Write up by Anna re the Ladies meet-up at the Glendower Hotel  It was a pleasure for me to host and deliver the Ladies Meet Up in the Glendower Hotel on Monday 27th January (thank you to Anne Glass for using her contacts to book it!). Despite the windy weather and the unfortunate frog in […]

It Wasn’t a Deal – It Was a Crime by Alan M. Dershowitz January 17, 2025 at 5:00 am Alan M. Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus at Harvard Law School, and the author most recently of War Against the Jews: How to End Hamas Barbarism, and Get Trump: The Threat to Civil Liberties, Due Process, […]

An obscene spectacle Do the west’s Israel-haters even understand what they saw today? Melanie Phillips Jan 19, 2025 Melanie Phillips is a British journalist, author and broadcaster. Her work is essential for all who care about creating a more rational, fair and compassionate world. Hamas terrorists “hold back” the Gazan mob menacing Israeli hostage Doron […]

The distributor in London is Torah Treasures, Tel: 020 8458 8289. They take credit card orders over the phone and can mail out the guide. Our distributor in the North, including Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow and Gateshead, is Judaica World, Tel: 0161 773 4956. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE AND FOR INFORMATION

I recently attended the 16th annual conference of the European Cantors association which was held in the beautiful city of Budapest. I was able to share best practice and music and ideas with Cantors, choristers,  and other musical experts and those interested in developing spiritually uplifting music for the Shul services. We explored music from […]

By Andrea Samuels. Diary of an Expat for the Jewish Telegraph 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹 20.12.2024 The first thing I do when I wake up each morning is cradle a mug of steaming hot tea, brought to me by my long-suffering husband, Jeff. Unless we’ve run out, and have to resort […]

Hanukkah 2024 begins at sundown on Wednesday, December 25 and ends the evening of Thursday. January 2, 2025 (8 nights). Hanukkah means “dedication” and is a holiday that honours and celebrates one of the first recorded fights for religious freedom and the success of this fight. It commemorates the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in […]

On this date in 1971, “Fiddler on the Roof” was released. The decision to cast Topol, instead of Zero Mostel, as Tevye (who played the role in the original 1964 production) was a somewhat controversial one, as the role had originated with Mostel and he had made it famous. Years later, director Norman Jewison said […]

From Peter Beyfus, Historian. There has been a lively correspondence in my local newspaper,  ‘The Salisbury Journal’, and many of the letters have been anti-Israel. The latest from the Revd.  Dyer, a Palestinian campaigner, required a robust response. I have photographed her letter and my response.. It just gives a suggestion as to how to […]

Winston Churchill: An Unlikely Zionist By Peter Beyfus, marking the 150th anniversary of Churchill’s birth on 30 November 1874. In February 1920 Churchill wrote in the ‘Illustrated Sunday Herald’: "Some people like Jews and some do not; but no thoughtful man can doubt the fact that they are beyond all question the most formidable and […]

This is an article by journalist, Andrea Samuels, Manchester expat now living in Israel, who writes for the Jerusalem Post. This was written for the Jewish Telegraph in her Diary of an Expat column. 𝗕𝗼𝗺𝗯 𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻… 23.10.2024 What do you do when a siren sounds? Well, that depends on a number of […]

(Borrowed from an online Jewish Group post) Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. It’s a 25-hour period dedicated to reflection, repentance, and reconnecting with our moral and spiritual compass. But what does that actually mean for Jews, and why should it matter to non-Jews […]

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Maureen Lipman remembers ..   Mapping the 7th October Massacres  https://oct7map.com      

Dear friends Chag Sameach and a Shona Tova from St Anne’s Synagogue.  This year our hearts are heavy with anxiety for Jews everywhere but especially for our friends and family in Israel and we hope for a better future soon. Am Yisrael Chai Glen and Spencer Berd Website Administrator

Manchester Piccadilly to Euston train via Austria, Budapest and Williamsburg! – A Story of the power of faith to transform lives On a recent train journey to London for the Chief Rabbi’s annual conference, I met an amazing woman from the Satmar community who inspired me with her story of faith and hope in the […]

