Do you want to find out more about Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav?..

Who doesn't? He's one of the most inspirational and charismatic of rabbis - and we JR members are invited to an online seminar on him, given by Dr Chani Smith.

Chani teaches Torah reading and chanting at Leo Baeck College. She studied Kabbalah and Musicology at the Hebrew University and flute and composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and wrote her PhD on music as a spiritual process in the teaching of Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav at UCL. Her book, “Tuning the Soul”, was published by Brill.

This is an unmissable opportunity to hear a first class speaker talk about her passion. Up till now, Leo Baeck College's extra mural programmes have only been available for Londoners - but not any more.

So what do you have to do to join in? The seminar takes place at 8pm on Thursday 8th October - on your computer or tablet. Before then, email admin@reformjudaism.org.uk and indicate you wish to have a place. Places are limited, so book early. You will be sent a short text to read in advance. You will also be sent joining instructions and these are very simple - just a matter of clicking on a link. If you have never tried online learning before, I can promise you it's very simple and satisfying. And if you are at all nervous (or have any further questions), email me at sherryashworth1@aol.com and I'll talk you through it.

And watch this space, as two more seminars are planned in this sequence entitled Discovering Jewish Thinkers - Thursday 12th November and Thursday 10th December. All sessions start at 8pm and last about an hour.
 

 

Rosh Hashanah arts and crafts

While the grown-ups were enjoying the service upstairs, our younger members were busy celebrating in the Alexander Levy Hall with an arts and crafts spectacular, run and organised by our own Pam Walker.

A sweet and creative new year to all!

#refugeeswelcome

Synagogues all over the country this Shabbat resounded with the message that we welcome refugees. Rabbi's sermon reminded us of our own history, and the empathy we feel with today's asylum seekers. I was glad that at yesterday's Rep Council meeting there was a strong statement on similar lines:

So ... what can we do to help?  If you want to donate money, World Jewish Relief has a fund set up all ready for you - here's a link
https://www.worldjewishrelief.org/ways-to-give/appeals/refugee-crisis/donate-step-1/ 

All around Manchester - including our own synagogue - there are drop-off points for goods and donations. Make sure donations are appropriate - eg Calais asylum seekers are mainly male so women's clothing is not required!

You can also donate time - once our asylum seekers arrive, we can join organisations which help them to settle and navigate their way around life in this country. I'll let you know when I find out more.

...

Did you know that the MRJ runs online learning sessions? Last night I logged on for an hour of Talmud with Rabbi Laura and an assortment of fellow Jews from locations including New York, Madrid and Glasgow! We studied a passage about all the different New Years there are, leading us to consider why Rosh Hashanah is so special.

If this appeals to you, watch out for details of the online lectures by Leo Baeck teachers in the autumn term. An unmissable opportunity - and all free! The technology is unbelievably simple and the whole experience is inspirational.

But that's not all. Jackson's Row is about to launch a campaign to re-energise our wonderful synagogue community - details from the bimah on Rosh Hashanah ...

Shanah Tovah to everyone!