Kol Nidrei / Erev Yom Kippur - High Holy Days with the Wimbledon Synagogue 5782/2021

we hope to you enjoy our service and also look forward to seeing you more regular regularly in shore we will be letting you know in the next uh kahila the information about how we will be opening up and yes tim i will be sending it to you tomorrow on youtube please feel free to leave your new year's greetings on the on the chat and the rest of you suitably distance can chat with each other in shul after the service a big well oh if you do not have one of our green masarim at home you are able to follow the service on um online the work is actually put on we've put it on to our ezine but for those of you who haven't had an ezine from us it's www dot tiny t i n y dot c c forward slash ws hyphen book it's all lower case and that way you can find and follow the service the rabbi will be giving you alternative page numbers and thank you rabbi it was a massive job to get them correlated i'm sure because it was very hard to find your way otherwise now we have a big welcome we actually have the benefit of three rabbis here this evening rabbi adrian our emeritus rabbi rabbi tony and for those of you who were around in the 1980s delighted to welcome rabbi hillel abedan and his wife as well who will be with us for the duration of the services as i said yom kippur as you know requires a lot of standing it is not a requirement your voices and your thoughts will go where they should go whether or not you're standing if you feel that you need to sit please sit nobody is going to question you just make yourselves comfortable so that you can have the cover now and concentrate on the service finally please switch off your mobile phones thank you i can see the hands going into the bags as we speak in a moment we will get uh invite mrs avidan ruth to light the candles and then after that we will be having our col nidre prayer where we invite people usually a person to hold the scroll whilst the col nidre prayer is sung this year we're not specifically uh honoring the person except in one case i'll come to that at the end but the group we've been extremely lucky our school visits team has done a magnificent job in making a video which enables them to continue to do the work that they are doing online and the schools and in fact ones with council think it's the most fabulous thing and those of us have seen it would agree it really explains our synagogue and ourselves and they work really hard to maintain that contact we have up to 90 children a week when there isn't covid coming into the synagogue and they really deserve to be not acknowledged our cultural events and activities committee bloomed during lockdown and still does and we are very grateful to the variety of events that they put on for us uh getting to know you which is a weekday thing evening evening events as well again it's in kahila do follow it when the covid struck us and we found that we had to shut down it took just about two or three weeks before hada managed to resume online the teachers have worked magnificently to provide the best possible uh serve best possible teaching keeping the children in touch with their jewish roots despite the fact that as a community we are well spread out and to that end we are honoring the fader it's very difficult to talk about the work of the care group and the people who take part in it and our care worker sarah and indeed our rabbi who has proved himself to be a stalwart behind the scenes picking up the really important pieces that rabbis need to pick up we don't know what the work is that they've done but everybody who has needed their help has been had nothing but praise that i've heard of the problem is of course that people have to well not a problem people's confidentiality is well guarded so in that for that reason we don't know what they do and that enables any of us who need their assistance to actually ask for it and i think that's as far as we should go finally our council despite the the pandemic we have kept that going we wouldn't all be here unless we had something that was uh assisting us and a mechanism for all of you to be represented and particularly i will make name one name this time which is rob who has as chair stepped up and deserves to be noted uh for his persistence in keeping us all together and putting up with us as well so um that's why we will have rob as well uh representing the council but also himself so thank you rabbi we now invite um lynn sidkin to read our opening meditation thank you the reading by vivian g simmons can be found in your master at the bottom of page seven nine two is one of the most universal of our holy days this means that in essence not in form it concerns all men there is not a righteous man upon earth who doeth good and sinneth not said ecclesiastes that is to say the problems of sin and forgiveness are human problems all religions have to solve them in their own way the jewish day of atonement is unique in the manner of its observance and its appeal finds a response in every truly jewish heart we are taught in our religious life to balance emotion with reason both have their place on yom kippur both the appeal and the response are far more to the heart than to the mind we jews are as moses called our forefathers let us confess it a stiff-necked people on the day of atonement our arrogance our self-will our sense of independence our wilderness drop from us like a garment in the solemn thought of the great poet gabiron each israelite is pictured as standing before god on this day i am bear and destitute of good works and thy righteousness alone is my covering [Music] thus does the jew face himself and his