It is a proud moment for our community to both celebrate ... · no sound disturbs the sweet peace, sleep, my wee child, you sleep, too Wiegala, wiegala, wille, how silent the world

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It is a proud moment for our community to both celebrate as well as remember the Jewish communities of these two small Czech towns. Today it is also important to declare our commitment to Judaism, ensuring that we do not despair and to remind ourselves of the important message brought to us through these two Torah scrolls.

The first written evidence of Jews living in Horažďovice dates back to the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). We also know that Přeštice had Jewish inhabitants from ancient times. Various medieval sources tell us that Jews may have lived in Prague as early as in the 9th century and so it is not surprising that they moved to many parts of what is now the Czech Republic. Jewish contribution to the life of these cities was immense. Recently our

Chairman, J. O. , and I visited the town of Horažďovice in order to unveil the first five of the Stolpersteine (Stumbling Stones) commemorating the Jews of that town who perished in the Holocaust. The Mayor of the city said: “What a shame that there are no Jews living in this town anymore, as we recall their contribution to the life of the city, and we know that we could do so much more if they were here today.” This afternoon we remember the Jews of Horažďovice and Přeštice who perished in the Holocaust, and promise that their memory will always live within our hearts and that we will NEVER FORGET. Our thoughts today are with Shlomo Fischl, the sole survivor of Horažďovice, who has so beautifully revealed to us the life of the Jews of his home town before the horrors of the Second World War. R.D.T.S.

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Welcome by J.O

Chairman, Westminster Synagogue Scrolls Committee

Klezmer Medley

Performed by C.I

Brundibar

Introduced by M.A.Y

Reading of names of those from

Horažďovice and Přeštice who perished in the Holocaust

Memorial Service led by R.D.T.S

A vote of thanks by V.R.

Afternoon Tea

Catered by R.M, Compliments Catering

This event has been organised by the

Westminster Synagogue Scrolls Committee

J.O (chair), J.A, L.F,

E.F, V.R, D.S, A.S

in cooperation with the Education Department

N.Y and J.Z.

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C.I., piano accordion, will be playing some of the “klezmer” repertoire,

the celebratory and soulful music of Jewish Eastern Europe. A classically

trained pianist, C works as a keyboard player and accordionist in the pop and

world music fields. She has recorded and toured with many international

artists including Sinead O’Connor (Ireland), The Indigo Girls (US), Bonnie

Raitt (US), Joan Baez (US), Jackson Browne(US), Natacha Atlas (Egypt),

Sheik Taha (Egypt), Ahmed Mukhtar (Iraq), Abdel Ali Slimani (Algeria),

Guesch Patti (France), Phongsit Khampee and Surachai Janthimatorn

(Thailand).

The term “klezmer” comes from a combination of Hebrew words: kli, meaning "tool, or utensil" and zemer, meaning "to make music"; leading

to k'li zemer כ רמז ."literally "vessels of song" = "musical instrument ,יל

In special acknowledgement of the Czech Torah scrolls some melodies by Ilse Weber will be featured. Ilse Weber, (1903 - 1944), was a Jewish poet born in Witkowitz near Mährisch-Ostrau. She wrote songs and theatre pieces for Jewish children. In 1942 she was transported to Terezín with her younger son where she worked in the children's infirmary without the aid of medicines as they were forbidden to Jewish prisoners. She wrote around 60 poems during her imprisonment and set many of them to music, employing deceptively simple tunes and imagery to describe the horror of her surroundings. In performance she accompanied herself on guitar. She was voluntarily transported to Auschwitz in 1942 with the children

and died in the gas chambers, along with her son, Tommy. She is

survived by her oldest son who lives in Sweden.

Today excerpts from three of her best-known songs will be played:

• Ich wandre durch Theresienstadt (Wandering Through Terezín)

• Ade, Kamerad (Goodbye, Friend)

• Wiegala (Lullabye)

C is a founder member of the London Klezmer Quartet. For more

information visit: www.londonklezmerquartet.com

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Wiegala, wiegala, weier, der Wind spielt auf der Leier.

