PESACH - Do It Yourself!

A message from the Rabbi ...

Approaching Pesach  I’m captivated by the many versions of the Haggadah that I use for commentaries, teaching and learning.

Among my favourites recently published is  the 2 volume My People’s Haggadah which is like sitting at a Seder with some of the world’s greatest  scholars and sharing the round table discussion between them – only there’s enough there for decades of Sedarim!  Also  the new Haggadah produced by the novelist and film-maker Jonathan Safran Foer which combines learning with fun. And I could go on and on…..

But you know which is the best Haggadah of all ? The one you and I are producing with our friends and family. 

 Yet to be put into writing – still at the discussion  round the table stage – usually over the meal. I know one family who actually did write their family story down as a companion to the Haggadah and circulated it among themselves.

This leads me to a plug for our new Book Club idea. Interest has been expressed amongst us to share our Jewish reading together.  My interest is Jewish History and I recently introduced from the pulpit the late Sir Martin Gilbert’s book  In Ishmael’s House  - a History of Jews in Muslim Lands(2010) which I highly recommend. But you may prefer to share your reading of a novel  or a travel book, or humour, or something spiritual. 

Let’s hear from you if you would like to join this new venture.

                                                ...

Rabbi was also one of the many signatories of the following letter that was published on the Guardian website, following the budget. The letter was sent by the UK Progressive rabbinate.

We view with great concern the fact that for the third year running the issue of child poverty has been absent from the proposals contained in the budget, and a misleading claim made that the rates of child poverty have gone down. We feel that it is absolutely essential that any discussion of Britain’s economic wellbeing also considers the 4 million children – equivalent to nine in every classroom of 30 children – who are growing up in hardship. This should shame us all. 

Soon Jewish people throughout the world will be celebrating the festival of Passover. We will eat “the bread of poverty” and consider how to transform it into the “bread of freedom”. Freedom from poverty is a basic freedom – one that should be part of the birthright of every child in Britain.




                                            .....


And a pre-Pesach date for your diaries. If you've ever thought about coming to a Shir Chadash service on a Friday night (see previous blog entry for more information), come THIS Friday. We are raising funds for Hat-tastic - supporting Brain Tumour research - as well as celebrating our congregant Darren Walshaw's 50th birthday.  As many of you know, Darren has been diagnosed with an advanced brain tumour, and has his own blog, Heaven Can Wait -  http://heavencanwaitblog.com/

Read it, donate, come to Shir Chadash this Friday, and wear a silly hat - it is Hat-tastic, after all!

 

SHIR CHADASH

Shir Chadash is ‘a new song’ and that’s just what our Shir Chadash Friday nights are about.

Jewish music doesn’t have to be the same as it has been for years – though actually, you might be surprised to learn that some of the tunes we think of as ‘traditional’ were actually written by identifiable people not that many years ago. Synagogue worship doesn’t have to be formal. Jewish music isn’t just chazzanut or klezmer – it can be Oriental or Spanish or Israeli, it can be pop or rock, it can be mellow or lively, soulful or rocking. It can be new.

At Shir Chadash we have a lively musical service. There’s a band – we have guitars, percussion, piano, horn, and anything anyone else wants to bring along. The tunes are a mix of traditional and contemporary – and a number of Shir Chadash originals. These have been written by me (so far), and are part of my repertoire of original Jewish material which has now been released in 3 albums and performed in a variety of communities around the world.

Plus, there’s always some food. How much depends on who brings what – but the atmosphere of a Shir Chadash Friday is always about staying around, eating and chatting and not just coming to shul and then zooming off into the night. It means that if you come to a Shir Chadash Friday night, it can be your whole Friday evening, for all the best reasons.

So we hope you will give this a try – the more people who come, the more special the atmosphere. It’s a very different sort of service.

If you play an instrument or sing and you’d like to learn some of our tunes so you can take part, you’re very welcome to join in. Rehearsals are very informal and enthusiasm is more important than talent, because this is about worship and not performance. Everyone should be able to take part in whatever way they want to. Please contact me to find out more: david@shirchadash.org.uk.

We also now have a CD out so you can hear what our music sounds like. There are some samples on our website: www.shirchadash.org.uk.  You can buy a copy at the Synagogue or from me by email.

Plus you can find us on facebook: www.facebook.com/shirchadashmanchester

I hope to see you soon at a Shir Chadash service!

David Hoffman

And there's a very special Shir Chadash service coming soon (March 27th) More details in the next blog update.

Shabbat shalom, everyone.  (Three scrolls tomorrow!) 

Preparing for Pesach

1.    Tell yourself matzah CAN be a versatile meal ingredient and matzah pizza is every bit as good as Domino’s.

2.   Get cleaning – it’s traditional, feels good after winter and who knows what you might find lurking down the sides of the sofa (last year’s matzah crumbs?)