god on yom kippur with humility yet with confidence and hope thank thank you very much lynn and i have now the really great privilege to invite ruth avidan to join me here on the boomer and to light for us the festival lights and you can take off your mask and um for those of you who are able to please rise we are on page 674 for the bracha followed by the shahihiano [Music] and now we have um a full bimha with social distancing is we prepare ourselves for the call nidre and in your prayer books you can turn to page 272. please can i also have rob julia michael and michael and i must will also join you in carrying one of the scrolls so [Music] [Music] [Music] m [Music] by the authority of the court on high and with the consent of the court below with the consent of god and with the consent of this congregation we are permitted to pray with each other who have sinned [Music] cold [Music] my [Music] [Applause] [Music] lord [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Laughter] [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] bye [Music] is [Music] so [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] whatever [Music] [Music] oh [Music] the door [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] me [Music] is [Music] cry [Music] bless her [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] god [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] me [Music] oh [Music] we are [Music] foreign [Music] full time [Music] is [Music] may all the people of israel be forgiven including all the strangers who live among them for all the people are at fault [Music] there [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] thank you you may be seated lord no i have not mixed the festival i know which day we have today but let me ask the question once again why is tonight so different from all other nights on all other festivals we come in joy and tonight the climax of the yamim nova im our days of all we come in fear and nervousness on all other festivals we come together as families as community tonight we come singly as individuals one and one and one and one to stand singly before the judge of all life on all other festivals we bring children to share with them the stories the history and the experience of our people tonight there aren't many children here this isn't for children this is for adults who have lived and struggled and suffered and know what it is or what it feels to fail tonight there is no story there is no history to this holiday no moment commemorated or celebrated tonight is all here and now the philosopher franz rosensweight taught that on yom kippur we rehearse death we don't eat we reside we doing the confession we forswear all the pleasures of life we wear simple clothing and we stand lonely and naked before the throne of judgment where god forbid your life over tomorrow what would you suddenly realize about yourself tonight what would you regret and what would you be proud of how many dreams have you accomplished and how many are left unfulfilled and what are you waiting for all of what we do on this holiday the services the music the confession the fasting all of it has just one purpose to give us the strength and the courage to open up to look inside to find the truth about our lives on all the other festivals we asked the questions about matzah and ma'a about candles and heroes but tonight god asks the questions and according to the teaching of the talmud god has actually four questions for us did you set aside time for learning torah is the first one torah is not a book a scroll held in the ark torah is a process torah is an eternal covenant and an eternal conversation among hundreds of generations of jewish men and women sharing their perceptions of life's meaning and purpose of god's presence in their lives and of what they learned from life when we study torah we join the process we joined the conversation we joined the conversations of generations here is a way for you becoming part of this conversation here is your homework for after yom kippur i want you to write a letter to your children or nephews or nieces to the child of a next door or a person you took under your wings find a quiet moment and tell them what you have learned from life what has life taught you what have you learned from your education from marriage divorce from working from building a home raising children from the joys of this and the suffering and the struggles of life i ask you to do this because so many of us forget to articulate these things to the for one to the ones following in our path and god forbid anything should happen to you in the next year they deserve to know you to share your deepest thoughts and to know what you learned from your lifetime and i ask you to do this because only having written this letter will you understand what i mean by torah only then will you understand what the text why a text is held sacred by generations our scriptures our teachings are the accumulation the collection of the letters written by our ancestors to us here is their wisdom taught to them by life's joys and struggles and shared with us out of their love this is how god communicates with us through the life wisdom and sensitive souls through their poetry their stories their letters there is no such thing as a jew jews comes with ancestors and descendants and with community we are one across generations across oceans we are one and that binds us together and what binds us together is our shared wisdom our torah to learn torah to have torah to share torah is to find holiness so god asks did you find time for torah second question did you devote yourself to fill the earth and to multiply the talmud doesn't ask