Er spielt so süß im grünen Ried, die Nachtigall, die singt ihr Lied.

Wiegala, wiegala, weier, der Wind spielt auf der Leier.

Wiegala, wiegala, werne, der Mond ist die Lanterne,

er steht am dunklen Himmelszelt und schaut hernieder auf die Welt.

Wiegala, wiegala, werne, der Mond ist die Lanterne.

Wiegala, wiegala, wille, wie ist die Welt so stille!

Es stört kein Laut die süße Ruh, schlaf, mein Kindchen, schlaf auch du.

Wiegala, wiegala, wille, wie ist die Welt so stille!

Wiegala, wiegala, weier the wind plays on the lyre,

it plays so sweetly in green reeds, the nightingale, it sings its song,

Wiegala, wiegala, weier the wind plays on the lyre.

Wiegala, wiegala, werne, the moon, it is a lantern

it stands in the dark firmament and gazes down upon the world.

Wiegala, wiegala, werne, the moon, it is a lantern.

Wiegala, wiegala, wille, how silent the world is!

no sound disturbs the sweet peace, sleep, my wee child, you sleep, too

Wiegala, wiegala, wille, how silent the world is!

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M.A.Y

Biography

M.A.Y is the award-winning Music Director of Charities Philharmonia, the

acclaimed opera company Little Operations, a prize-winning finalist at the Eighth

Leeds Conductors’ Competition and the Ninth International Pedrotti Conducting

Competition. M. has also worked with the English National Opera, Co-Opera and

London Youth Opera and has conducted across Europe and America. He has

recently been assistant conductor to Vladimir Jurowski with the London

Philharmonic Orchestra in London, Vienna and Moscow as part of their Britten

Centenary and joined the music staff of Grange Park Opera for their 2014 season.

M. began conducting whilst an undergraduate at the University of Leeds where he

was awarded the Lord Snowden Prize for being instrumental in raising the profile

of classical music at the university. He formed the Leeds University Union

Symphony Chorus and initiated a series of charity concerts in aid of Cancer

Research UK at Leeds Town Hall, which have since become annual events. Whilst

taking postgraduate conducting, piano and harpsichord studies at the Royal College

of Music, M. was awarded the London Philharmonic Orchestra Conducting

Fellowship, deferred until completing his studies. He was then twice holder of the

Sir Charles Mackerras Fellowship at Trinity College of Music, London. M. is an

alumnus of Agnes Kory at the Bela Bartok Centre for Musicianship.

For more information please visit

www.michaelalexanderyoung.com

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Brundibár is a children's opera by the Jewish Czech composer Hans Krása with

libretto by Adolf Hoffmeister. Now experiencing a belated revival, the opera is

known for having been performed many times in Terezín Concentration Camp

during World War II. We are performing a slightly reduced version today as part of

the commemoration of those who perished from the Czech towns, Horažd’ovice

and Přeštice.

Krása and Hoffmeister wrote the opera in 1938 for a government competition, but

the competition was later cancelled due to political developments. In the winter of

1942 the opera was first performed at the Jewish Orphanage in Prague: by this

time, composer Krása and set designer František Zelenka had already been

transported to Terezín ghetto. By July 1943, nearly all of the children of the

original chorus and the orphanage staff had also been transported to Terezín. Only

the librettist Hoffmeister was able to escape Prague in time.

Reunited with the cast in Terezín, Krása reconstructed the full score of the opera,

based on memory and the partial piano score that he managed to smuggle into the

camp, adapting it to suit the musical instruments available in the camp. A set was

once again designed by František Zelenka, formerly a stage manager at the Czech

National Theatre. On 23 September 1943, Brundibár premiered in Terezín.

Terezín

Before World War II, Terezín was simply a small town of approximately 5,000

people — but at the height of the war the camp held over 55,000. The eighteenth-

century fortress city northwest of Prague was named for Hapsburg Empress Maria

Teresa and called Theresienstadt in German.

