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May 2010
Congratulations to our elected Wardens,
Meyer Pearlman and Julian Lewis.
June 2010
Dear Members
re: Chazan Avromi, High Holydays,
Rabbinical Search, 8 Norrice Lea, Adult
Education
We are writing to update you in relation
to a number of matters arising in the
community over the Summer period.
Chazan Avromi
Members will remember that Chazan Avromi
was ill for an extended period in 2006.
Unfortunately, the surgery he underwent
at the time resulted in long term effects
which have serious implications for his
quality of life. He has borne these difficulties
with amazing fortitude but has now decided
to undergo further elective surgery which
he hopes will alleviate these effects.
This will take place shortly and in time
for him to recuperate before Rosh Hashanah.
On your behalf we wish Chazan Avromi the
very best and a complete and speedy recovery.
We have no doubt that members of the community
will want to wish Avromi well whilst he
is in hospital and subsequently recuperating
at home. However, we have been asked to
request that members respect his privacy
and that of his family during this period,
and rather than visit him, personal letters
or cards would be greatly appreciated.
Whilst we hope and pray that Chazan Avromi
will be back to full health in time for
Rosh Hashanah we are making arrangements
to lighten his workload over the very
busy and demanding Festival period.
High Holydays
Whilst on the subject of the Yamim Noraim,
given the increasing proportion of the
community who use the Art Scroll Machzor
we have decided that on both Rosh Hashanah
and Yom Kippur we will be substantially
following the order of the service as
set out in the Art Scroll Machzor in all
our services (other than the Sephardi
minyan). We believe this will enable a
significant number of members to follow
the services more readily. To help members
who do not have Art Scroll Machzorim we
have negotiated a special discount and
are able to sell Rosh Hashana and Yom
Kippur machzorim at £20 each. These
will be available for purchase from the
shul office.
The final matter we would like to draw
to members attention regarding the Yamim
Noraim relates to the Yizkor booklet which
we publish every year for Yom Kippur listing
the names of deceased relatives who members
wish to remember at this time of the year.
We have been asked to remind members that
it has not been our practice to read out
all the names in the booklet during Yizkor
because to do so would now take over 20
minutes. Instead we will include in the
Yizkor prayer a special reference to those
people listed in the booklet.
Rabbinical Search
The application period in response to
our advertisements for a Senior Rabbi
to replace Rabbi Livingstone, closed just
before Shavuot. We received a large number
of applications from the UK and abroad
and have, in addition, initiated some
further conversations with prospective
candidates. The Selection Committee has
considered all of the applications and
the candidiates who have been shortlisted
will be having initial interviews over
the next few weeks. Members will appreciate
that all applications have been made to
us in the strictest of confidence and
therfore there is little further detail
that we can divulge at the moment. Please
be assured that the securing of a new
Rabbi is a major priority for us and one
to which we will be devoting much of our
time and energy over the next few months.
As soon as there is any further update
that we can share with you, we will be
communicating again.
8 Norrice Lea
Members may have noticed that 8 Norrice
Lea is being refurbished following the
departure of the Livingstone family. It
is anticipated that these works will be
largely completed by the end of June.
At the same time the tenancy on Rabbi
Knopf's house in Brim Hill will be coming
to an end. The HOs feel that it would
not be a good use of community resources
to seek a new tenancy elsewhere when our
own accommodation lies empty. We have
therefore decided that, in the interim
period until we are able to appoint a
new Senior Rabbi, Rabbi Knopf and his
family will occupy 8 Norrice Lea on a
temporary basis. They will be moving in
at the beginning of July, and members
will be notified of their new contact
details in due course.
Adult Education
The service next Shabbat (19 June) will
include an explanation by Chazan Avromi
about Kaddish, its significance and certain
relevant customs including the correct
way to respond when one hears the recitation
of kaddish by mourners. We are hoping,
once the congregation understands that
the purpose of saying Kaddish is to elicit
the correct responses from members, that
there will be better decorum at this time.
This will help mourners across the shul
to say Kaddish in unison and for the whole
congregation also to respond together
and thus show appropriate respect.
In addition, Rabbi Knopf has organised
a wonderful Seudah Shlishit series on
Shabbat afternoons over the summer in
addition to the very many other educational
programmes going on throughout the year.
Details of these are in the shul newsletter
and can be found on the website. Please
do take a look at what is on offer and
come and join us.
We wish all members an enjoyable Summer
Yours sincerely
Keith Barnett, Chairman
Simon Johnson, Vice-Chairman
Jeffrey Davidson, Financial Representative
Julian Lewis, Warden
Meyer Pearlman, Warden
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