did you love your family did you provide for them do you have many children it asks a sector are you part of something bigger do you share yourself with others is family your preoccupation or your occupation do you invest yourself in others it's a question of setting priorities and of making choices i remember a beer commercial some years back that peeked into the life of the model family he is up at four checking the shanghai gold quote then spends a 12-hour day as a hard driving executive followed by a stimulating game of racquetball at the gym a few beers with the fellows with the fellows at the local pub then home to a beautiful wife and above average children standing ready on a perfect trimmed lawn she she rises before dawn to prepare breakfast for her adoring family does all the homework then carpools the children to the school spends her day performing complex brain surgery picks up the children from school feeds them baths then packs them off to bed then changes her clothes and reapplies her makeup to be fresh and ready for a night of dining and dancing with her beaming husband at home and at home in time to get two hours sleep before doing it all again and overall this exemplary family portrayed booms the sippy soundtrack asking who says you cannot have it all who says reality says this ad isn't just selling beer it is selling a myth the myth that you can have it all without making choices we can pursue our careers and have all our dreams our personal development our professional fulfillment our happiness and at the same time enjoy a happy family life and a partnership without ever facing a conflict a bumping against the limits on our time or our energy for a long time long time the myth was called quality time as long as time you spent together was really good time it didn't matter how much time you spent but that's a myth of course you can have a career and have a wonderful relationship with your partner of course you can pursue personal goals professional goals and have a lovely family we all do but there are always choices difficult painful choices to mate every single day we can i believe be good at what we do professionally and be a good partner but we cannot be great we can be a good doctor a good lawyer a good executive a good rabbi but if we choose to be great lawyers doctors executive rabbis then there is a price we have to pay and usually our loved ones pay the price too that is reality talking that's the choice we must make 18 months of working from home haven't changed we st that we still need to find the right balance between the time we spend in front of our computers and our family and friends so asakta bibria do you make time for your family partners parents friends got us because in relationship to others there is holiness third question did you do business with integrity this is the most surprising of the questions we expect questions about torah we also expect a question about seda charity about ritual praying about supporting a community all important parts of jewish life but where is holiness found in the world of business what is perhaps the most important section in the torah i want to ask you i think people immediately say genesis the shema the ten commandments we're going to read also tomorrow the revelation at mount sinai but wait it is when you go out to war when you go out to war against your enemies and the lord god delivers them into your power and you take some of them captive and you see among the captives a beautiful woman and you desire her and would have her you shall first bring her into your house and shall cut and she shall cut her hair and her nails and discard her captive scarp she shall spend a month time in your house mourning her father and her mother and then you may come to me to her and marry her and she shall be your wife and if not you must release her why is this one of the most important sections of the torah it is not easy to be a moral hero it is easy to be a moral hero as it's a it's a dick in theory deep in our hearts everyone thinks of herself himself as good sincere a well-meaning person but the real question of morality is what happens in the real world in the marketplace at work in a world of tough competition of conflict and its passion so let me rephrase the torah quote he sees her on the field of battle he desires hers he wants her the lust of passion of battle flowing through his veins with the rape and looting and wanton's actions of violence around him he wants her no one would know no one would care after all who is she a captive an enemy the spoil of battle he wants her and at that moment in the most emerald of all circumstances amid the smoke and scream and confusion of war the torah says stop you must consider her humanity you must restore her dignity you must allow her to mourn you must allow to heal that my friends is the soul of jewish ethics in the worst of circumstances when passion is high and all immoralities would be overlooked when everything goes the torah says stop you must respect the humanity of the other you must preserve the dignity of the other and more importantly you must preserve your own what's at stake is not just the humanity of the other but yours too where you amend even in the competitive world of business where you're honest with your customers fair with your clients and gracious with competitors but more now god asks were you faithful to yourself to your own principles the last question peter the yeshua do you anticipate redemption do you have hope beautiful midrash tells the following story when god set out to create the first human being god consulted with the angels and confined confided to them his plan to create humans