Dear Congregants and Friends
It’s been another whirlwind couple of months, with a lot going on in shul and also in my personal life. Peter and I visited Swaziland and South Africa in February, to see my early childhood home and also to visit my brother and his family. My brother David has a profoundly disabled step son and it’s incredible to see how well they cope with so few resources available to them. It reminded me of how lucky we are to live in a country where help with illness and disability are supported as a matter of expectation. We take so much for granted!
On Shabbat 24th February we hosted the third visit of a delegation from the Pinner synagogue, and 35 of their members joined us, as usual bringing all the food from a kosher caterer in London. It was a wonderful weekend, and the Friday evening talk on “The Jews of Norwich, Past, Present and Future” as well as the Sunday morning education on programme, were enlightening. The Pinner members are very supportive of our community and have offered to help with our fundraising in practical ways.
past weekend in shul Daniel drew a parallel between the building of the original tabernacle and our own synagogue renovations, reminding us of how important it is for all of us to contribute in some way. I am so pleased to tell you that we have had yet another big grant from one of the Norfolk Charities as well as further pledges from our community, and we are now on the ‘home run’ so to speak. I am hoping and praying that the money will all be in place by this time next year so that our renovations can begin after Pesach 2018. Is there anything you can do to help, either financially or in any other way? Do please let us know.
March and April will be busy months for us with many events now on the calendar and can be seen on our events page. Do let us know if you will be joining us for the Seder on the first night of Pesach. Everyone is invited, but we do need some idea of numbers and the form is included here.