Dear {{first_name}} On Friday night, as Rabbi Josh led our Erev Shabbat service, the chat was ‘zoombombed’. Here, Rabbi Hannah, who was joining from home, reflects on how the experience felt, and the response of the Alyth team:
In Masechet Derech Eretz it says: ‘People should always be in your eyes like thieves, but you should honour them as if they were Rabban Gamliel.’ This saying comes after a story about Rabbi Yehoshua, who allows a weary traveller to come and stay in his home. He feeds him and shows him to the attic where he will be able to sleep for the night. Rabbi Yehoshua is doubtful of the man’s intentions and secretly removes the ladder from the attic to lower levels of the house. His suspicions are confirmed, as during the night the traveller takes all the valuables from the attic. Looking to make a quick escape he opens the door of the attic but does not notice that the ladder is gone. He falls and injures himself, leaving Rabbi Yehoshua feeling vindicated.
Despite his mistrust, Rabbi Yehoshua was hospitable, making sure the visitor was comfortable, treating him as if he were a prince into his home. Yet he also exercised caution. From this story we learn the saying, ‘suspect them, but respect them’.
When, during our Erev Shabbat Service, our zoom chat was interrupted by abusive messages, it felt as if someone had come into our house to steal our belongings. Participating at home in the service, I felt uncomfortable, as if my prayer had been violated. We are not alone in our experience. American online newspaper, ‘The Forward’ note that “Zoombombing” is increasing as synagogue life moves online due to coronavirus. There has been a rise in hateful and graphic material being posted in Zoom video conferences that has affected not only our places of prayer, but also schools and businesses.
It would be easy to close our doors in the face of this intrusion. However, like Rabbi Yehoshua, we still need to be welcoming and hospitable to those who might visit us. In the UK, half of all households which include a Jew are not affiliated to a synagogue. At this time when so many people feel alone, we want them to feel welcome to come in. So, too, those who come to us from communities without the resources or the religious permission to run online services. This is why, at this stage, we prefer not to password protect our online offerings.
But like Rabbi Yehoshua, we are also wary. When we invite people into our personal space, we must treat them with honour and respect, and still exercise caution. So we are also taking steps to respond. The chat has now been disabled in our service spaces, and our zoom calls will be monitored by a member of the professional team.
At Alyth, we are gatekeepers for Jewish life for many people beyond our walls. We want to continue to keep the gates open to those who wish to come in, while making sure that those who enter feel protected and safe. In the words of American conservative Rabbi Sidney Greenberg, found just outside the doors of the Alyth Beit Tefillah: May the door of this synagogue be wide enough to receive all who hunger for love, all who are lonely for friendship. May it welcome all who have cares to unburden, thanks to express, hopes to nurture. May the door of this synagogue be narrow enough to shut out pettiness and pride, envy and enmity. May its threshold be no stumbling block to young or straying feet. May it be too high to admit complacency, selfishness and harshness. May this synagogue be, for all who enter, the doorway to a richer and more meaningful life.
MONDAY 30 MARCH
PREPARE FOR PESACH Seder Songs (15:00-15:45) Join Katie to learn a variety of songs to sing around your Seder table. For all the community. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/3603606763 to join.
TUESDAY 31 MARCH
PREPARE FOR PESACH Pesach 4 Teens (17:00-18:00) Everyone from Year 9 - 13, please join Mike & Sophie for a pre-Pesach social online. We'll reconnect and catch up with everyone and look at how the themes of Exodus can be relevant to our peculiar lives today. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/3163166763 to join.
Hebrew Reading from Scratch (19:00-20:00) Taught by Alyth member Jan Roseman, who has been one of the UK’s leading Synagogue-based Jewish educators for the last few decades. Take an hour a week in term time to learn to read Hebrew from scratch. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/909882685 to join via Zoom.
PREPARE FOR PESACH E-ssentials (20:00-21:30) Our programme for all those who want to ensure that their Judaism has firm foundations. This week: An introduction to Pesach. For all the community. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/668234069 to join via Zoom. Please click here for the resources which will be used during this session (available from Tuesday).
WEDNESDAY 1 APRIL
PREPARE FOR PESACH Pesach Sing-along (10:30-11:00) Join Tor to sing and dance with your family to get you in the Pesach spirit. For pre-school children. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/3603606763 to join.
Pre-dinner concert with Katie and Tom (17:00-17:30) Join Katie and Tom for a live concert streamed directly into your home. This varied programme will include repertoire from the operas, musicals and more. For all the community. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/108960491 to join via Zoom.
Wednesday Ma’ariv (20:00-20:45) Join us for a mid-week evening service led by lay members. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/566852225 to join via Zoom.
THURSDAY 2 APRIL
Mellow Yoga (11:00-12:00) Our special chair Yoga with Maxine. Maxine is a professional yoga teacher and so we are asking for a contribution towards Alyth’s costs in providing this class. Please click here to sign up and to pay online. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/616879143 to join via Zoom.