in the divine image the angels were outraged how can something so pure so precious and so powerful be entrusted to the create to a creature as evil and decideful and corrupt as humans so if humans have the divine image they reasoned they will think like god and feel what god feels they will create as god creates and finally will grasp eternity and live forever as god lives forever we cannot let this happen so they conspired and stole the divine image and they decided to hide it somewhere where humans would not find it but where let us put it on the top of the highest mountain one angel suggested but no they will one day climb up the mountain and find it so let it let us put it in the bottom of the sea another offered but no they will plumb those depth one day and they will find it all angels offered suggestions but each was rejected and then the cleverest of all angels step forward no not at the top of the mountain or the bottom of the sea let us place it where humans will never go to look for it let it place it within their heart and within their soul they will never find it there and so the angels hid the precious divine image within the heart of every single human with lies hidden to this day holiness is not in heaven as our torah teaches it it is not on the top of mountains or the bottom of the sea it is here in us in the way we live so this yontev sit in shul in front of zoom or youtube take perhaps a walk after the service sit beneath a tree look within you and find the holiness that has been planted there use the divine divinity in you to create repair and grow the good in you and around you it's do you anticipate redemption do you have hope my hope my anticipation of a world redeemed is that we all will find the right words to answer god's call tonight tomorrow and this year why is tonight different from all other nights because tonight god asked the question and so we'll now turn back to our masurim and we're going to page 280 to 280 and online on page 26 and our choir will lead us in the opening song for the arabic service [Music] hey [Music] my shoulders [Music] is [Music] me [Music] is [Music] please [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] as a father is tender to his children so the lord is tender to those who fear him for it is he who knows our nature remembers that we are dust frail men his days are like the grass his blossoms are like the flowers in the field but the breeze passes over it and it is gone and it is placed and its place knows it no more but the love of the lord lasts forever and ever for those who fear him and his loyalty to his children children of those who keep his covenant bearing his precept are in thy mind to do them the lord has set firm his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all bless the lord his messengers the mighty and strength who perform his word who obey the voice of his command by who adonai adonai we continue with the reading on page 693694 i suggest that you leave your fingers also in that part of the service becky the deed is the test the trial and the risk what we perform may seem slight but in the aftermath is immense an individual's misdeed can be the beginning of a nation's disaster the sun goes down but the deeds go on darkness is over all we have done if man were able to survey at a glance all he has done in the course of his life what would he or she feel he would be terrified at the extent of his own power to bind all we have done to our conscience to our mind will be like trying to tie a torrent to a reed even a single deed generates an endless set of effects initiating more than the most powerful man is able to master or predict a single deed may place the lives of countless men in the chains of its unpredictable effects all we own is a passing intention but what comes about will outlive and surpass our power gazing soberly at the world man is often overcome with fear of action a fear that without knowledge of god's ways turns to despair thank you very much word return to page 284 and if you are able to please rise as we will shortly call to prayer [Music] oh oh [Music] please be seated in the online cdrim we're on page 36 and still on page 284 in our regular masoor him um my [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Applause] [Music] how beautiful it is to hear all your voices to be in a congregation where we together may now witness to the oneness of the eternal we on page 38 online 286 for the shema we will hear first our choir or the quartet singing for us and then maya hours will lead us in the reading of the shema [Music] is [Music] i'm [Music] [Music] well have a short moment for our private prayers um and our masurim suggest us alternative readings page 288 and 289 and then maya will lead us in a short moment with this third reading for the small uh [Music] thank you [Music] [Applause] is [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] 292 on line 46 for hashkevino [Music] okay [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] please [Music] day [Music] we now prepare ourselves for the amidah in our prayer books we'll begin the amidah on page 292 and online on page 50 and if you are able to please rise [Music] a [Music] is [Music] [Music] so hey [Music] is [Music] hey [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] me [Applause] [Music] [Music] me [Music] today [Music] who is like you father of mercy is recalling god's creatures to life and mercy you are faithful to renew life beyond death [Music] found [Music] is [Music] [Music] therefore may the honor of your people be seen and the glory of those who fear you alone let hope come to those who seek you and confidence to those who wait for you