UK News

The academic year has got off to a busy start for Chabad on Campus in the UK.

On campuses in Bloomsbury, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh Leeds, Nottingham, Oxford, South Kensington and South London, Chabad centres catered for in excess of one thousand students over the Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot festivals.

"For many students – especially those coming from the United States to study - this was their only High Holiday experience," says Rabbi Mendy Loewenthal, director of Chabad of South Kensington, where 80 students attended Rosh Hashanah meals.

With Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur falling outside the university term, Chabad was the only Jewish organisation offering meals and services to students on many university campuses.

"Although many traditional students from spend the festivals at home with their families, there are hundreds of unaffiliated students in need of a home away from home," explains Rabbi Eli Brackman, director of Oxford University Chabad Society.

"The huge number of new and returning students attending Chabad centres on campuses up and down the country is testament to the fact that many unaffiliated students have a desire to explore rather than ignore their Jewish identity."

In Nottingham, where Chabad on Campus has been operating for the past year, Rabbi Mendy Lent worked in cooperation with the Jewish Society to gain permission from the University to have a sukkah on campus.

At the University of Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan campuses a pop-up sukkah attracted over 250 students to shake lulav and etrog.

"The sukkah on campus lifted the pride of Jewish students," says Rabbi Michoel Danow, director of Leeds Student Chabad House. 

Sushi in the Sukkah drew crowds of students to Chabad of Edinburgh during Sukkot.

"For some students, it was their first time sitting in a sukka," says Rabbi Pinny Weinman, director of Chabad of Edinburgh.

This past June, Rabbi Aryeh Sufrin received notice from Buckingham Palace that he was selected for a prestigious honor, to be bestowed upon him by Queen Elizabeth II. In recognition of his groundbreaking work tackling substance and alcohol abuse, the founder of Drugsline received an MBE, becoming a Member of the Order of the British Empire. Dvora Lakein spoke with him then about his organization’s achievements and his anticipation for his visit to the Palace to receive the MBE medal.

Sufrin met the Queen Sunday, October 25. Lubavitch.com caught up with the Chabad rabbi to find out how the day went.

I understand that you are a proud royalist. Tell us about the proceedings of the day when you received the honor.

Being at the palace was a very moving, humbling experience. I arrived with my wife and two of our children. They were taken straight to the ballroom. I remained with the other honorees where they told us which way to stand, how to turn, how to walk. They told us to bow our heads slightly to the Queen; they didn’t want us prostrating ourselves. An attendant placed a metal hook on the lapel of my jacket, so that the Queen wouldn’t have to fumble with the pin when she placed it on each of us.

We waited in the hall until our names were called.

My turn came. The Queen stands above on a platform which is about six inches off the ground. She attached the medallion to me and said, “It is my great pleasure to give you this award. I understand you work with drugs, it must be very rewarding. How long are you doing this for?” I replied that it was 18 years and she was visibly stunned. “Don’t you have a new building that my son Edward opened a few years ago?” We talked about that building, the event, and Drugsline. Then, when the conversation was over, she simply stepped back, without offering her hand.

I was so bowled over that this 83-year old woman, who greeted 90 different people that morning, was able to associate me with the building and her son. And she knew that I don’t shake hands with women.  

After we left the room, they removed our medallions and put them in boxes with the day’s schedule. We returned to sit with the guests until the Queen was ready to leave. They sang “God save the Queen” and then she departed.

A local Member of Parliamentwho I am very close with made a reception for me at the House of Parliament. It is a short walk, and it was a beautiful, sunny day.

In the evening we hosted an event for the community at our Chabad House in NE London. The mayor and a Member of Parliament spoke before our 200 guests.

How does this tremendous recognition affect your work?

The award, recognition of the highest form in this country, has already opened doors for us, especially amongst official organizations here. It is not about the person, it is about the organization.

The award pushes the level of outreach we are able to achieve, in terms of our drugs work. And I hope we can capitalize on it for the greater good of Chabad-Lubavitch in this country. It is a humbling position, and it will help us achieve so much more than we already have.

You have children of your own. How old are they and are any of them involved with your Drugsline work?

I have five children, thank G-d. My oldest is 25 and my youngest is 11.

My second daughter is very involved with our work. She is studying psychology now and is actually employed in a government-funded post. She was chosen out of three finalists to be Drugsline’s volunteer coordinator.

It is a hefty job. She manages 60 volunteers, answers our emergency line, and responds to email correspondence. She came with me to the palace, because she is very into what we do here.    

As a parent, how did you ensure that your children not get involved with drugs or other illicit activities?

I am often asked that question.

I think the most important thing is to be open and honest with our children. When they ask us questions, we must answer them (obviously with age-appropriate answers). If I don’t give them the answer, someone else will. And do we really want them getting these answers from other people?