The concentration camp Terezín was Hitler's "Model Ghetto." A careful facade of

a village, complete with schools, shops and even an orchestra was created to mask

the ghetto and camp functioning within. In 1941, shortly after the camp was

created a film, Hitler Gives the Jews a Town, was shot in Terezín. Images of

schoolchildren singing were sent to the outside world by the propaganda machine.

The camp was again "beautified" in June 1944, when the Nazis permitted the Red

Cross to visit. One of the performances the children of Terezín gave to these

outsiders was the opera Brundibár. It was performed fifty-five times by the

children of Terezín concentration camp, rarely by the same cast as children were

deported east. Krása, also Jewish, was killed in Auschwitz in 1944.

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Brundibár

At the heart of Brundibár (Czech for “bumblebee”) are a brother and

sister, Pepíček and Aninka. Their mother has fallen ill and the siblings

set out to find milk to save her. Without money to buy it, they try

singing on the street—but are stopped by the despotic organ grinder

Brundibár, who wants the town square all to himself. Their lullaby of

united voices wins over the crowd, much to the chagrin of the organ

grinder, and the siblings finally earn what they need to buy “milk for

Mommy.” He tries to steal their money but is chased away by the crowd.

All join in a chorus of triumph over evil, the same triumph for which the

children of Terezín ardently hoped when they assembled onstage in

1943: “Join us hand in hand / And be our welcome friend!”

The original poster for the performances of Brundibár in Terezín

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Cast of Brundibár

Aninku – A.C-R

Pepíček – L.D

Brundibár – R.L

Ice Cream Vendor – L.M

Baker – P.G

Milkwoman – T.SCK

Doctor – J.Y

Policeman – J.Z

Chorus – Teachers and Students of our Or Shabbat and B’nei Mitzvah

Programmes

Musical Director – M.A.Y

Produced and directed by N.Y

Original musical score by Hans Krása, adapted by M.A.Y

Original libretto by Adolf Hoffmeister, adapted by J.Z, N.Y and M.A.Y

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In Memoriam

Scrolls will be carried by Jean-Paul Rabin, Chair of the Education Committee, and

Roman Lewis, ‘Brundibár’.

O Lord God, source of all being and fountain of life, what can we say unto thee, who seest

and knowest all? In thy wisdom thou hast established the universe, and in thy love thou

providest for thy creatures. We can but acknowledge thine omnipotence, accept with

gratitude thy gifts, and submit to thy decrees.

O Lord God, shed the light of thy presence upon us as we gather in thy house of prayer, with

hearts bowed down by the losses of those whom thou hast taken to thyself, and whose lives

have been so cruelly cut off. Accept in thy great mercy the earthly lives which have ended,

and shelter with thy tender care these souls that are so precious to our hearts.

Reading of Names

93 Jews were transferred from Horažd’ovice by railway on transport Cd to Terezín on the 26th November 1942. Six Jews were deported by other means. Only seven survived. Today, not one Jew lives in Horažd’ovice.

The names and ages of the Jews from Horažd’ovice who perished during the Shoah:

Růžena Adlerová (68) Otto Adler (34) Jakub Adler (76) Karel Adler (51) Jaroslav Adler (48)

Josef Adler (36) Tomy Adler (8) Jindřiška Adlerová (33) Lili Alderová (age unknown) Hanuš

Petr Deutsch (11) Ela Deutshová (38) Zikmund Edelstein (77) Eliska Edelstein (71) Otto

Edelstein (44) Josefa Ehrenfreundová (43) Bertold Eisner (73) Vilem Eisner (42) Anna

Eisnerová (40)) Františka Eisnerová (73) Milena Eisnerová (5) Jan Elters (54) Barbora Elters

(43) Aharon Elters (31) Karel Fantl (20) Rudolf Fantl (59) Anna Fantlová (55) Karel Fischer