Ida and Louise Cook were unmarried sisters in their mid thirties who lived with their parents. One wrote romance novels for Mills and Boon (England’s Harlequin equivalent) and the other commuted from their sleepy London suburb to work as a secretary for the civil service. They wore home made clothes and shared a love of […]

The appalling news that the IDF have recovered the bodies of six hostages, murdered by Hamas days before their discovery, once again underlines the nature of the terrorist opponents of Israel. However much one wants to believe dialogue is possible with people who do not share any semblance of the Judaea-Christian moral code, the facts […]

Sir Keir Starmer’s landslide victory on the 5th of July may have been greeted by many as welcome news, but by others with a sense of trepidation. The turnout in the British 2024 General Election was not anything to be complacent about: just 60% of the electorate bothered to cast their votes; and Labour enjoyed […]

Hello Darkness my old friend … What a glorious friendship journey! “Heart-warming story – especially for Simon and Garfunkel lovers, who aren’t familiar with the story but love the song . . . . . “Hello darkness, my old friend…” Everybody knows the iconic Simon & Garfunkel song, but do you know the amazing story […]

Ida and Louise Cook were unmarried sisters in their mid thirties who lived with their parents. One wrote romance novels for Mills and Boon and the other commuted from their sleepy London suburb to work as a secretary for the civil service. They wore home made clothes and shared a love of opera. They loved […]

[Pinched from Andrea Samuels] Just read this hilarious post on Twitter by Matthew Feinberg (@thewebbie).   Too good not to share… Jewish Middle Aged Dating Ah, being a single middle-aged Jewish man and trying to understand Jewish women, now that’s a tale as old as The Torah. So there I am, minding my own business, trying […]

The Future May Not Be Rosy, But Red By Peter Beyfus Sir Keir Starmer’s landslide victory on the 5th of July may have been greeted by many as welcome news, but by others with a sense of trepidation. The turnout in the British 2024 General Election was not anything to be complacent about: just 60% […]

From: “Tony Frais (Tiscali)” <afrais@tiscali.co.uk> Date: 16 June 2024 at 19:21:42 BST To: office@shulbythesea.co.uk Subject: THANKS FOR THE CLOTHING FOR DISPLACED FAMILIES Reply-To: “Tony Frais (Tiscali)” <afrais@tiscali.co.uk>  Dear Congregation, I am writing in awe and amazement at the generous Chessed from your Shool Community in sending clothes for the Displaced Families in Israel. Our hearts break at the suffering there. […]

A breath-taking speech by Miriam Novak at the UN General Assembly. Don’t miss a word! For two thousand years we have lived among you, offering you our knowledge, discoveries and inventions. At the UN Special General Assembly in New York, held at the request of the leaders of the European Union and the New Arab […]

Dear Robert and all I’m writing to express my appreciation for the tremendous welcome, hospitality and fabulous food  that I received from you all over Shavuot, both in the shul and at Rabbi Danny’s house. Thanks again And very best regards Matt ……………….ooo…………… Good evening Just a message to say thanks to you all for […]

An incredible letter written by a non-Jewish Scottish professor to his students who voted to boycott Israel It’s a response from Dr. Denis MacEoin to the motion put forward by The Edinburgh Student’s Association to boycott all things Israeli, in which they claim Israel is under an apartheid regime. Denis is an expert in Middle […]

‘This war, like the next war, is a war to end war’ The latest announcement from some of Europe’s enlightened powers is to recognize Palestinian statehood, whatever that means. The Republic of Ireland, Spain and Norway have thrown their “considerable” weight behind what over 140 UN member states have previously recognized as the claim to nationhood […]

Welcome to our bi-monthly Meet and Greet with Rebbetzen Anna, very generously hosted by Jennie Lipshaw. As we approach Shavuot, otherwise famously known as ‘the cheesecake festival’,  our topic today was the Book of Ruth – a sort of biblical Jilly Cooper story but with much more modesty. Ruth was so impressed with her mother-in-law […]