Because of the work I do, and the fact that I often receive coverage in the media, my children do ask those hard questions. I hope that on the basis of the information I make available to them, they will make good choices.

Undeniably, it is a difficult time to be a teen, confronting real adult issues on a daily basis. What advice do you have for teenagers themselves?

When a teen approaches us with a problem, we must recognize their issues. We cannot pretend they don’t exist. We have a rule here at Drugsline: if someone comes with a problem, it is a problem (even if we don’t necessarily think it is). Recognize that what they say is real. Think about the tremendous courage it takes to ask for help to begin with.

Instead of becoming overwhelmed with their mammoth problem, teach them to deal with one particular area at a time. Let them solve it and it will build up their confidence in that area. It may be a tiny notch on the ladder, but in due course they can look back and see how much they have achieved.

Conclude one challenge and then go on to the next one.

Teens must realize that challenges are part of our development, our growth, our maturity. We will face challenges throughout our lives. Dealing with a particular struggle, in bite-size proportions, will give us the strength to overcome future challenges, without the temptation to turn to drugs, alcohol, or gambling.

Your work with Drugsline brings you in contact with so many different communities and people. How does your background as a Chabad representative and knowledge of Chasidic philosophy impact your work?

Many, many years ago, I was sitting with a local councilwoman to discuss a funding issue. She told me, “your salability is the fact that you are unique. Don’t change that.”

We must utilize the gift we have as Chabad representatives, our rich endowment of Chasidic teachings. We must nurture it, by setting aside time to learn and to rejuvenate ourselves so we don’t burn out. The skills I have learned [on the job as a Chabad rabbi] and the Chasidic teachings enable me to address any community on any issue, religious or otherwise.

We are a powerful organization. I hope that any new Chabad representative heading out to the field, feels that and uses the gift the Rebbe gave all of us.

I understand you will be speaking to your fellow Chabad rabbis, new and seasoned, at the upcoming gala banquet at the International Conference of Shluchim. Can you give us a sneak preview of that talk?

After I received the MBE from the Queen, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky [vice-chairman of Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch] asked me to present words of Torah to the audience. I told him that I hadn’t planned on attending the conference this year, there is just too much going on for me personally and with Drugsline to take off.

But, he’s very persuasive. I told him to give me 24 hours to think about it and then I would get back to him. He said, “don’t call me back. Take care of your arrangements and I will see you there.”

The next thing I know, the news that I will be speaking is on all the Chabad sites and people are telling me they heard I would be presenting. I never got back to him, but I guess I am going.

Even though I have been a pulpit rabbi for 26 years, this is a tough audience. Everyone is a rabbi.

My kids are teasing me that it takes me six minutes to say hello…and that’s all the time I’ve got.

Honestly, I need to think about what I will say. But I will definitely explain how the Rebbe’s blessings and influence have directly led to this honor.

[Interview by Devora Lakein, lubavitch.com]

Rabbi Aryeh Sufrin, director of Chabad Lubavitch Ilford, received an MBE (Member of British Empire) at Buckingham Palace this week.

Her Majesty the Queen has given him the honor "for servicing the Jewish Community Relations and to Drugsline in North East London."

Rabbi Sufrin and his wife Devorah moved to Ilford, Essex, in 1983, following in the footsteps of his parents who moved to the area in 1976.

The first Chabad centre was opened in 1983. In January 2001, Chabad moved into its new and refurbished 4,000 sq. foot centre which houses a synagogue, library, nursery school, Hebrew classes, and counseling services.

While attending to his religious duties, Sufrin founded Drugsline-Chabad, a non-denominational crisis, information and support charity based in London, known for its unique drugs education outreach program.

Upon realizing that the Jewish and Muslim communities share many of the same cultural taboos about drugs, Sufrin has shown nonconformism when he invited Imam Haroon Rashid Patel to sit in on Drugsline’s volunteer training sessions.

[From collive.com]

Eton College doesn't sound like a place where you would expect to find a Chasidic rabbi helping boys wrap tefillin.

In fact, the prestigious boarding school founded in the 15th century by Henry VI as "The King’s College," counts a small population of Jews within its student body, and that precisely is what they were doing this Sunday morning with Rabbi Yossi Simon of Tzivos Hashem UK.

Messrs Benjamin Pearl and Mendy Taijtelbaum, both well known philanthropists in Anglo-Jewry, facilitated the program at which Rabbi Simon was invited to Eton to meet with the students. Rabbi Simon introduced them to the mitzvah of tefillin. The program included a demonstration in the work of the scribe, giving the boys a chance for a hands-on experience. Mr. Tajtelbaum presented the students with a gift of siddurim and kippot.

Situated just north of Windsor Castle, the school - grooming grounds of England’s kings, prime ministers and statesmen, where students wear black tailcoats, waistcoats, false collars and pin-striped trousers - is a faith based institution.

