Please join us this evening and tomorrow evening for two special events.
This evening at 19:00, we are delighted to welcome Dr Jonathan Boyd, Executive Director of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) who will share his thoughts about this Sunday’s national census and its importance for the Jewish community.
Tomorrow evening, we mark a painful communal anniversary – a full year of services away from our Beit Tefillah. We have named this Friday night ‘Shabbat Tikvateinu’ – ‘the Shabbat of our hope’, and invite you to join us on Zoom for a special Erev Shabbat service at 18:30.
More details of both of these can be found below, together with our schedule for the week ahead.
You can also click here for our full Pesach programme and here for information about the next series of the Alyth Chevruta Project which begins at Pesach.
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THURSDAY 18 MARCH
LEARN WITH US SPECIAL Why the census matters to the Jewish Community with Dr Jonathan Boyd, Executive Director of JPR (19:00-20:00)
On 21 March 2021, the decennial United Kingdom census will take place (except in Scotland). Each of us will be required by law to complete the census, providing a snapshot of the UK population which informs national and local planning. Among the organisations that use the information in the census is the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), which uses census data to find out about Jewish life across the UK, looking at things like population size and projections, age range, household size and composition, socioeconomics and health.
In advance of census day, we are delighted to welcome Dr Jonathan Boyd, Executive Director of the JPR. In this online session, he will discuss the importance of the census, some of the many insights it provides about the nature of the British Jewish community today, and how the data is used to support and shape Jewish communal life.
FOR YOUNG FAMILIES Baby Den (10:30-11:00) Chug-a-lug into Shabbat with Rabbi Hannah. Sing your favourite Baby Den songs, dance to a shabbat beat and wave to some familiar faces. For families with Young Children. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 142 813 452, Passcode: 346202).
FOR YOUNG FAMILIES Pre-Shabbat Story Time (16:30-17:00) Those pre-school in age are invited to join Rabbi Hannah for a pre shabbat story to help bring in shabbat. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 423 529 768, Passcode: 785089).
YOUTH AND EDUCATION Ruach 1-4 (17:15-18:15) Join Mike & Sophie and our team of madrichim, who will help you to engage with Torah and offer breakout spaces during the sessions to connect with your Ruach cohort. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 832 9038 5347, Passcode: 727813).
BE WITH US JMM on Friday (17:15-18:15) Jewish Mindfulness Meditation helps us to open our hearts and find peace through our spiritual heritage, especially in these challenging times. Click here to join on Zoom (Meeting ID: 977 611 369, Passcode: 035091).
PRAY WITH US SPECIAL Erev Shabbat Service Shabbat Tikvateinu – A Shabbat of Hope (18:30-19:30) Today, we will mark a full year of services away from our Beit Tefillah. As we look forward to a return to a more normal world, we want to create a hopeful moment to mark this painful anniversary, bringing us together as we did in those first weeks. Please join Rabbi Josh, Rabbi Hannah, Cantor Tamara and Rabbi Elliott for a very special Erev Shabbat service. This will include a community candle lighting and Kiddush, so please prepare these in advance, and, if you can, join us on zoom with candles in view. 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. Please click here to download the Shabbat Supplement for Friday night and the Community News with Yahrzeit list (these will be available from 17:00 Friday afternoon). Please click here to view the Reform Judaism siddur online.
Click hereto join (Meeting ID: 884 6716 8685, Passcode: 785089). If you do not wish to use Zoom, then the "Zoom screen" can also be seen via our YouTube channel. This can be accessed by going to www.youtube.com/c/AlythRS
SATURDAY 20 MARCH
PRAY WITH US Early Start In Person Service (9:00) In-person Shabbat morning service with Rabbi Josh. This service is now fully booked.