(42) Elsa Fischerová (31) Oskar (Cvi) Fischl (42) Adéla Fischlová (42) Ema Fischlová (68)

Ota Fried (58) Martin Friedman (82) Elsa Friedmanová (48) Karel Glauber (7) Valtr Glauber

(43) Gertruda Glauberová (30) Karel Kafka (57) Osvald Kafka (35) Otakar Kafka (34) Berta

Kafková (59) Eduard Katz (76) Jaroslav Katz (38) Karel Katz (28) Osvald Katz (41) Emilie

(Pesl) Katzová (56) Terezie Katzová (64) Gabriela Kaudersová (58) Artur Klein (37) David

Klein (85) Rudolf Klein (67) Valtr Klein (34) Efrosina Kleinová (63) Sali (Sorl) Kleinová (83)

Žofie (Sarche) Kleinová (63) Arnošt Kohn (62) Evženie Kohnová (42) Vojtěch Lederer (82)

Zofie Ledererová (81) Rerina Ledererová (74) Josefa Ledererová (61) David Loheit (67) Elsa

Loheitová (34) Khaia (Josefa) Loheitová (59) Alice Löwenstammová (70) Olga

Löwenstammová (40) Alfréd Löwy (47) František Löwy (14) Josef Löwy (79) Leo Löwy (15)

Ludvík Löwy (45) Richard Löwy (52) Emilie (Blimele) Löwyová (35) Františka (Frumit)

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Löwyová (78) Hana Löwyová (7) Marketa Löwyová (41) Růžena (Reijzl) Löwyová (45)

Zdenka Löwyová (13) Zikmund Mautner (41) František Münz (57) Hugo Münz (30) Malvina

Münzová (50) Josefa Pisingerová (43) Valerie Popper (47) Oskar Rainmann (60) Elsa

Raimannová (55) Erna Reikh (age unknown) Růžena Reichová (17) Arnold Schwarz (39)

Arnost Schwarz (19) Gustav Schwarz (54) Elsa Schwarzová (51) Helena Schwarzová (24)

Irma Schwarzová (47) Markéta Schwarzová (49) Bedřiška Singerová (38) Berta Singerová (69)

Mořic Steiner (81) Josefa Steinerová (71) Vilem Swarz (age unknown) Artur Treichlinger (53)

Jiří (Rene) Treichlinger (7) Josef Treichlinger (56) Charlota Treichlingerová (83) Eva

Treichlingerová (6) Gabriela Treichlingerová (45) Herta Treichlingerová (33) Karel Weiner

(66) Leo Weiner (39) Amalie Weinerová (c.66) Antonie Weinerová (27) Růžena Weisová (61)

41 Jews were transferred from Přeštice by railway on transport Cd to Terezin on the 26th November 1942. One was deported by other means. Only three survived. Today, not one Jew lives in Přeštice.

The names and ages of the Jews from Přeštice who perished during the Shoah:

Jindřich Adler (56) Helena Adlerová (25) Růžena Adlerová (60) Otto Bloch (age unknown)

Bedřich Gross (65) Karel Hanák (58) Heřman Hanák (75) Jiří Hanák (21) Ela Hanáková

(45) Hermína Hanáková (47) Růžena Hanáková (49) Alfred Hartmann (50) Josef

Hartmann (90) Josef Hartmann (56) Pavel Hartmann (16) Bedřiška Hartmannová (46)

Kamila Hartmannová (55) Valerie Hartmannová (19) Ota Klein (45) Arnoštka Kleinová

(72) Olga Kleinová (52) Arnošt Kuranda (57) Emilie Kurandová (57) Adolf Ornstein (64)

Karla Ornsteinová (60) Věra Picková (5) Marie Picková (34) Emil Roubiček (71) Kamil

Roubiček (45) Arnoštka Roubičková (66) Zdeňka Strickerová (28) Ota Šancer (59) Hanuš

Šancer (20) Hedvika Šancerová (51) Hana Šancerová (21) Matylda Waldsteinová (66)

Edvard Weigl (29) Anna Weiglová (55) Samuel Weigl (56)

Photo: Přeštice town monument to victims of Nazism

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God of our strength, help us in our weakness; comfort us in our sorrow; guide us in our

perplexity. Without thee our lives are nothing; with thee is fullness of life for ever. Uphold

us, O God, for we put our trust in thee.