bring happiness to your land and joy to your city may the work of redemption begin with david flourish in you and may the light of the messianic kingdom shine out soon in your days therefore the just will see it and be glad the honors rejoice and the faithful break into song for the mouth of evil will be shut in the wickedness vanish like smoke when you sweep away the rule of arrogance from the earth foreign [Music] oh foreign [Applause] [Music] [Music] m is [Music] [Music] we're on the bottom of page 296 online 57. [Music] [Music] our god and god of our ancestors reign over all the world in glory supreme and splendor of the earth shine out in the beauty and majesty of your might over all who dwell on earth then every creature will know that you are its creator and all your handiwork realize that you are its maker may everything that has life declare that the god of israel reigns and that god's kingdom governs all [Music] hey nobel laureate [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] we declare with gratitude that you are our god and the god of our fathers forever you are our rock the rock of our life and the shield that saves us in every generation we thank you and recount your praise for our lives held in your hand for our souls that are in your care and for the signs of your presence that are with us every day at every moment at evening morning and noon we experience your wonders and your goodness you are goodness itself for your mercy has no end you are mercy itself for your love has no limit forever have we put our hope in you say it [Music] set true peace upon your people israel forever for you are the king the lord of all peace and in your eyes it is good to bless your people israel at every time and in every hour with your peace is [Music] and please remain standing as we now prepare for the first of the many videos we will speak throughout yom kippur and isaac and ludmilla please open the ark we're on page 300 and 302. so on page 82 online 302 and in my notes the choir will sing now our god and god of our fathers tavo le fanecha [Music] today [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] we turn away from your commandments and good judgment but it does not help us your justice exists whatever happens for you work truth but we bring about evil we are online page 83 305 in our master him what can we say to you so distant is the place where you are found and we can tell and what can we tell you you being as remote as the heavens yet you know everything hidden and revealed you know the mysteries of the universe and the intimate secrets and of everyone alive you probe our body's state you see into our hearts and mind nothing escapes you nothing is hidden from your gaze you may close the ark and you then may be seated you may be seated and judith will lead us in the general confession together with our choir online we're on page 90 in our regular mastering still page 304 for the sin we committed against you through evading and avoiding because we could not face the truth for our flight into hypocrisy and deception because we did not dare to speak it for the facts we dissembled and all we glossed over for the excuses we made [Music] for feeding our bodies and starving our souls for interfering with the souls of others and neglecting their needs for shifting our responsibilities for reproaches and recriminations [Music] foolishness our folly and false standards for seeing these things only in others never in ourselves for our complacency which blinds us and our self-righteousness which lessens us [Music] for calculating kindness and measuring our pity for charity that is cold and prayers without feeling for sending in accounts for love [Music] for the appeals that we ignored and the people whom we refused for the affection which died and our love which he became bitter for the visions that faded the ideals we neglected and the opportunities we lost [Music] is [Music] for the fear of change and renewal and our unbelief for saying prayers aloud but refusing to listen for being our own worst enemy [Music] oh [Music] i deny my god and god of my ancestors hiney here i stand before you full of shame and confusion because you commanded mercy and love show me how to change myself so that i can serve you with my whole self and sin no longer and may the sin i have already committed against you because cancelled by your love and not by severe trials we have a short moment to conclude the section of the video we do with our private reflections before we conclude then with aussie shalom on page 3 306 and continue then with the sleek hot [Music] [Music] is [Music] oh is [Music] is [Music] [Music] and so we turn to the silhouette the poems of pardon the songs of sublication the pleas of our ancestors may the thoughts inside us match the words we speak aloud and jeff will lead us in the opening reading on page 308 and online we will then be on page 64 but at the moment three or eight in our traditional master him we are judged every moment of our life by what we have done and what we have left undone this is the the judgment of truth from which we flee and we put in its place our own judgment which is partial or the judgment of the world which is worthless if we care for our souls and seek eternity then now is the time for the judgment of truth we pushed inside without it we cannot go forward if we reject it we cannot grow today supported by the community of israel accompanied by the confession of our neighbors and the memorial memorials of the honest and the sincere of former times we can face our destiny and its demands living through a lifetime for a century of years does not help us to eternity for time alone does not