Dear {{first_name}} In these extraordinary times, life is changing daily for each of us as we face our new reality. The same is true for our Jewish life.
In the midst of so much change, our core Alyth commitments remain undiminished.
We continue to believe that relationships and gathering together are at the heart of our community life. This will require us to use new media and technology to ensure that as many of our members as possible can join together in our services and learning. We are putting a great effort into connecting people in the weeks ahead.
We will continue to work to build a Jewish life that is intellectually rich, grounded in Jewish tradition and inspiring for all. We know that we will need to find new and innovative ways to do this, and are committed to doing so.
Most of all, we promise that the foundation of mutual care on which our community is built will remain strong throughout the challenges ahead of us. We invite you to contribute to this in any way that you can.
From today, there will be two community emails each week on Monday and Thursday. These will outline the learning and community provision on offer online. We will be developing more and more options as the weeks progress. The email will also update you on our new care programme, ‘From Darkness to Light’, and will always include the contact information for the synagogue.
Supporting one another in our community: From Darkness to Light Thank you to the many members who have volunteered since Tuesday to help care for those who need our love and support. “From darkness to light” is our new care programme for this extraordinary situation, drawn from the verse in Isaiah, “I will turn darkness before them to light”. Our task as a community is to make this verse a reality over the weeks ahead. We will be there to support one another, to respond to the practical and emotional needs that these unprecedented times present. As a community the potential number of members needing support are substantial. We have a large number of elderly members and many others who are in ‘at-risk’ groups or whose wellbeing will suffer from isolation.
We would like to invite anyone who can volunteer to offer support to do so through Alyth. This can be practical, or simply an offer to phone one vulnerable member regularly over the coming weeks. We are also looking to ‘buddy’ those of our members without their own support network with another member who can be their ‘person’ for this period.
Click hereto volunteer: You will be directed to a page where you can let us know what you are able to offer.
If you need any help, click here or phone 020 8457 8794.
Contact us From tomorrow, once the Kindergarten closes, the Alyth building will not be open as normal. The Alyth Rabbis and Professional team will be working remotely and so the best way to contact them is via email. For general enquiries please email mail@alyth.org.uk and click here for a list of all the teams email addresses. Please reach out to us if you are feeling anxious or need support. We are here to help to overcome some of the practical challenges we will be facing together, and to be there for one another.
Between 9:00 and 16:30 we will be answering the following new phone number as our main synagogue number: 020 8457 8794.
There are also two extra phone numbers for you to use this period:
New Alyth Careline – 020 8457 8798 This will be answered between 08:00 and 21:00 by a member of the community for anyone who needs practical support or just someone to speak to.
Emergency Careline – 07726 631 808 We ask that you please use this number if you need urgent pastoral support, for example in cases of illness or bereavement. This will be answered by a member of the Alyth professional team.
We will be running all our activities online via Zoom and Facebook Live from this weekend. Please follow the links to join us.
As our online provision develops we will be sending out more ways to join in. In Monday’s email you will find how to join our Judaism: the Essentials session, Mellow Yoga, our regular Pardes study, and a weekly pre-dinner concert with Katie, as well as new learning and prayer options for these difficult times, and offerings for young families and children.
FRIDAY 20 MARCH
Pre-Shabbat Story (16:30) Join us for a pre shabbat story to help bring in shabbat. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/444538080 to join the story.
Ruach @ Home (17:15) Closing our Avodah term with an exploration of the Amidah. We’ve reached the peak of our prayer journey, everything has been building up to this moment in the service. Join Mike online to explore this week’s text in a number of fun and creative ways. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/168168532 to join Ruach.
Ruach 4 (from 17:15) Mentoring will continue virtually by one-to-one interactions and scheduled 3way calls.
Erev Shabbat Service (18:30) Join us for our first solely online service. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/248645948 to join the service. Please click here to download a copy of our weekly Shul Sheet (this will be available from Friday afternoon)
SATURDAY 21 MARCH
Jewish Mindfulness Meditation (9:15-10:15) Buds of the flowers sprouting to spring. Contemplation, movement and learning to set you up for Shabbat. Led by our member Maxine Levy from her home. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/237016000 to join JMM.
Shabbat Morning Service (10:30) Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/954998053 to join the service. Please click here to download a copy of our weekly Shul Sheet which will contain the Torah portion (this will be available from Friday afternoon) We wish mazal tov to Katy Hermer who was due to read Torah this week to celebrate becoming Bat Mitzvah. In the circumstances we are unable to celebrate with her this weekend but look forward to doing so in the near future.
SUNDAY 22 MARCH
Sunday Shacharit (9:00-10:00) Our lay-led minyan with bagel breakfast (please provide your own bagels…) Led by our member Michael Simon from his home. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/431181644 to join the service.
SMG @ Home (10:30-11:30) Join the Youth & Education Hub online for an end of term Pesach Special! Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/830747818 to join SMG.
Please remember to reach out to us if you are feeling anxious or need support. We are here to help with the practical challenges we are facing together, and to be here for one another.
