Masorti. Sunday 29 th November 18 th Kislev Building the future of Masorti Judaism. Annual Dinner

Transcription

1 Masorti Judaism Annual Dinner 2015 Sunday 29 th November 18 th Kislev 5776 Building the future of Masorti Judaism Annual Dinner

2 Shirley Fenster Nick Gendler Co-Chairs Welcome Our work does not stop. We have growing and emerging communities that will need rabbis. Good evening and welcome to the 2015 Masorti Judaism dinner. Since the last dinner in 2013 Masorti Judaism has grown considerably. This is thanks to the hard work of our dedicated team and to the generosity of our supporters, including all of you here this evening, who recognise the importance of our contribution to Anglo-Jewry. Tonight you will meet people who have been part of, and benefited from, that growth and hear first-hand how supporting Masorti Judaism has enriched the lives of so many in our communities. This has been done in a number of ways, for example giving our youth a strong Jewish identity and continued involvement in the Jewish community, deepening Jewish knowledge or by providing more and more people with a spiritual home. Our work does not stop. We have growing and emerging communities that will need rabbis in the near future. We have a committed new Noam generation, perhaps future leaders of the movement, who want to deepen their understanding of Jewish texts, and there are many people across the country seeking a spiritual home who are unaware of what Masorti Judaism stands for. We hope this evening gives you more understanding of these issues and inspires you to continue to support the work of our staff and volunteers, just as they are inspired to make Masorti Judaism the movement we are all so proud of. Finally, we would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to make this evening a success: our sponsors and table hosts, whose generosity has ensured that all donations we receive this evening will go directly to supporting the future of Masorti Judaism; the dinner committee led by our Operations Director Michelle Janes; your host Daniel Glaser, and all the Masorti Judaism and Noam staff and volunteers. Enjoy the evening! 2 Annual Dinner 2015 Annual Dinner

3 Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg Senior Rabbi In an age of increasingly militant, politicised religion on the one hand and self-assured atheism on the other, Masorti Judaism offers a path which combines openness of mind, heart and soul with the love of, and commitment to, traditional Jewish learning, practice and values. We have a spiritual and moral vision rooted in faith, integrity, openness, tolerance and the belief in a just, sustainable, pluralist world in which humanity can live in harmony with itself and all nature. We therefore have a contribution to make not only to the Jewish community, but to today s society in the UK, Israel and across the world. The challenges ahead lie in increasing our engagement with the mitzvot, the ordinary building blocks of Jewish practice set amidst life s everyday joys, sorrows and responsibilities; in communicating the knowledge and understanding of Judaism in compelling ways; in deepening our spiritual journeys through disciplined commitment; in facing with courage the intellectual and moral challenges of our day; and, above all, in putting into practice the values of justice, loving kindness and service of others in an often violent and destructive world. It is wonderful to be joined by Rabbi Oliver Joseph and Rabbi Roni Tabick. Though their inspiration comes from their families and many different sources, Masorti Judaism has been central in supporting and guiding them on their journeys to ordination, and in bringing them back to the UK for a creative and brilliant future. It is also excellent to have Zahavit Shalev, who has long been working in various rabbinic roles and is well on her path towards semichah. The rabbinic team is one of our great strengths, and it is marvellous to welcome them into it and to see them as leaders and mentors for the next generation. Strengthened by them, and by an excellent lay and professional team, we look together towards a challenging and exciting, creative and committed future. With everyone s support practical, moral and financial we can make it happen. We look together towards a challenging and exciting, creative and committed future. This space is sponsored by an anonymous donor 4 Annual Dinner 2015 Annual Dinner

4 Tonight s guest speakers I m proud to be part of a modern movement that aims to be inclusive and stands for what is right. Veronica Kennard New North London Synagogue Noam provides a truly great path for young people to go down to get in touch with their Jewish identity. Will Samuels St Albans Masorti Synagogue The local church community was very much part of my life as a child, but I didn t feel any spiritual connection with the religion. When I met my future husband who was Jewish, I started to learn about the religion and felt a connection, and knew I wanted to convert to Judaism. As soon as I walked into a Masorti synagogue, I knew I d found somewhere I d feel at home. Kirsty Bright Elstree & Borehamwood Masorti Community Marom is vital in helping young adults feel connected to the Masorti movement and to Judaism. This is particularly meaningful when we no longer have the support network of a youth movement or university Jewish society. Through Marom, we have an empowered community of our own, where we can explore prayer and Torah in the context of our busy working lives. Sarah-Beth Neville New North London Synagogue 6 Annual Dinner 2015 Annual Dinner