enlighten us one day of insight can carry us forward to that eternal life we seek lord you have given us our chance this day let us take it now for if not now when thank you [Music] m [Music] [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] god [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] me [Music] hey [Music] and while most of the prayers we have said this evening are in the plural to give one another strength in this moment of confession and acknowledging our shortcomings it doesn't release us really to go into ourselves and to look for the truth in our hearts and so we give you all a short moment of private readings and soul search response the texts which you can find in our sidorim from page 310 to 320 may help you online we're on page 66 to 80 in a short moment we will resume but for now this is your time with the god on page 320 online page 84 for the confession [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] for the sins we have committed before you by speaking slander and for the sins we have committed before you are showing contempt for the sins we have committed before you my financial greed and for the sins we have committed before you by tempting others and for the sins we have committed before you for gossip and for all the sins we have committed before you by choice [Music] oh [Music] [Music] me foreign [Music] for the sins we have committed before you by overeating and drinking for the sins we have committed before you are hurting others for the sin we have committed before you by rejecting partners and teachers and for the sin we have committed before you by misusing sex for the sin we have committed before you by allowing ourselves to be used for evil by the sins and for all the sins we have committed before you openly [Music] [Music] [Music] for the sins we have committed before you by fraud and falsehood and for the sin we have committed before you by perigee for the sin we have committed before you by despising you for the sin we have committed before you for by denying our religious duty for the sin we have committed before you for sincere confession of sin and for all the sins we have committed before you consciously [Music] oh [Music] so please turn to page 326 [Music] [Music] even before the light of heaven shone and when earth is worn out like a garment and the heavens vanish like smoke [Music] even before there were cities and fields when god settled god's creatures on earth and when god brings us together the whole world over [Music] [Music] in your hands as the soul of everything every living creature the spirit of every human being the soul is yours and the body is your cr creation have pity on your work the soul is yours and the body is yours forgive us for the sake of your name for you are known as a god of love and mercy page 328. [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] oh god teach us your own goodness and mercy it is written in the torah and adonai came down in a cloud he stood there with him and proclaimed the name of adonai then adonai passed before him and proclaimed [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] me [Music] [Music] we're on page 329.79 online hear what we say understand what we cannot express may the words of our mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you o our deny our rock and redeemer do not send us away from your nearness to you and do not take away from us the spirit of your holiness do not send us away when we grow old when our spirit fails do not forsake us i deny our god do not leave us be not distanced from us our hopes rest rest on you alone adonai only you can answer us eternal our god and so we turn to page 80 online and in our uh master him to page 3 um to page 2 9 3 2 9 3 2 9 and we have helen's bureau on zoom you are muted always reach out to our mind so that your being fills us with all pierce our hearts so that we love you then we shall return to you both in truth and with a perfect heart for the sake of your great name forgive and pardon our iniquities as it is said in your holy writings for the sake of your name lord forgive our iniquity for it is great thank you so we turned to avinu marcano in our mastering page 332 95 in the online master rim and we're if you are able to please rise as the ark is also opened by alyssa and nancy [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] is foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] you may be seated i invite our chairman rob to come to the lectern as he has this one and to share some important words and thoughts good evening rabbi adrian emeritus rabbi tony rabbi avidan on behalf of the whole council may i welcome you all it is lovely to see so many of you in person sitting here it also fills me with a lot of joy knowing so many of you are joining with us at home as many of you know a lot of time and effort has been put in to make this all possible the rabbi and stella our director in chief with the help from rachel and the warden team have done a superb job in arranging the services the tech team made up of andrew aretz ricky cousins adam wells handy leak and michael cohn have and will be making sure all the services are streamed on youtube so they can be enjoyed remotely while sitting at home it has been another extremely challenging year the pandemic has not gone away this community has not allowed this to get in the way of synagogue life as a community we have so much to be proud of we have taken great strides and i would like to take this opportunity to highlight a few all our services are available online and thankfully over the last few months we've been able to allow some people in the synagogue while still having