Purim replay and seeing beyond the surface

By Glen Berd2 Comments
By Rabbi Danny Bergson Yesterday was the 23rd of the month of Sivan. This was the date in the original Purim story (circa 2500 years ago) when practically speaking everything turned around in favour of the Jewish people. This was the date when letters were sent throughout the 127 provinces of the Persian empire in the name of the Emperor Achashverosh granting permission for the Jewish people to organise and defend themselves and stand up against those anti-Semites that sought their utter annihilation. The Purim story is characterised by one word in Hebrew contained within the scroll of Esther “venahafochu” literally “ everything turned around“. In other words, everything that the evil Haman and his cohorts tried to do to the Jewish people turned around on its head back onto our enemies. There is no coincidence that of all the nations in the world today it is the genocidal Ayatollah of Iran who seeks our destruction as part of their national agenda. Iran was ancient...
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We Met the Brummies !

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Unusually it was a cold, windy and rainy day in St. Annes on Shabbat 7th June - but inside the shul hall the atmosphere was gloriously warm and glowing ! We were absolutely delighted to host Rabbi and Rebbetzen Jacobs and a party of their members from Birmingham Singers Hill Synagogue - who came for the weekend and joined our members for Kiddush Lunch. The two male choirs sang like angels at the arc to a packed synagogue, before Rabbi Jacobs gave an uplifting and inspiring guest sermon. A 3-course Kiddush Lunch was served in the main hall and we were treated to a further interesting talk by Rebbetzen Jacobs, not without a moment's disruption by her 2 year old who wasn't impressed, but was quickly whisked away by papa, although not before a muted howl of annoyance and shedding a disappointed tear :-) It's no surprise - we can't wait for them to come again ! ...
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Rabbi Danny meets Student Nurses

By Glen Berd1 Comment
Rabbi Danny Bergson of St Anne’s presented a talk to trainee nurses from Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA together with UClan School of Nursing, Brigham. Students are here for a few weeks on an exchange programme. We discussed nursing with sensitivity and compassion taking into consideration Jewish and faith issues. Topics discussed in 90 minute session: Assisted dying Organ transplants Jewish guidelines for handling a deceased person and much much more. A highly intelligent group who were open and curious to learn about Jewish people their culture, religious practices and faith. Wishing them success in their nursing careers and the related caring field....
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London based Holocaust Survivor two-day tour of Lancashire

By Glen BerdNo Comments
London based Holocaust Survivor two-day tour of Lancashire. Holocaust survivor and educator Dr Martin Stern MBE came up from London on a two-day tour in Lancashire. The tour was facilitated by Rabbi Danny Bergson  He spoke at St Anne’s Hebrew Congregation, Preston City Council, Baines High School and St Mary’s Catholic High School, Blackpool (children aged 14-17). Dr Martin Stern is a retired Clinical Immunologist who worked at the University Hospital of Leicester.   As a child he was transported with his one-year-old sister to the Westerbork prison camp in the Netherlands and then to the Theresienstadt Ghetto north of Prague.  Both survived due to the care of a woman prisoner who took them under her wing. His father died in Buchenwald concentration camp having passed through Auschwitz, his father’s brother died in Auschwitz and his grandfather also died in Nazi captivity. The gentile man in Holland who hid him from the Nazis and looked after him (together with his wife) for 1½ years was discovered, arrested,...
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Celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut 1st May 2025

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Members and friends of the community joined for a grand breakfast in honour and celebration of Yom Ha'atzmaut. The rabbi spoke about the importance of the state of the Jew as much as the state of Israel . Every moment of Jewish and Israel’s existence is a miracle which we must acknowledge by connecting to our people with bonds of love and faith informed by our ancient tradition. ...
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Defending Israel : Joshua Hoffman

By Glen Berd2 Comments
Defending Israel : Joshua Hoffman Jewish success isn't despite antisemitism. It's because of it. In other words, anti-Semites built the Jews they fear today. Joshua Hoffman Apr 12, 2025   You say we run the banks. You say we run Hollywood. You say we control the media. You say we have too much influence, too much power, too much pride. But you never ask why. So let me tell you.   We were banned from owning land, so we learned to make a living with our minds. While others built legacies on soil and serfdom, we built ours in scholarship and study. We became merchants, financiers, physicians, and philosophers — not because we craved gold, but because the ground was never ours to till.   We were denied entry into universities, so we opened our own schools and studied twice as hard. Our emphasis on education didn’t arise from privilege; it arose from exclusion. In the shtetls of Eastern Europe and the ghettos of Western Europe, the Torah was our textbook, and...
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Rabbi Danny – Thoughts for Pesach 2025

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Celebrating Jewish survival on Pesach Oct 7 and its aftermath has awakened us to the harsh reality of the ever-lurking forces of evil that seek the annihilation of the Jewish people (and the Western free democratic societies). The rabbis captured this sentiment in the Passover Haggadah liturgy with the famous words “And this is what kept our fathers and what keeps us surviving. For, not just one alone has risen against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise against us to destroy us, and the Holy One Blessed Be He saves us from their hands.” This Piyut (liturgical poem) appears as far back as the 8th Century. By then 7 centuries had passed since the destruction of the second Temple and exile of the Jewish people from their land. By the second century after the second Jewish-Roman war some 1 million Jews had been killed or sent away as slaves. Jewish life did not get any better in the next few centuries with continued...
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Pesach Message 2025

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Leading with Courage in Uncertain Times SPEAKING TO THE LEADERSHIP WITHIN EVERY MEMBER As we prepare for Pesach, we — today's and future leaders, organisers, and volunteers who hold our communities together — are reminded that the Exodus was not just a miracle; it was a call to action. In a world of rising instability, where political divisions deepen and economic pressures weigh heavily on those we serve, the story of leaving Egypt speaks directly to our sacred work. The Leadership of Moses & Miriam: A Blueprint for Today Pharaoh’s regime thrived on despair, convincing the Israelites that bondage was inevitable. Yet, when Moses stood before the burning bush, God’s message was clear: "You are not powerless. You are not alone." For us, in 2025, this means: When resources feel scarce (as they did with dwindling matzah in the desert), we innovate. When voices of hatred grow loud (as Pharaoh’s did), we amplify kindness. When the path forward seems blocked (like the Red Sea), we march forward...
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