Chagigah means celebration, and
the MRJ communities have so much to celebrate right now, it’s hard to know
where to start. So let’s go for the beginning of the weekend, as I arrived at
Kenwood Hall in Sheffield, collected my welcome pack and sought familiar faces
at this gathering of the northern Reform communities. As this was not my first chagigah, I knew that
very soon all our different communities were going to merge into one big
community, but at the beginning, it all feels a bit strange.
That process of merging began in
Kaballat Shabbat, when Rabbis Fabian and Esther (Menorah and Sinai) led us in a
musical, service, binding us together in tunes and reflections. Dinner also
helped – and can I just say how lovely it is to have after-dinner conversations
with people you feel so comfortable with, even if you don’t know them properly.
We Reform Jews do have something special going on. After dinner there was music
again (thank you, Shir Chadash) and also a rare treat – some of our Rabbonim
sharing their own personal stories. I can tell you there’s not a corner of the
world Rabbi Fabian has not visited, Rabbi Esther fell in love through an
organisation called EuroJew and Rabbi Barbara Borts (Darlington) can sing Allan
Sherman’s Hello Mother, Hello Father from memory. Student Rabbi Kath Vardi was
a kibbutznik and Rabbi Laura claims to still be a teenage rebel. You heard it
first here!
From the breaking of the dawn on
Shabbat there were activities on offer. I found out about Jeremy Dable’s trip to
Calais, before going to my choice of Shabbat service – a text-based, spiritual
service with discussion. And it was quite a spot-hitter! There was also a
musical and a learning service. And afterwards we all came together for Torah
with Laura – always unmissable.
Shabbat afternoon is also for
rest and relaxation, but some of us gathered together for an impromptu reading
of Sheffield-educated Jack Rosenthal’s The Bar Mitzvah Boy. What a brilliant
play! Then – more sessions, too many to
list – and then our guest speaker, the wonderful Edie Friedman from JCore,
addressed us all. After dinner, those with initiative and energy partook in one
of the most ingenious quizzes devised by mankind (well, actually it was devised
by Caroline Kessler from Menorah.)
Sunday morning – more
inspirational sessions – but I am conscious I am not doing Chagigah justice. It
isn’t just about the learning and the meetings – it’s about friendship. The inbetween
conversations we all had made up the glue that holds us all together – it’s
amazing how much we all have in common.
At Chagigah, there’s no such thing as a lonely Jew! And I haven’t
mentioned RSY and their high-octane sessions for the kids, and the crèche, and
the crafts, and, and, and!
The worst thing about Chagigah
is that is has to end. But does it?
This year, things are rather
different. There’s a real desire among the northern communities to work (and
play) together more closely. There’s strength in numbers, and so much enrichment
in comparing and sharing. All the northern communities, both big and small,
have much to give each other. But do we have the money to turn this aspiration
into a reality?
Yes we do!!
Because the MRJ has awarded
grants to four projects in the north, and all of them will carry on the Chagigah
spirit. One is to ensure our smaller communities get input from rabbis and
musical experts *waves to Shir Chadash*. The second is to bring vastly increased
RSY provision to the north with frequent events for all youth in the north –
watch this space – it really is happening!
There are also two big learning
projects. One is to develop the online learning available together with small
group learning so we can continue studying alongside our new friends. The other
is to set up the RJ Institute – a programme for training congregants to take
services or parts of services, so we can help our rabbis and help each other
out. This institute will also train us to lead educational sessions in the
style of L’Chaim and increase our knowledge and confidence in Hebrew, in our
liturgy and our scholarship. You will be hearing a lot more about these projects
in the very near future.
In one of the concluding events,
a member of Sinai commented she had not seen so much energy and excitement in
the northern communities for a very long time.
And I would agree absolutely. While we all love our own individual synagogues
and communities, it’s so good to remember and experience the fact that we are
also all Northern Reform Jews. As the chair of MRJ, Robert Weiner, drew the
Northern Network meeting to a close, you could tell he was jealous of us ;).
We are lucky in our people – our
Rabbonim, our leaders and the wonderful Sarita Robinson, our northern
co-ordinator, who has brought so much connection and fun to our communities –
Northern Chagigah is her baby! But we are also lucky in having each other. The weekend
ended with a storytelling session from the amazing Shonaleigh Cumbers, who
entertained us with a tale about Luck and Wisdom. And here in the north we have
both!