May the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O

Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.

O God, full of compassion, who dwellest on high, grant perfect rest beneath the shelter of thy Presence, among the exalted holy and pure who shine like the light of the firmament, to the souls of our honoured and beloved ones who have gone to their eternal home. We beseech thee, Lord of compassion, shelter them for ever under the cover of thy wings; and bind their souls in the bond of life. The Lord is their inheritance; may they be at peace in their place of rest. And let us say Amen.

אל מלא רחמים שוכן במרומים. המצא ♪חת כנפי השכינה. מנוחה נכונה ת

והר במעלות קדושים וטהורים. יע הרק כז מזהירים. את־נשמות הנכבדים והאהובים

נאונשרפו והלכו לעולמם. שנהרגו על א ביך לעולמים. הסתירםים הרחמ תר כנפ בס

וצרור בצרור החיים את־נשמתם. יהוה הוא וחו שלום על משכבם. ונאמר ב נחלתם וינ

אמן

Kaddish

Magnified and sanctified be the great Name of

God throughout the world which he has

created according to his will. May he establish

his kingdom during your life and during your

days and during the life of the whole house of

Israel, speedily and before long; and say Amen.

May his great Name be blessed for ever and to

all eternity.

Blessed, praised and glorified, exalted, extolled

and honoured, esteemed and lauded be the

Name of the Holy One, blessed be he, though

he be above all blessings and hymns, praises

and consoling words, that are uttered in this

world; and say Amen.

יתגדל ויתקדש שמה רבא בעלמאוימליך מלכותה כרעותה. די־ברא

בחייכון וביומיכון ובחיי די־כל־בית ישראל בעגלא ובזמן קריב. ואמרו

אמן:

יהא שמה רבא מברך לעלם ולעלמי עלמיא.

יתברך וישתבח ויתפאר ויתרומם

עלה ויתהלל שמה ויתנשא ויתהדר וית לא מן־כל־ די ־קדשא.בריך הוא. לע

חתאברכתא ושירתא ונחמתא תשב

־אמירן בעלמא. ואמרו אמן:די

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May abundant peace from heaven, and life, be

granted unto us and unto all Israel; and say

Amen.

May he who makes peace in his high heavens grant peace unto us and unto all Israel; and

say Amen.

ינו יהא שלמא רבא מן־שמ יא וחיים על

ועל־כל־ישראל. ואמרו אמן.

עשה שלום במרומיו הוא יעשה שלום

ינו ועל־כל־ישראל. ואמרו אמן .על

The Lord bless thee and keep thee:

The Lord make his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace.

ך: יברכך יהוה וישמר

יך פניויאר יהוה ך אל : ויחנ

יך וישם לך שלום: פניוישא יהוה אל

Scrolls are returned

A vote of thanks

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Lifelong Learning

"On three pillars the world stands: on Torah, Worship and Kind Deeds." (Pirkei Avot 1:2)

At Westminster Synagogue, education is a central pillar of our community and we pride ourselves on being a centre of lifelong learning and on providing a broad range of learning and enrichment opportunities to all of our members, from the youngest to the not so young. Go to our website to find out more about the different strands of our educational provision and by all means get in touch if you have questions or to make suggestions as to other courses or learning opportunities you might be interested in.

Tots Shabbat – monthly sessions for tiny ones from 0-2 years old.

Or Shabbat - more than a weekly religion school, this is a hub for our young families which takes place in our suite of classrooms on Shabbat mornings. Classes are provided for children aged 3-11 after which they join our B’nei Mitzvah Programme.