5 I ve seen some of the most passionate and committed Jewish communities. Rabbi Roni Tabick I believe in a Judaism that is alive. Rabbi Oliver Joseph When I turned 40 I realised I was on a rabbinic path. Zahavit Shalev Student Rabbi I have always been a Masorti Jew. Today I am a Masorti Jew because I believe in a Judaism that is alive; I believe the words of Torah should be alive and vibrant. When I went to study at the Conservative Yeshiva for the first time almost eight years ago, it was to explore my relationship with Judaism and as an experiment in full-time learning. I have had the opportunity to study with some of the greatest minds in Jewish education at the Conservative Yeshiva, the Hartman Institute, Tel Aviv University and the Ziegler Rabbinical School in Los Angeles. This journey was perhaps unlikely but made possible by Masorti rabbis who showed me it was possible to critique and agitate whilst beautifying a tradition of old. Exile yourself to a place of Torah Pirkei Avot 4:14. After many years of resisting, I finally realised I wanted to follow in my parents footsteps and become a community rabbi. I wanted to work with Jewish people, and share my love and passion for Torah and for the Jewish way of life. But doing so required me to spend six years out of the country to engage with some of the best Torah learning in the world. This experience of exile shaped me and how I see my Judaism. I ve seen some of the most passionate and committed Jewish communities, that harmonise the modern world with traditional values and rituals, and I hope that Anglo-Jewry can live up to our potential to be a world leader in how to be a modern, ethical, committed Jew. I m living the most fulfilling life I could possibly imagine: as a mid-life trainee rabbi. I became passionately involved in Masorti Judaism when I had my children. Whilst on maternity leave I began teaching a woman who was converting to Judaism. As my own family grew, more students appeared so I did more studying and teaching. More people wanted to talk. The conversations became more numerous and went deeper. I learned to really listen. Throughout, I had the wisest and most gracious rabbi, teacher, and mentor: Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg. When I turned 40 I realised I was on a rabbinic path. I m now on the rabbinic team at NNLS and a rabbinic student at Leo Baeck College. If we want to guarantee the future of Masorti Judaism, we need the right leaders. I m delighted to welcome so many committed friends of Masorti Judaism to this year s annual dinner. Tonight, we ll hear first-hand about the lifechanging experiences people of all ages have had thanks to their involvement in the Masorti community. They ll confirm what most of us already know: that we provide a uniquely welcoming, inclusive space where people can develop a relationship with traditional Judaism on their own terms. Our job as a movement is to grow Masorti communities across the UK, develop the next generation of leaders and support Noam and Marom, our amazing youth movement and young adults organisation. Last year we received close to 150,000 of donations from our generous supporters. I m proud to be able to report on some of the achievements made possible by this funding. Over the past year: We enabled the establishment of new Masorti groups in Bristol and Liverpool and supported Ohel Moed, an emerging minyan for young adults in London. We secured agreement to run a training programme for Masorti rabbis at Leo Baeck College. We relaunched Drachim, Noam s gap year programme in Israel, and inaugurated the Paul Shrank scholarship which supported two students at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Marom continued to work with 200 Masorti students across 10 campuses. We launched the new Masorti Judaism website and significantly expanded our social media reach. We brought together 250 people at Yom Masorti, ran the first ever Masorti women s study day and held a high-level training seminar for community leaders. Message from Matt Plen Chief Executive All our hard work has taught us one thing: if we want to guarantee the future of Masorti Judaism, we need the right leaders. Over the next three years, we ll prioritise the training and recruitment of rabbis, chazanim, educators and community leaders. Our focus will be on three core initiatives: 1. Providing scholarships for two rabbinical students every year. 2. Creating high level study programmes for young people to nurture Jewishly-literate community leaders and create a pool of candidates for rabbinical training. 3. Employing two new rabbis, Roni Tabick and Oliver Joseph, to grow young Masorti communities. To do all this, we need to raise an extra 100,000 a year. This is an ambitious target, but one I believe we can reach. Thank you for being with us tonight, for your friendship and support, and for giving generously to help us achieve our goals. I look forward to meeting again next year and reporting on our success! 8 Annual Dinner 2015 Annual Dinner