In keeping with the school's tradition that encourages students to maintain their religious identity, time is regularly dedicated to advance respectively, the religious education of Eton's diverse student body.  Eton's Head of divinity, Mr. Michael Wilcokson, encouraged all the Jewish boys to attend the program.

 "Most of them had never wrapped tefillin before, nor did they have a bar mitzvah," says Rabbi Simon of the the 14-18 year olds.

Rabbi Simon led the boys in a recital of the Shema prayer.

"I think it was a meaningful eye-opener for most of the students," he says.

Mr. Jonathan Paull, Head of Jewish studies at Eton, was enthusiastic about the success of the program. "Yesterday saw the most powerful expression possible of Am Yisrael Chai . . . Even at Eton College!" he wrote in a note of appreciation for the program.

"To see the boys some for the first time putting on Teffilin and so keen to understand and take part was to say the least very moving."

In his thank you note, he observed that one particular boy who’d never had a bar mitzvah "was so moved that tears were in his eyes. It was as if he had finally come home after a very long journey."

Mr. Paull thanked Mr. Tajtelbaum for his gift of siddurim and kippot. "I am sure these items will travel with many of the boys in years to come and remind them ofthe time they first put on teffilin."

Rabbi Simon says he was invited by Eton to return and will introduce the students to another mitzvah when he next visits.

Photo Gallery...

[By S. Fridman, lubavitch.com]

Thousands of people danced and celebrated in Chabad Centres throughout the country for Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah – the concluding holidays of the Jewish festive season.

As well as hosting the usual array of festive meals, hakafot (dancing with Torah Scrolls), and religious services, Chabad Centres reached out to Jews in other parts of the community by walking to different synagogues to join in and add to the rejoicing – a practice encouraged by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn of blessed memory.

"Simchat Torah was very big this year," said Rabbi Leivi Sudak director of Lubavitch of Edgware, which welcomed over 1000 people during the festival.

"We went to dance and celebrate with Jews in all the other shuls in the local area, and people from the other shuls came to dance and celebrate with us."

In cooperation with the local police, congregants in Edgware were able to dance in the street with the Torah scrolls.

"Our neighbours and passers-by were interested to see what was going on," says Rabbi Sudak. "They cheered us on and were happy to see people rejoicing in the streets."

Chabad of Hendon hosted some 700 people over both days of the festival with communal meals being served in the Chabad House.

"The first night we had so many people that we had to borrow another sukkah in a neighbouring synagogue," said Rabbi Dovid Katz, assistant director at Chabad of Hendon.

"This year there was a fantastic atmosphere and real sense of Jewish unity as we visited different synagogues in Hendon."

For the third year running, the Lubavitch community in Leeds visited the city’s three other Orthodox synagogues in what has become an established custom.

"We were received very warmly and people were very happy that we joined them to dance and celebrate. I got calls before the festival to make sure that we were definitely going to come, ” said Rabbi Eli Pink, educational director at the Lubavitch Centre of Leeds.

On campuses up and down the country, Chabad Centres catered as a home away from home for students during the festival.

In London, Chabad of Bloomsbury held their festive meals in Marble Arch Synagogue.

"We managed to attract over 45 students and young professional to the synagogue for meals and dancing," said Rabbi Yisroel Lew, director of Chabad of Bloomsbury.

"Their presence really added to the atmosphere and was appreciated by the whole community."

Eddie Rabinowitz, an Israeli student at City University, commented: “It was the first time I’d experienced a Simchat Torah like this outside of Israel. It was a great atmosphere and everyone was having a great time.”

Chabad of Cambridge attracted a diverse group of Jewish students to their sukka for the first night of the festival.

"Many of the people who came weren’t affiliated to any traditional Jewish movement and for some it was one of their first Jewish experiences,” said Rabbi Reuven Leigh.

Coming off of one of the busiest times of the year, Jewish community members and yeshiva students in Manchester said that a campaign to bring the holiday season to homebound and hospitalised individuals resulted in hundreds of people getting a chance to celebrate the High Holidays.

According to Rabbi Yisroel Cohen, the Lancshire-based outreach director for the Chabad-Lubavitch yeshiva in Manchester, requests poured in from local families and congregations that knew of Jewish hospital patients, nursing home residents and other homebound people who needed to hear the sounding of the ram’s horn on Rosh Hashanah, make a blessing on the Four Species during Sukkot, or simply needed a reliable supply of kosher food.

Read More...

Over 1000 people climbed on board four mobile sukkahs which made their way around the capital during the Sukkot festival this week.

The sukkahs, which were mounted on the back trucks, visited locations in the City, West End, North and East London, as well as going as far afield as Oxford, to allow people to eat in a sukkah, shake the Lulav and Etrog and learn more about the festival.