B’nei Mitzvah Programme - this is our concentrated, innovative two-year programme to prepare Jewish children to take on their responsibilities as Jewish adults, which runs on Friday late afternoons.

GCSE Jewish Studies - a two year course offered to 13-16 year olds as a way to extend their Jewish learning.

Teens Activities - we offer a range of opportunities for our teenagers to remain active and involved in our community and in touch with their friends.

Or Chadash - our vibrant educational programme for converts to Judaism, or those who want to know more about their religion.

Or Zaruah - a monthly programme of shiurim, or study sessions, led by the Rabbi and related to the current Torah portion.

Hebrew learning - join our specialist teachers for weekly Hebrew lessons, no matter what your level.

Lunch and Learn - A mid-week monthly study group led by the Head of Education and the Rabbi, covering a range of topics in Judaism.

Women's Bat Mitzvah - An all-women learning group who meet monthly on a Monday evening from 6.00-7.30pm for text exploration with Rabbi Janet Burden.

Adult learning - we offer a range of other cultural events at the synagogue from lectures to ‘in conversation’ events, to film screenings.

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A sacred responsibility

The Memorial Scrolls Trust has a sacred responsibility for 1,564 Czech Torah scrolls rescued from the Holocaust by the Prague Jewish community. The trust works to:

Remember European Jewish life before the Holocaust as well as its tragic destruction

Challenge those who interact with its scrolls to confront prejudice

Inspire them to action by working to build bridges across communities

Through the work of the Trust, today, these scrolls can be found in every corner of the globe. They help their host congregations to defiantly enable the continuity of Jewish life and provide a focus for education, interfaith understanding and action.

Czech Memorial Scrolls Museum

Designed and built in Germany by award-winning designer Fritz Armbruster, the Czech Memorial Scrolls Museum tells the story of the Scrolls and their odyssey from Bohemia and Moravia to Westminster Synagogue in London in 1964 and then on to new homes throughout the world over the past 50 years. Unlike other museums which present the grim narrative of the Holocaust, this remarkable museum, opened in September 2008, tells the inspiring story of the survival and second life of 1,564 Torah Scrolls from Bohemia and Moravia.

The Museum is open to the public Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 am to 4 pm or by arrangement for groups of up to 50 people.

To learn more about the work of the

Memorial Scrolls Trust, visit their website

www.memorialscrollstrust.org

call: 020 7584 2754 or email

[email protected].

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Westminster Synagogue

Westminster Synagogue is a vibrant central London congregation in Knightsbridge. Founded in 1957 by a small group of families, it is now a thriving community of 500 families. The three rabbis who have led the community since its inception – Harold Reinhart, Albert Friedlander and Thomas Salamon – have all remained true to the spirit and passion of the founding principles. Its distinctive worship tradition reflects the historical development of British Reform Jewish liturgy, with influences from many different sources. It is a warm and welcoming independent community which allows members to practise Judaism in their own way without criticism or judgment.

Kent House

The Synagogue’s home, Kent House, is a Victorian townhouse that stylishly combines historical elegance with the intimacy of a private home. It is now considered amongst the best of London venues and is available for hire. The Sanctuary, the spiritual heart of the Synagogue, occupies the former ballroom and music rooms. Ground floor rooms offer space for meditation, learning and communal gathering with an excellent and up-to-date Jewish Library. The lower floors have ensured a new vibrancy for the Synagogue, as generations of children and young adults become part of the regenerated Westminster Synagogue story.

Czech Memorial Scrolls Museum

The Czech Memorial Scrolls Museum is housed on the third floor of Kent House. It has now been 50 years since the scrolls arrived at Westminster Synagogue. These dynamic messengers have been given a second life as a focus for education, interfaith and understanding. Both Jews and non-Jews alike have been deeply moved by the human tragedy implicit in what they have seen and greatly uplifted by the story with its positive message of hope, continuity and resilience.

For more information about Westminster Synagogue, visit the website www.westminstersynagogue.org or contact Rabbi Dr Thomas Salamon on 0207 584 3953 or [email protected]