We have had a busy and active shul over the past month or so with well attended services over the Yom Tovim and a minyan most of the day at Yom Kippur. Erev Rosh Hashanah saw a big crowd in shul, many of whom, including children, stayed on for a Rosh Hashanah supper in the communal hall. Daniel led the services beautifully and we were delighted with the new machzorim so kindly donated by members of the congregation. Sukkot was rather quieter but the CCJ joined us for the first night and we enjoyed a lovely Kiddush in the sukkah, which looked really beautiful. Thank you to Alan and Bee Korn for the decorations and flowers. Simchat Torah was a lively and noisy occasion with a big crowd of children in shul. Thanks must go to Clive, our Chatan Torah, and Todd, Chatan Bereshit, for a fabulous spread. The amazing contribution made by Clive Roffe to the life of the shul, especially in his regular attendance on Shabbat mornings helping to keep the minyan going, turning up what ever the weather, was acknowledged. The contribution not only to the shul but to wider interfaith educational work undertaken by Marsha and Todd Parker who attend so regularly from such a long distance was also highlighted and they were thanked. This past weekend has seen the Norwich Hebrew Congregation participating in the Chief Rabbi’s Shabbat UK experience. We may be one of the smallest congregations participating but I’m sure we make up in quality what we may lack in quantity! We had a really good fun afternoon challah making and baking organized by Marsha Parker and the results were astonishingly good, with some people managing to plait 6 strand challahs. Another thank you to Marsha for all her hard work here! We had a good turn out for the service and about 30 people stayed for lunch. The benching and singing afterwards were really beautiful, and one member commented to me that this was a real opportunity for us to ‘grow community’! I was particularly thrilled that Esther Griffiths, one of our long standing members who has been absent from shul for such a long time owing to ill health, was able to join us. Putting on meals in shul on a shabbat lunch seems popular and we will have another busy time involving food on the weekend of 20th November when about 16 members of the Pinner shul will join us. There will be Kabbalat Shabbat service and Friday night supper, which they will organize in shul, and we will organize the Shabbat lunch. Members of our congregation are invited to attend either or both of these meals and the services, and it would be lovely to see a good crowd from NHC in shul over that weekend. Details and timing will be elsewhere in this newsletter. Plans for our building works are progressing slowly, and we will need to have work done on the roof of the flat over the next few months so don’t be surprised if you see scaffolding on the outside of the building I personally am hoping for a quieter few weeks now and the opportunity of getting some work done after all the hectic organization of the Yom Tovim and Shabbat UK, but I look forward to seeing as many of you as can manage in shul over these next few weeks.
Marian