Once upon a time... How to tell your community s story and why it matters Rabbi Baruch Levin and Mark Berg, Brondesbury Park Synagogue July 2016 1
Where you have come from is just as important as where you re going... History and our Future Imperative
Jewish Life in Willesden From 1902 Jews settled in the new suburbs of Willesden and Brondesbury In 1905 the first permanent synagogue in the area opened on Chevening Road, an orientalist red-brick building with Moorish domes and arches In the 1920 s and 30 s a second wave of immigration into the local area led to the establishment of several small communities, often at first held in private houses Gradually synagogues were constructed - Cricklewood Synagogue in Walm Lane in 1923, Harlesden in 1928, Willesden Synagogue in 1934 and Dollis Hill in 1937 In its heyday the area boasted 2 Jewish schools, 5 synagogues and numerous shtiebels It was a strong thriving community with an abundance of charity committees, ladies guilds, butchers, bakers, and other kosher shops In the mid 70 s the community began to decline, and was ultimately reduced to a single shul when Walm Lane (Cricklewood) closed its doors in 2005
Jewish Life in Willesden images Brondesbury Shul Cricklewood Shul Willesden Shul Dollis Hill Shul 4
Jewish Life in Willesden images 5
Our start point Formerly the shul hall and cheder classrooms of Willesden Shul, this has been the premises of Brondesbury Park Synagogue since 1998 6
Jewish Life in Willesden clinging on The main synagogue building located on Heathfield Park had been sold off in 1998 leaving the community hall and classrooms above to serve the community. The space, though unattractive, was more than enough. The cheder had long ago closed and many classrooms had been let out to community charities. There was only a weekly shabbat Saturday morning service, poorly attended by an overwhelmingly elderly congregation. Mark s young daughter Rachel was the first child to attend a service in a very long time after he moved into the area in 2002. The effusive welcome he received left a lasting impression. There was no rabbi or chazan however a core leadership group led by the late Harold Fleischer (Financial Officer) and David Sellman (Chairman) ensured the continuity of the congregation and held the belief that in time Willesden would once again find favour with the younger Jewish population
Evening Standard Property feature September 2002 Local factfile for the Mapesbury Estate Tuesday 10 September 2002 Property prices Studios: 130,000-500,000 One-bedroom flats: 190,000-200,000 Two-bedroom flats: 250,000-280,000 Two-bedroom garden flats: 400,000 upwards Semi-detached family homes (three to five bedroom): 750,000 Detached family homes (three -to-five-bedroom): 1.2 million - 3 million Estate Agents Cameron Stiff & Co, 275 Willesden Lane, NW2 (020 8459 1133) and 2 Willesden Green Station, Walm Lane, NW2 (020 8450 9377). Dutch & Dutch, 174 West End Lane, NW6, (020 7794 0075) Transport Trains: Silverlink Metro Line (Brondesbury station), Thameslink (Cricklewood
Jewish Life in Willesden rebirth and renewal Overspill of young Jewish population from West Hampstead into Queens Park and Mapesbury area. Situated in Zone 2 with good quality housing stock and offering comparatively good value for money, especially for young marrieds seeking to upgrade from a flat to a house. North West London Jewish Day School is a key attraction for those with young children. The chairman and vice-chairman set about creating a target list of known Jewish people living in the area and sought them out to give the shul a try irrespective of their degree of Orthodoxy In 2004 Rabbi Baruch Levin was appointed Rabbi of Willesden Synagogue and supported by a strong lay leadership embarked on a mission to rebuild the local Jewish community. Rabbi Levin and Rabbetzin Kezi wanted the challenge of building a community from the ground up and saw the demographic potential of the area. They were emboldened to take the challenge through the warm support of the community balabatim who in turn were willing to finance (with the US) a three year business plan In 2005 Willesden shul merged with Cricklewood, the only other remaining synagogue in the area, to form the new Brondesbury Park Community led by Rabbi Baruch and Rebbetzin Kezi. It was a textbook merger of two struggling congregations achieved without rancour and with all eager to embrace the new identity.