6 Our work with young people Jewish young adults and students can often feel excluded from or disinterested in Jewish communal life. Marom provides an essential space for these young adults to engage with the Jewish community on their own terms. Message from Rabbi Chaim Weiner The European Masorti Bet Din Marom's vision is to offer a vibrant and exciting programme of events and opportunities for Masorti Young Adults. Matthew Anisfeld Marom, Young Adults Co-ordinator Marom runs a number of annual programmes. Every year we travel to a European city and learn about the Jewish history and culture. Every summer we send a group to the Conservative Yeshiva for a month to study on the summer programme. These are amazing and unrivalled opportunities for young adults in the Masorti community to spend time, as a group, learning about their history and exploring their identities. Marom s vision is to offer a vibrant and exciting programme of events and opportunities for Masorti Young Adults. We use the Jewish calendar to shape the year and our cycle of events as well as reflecting people s interests and beliefs. For example, there is a lot of interest in social action within the Marom community. So for Sukkot, we travelled to Calais to volunteer in the refugee camp. We are keen to provide many more of these sorts of events for the Marom community and would like to thank you for your continued support. Noam has continued to succeed in providing a space for young people to develop as individuals. Across all the age groups, we see over 600 people in a month. They are the 4-9 year olds who come to our Kaytana (day camp), see us at clubs and in their communities and schools, and are part of Merkaz Noam Noam s teenage centre that is home to Anglo- Jewry s leading leadership training scheme. We have poured all this passion into our biggest events, with a community of hundreds of young people joining us at Summer Camp. A serious religious movement must make sure that its members have access to a full range of services, both within and outside the synagogue. Now in its 16 th year, the European Masorti Bet Din continues to go from strength to strength. Our role is to support the work of rabbis and communities across Europe by making sure that every Masorti community has access to advanced rabbinic services; conversions, Jewish divorce services and kosher supervision. There are various areas where the Bet Din has seen a lot of growth and that provide avenues for more expansion. First are the Orthodox communities whose rabbis have despaired of the chaos in the Orthodox conversion system and who have now adopted our Bet Din for conversions. In addition, the number of events where we have provided kosher supervision has almost doubled this year, alongside a growing awareness that a meaningful Jewish event should be celebrated with a kosher meal. Masorti Kosher opens a whole new range of kosher options for simcha catering. On the other hand, there has been a big increase in the number of people using our Bet Din to issue a get. For many people, the option of Jewish divorce in-house, amongst friends and under the auspices of a friendly synagogue, provides important support at a time when people are lonely and especially vulnerable. All of this highlights the important role of the Bet Din in our movement. A serious religious movement must make sure that its members have access to a full range of services, both within and outside the synagogue. With a successful Bet Din in the background, the Masorti Communities in the UK and across Europe have all they need to continue to thrive. This year, we re reaching out to more communities, and running more events for our young people. Amos Schonfield Mazkir, Noam This year, we re reaching out to more communities, and running more events for our young people. Our Kaytanot and Veidot (ideological conferences) now run throughout the year and we re running a leadership training programme at Oxford Masorti. We re also creating even more opportunities for our members to spend time in Israel they can lead a Kaytana in Israel or join our brand new post-university gap year or social action Israel trip! Our biggest events - Summer Camp Pre-Camp, with 150 of our leaders, and our six-month Drachim gap year in Israel take people to the next level of their Jewish journeys. 10 Annual Dinner 2015 Annual Dinner

7 Thank You Our Annual Dinner Committee 2015 Sam Cohen, Josie Dobrin, Shirley Fenster, Nick Gendler, Nathalie Glaser, Jeanie Horowitz, Aviva Raichelson, Bruce Rigal, Jessie Schlagman Master of Ceremonies Daniel Glaser Our dedicated table hosts Philip Baker and Bing-sum Lau Brian Berelowitz and Zea Katzeff Judith Bernstein Morris and Kirsty Bright Ed and Gill Caplin Brian and Chazan Jaclyn Chernett Howard Feldman and Shirley Fenster Nick Gendler and Carli Lessof Daniel and Nathalie Glaser Alan and Tracey Green Ruthie Jacobs Joanne Kosmin Matt Plen and Atira Winchester Maurice and Aviva Raichelson Bruce Rigal and Lisa Tedeschini Sam Roberts Roberta and Stephen Rosefield Immi and Danielle Rubin Simon and Diana Samuels Clive Sheldon and Jeanie Horowitz Eli Silber and Pam Sonnenberg Jonathan and Lucy Silver Daniel Stander and Annie Moy Natan and Nicki Tiefenbrun Our guest speakers Will Samuels, Sarah-Beth Neville, Kirsty Bright, Veronica Kennard and Rabbi Roni Tabick, Student Rabbi Zahavit Shalev, Rabbi Oliver Joseph All our generous donors and funders, in particular our Patrons, Supporters and Friends. In addition, those who have shown their support in this brochure The staff and lay leaders of the New North London Synagogue for hosting the dinner this year The Executive and Trustees of Masorti Judaism Senior Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg and all our Masorti Rabbis and Chazanim The Masorti Judaism professional staff and all the volunteers who support us in so many ways Brochure photography by Peter Strauss straussphotography.co.uk Dinner photography by Jeremy Freedman What s on in 2016 Yom Masorti Sunday 21 st February The whole Masorti community comes together for a day of learning, fun and networking at our annual flagship event. Including a full children s programme, learning with the Masorti rabbis and chazanim, thought-provoking and fun sessions on Israel, social action and Jewish culture and, most importantly, good food and good company. Women s Study Day Sunday 13 th March Following the success of last year s pioneering event, join women from across the Masorti movement to build relationships, learn and discuss issues of common concern. Jewish Community Organising Masorti Judaism s pioneering leadership training course, aimed at community volunteers and lay leaders. Learn how to strengthen your community, get people involved, understand the needs of your members, run more successful initiatives, and change your community for the better. The course will be held in early The Masorti Kollel Every Wednesday 9.30am 12.30am at New North London Synagogue The Kollel offers high level study for learners who want to grapple with Jewish texts in their original language. Taught by Rabbi Chaim Weiner. For more details about any of these events, or to register your interest in participating: enquiries@masorti.org.uk Masorti Judaism in the 12 Annual Dinner 2015