Category: NEWS

This concerns one of the many charitable requests made by our late member, Renee Black z.l., this one being used to buy an ambulance.    I truly do not know which of us is happier today: me being able to send you the attached pictures of the sparkling new Renee Black funded ambulance at last parked in the entrance quadrangle of the ALYN Hospital, during its first day of service, or you to be receiving them at long last. This truly has been such a long process, due to the inability of Volksvagen or any of the van suppliers to give an import or delivery date in 2021 and part of 2022 as a result of Corona - (something inter alia to do with the “chips” which are manufactured in China) – which meant that they would not accept any orders. When, well into 2022, we learnt that Ford were the first importers of the kind of van that we needed to then...

PG it shouldn't happen to you ! But what if someone near you - in shul, in the street, in a shop or in your home - should suffer a cardiac arrest, a heart attack, a catastrophic accident ? Would you know what to do ? Would you want to know what to do ? Wouldn't it be good if you knew what to do - how to help - maybe how to save a life ? Some 20 people braved the weather on a cold, wet and very windy night in St. Anne's to listen to Ian Barton of NW Air Ambulance who generously devoted a couple of hours to join us in the shul hall to demonstrate our defibrillator. Our thanks to Ian for the important information he gave us. ...

Where Do the Notes In the Western Wall Go? Thousands of notes are placed in the wall each year. What happens to all that paper? BY MY JEWISH LEARNING Each year, countless notes are stuffed into the cracks of the Western Wall, the last remaining wall of the Temple Mount, the elevated plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem on which the Temple stood. The site is the holiest in Judaism and a tradition emerged centuries ago of placing notes in the wall as a kind of written prayer, a counterpoint to the verbal prayers recited at the wall every day. The origins of the custom are somewhat unclear, but there is evidence that Jews were engaging in the practice as early as the 18th century. Today, notes are left by people of all faiths, including visiting dignitaries: American Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Popes Francis I and Benedict XVI have all placed notes in the wall. Various online...

THE LADY PLUMBER What criteria is used to select people for the peace prize ??. Read the story below and we then understand how pathetic and superficial our world has become. Remember this lady? WHAT A WOMAN Irena Sendler Died: May 12,2008 (aged 98) Warsaw , Poland During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an ulterior motive. Irena smuggled Jewish infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried. She also carried a burlap sack in the back of her truck, for larger kids. Irena kept a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto.   The soldiers, of course, wanted nothing to dowith the dog, and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.     During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. Ultimately, she was caught, however, and the Nazis broke both of her legs and arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record...

The following was sent to me by one of our local community : Margaret Fingerhut was a bridesmaid to my first wedding, and became a concert pianist of some renown.  The video is very high quality, beautifully made. The email was forwarded to me by my first wife, who is Margaret's cousin.... Born in London of Ukrainian and Polish ancestry, Margaret Fingerhut has a distinguished career which has taken her all over the world. Described by Gramophone as a pianist of “consummate skill and thrilling conviction”, she is particularly known for her innovative recital programmes in which she explores the highways and byways of the piano repertoire. As a concerto soloist she has appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the London Mozart Players, in major venues such as the Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall and the Barbican. She is often heard on...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Peter John Beyfus is an historian, published author, poet, and a person who prides himself on “thinking outside the box”.  have written many essays on Jewish themes, published in various journals, including ‘Wessex Jewish News’ and ‘Westminster Quarterly’, the magazine of Westminster Synagogue, London. A New Babylonian Captivity Likud leader, Binyamim Netanyahu, would be wise to heed the warnings of history. In forming a coalition with acknowledged extremist elements he runs the real risk of alienating many Israeli and Diaspora Jews. The price of another term in power may prove too high, even for a political acrobat and survivor like Netanyahu. Israel has reached a critical point in its short history and rather than put in jeopardy its good relations with Western democracies it should see how dangerous the present proposed lurch to the far Right is for its future well being. Whether Netanyahu and his supporters like it or not, Diaspora Jewry, particularly influential Jews in the USA, cannot be...

400 Musicians Turned This Israeli Classic Into a Rock Anthem and We’re Obsessed By Lior Zaltzman When you think of the Israeli classic “Jerusalem of Gold” or “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav,” you probably don’t really think of rock and roll. But the song — which, at over a half-century old, remains one of the most popular Israeli tunes ever written — recently got an exciting rock cover. And that cover was recorded by over 400 singers and musicians. If you don’t know “Jerusalem of Gold,” the song was written and composed by Naomi Shemer, one of the most popular Israeli songwriters. It was commissioned in 1967 by Jerusalem mayor Teddy Koleck and popularized by Israeli singer Shuli Natan. Three weeks after its release, the Six Day War broke out. The song itself mentions a Jerusalem divided by walls — which separated the part of the city that was under Jordan’s jurisdiction at the time from the part under Israeli rule. But after the war, the city was...

https://youtu.be/9P30ckBf1wk...

This is footage from a tribute concert put together by Rabbi Danny Bergson, held in honour of Cantor Ernest Levy OBE. that took place at the prestigious Glasgow Royal Concert Hall together with the Shabbaton Choir and other musicians in 2011. Ernest Levy was a holocaust survivor who after the war settled in Scotland. Originally from Bratislava he spent 48 years in Glasgow where he became a leading figure in the Scottish Jewish community. He was Cantor at the Giffnock and Newlands Synagogue for 40 years. His voice had a unique quality and ability to move you. He spoke out about his experiences throughout his life, knowing that his testimony would help future generations remember this terrible time in history. For these efforts Ernest was made an O.B.E in 2002. See below the video to read Cantor Ernest Levy's story https://youtu.be/z74UCAL3MDg Tributes have been paid to Rabbi Ernest Levy, who was one of the few survivors of the notorious Belsen camp. Mr Levy moved...