Jewish Life in Brondesbury Park rebirth and renewal Over the last decade great progress has been made. Today we have: 541 adult members 334 children under 19 57% of the membership live within 1 mile of the building, the vast majority of whom moved into the area in the last ten years, and are between the ages of 25-45. 2 bar/bat mitzvahs every month 4 children services and 1 youth service every week Successful cheder and nursery Thriving adult welfare programme Continual adult Jewish learning ERUV plans approved and progressing New Building plans largely funded In the last year we added 40 new members and there were 19 births. Success has resulted in the revived community outgrowing its existing building
Leadership is the key component... There is no doubt whatsoever that leadership is the sine qua non for a successful community. We were blessed that Rabbi Baruch and Kezi had the appetite, the vision and the energy to achieve our goal. Rabbi Levin took semicha in Brussels under the tutelage of the renowned Rabbi Yehuda Yeroslavski, Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Malachi Israel. Baruch is the eldest son of Rabbi Shlomo and Lynndy Levin and he together with Rebbetzin Kezi have applied what they learnt from his parents revival of the South Hampstead community (in which they played a key role) to Brondesbury Park. This welcoming non-judgmental approach, winning over less committed Jews and turning them into regular shul goers, increasing their attachment to Judaism and the performance of mitzvot, whilst continuing to provide the spiritual leadership desired by the modern orthodox stalwarts of the community, has succeeded beyond all expectations. What has been key to the Levins success has been the close partnership between them and the lay leadership who have bought into their ethos from day one. There have been 4 chairman since Rabbi Levin joined the community and each has managed to maintain a close personal friendship and professional relationship with the Rabbi.
Brondesbury Park Core Principles
Brondesbury Park Core Principles (1) The goal was to create a hospitable, cohesive, inclusive community following in Halachic tradition. We want members to have a genuine affinity beyond their formal affiliation A Warm Welcome: Every visitor receives a warm welcome from the Rabbi, Chairman, Board Member. An effort is made to remember their name and reach out to them. Hospitality and Friendship: Visitors are invited back for lunch to a member s home or to the Rabbi s home. He and the Rebbetzin ensure that congregants have a shabbat meal with them on a rotational basis. There is a shabbat hospitality rota. Most importantly congregants entertain one another and form strong friendships A Collective Endeavour: Everyone is made to feel they are capable of playing a role and they do from visiting the sick, tending to the flower beds, shouting out page numbers, delivering shabbat challot, Pesach parcels, cooking meals for new mothers etc. Putting something back into the Community from which so many have gained so much, comes naturally. The shul works hard to foster a sense of community-mindedness, something that many had instilled in them from an early age (especially 15 those from the provinces)
leaders of the community who can lead/take services Brondesbury Park Core Principles (2) Promoting a sense of community: Encouraging people to get to know one another through social events, asking members to host new families, ensuring the community is represented at milestone events in people s lives (Bris, levaya, shiva etc) Putting shul at the centre of people s lives apart from services, shul is there for all the milestones in life happy and sad and provides a vibrant social life for all members of the community. There are tailored events for the not so young, for newly marrieds, for teenagers, for new parents as well as kids parties at Purim, Chaukkah and Shavuoth. Many friendships transcend age. Preparing for the long term Soon after the shul s renaissance began we established a cheder and not too long after that a nursery. The cheder uniquely a Monday night event attracted parents who may not have sent their children on a Sunday. Now many having been exposed to the ethos of the shul and engaged with Rabbi Baruch have become members. The same too has happened with the nursery. Both are key membership pipelines. The youth team help keep the youth engaged at a challenging period in their lives and help nurture future
Brondesbury Park: Sharing and Sustaining Core Principles The core values of the community are lived by example. The Rabbi and Rabbetzin and the lay leadership (the Board and Executive) lead by example. Our core principles are instinctive for some and learned behaviour for others. Congregants are proud to be part of a warm, welcoming, inclusive community and they quickly learn what is needed to sustain that esprit de corps. This is especially so when they themselves can fondly recall their treatment upon first encountering Brondesbury Park Shul. Once people see all around them others volunteering their time and skills to the collective good of the community they quickly understand that the expectation is that everyone will get involved to do what they can. Every sermon made by Rabbi Baruch instils our values whether tangentially or specifically. Guest speakers similarly are selected to reinforce those values. The Chairman communicates our values in his addresses and communications to the community. Our youth and children see and learn from the example of their parents.
Brondesbury Park in the Press
Brondesbury Park in the Press We adopted modern marketing and PR techniques to raise the profile of the community and the project. Before long people were talking about BP as the cool shul. Whatever made us cool in the eyes of others hopefully it was a reflection of our ethos it certainly helped to create a buzz which prompted people to come and visit to try us out. Many have stayed and encouraged their friends along. Mark every event and take every opportunity to shine the light of publicity on your achievements (10 th anniversary of Rabbi, inauguration, Chief Rabbi s visit, Eruv progress, Fundraising for new build, Book Initiative, Purim/Chanukah Parties) Build a relationship with the press (both to get them to cover events and put the right spin on your story), Make yourselves available for comment Build the narrative and reinforce it.
Future Plans
Park Build : The Brondesbury Park Synagogue Redevelopment Project Proposed new build Existing building 1 NOV 2015 KISLEV 5776
The importance of having a community story - what we were/what we are/where we re going and what we stand for How to reinforce the story in all communications (written/sermons/kiddush conversations etc.) How you achieved this at Brondesbury Park In the words of Max Bygraves I want to tell you a story!