis Shurlin

Condolences to:

The family of Esther Lee

And to all those who have lost a loved one during this past month.

Our thoughts are with you.

6 Rosie Baynes 11

8 Gabrielle Yaakov 12

14 Alice Dack 8

14 Samuel Bedworth 7

www.sps.uk.com 15

DIRECTORY

Rabbi: Yuval Keren 020 8886 0050 [email protected] Office Administrator: Lynda Cannon 020 8886 0977 [email protected]

Co-Vice Chairs: Carole Shotts [email protected] Phyllis Freedman Hon Treasurer/DD: Stephen Lesley [email protected] Hon Secretary: Barbara Martin [email protected]

Additional Council Members 2019-2020:

Graham Levi-Samper, Julian Sampson, Carole Shotts, Phyllis Freedman, Marion

Smith, Michelle Raab, Philip Zeligman, Rachelle Ellenby & Norma Jacobs .

Southgate Progressive Synagogue

75 Chase Road, Southgate, London, N14 4QY

Tel no : 020 8886 0977

Office Hours : Monday—Thursday 9.00am - 4.00pm

Friday CLOSED

www.sps.uk.com

Hon. Life President: Pearl Phillips

Hon. Life Vice President: Phyllis Freedman

Vice-Presidents : Anita Best, Robert Dulin, Jane Greenfield,

Barbara MarAn, Gerald Ostermeyer,

Daphne Stern, Freda Dulin & Marion Smith

Trustees: David Hockman, Howard White & Sue Jessel

www.sps.uk.com 16

The Gate Lynda Cannon [email protected] Book Club Marion Smith [email protected]

Education Debi Penhey [email protected] Hall Lettings Lynda Cannon [email protected] House Committee Barbara Martin [email protected] Interfaith: Lyn Davis [email protected] Marriage Sec Jill Newton [email protected] Membership Sec Barbara Martin [email protected] RAC Philip Zeligman [email protected] Ruach Head Teach. Gwendolen Burton [email protected] Ruach Office Shelley Samuels [email protected] Security Mark Saunders [email protected] Site Maintenance Jane Greenfield [email protected] Social Activities Phyllis Freedman [email protected] Website David Myers [email protected] Welfare Andre Grossman [email protected] CLUBS Bridge Club Alex Kennedy Friendship Club Edna Ross JACS Dorothy Baker Jewish Care Connect 020 8457 7032 [email protected] Table Tennis Club Anthony Marsh FUNERALS Ronnie King 020 8368 7453 [email protected]