The sukkahs were welcomed by workers in the City and West End where there is a shortage of permanent Sukkahs. Using Twitter and a blog, the locations of the sukkahs were regularly updated to allow workers to find their closest sukkah from the comfort of their office or on their Blackberry.

"Despite the rain, over 1000 people came by the sukkahs," said Rabbi Nosson Potash who coordinated the mobile Sukkah project.

"Some people came specifically to use the Sukkahs for their lunch break, while others were just curious to step inside and find out what it was all about."

"I usually have to walk a long way during my lunch break to find a Sukkah while I’m at working in town," said one city worker.

"This year was great since I could go online and easily find out when a Sukkah would be close to my office."

One passer-by commented: "I was amazed to see a Sukkah on the back of a truck in Central London. It is a wonderful idea to make Jewish life so accessible to people in this way."

For more pictures, click here.

Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, the final holidays in this holiday-intensive season, are the most joyful festivals on the Jewish calendar. This year, the name of Daniel Pearl will be honored in hundreds of Chabad congregations worldwide as they dedicate one of the seven hakafot dances to his memory.

The Jewish American journalist murdered by Al Qaeda terrorists in Karachi, Pakistan, in 2002, would have celebrated his 46th birthday on Simchat Torah.

The idea to dedicate a hakafah to his memory came after Danny’s father, Judea Pearl, asked Rabbis Chaim Block and Efraim Mintz if Chabad can do something on Simchat Torah in tribute to his son.

Rabbis Mintz and Block and a dozen Chabad Shluchim got together on this.

“We thought about Daniel’s legacy—the Kiddush Hashem, or sanctification of G-d’s name that he inspired with his final words," says Rabbi Mintz, the Director of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute.

“My father is a Jew, my mother is a Jew, I am a Jew.” With those last words, Daniel Pearl became a symbol of Jewish pride. “They proved the indomitable power of the Jewish soul,” says Rabbi Mintz.

The idea, to dedicate a hakafah in memory of Danny would have resonated well with his son, says Mr. Pearl. He recalls the joy of Danny's Bar-Mitzvah on Simchat Torah, at the Western Wall in Israel. “There were 10,000 Jews at the Wall celebrating the festival, so Danny had 10,000 people at his Bar-Mitzvah,” he laughs.

Daniel, a journalist working for the Wall Street Journal at the time of his kidnapping, loved music, and, says Mr. Pearl, while “ we don’t play instruments on the holiday, there is song and joy—and with this idea the Shluchim have an opportunity to add a Kiddush Hashem on top of the symphony of voices that will be ringing in the air on that day.”

We talk about Danny’s final words. Mr. Pearl admits he is still puzzled at the calm and assertive manner in which his son spoke under the circumstances.

“I think he was saying, this is who I am, and if you have problems with it, it’s your problem.”

“I don’t know where he got the strength to do that—it must have come from the history of the Jewish people.”

It is interesting that of all possible ideas, Mr. Pearl, whose only son, brutally murdered with such unbridled hatefulness it sent a wave of revulsion and anger around the world, should choose to focus on joy. 

Mr. Pearl explains: “The young children of today must understand that we are not the aggressors that our enemies are trying to portray us as, but we are the spearheads of decency and peace –this is our mission.

“Therefore the mitzvah of v’samachta b’chagecha: it is an act of defiance against the forces of evil, it is a call of war between the culture of joy and the culture of hate, and I want children to know about it so that they will be proud to be members of the camp of joy.”

Mr. Pearl is hoping to achieve more: “I’ll tell you why I’m so happy that Chabad is doing this.”

“I’m hopeful that this gesture will introduce or solidify our strength and resilience and pride, especially among the young children who will be singing v’samachta b’chagecha.”

The father of Daniel Pearl says that he wants the young Jewish generation of today to appreciate the commandment of “v’samachta b’chagecha”—to be joyful in our heritage, not merely as a tradition of the past, but especially as something relevant to their present-day reality.

It’s why, explains the father Daniel Pearl in these days before Simchat Torah, “it’s not enough to be joyful spontaneously. It is a commandment—v’samachata b’chagecha is a commandment.”

[By Baila Olidort on Lubavitch.com]

Over 2,000 people filled the usually quiet streets of North West London this week for Chabad of Hendon’s annual Simchat Beit HaShoeva Sukkot party.

The event, which has been running annually for past five years, included live music from renowned Jewish entertainers Eli Tamir and Sruly Ginzburg as well as a fireworks display, hot food, jugglers and a video display.

“We coordinated  with the local police, the streets were closed off enabling people to celebrate in public as opposed to in an enclosed area,” says Rabbi Dovid Katz, assistant director of Chabad of Hendon.

“The atmosphere was electric!” says David Abramson, a local Hendon resident.

“Seeing everyone dancing in the street from all walks for community gave me a feeling of true Jewish unity.”

Click here for more photos.