LEARN WITH US Shabbat Morning Shiur: For Whom Do We Really Sacrifice? (9:15) Join Cantor Tamara for a shiur on Biblical sacrifice: how did the Rabbis understand this ancient practice, and how can we relate to it today? Click hereto join (Meeting ID: 240 937 705 Password: 602287)
PRAY WITH US Shabbat Morning Service (10:30) Led by Rabbi Josh and Rabbi Elliott from the Beit Tefillah. This service is online only. Please click here to download the Torah supplement and here for the Community News with Yahrzeit list (these will be available from 17:00 Friday afternoon). Please click here to view the Reform Judaism siddur online. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 892 0160 3998, Passcode: 785089). PRAY WITH Minchah Bat Mitzvah Service (14:30) An in-person service including the Bat Mitzvah of Lizzie Wortsman. Led by Cantor Tamara in the Youth Hall. Please click here to download the Torah supplement and here for the Community News with Yahrzeit list (these will be available from 17:00 Friday afternoon). Please click here to view the Reform Judaism siddur online. Click hereto join (Meeting ID: 817 9911 1806, Passcode: 785089).
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SUNDAY 21 MARCH
PRAY WITH US Sunday Shacharit (9:00-10:00) Our lay-led minyan with bagel breakfast (please provide your own bagels…) Led by our lay members from their homes. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 864 4782 5935, Password: 785089).
YOUTH AND EDUCATION Alyth Sunday Mornings (10:00-11:00) This term we will be exploring prayer. To find out more or to enrol, please contact mike@alyth.org.uk. Reception - Year 2: Click here to join (Meeting ID: 844 4569 3329, Passcode: 138638). Year 3 - Year 6: Click here to join (Meeting ID: 853 4608 7290, Passcode: 261227). This will be the last session before Pesach. We return on 25 April.
LEARN WITH US Biblical Hebrew (11:00-12:00) A programme for those with high level hebrew reading ability. Please email Edward Gold at edwardjgold@hotmail.com if you would like to join this class so that you can be sent the link and materials in advance.
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MONDAY 22 MARCH PRAY WITH US IN PERSON Monday Shacharit In Person and Online (08:30) With Rabbi Elliott. All in-person attendance at Alyth must be pre-booked. Click here to sign up for this service. This services will also be available online. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 854 5403 7876, Passcode: 785089)
BE WITH US Craft, Chat and Cuppa! (15:00-16:00) Creating gifts for Homeless Action in Barnet and small cuddly toys for children to be distributed via food banks. If you have any unused wool or fabric please consider helping by donating it to the project. Join Brenda and the Craft, Chat and Cuppa group for a good chat! Click here to join (Meeting ID: 588 095 846, Password: 468060).
TUESDAY 23 MARCH
LEARN WITH US 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 to join (Meeting ID: 909 882 685, Password: 686711).
LEARN WITH US E-ssentials: Annual Teaching Seder (20:00-21:00) Our regular introduction to Judaism class taught by our clergy with Jon Epstein. This week is our annual Pesach Learning Seder. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 668 234 069 Password: 419681). BE WITH US Alyth Choral Society (20:00-22:00) Click here to join (Meeting ID: 976 4873 3959 Password: 113568). For Choral Society Members only.
WEDNESDAY 24 MARCH
BE WITH US News, Views and Schmooze (11:00-12:00) Join us for an hour of schmooze to discuss what is going on in the world around us. Led by volunteers from the Soup and Schmooze group. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 810 6650 1155, Password: 847786). PRAY WITH US Wednesday Ma’ariv Online (20:00-20:45) Join us for a mid-week evening service led by Alyth members. Click hereto join (Meeting ID: 880 9384 2526, Passcode: 543468). THURSDAY 25 MARCH
PRAY WITH US Thursday Shacharit (08:30) Our Thursday online Shacharit. This morning with Cantor Tamara. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 854 8574 6664, Passcode: 785089).
BE WITH US Mellow Chair Yoga (11:00-12:00) Our special Chair Yoga and Meditation with Maxine, open to all ages wishing to enhance overall mental and physical wellbeing! Less active participants can do allthe movements sitting in a chair. Please click here to sign up and to pay online. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 616 879 143, Password: 797658). LEARN WITH US Pardes: Haggadah Deconstructed (13:00-14:00) Throughout March, join Rabbi Josh to explore the textual origins and development of the Haggadah. In this final session, we will look at midrashim and other texts that were added into the set liturgy, beginning with the Four Sons. Click hereto join (Meeting ID: 123 761 361, Password: 019498).