PREPARE FOR PESACH Pre-Pesach Pardes: Just who is the Wicked one? (13:00-14:00) The Haggadah is full of 'fours': the Four Cups (or is it five?), the Four Questions (though at many sedarim there's often a fifth one....) and the 'Four Sons.' Are they always and only "sons"? Are they always and only "children"? Who, in particular, is the Wicked one? How have they been shown in Haggadah illustrations over the centuries? Come on a visual journey and look at some of those pictures. They are a delight! Please email colin@alyth.org.uk so he can send you the pictures we will be looking at. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/123761361 to join via Zoom. Please click here to download the source sheet for this session. (available from Thursday)
PREPARE FOR PESACH The Great Matzah Bake Off (15:00-15:30) Set your timer for 18 Minutes as we attempt to make Matzah together with Rabbi Hannah. You will need to have the ingedients (plain flour, water, salt, olive oil) ready before the session and have turned your oven to 255 degrees. For the whole community Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/3603606763 to join.
FRIDAY 3 APRIL
Baby Den (10:30-11:00) Chug-a-lug into Shabbat with Rabbi Hannah and Beth. Sing your favourite Baby Den songs, dance to a shabbat beat and wave to some familiar faces. For families with Young Children. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/142813452 to join.
Pre-Pesach Story Time Live (17:15-17:45) Those pre-school in age (and in heart) are invited to join Rabbi Hannah 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 (17:15-18:20) Ruach 1-3 Join Mike & Sophie on Zoom as we continue to explore what ritual means to us, by delving into the world of blessings! Please have paper & pens ready and a comfy, quiet, space to take part in this coming Shabbat. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/168168532 to join Ruach.
Pre-Shabbat Shiur (17:15-18:00) Join Student Rabbi Dr Tali Artman to look at Moses’ Hutspa and Jewish pride, to get us in the mood for Pesach. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/395809430 to join.
Erev Shabbat Service (18:30-19:30) Join our Rabbis as they lead the Erev Shabbat service from the Beit Tefillah. Please remember that this service is online only. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/248645948 to join the service. The livestream will also be running for those who wish to join in this way. We invite you to have Shabbat candles and Kiddush ready in advance of the service so that we can join together in these moments from our homes. We will light candles together at L’cha Dodi and make Kiddush at the end of the service. Please click here to download the Shabbat Supplement for Friday night (this will be available from 17:00 Friday afternoon).
SATURDAY 4 APRIL
JMM on Saturday (9:15-10:00) Jewish Mindfulness Meditation helps us to open our hearts and find peace through our spiritual heritage, especially in these challenging times. Join Mika Hadar Borthwick for contemplation, breathing, movement and meditation. Suitable for all. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/844520435.
Shabbat Morning Service (10:30-12:30) Rabbi Josh is running the Shabbat morning service from the Beit Tefillah. Please remember that this service is online only. The service will include the Bar Mitzvah of Elan Riza who will be reading Torah with the community for the first time from his home. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/954998053 to join the service. As Alex is reading Torah from home using Zoom, the regular Live Stream will not broadcast the Torah Service.
Please click here to download a copy of the Torah portion (this will be available from 17:00 Friday afternoon).
Sensory Shabbat (11:00-12:00) Our Shabbat experience designed to stimulate your babies’ senses in the first years of their life. Join Rabbi Hannah from your homes. Suitable for babies from birth to 2 years. Click here or go to https://zoom.us/j/905647409
Some of our partner organisations are also running programmes during this period. Click hereto see additional programming offered by Reform Judaism that you are invited to join.
This will be a Pesach unlike any other that we have known. Normally at Pesach we gather together, opening our homes to those we love, welcoming those who need our hospitality. On this Pesach we need to honour these same ideals while ensuring that we stay safely at a distance from one another. Below are ways you can balance these conflicting values with Alyth:
Erev Pesach Service Wednesday 8 April, 16:00-16:45 Join the Alyth community online for the opportunity to welcome in Pesach with an early Ma’ariv service.
Virtual Hosting of First Night Seder (Wednesday 8 April) Are you able to "lay a place" and host someone remotely at your online Seder? All you need is a tablet or laptop, and the willingness to invite someone virtually to your table. Please contact saskia@alyth.org.uk so that we can match you with someone who would like to e-ttend. If you would like to join someone’s online first night Seder please contact saskia@alyth.org.uk.
First Day Pesach Services Thursday 9 April Join us online for our First Day Pesach service.
Erev Second Day Family Seder (16:00-17:30) A spoonful of charoset makes the bitter herbs go down! Join Rabbi Hannah for a Disney Seder Spectacular suitable for all the family.
Communal Seder (19:00-21:00) As we are all trapped in the metaphorical slavery of lockdown, join Rabbi Hannah and Katie to sing and pray with our community, as we virtually escape the confines of our home. We will work through a traditional seder together, before having a chance to break for different options. Either eat with your fellow community, or join our study or reflection spaces.
Please remember that we also have two special numbers in addition to the main synagogue number: 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 someone to speak to. Emergency Careline – 07726 631808 Please use this number if you need urgent pastoral support. The hard reality of this pandemic is that we as a community will support an increased proportion of our members and families through hospitalization and bereavement. This number is there for these cases and will be answered by a member of the Alyth professional team.