people to participate remotely the high holiday services are a great showcase of this whereby we have 100 people here in what we have tried to ensure is as coveted safe as possible i'm sorry we could not have allowed more people to be here but i know you all understand why this is not possible for the last academic year the haida offered an engaging online program for our children last sunday we started the new academic year back here with in-person lessons it was so lovely for me and i know a lot of other parents to see how happy the kids were to see each other having not seen each other for over a year as well as seeing so many new young families joining the play show our school visits team which has not been able to allow in-person visits for the last year took the initiative and made use of the camera equipment and made an excellent film which was made available to schools and the team were able to set up online visits this has been a huge success and has continued to promote wimbledon synagogue in the local community the care group have once again worked extremely hard over the last year reaching out to those members who have needed help similarly the cultural events group have laid on a superb and varied program for all of us to enjoy these are just a few of the good things taking place and i thank all of you for helping with these and other activities before i move on to the cole nitrate appeal i would like to say a big thank you to rabbi adrian he and haim joined us in november in the middle of lockdown but this did not stop him working tirelessly to get to know as many of us as possible i know you will agree that in rabbi adrian we found an engaging rabbi worthy of leading this great community in prayer as chair of the community it falls to me to nominate the charities for our coal middle appeal in making my choices i've decided to choose three charities which i hope you agree share our jewish values first is leo beck education center in haifa the leobeck education center was established in 1938 as a kindergarten for 30 german jewish children fleeing pre-war europe today it is a dynamic and growing education centre that includes a preschool kindergarten elementary school junior high school senior high school the achael avraham synagogue the main community and sports centre and eight satellite centers the mission of leo beck education center is to build a pluralistic society in the spirit of progressive judaism zionism democracy and shared responsibility through excellent formal and informal education and a deep commitment to tikam olam repair of the world mutual support and equal opportunity they empower individuals of all ages and walks of life to fulfill their potential and become agents of social change the centre is an all-inclusive pluralistic institution with schools a community centre and social outreach programs that serve all israelis regardless of religion culture and background they are dedicated to democracy egalitarianism and human rights everything they do is in the spirit of progressive judaism the values of which inspire social change and tikkun at wimbledon synagogue we are thrilled to have found a partner in israel for our haider and we will we will be starting joint activities with the children at the center planning has already started for a joint hanukkah celebrations all donations will be given to the tikkun olam and social justice program more can be found at their website which is www.leobeckheifer.org the second charity which is a bit closer to home is the nightingale hamilton this is an independent charity which has been serving the jewish community for 180 years they welcome jewish men and women over the age of 60 from every part of the community only half of the residents are self-funding for the remainder each week nightingale hamerson needs to raise 600 pounds per resident to cover the full costs of their care over and above the fees received from local authorities and families this year income has been falling as costs rise sky high as they try and continue to provide an overall rating of outstanding from the care quality commission once again more info can be found at their website and thirdly the wimbledon district synagogue we are the largest jewish community south of london we are fortunate in having a magnificent building enabling us to provide dignified services excellent haider facilities space for cultural and social activities we provide the community with a support network to be proud of giving a lifeline for so many of our vulnerable members and their families to enable us to provide this we need your help and ask that you donate what you can and as generously as you can we shall divide the appeal proceeds equally between the three charities unless you specifically tell us otherwise and finally i just want to make you aware of a way we can all donate to the synagogue which won't cost you a penny this is called easy fundraising it is simple and easy to use and it turns your everyday online shopping into donations to the synagogue at no extra cost to you it's worth pointing out that i think recently we've raised a thousand pounds just by that details of the website can be found in kahila or from the office i wish you all thank you thank you very much i need to connect myself to our many guests also on youtube and i want to say that once again it is beautiful to have you here in the congregation but also to everyone on youtube it's wonderful to have you with us we consider you as really close to our hearts and be with us we expanded our sanctuary into the virtual and we know from the past year that this was sometimes even a helpline for to some of you or for many of us that we could