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THURSDAY 25 MARCH: PREPARING FOR PESACH
PREPARING FOR PESACH FOR ALL THE COMMUNITY The Great Alyth Matzah Bake Off (17:30) Set your timer for 18 Minutes as we attempt to make Matzah together. With Rabbi Hannah and Mike. Please make sure that you have the ingredients (plain flour, water, salt, olive oil) ready before the session and have turned your oven to 255 degrees. All are welcome. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 853 9062 8763, Passcode: 778250).
PREPARING FOR PESACH: TABLE TALK SPECIAL Spice Up Your Seder: A Table Talk Special (19:00) Join Alyth member Emma Spitzer to learn how to cook two new dishes for Pesach – an aubergine main and a dessert. Emma was runner up in the 2015 series of Masterchef. Her debut cook book, “Fress: Bold, Fresh Flavours from a Jewish Kitchen” was published in 2017. These recipes will be featured in a forthcoming Waitrose Weekend newspaper. Click here for the ingredients (available from Monday 22 March). Click here to join (Meeting ID: 817 0252 9404, Passcode: 785089).
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FRIDAY 26 MARCH
FOR YOUNG FAMILIES Baby Den (10:30-11:00) Chug-a-lug into Shabbat with Rabbi Hannah. Sing your favourite Baby Den songs, dance to a shabbat beat and wave to some familiar faces. For families with Young Children. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 142 813 452, Passcode: 346202).
FOR YOUNG FAMILIES Pre-Shabbat Story Time (16:30-17:00) Those pre-school in age are invited to join Rabbi Hannah for a pre shabbat story to help bring in shabbat. Click hereto join (Meeting ID: 423 529 768, Passcode: 785089).
YOUTH AND EDUCATION Ruach 1-4 (17:15-18:15) Join Mike & Sophie and our team of madrichim, who will help you to engage with Torah and offer breakout spaces during the sessions to connect with your Ruach cohort. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 832 9038 5347, Passcode: 727813). Ruach returns after the Pesach break on 23 April.
PRAY WITH US Erev Shabbat Service (18:30-19:30) Join us for the Erev Shabbat service from the Beit Tefillah. Please remember that this service is online only. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 833 3109 5461, Passcode: 785089).
SATURDAY 27 MARCH BE WITH US JMM on Saturday (09:15-10:15) Jewish Mindfulness Meditation helps us to open our hearts and find peace through our spiritual heritage, especially in these challenging times. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 844 520 435, Password: 753749).
PRAY WITH US Pesach HaGadol Service (10:30) According to tradition, Shabbat HaGadol was one of two occasions on which the rabbi of a town would give a sermon – usually of great length. A (relatively new) Alyth tradition is to ensure that on Shabbat HaGadol the sermon is given not by our clergy but by one of our members. On this Shabbat HaGadol, we are extending this idea, and our service will be led by a variety of Alyth members from their homes, with Rabbi Elliott joining them from the Beit Tefillah. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 831 9651 6929, Passcode: 785089).
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SATURDAY 27 MARCH - EREV FIRST DAY PESACH
PRAY WITH US Erev Pesach Service (16:00) Join Rabbi Hannah from the Beit Tefillah and Katie Hainbach from home as we welcome in Pesach with an early Ma’ariv service. Our festival services can be followed from the Daily and Shabbat Siddur with supplementary material, for which you can click here (available from 17:00 on Friday 26 March). Click here to join (Meeting ID: 881 1790 9986, Passcode: 785089).
SUNDAY 28 MARCH - FIRST DAY PESACH
PRAY WITH US Early Start Shacharit Service In-Person (9:00) A small, in-person service in the Youth Hall. With Cantor Tamara and Rabbi Elliott. This must be pre-booked by clicking here.
PRAY WITH US Choral Service (10:30) A special service including many of the recordings made by the Synagogue Choir over the past 12 months. Led by Cantor Tamara and Rabbi Elliott from the Beit Tefillah with Katie Hainbach joining from home. The sermon will be given by Student Rabbi Nicola Feuchtwang. Our festival services can be followed from the Daily and Shabbat Siddur with supplementary material, for which you can click here (available from 17:00 on Friday 26 March). Click here to join (Meeting ID: 870 4425 3543, Passcode: 785089).