3.    Buy your matzahs early as most supermarkets discount them right now – and buy FEWER than you think you’ll need unless you want to celebrate Passover all year round.

4.   Ring Mandy at the shul office and book your places for our communal seder.  That’s the second night – Saturday April 4^th, starting at 7.30 pm.  It’s fully catered, £12 for adults and £10 for children. Non-members £15. Have fun, meet people, learn something new about Pesach.

5.    Hunt around for your Haggadot, and when you’ve found them, if they look something like this ...

you might want to consider buying our new MRJ Haggadah, which looks like this ..

and can be purchased from http://prayer.reformjudaism.org.uk/

6.     And if you open the pages of the Haggadah, and wish your Hebrew was just a little bit better, and that you understood what was written there just a little more, then come along to the Rabbi's Pre-Pesach Haggadah study sessions. The first will take place Thursday 19^th March in the boardroom at shul at 12 midday. Just turn up with your Haggadah.  As long as you can sound out Hebrew in a halting fashion, you know enough to join us!

Focus on the community

We at Jackson's Row are a varied and talented community.  Please use the blog to tell us a little about yourself or your family, or what you're up to.  Contact Mandy at the shul office and she can give you an email address for articles, or put you in touch with the blog editor, who can interview you.

To get you started, here's some news about our own Noam David Wright, who has a new single - NOW 79 - available for download ...

1.  What inspired your new single?

NOW 79 is what you might call a burst of 'melodic frustration'. I have always considered myself politically and socially a left-wing liberal, but am increasingly dismayed at how fellow liberals (not least organisations) have seemingly lost the plot in recent years, and have become so obsessed with political correctness that reasonable disagreement on certain social issues (from feminism, to religion, to multiculturalism etc) has now become taboo. Liberals are now stifling political discussion, rather than promoting it. 

2.  How would you describe your musical style?

 

I listen to various kinds of music all the time (everything from Dusty Springfield to Steve Reich), but at the moment I am mostly interested in late 70's new wave/pop-rock luminaries like Elvis Costello and Graham Parker. Great songwriters, who had great-sounding bands. 

3.  How long has singing/songwriting been part of your life?

I started songwriting as a teenager, not least for my first band Breather, but then in my early 20's basically lost my confidence and gave it up. I finally committed myself to writing and performing again when I returned to Britain (after living abroad) in 2012. 

4.  How important is your Jewish identity to the nature of your music?

It's always there in the background and I would actually love to record some of my own versions of Jewish liturgical songs, like our friend David Hoffman, whom I play with in the shul band Shir Chadash, but at the moment all my resources are going into my secular music, to see if I can get that off the ground. 

5. Where can we get hold of your new single?

NOW 79 (and my previous) tracks are all available for downloading/streaming at Bandcamp.com:  https://darkbloom.bandcamp.com/track/now-79

The video for the single is on Youtube here:  http://youtu.be/I5Sh_7HPKLg

If people like what they hear, I would be very thankful for any support they can give - for just 49p they can buy a download, or simply 'like' the Darkbloom Facebook page (link below) and kindly share my music with friends. 

https://www.facebook.com/darkbloommusic

 

Here are some Purim memories ...

See you soon!

Happy Purim!

A message from Rabbi Silverman:

Purim is pure fantasy. The Megillah lends itself to parody, pantomime, fancy dress and fun.
But it is not a kids’ festival. It's for everyone. In our terrible times post Paris and Copenhagen, remember the Jewish secret weapon – humour - and give a show of strength to your shul to show that our spirit won't be beaten!
One of my colleagues tweeted this: my phone autocorrects 'Purim' to 'Putin'! Maybe it's a cue for a shpiel?
Laura Janner Klausner hit the nail on the head (see the previous blog entry) with a serious message.
There's another one: Haman (blotted out be his name) told the king: there are people scattered among your provinces who don't conform. Therefore the king should not suffer them to exist.
Bear that in mind this week. The EDL will be marching in Manchester next Monday. Everything they stand for we stand against.
Keep the Purim Spirit alive! 

On Thursday afternoon - Purim day itself - outside Manchester Town Hall, ‘We Stand Together’  is a gathering intended to be a show of strength to promote community cohesion.  We Stand Together has been organised by Greater Manchester Police. It starts at 5.30 pm and lasts till 7. Please come along and forestall and counteract the EDL. There will be refreshments – or you can bring your own hamantaschen!

Just before that on Thursday morning at 10.30 am at shul, there will be a Megillah reading with discussion – please come along.

And at Friday’s shiur at 5pm at shul, Rabbi Michael Hilton will be introducing his new book, Bar Mitzvah; a History. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bar-Mitzvah-History-Michael-Hilton/dp/0827609477/ref=tmm_pap_title_0 All are welcome.