My Community - Assignment Number One

In 1957, Rabbi Louis Jacobs published his book “We Have Reason to Believe”. The following controversy caused him to break away from the mainstream United Synagogues and to begin the Masorti movement, which accepts Halacha as a vital part of Jewish life, but does not adhere to a strict interpretation of Torah Min HaShamayim. He established a community called the New London Synagogue, which was the first Masorti community in London. In 1974, a group of members who had moved to Finchley decided to open a synagogue closer by, so they established the New North London Synagogue, which is today the largest Masorti community in Europe, with over 2500 members. The services were first held in peoples’ homes, before the shul was moved to the Sternberg Centre. One of the most important events in NNLS’s history is happening now: we are currently moving into a purpose-built synagogue that the community has been planning for over fifteen years.

We have a membership of over 2500, which includes over 1000 children and teenagers. There are three different services: a traditional non-egalitarian service, an egalitarian service and an informal egalitarian minyan which is very participative and musical. The synagogue also runs a pre-school, cheder, a Bar/Bat Mitzvah programme called HaDerech, an adult education programme, and a seniors club. Other aspects of the community include Noam, the Masorti youth movement which is based close by, the Asylum Seekers’ Drop-In Centre, which is closely affiliated with the shul, and the Masorti Beth Din, which is lead by Rabbi Chaim Weiner . We are part of the Assembly of Masorti Synagogues, which is affiliated with Masorti Europe and Masorti Olami. As well as this, on the site of the Sternberg Centre there is the Leo Baeck College, which was founded in 1956 as a training centre for Reform and Liberal rabbis; the Jewish Museum, which was originally the Museum of the Jewish East End, and was opened in 1983 to preserve the history of Jews in the East End of London; and the offices of RSY Netzer, which is the Zionist youth movement for Reform Judaism.

I am proud to be part of such a vibrant and busy community, and I know that I am lucky to live in an area where so many of my friends attend the same shul as me. I love being a part of Noam and I will be on Israel Tour with the movement for four weeks this summer. However, one big problem with the shul is that not enough people have found a way to enjoy Judaism in the same way as I have, and the attendance for people in my age group is very low. We have set up a youth council to try and incorporate more fun activities for teenagers, and I particularly enjoy our monthly Shabbat programme ‘Have I Got Jews For You’, when we eat breakfast, do a short Torah service, and then have a talk from a speaker and Kiddush. The community is great and I love it, but I wish more people did too.

Post Number One - The London Seminar

It's been strange having the seminar in London, as I forget that not everyone in the group is as familiar with the city as I am. Today we spent half an hour in Camden town, one of my favourite places in London; to most of the group it was a great novelty. It took me back to the first time I visited Camden, and it was funny to remember the experience by watching my friends.