PRAY WITH US Imrei Finu (10:30) A special Imrei Finu service led by Rabbi Josh and Rabbi Hannah. Imrei Finu includes lots of singing to new and familiar melodies, davening and space for personal prayer, as well as an informal Torah reading. This service will use a special booklet available by clicking here (available from 17:00 on Friday 26 March). Click here to join (Meeting ID: 863 8018 3336, Passcode: 311220).
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SUNDAY 28 MARCH - SECOND NIGHT PESACH COMMUNAL SEDARIM
PRAY WITH US Disney Heroes Seder (16:00) Avengers Assemble for our annual Disney Seder. See How Far You'll Go through our interactive Haggadah. May the Force Be With You as you join Mike, Sophie, Rabbi Hannah and madrichim to venture Into the Unknown! A special online family seder for all ages especially for 2021. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 832 9122 3438, Passcode: 311220). BE WITH US Online Communal Seder (18:00) One of the central obligations of the Pesach Seder is to tell the story of the Exodus as though we were enslaved in Egypt. Over nearly a year of lockdown, many of us may feel the experience of enslavement more acutely than ever. Join Rabbi Elliott, Cantor Tamara, Lynette and Katie to sing and pray with our community, celebrating our Exodus from Egypt together. We will read and sing through the Hagaddah together before having a chance to eat the seder meal, either together on Zoom or off-screen. After the meal, there will be an opportunity to join different breakout rooms to sing, study, or reflect. Study: Join Rabbi Elliott for an exploration of the various items on the seder plate and their meanings, as well as some alternate objects that you may have seen on Seder plates in more recent years. Sing: Join Cantor Tamara and Katie to sing some favorite Pesach tunes, and to learn one or two new ones. Reflect: Join Lynette to reflect on whether we can draw any parallels between the coming out of Egypt and the coming out of lockdown. What will our journey look like going forward? Please click here to register and to indicate which breakout session you'd like to attend. Click here to join (Meeting ID: 857 0186 3701, Passcode: 785089).
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ALYTH CHEVRUTA PROJECT: PIRKEI AVOT
After the success of the pilot programme, the Alyth Chevruta Project returns for another series during the Omer (between Pesach and Shavuot).
Every Friday, beginning 26 March, participants will be sent a study pack containing texts, questions and supporting material to study in chevruta. Every following Thursday, beginning 1 April, a member of the clergy team will host a review session from 19:00-20:00, looking at the material and answering questions coming out of the week of study. This material can also be seen here alyth.org.uk/chevruta.
If you were registered in the last course and wish to continue with your current study partner, email acp@alyth.org.uk to let us know that you want to continue.
New members of this group are welcome. We will be delighted to find you a study partner, or let us know if you already have someone in mind. If you would like to join, please fill in the registration form by clicking here or contact us via acp@alyth.org.uk for more information.
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Financial Support - How we can help
We believe that everybody who wishes should feel able to be a member of Alyth irrespective of ability to pay. In these difficult times, please do not leave the shul for financial reasons. If you are facing financial challenges, do not hesitate to contact us.
As well as discussing the level of your annual synagogue contribution, we can help you to access a number of Alyth funds that are specifically here to help our members in times of challenge. Please contact Lynette at lynette@alyth.org.uk or Rabbi Josh at josh@alyth.org.uk
If you feel able to support other Alyth members in financial difficulty at this time, please email Rabbi Josh at josh@alyth.org.uk
Please remember that we also have two special numbers in addition to the main synagogue number: Alyth Careline – 020 8457 8798 This will be answered by a member of the Alyth professional team between 08:00 and 21:00. Emergency Careline – 07726 631808 Please use this number if you need urgent pastoral support, for example in cases of hospitalization or bereavement. This number will be answered by a member of the Alyth professional team.
Some of our partner organisations are also running programmes during this period. Click here to see additional programming offered by Reform Judaism that you are invited to join. Click here for activities by other organisations.