stay connected and that we continue to be one congregation and we're also very i'm thankful that we have found friends all over the world who join us this evening and who have joined us in the past services and will do so in the future um we are very proud of how we um celebrate our tradition and mark our tradition and also come together in weak moments as in moments of strength and so i invite you to the concluding part of our service which you can find on page um 332 right at the bottom of the aleno and in our online scheduling we're on page 102 and if you are able to please rise for the elenor [Music] yes [Music] [Music] me [Music] oh [Music] my [Music] [Music] therefore eternal god we put our hope in you soon let us witness the glory of your power when the worship of material things shall pass away from the earth and prejudice and superstition shall at last be cut off when the world will be said right by the rule of god and all mankind shall speak out in your name and all the wicked of the earth shall turn to you then all who inhabit this word shall meet in understanding and shall know that you alone each one shall submit and pledge himself themselves to in every tongue in your presence eternal or god they shall bow down and be humble honoring the glory of your being all shall accept the duty of building your kingdom so that you reign of go your reign of goodness shall come soon and last forever for yours alone is the true kingdom and only the glory of your rule and yours forever so it is written in your torah humbled god the holy night concludes with memory our last thoughts always are of those we have lost we miss them especially tonight yearning for your pres for their presence at our side the service we have shared once was theirs they spoke and sang the ancient words they prayed repented and yearned for better lives is we have done flawed in their deeds imperfect in their faith they still drew strength from their tradition as we seek fortitude in ours what was good and beautiful in their lives once gave us joy and now inspires us to reach higher the knowledge that they loved us deeply brings comfort to our hearts in remembrance and gratitude we speak this timeless truth [Music] the memory is a blessing now and forever we pray that their goodness will live on in our lives planting seeds of kindness and hope for generations to come our thoughts turn to loved ones whom death has taken from us at this season in years past isaac solomon father of nina portugal our hearts open as well to the wider circles of loss in our community and wherever grief touches the human family please join me in the qaddish reading on page 334 [Music] of the yamaha [Music] [Music] you may close the ark thank you you may be seated um some short announcements and thank you thank you adrian thank you to judith thank you for our virtual choir and also our staff jackie and rachel and francisco and all the volunteers who prepared the high holy days so beautifully for us it's been a stressful time in the last few weeks and all the extra work is much appreciated thank you to our wardens who've been on zoom with us as well our tech team and security team for providing extra support running the services tomorrow's yom kippur service starts at 10 30 if you have tickets we're delighted to see you there hashakharit all services will be streamed also on youtube there will only be one yes there'll be it's the same stream as before there's no need to search for a specific link just wimbledon synagogue um shabbat henzione follows this friday evening at seven on zoom and youtube and saturday here in the show and on youtube with a baby blessing for the twins gila and lily lily great grandmother josephine urban will be delighted to be there i know and again starting from this coming shabbat there's no need to register we would very much encourage you to take a lateral flow test before you come and we'd also be very happy that you would expect you to sanitize your hands and sign in and also use the app should you wish to do so um but otherwise uh it will be business as usual do come along 10 30 on saturday and following shabbat thank you rabbi thank you very much and so a final prayer if you are able to please rise infinite source of goodness help us to see the good in ourself in others and in the world around us teach us to cultivate a discerning mind to know right from wrong and listening and a listening heart open to love and forgiveness guide us to walk in your ways with integrity ever faithful to the promise our forebearers made and may your goodness inspire us to do what is just and right strengthen us this day bless us this day this day exalt us show us kindness this day inscribe us this day for a life of goodness this day hear our cry now and always support us with strength of your righteousness bless you and guard you may our night presence shine unto you and be gracious to you and may adonai lift god's face unto you and give you all peace shalom and we hear our choir for the concluding hymn ich dahl on page 336 you may be seated and then as we ask you please when you gather outside you can have a short moment to mingle but please not inside the synagogue thank you margaret [Music] is [Music] me [Music] i [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] peace [Music] oh [Music] [Music] me [Music] of

Channel: Wimbledon Synagogue

Views: 1,783

Keywords: Shacharit, London, Adrian Schell, Wimbledon Synagogue, Jewish Service, UK, Sabbath, Jewish, Synagogue, Reform Judaism, Rabbi, Shabbat, Yom Kippur, Fasting, High Holy Days, Yamim Noraim, Days of Awe

Id: TeVYgwujiqI

Length: 151min 15sec (9075 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 15 2021