UK News

For smaller communities outside the major hubs of Jewish life, the lack of good quality kosher food and restaurants is a perennial problem. However, when Rabbi Odom and Henny Brandman moved to Buckhurst Hill, Essex, over three years ago, they were determined to find a solution.

"One of the problems for the local Jewish community when we came here," explains Rabbi Brandman, "was that there was nowhere kosher to eat out locally without driving almost an hour or more to North West London."

Responding to the needs of the community, the Brandmans worked in conjunction with the local residents to establish Café Chabad.

"We had the idea to quite literally turn the Chabad House into a kosher restaurant for the night," says Rabbi Brandman.

The events have been extremely successful running approximately every second month for the past two years. Each time members of the local community volunteer their time to cook and serve an entirely different menu. Previous events have offered food from around the globe, including Israeli, Italian, Mediterranean, Indian, Chinese and Japanese cuisine. Nonetheless, old favourites, like fish and chips are also popular.

The local community has responded with high demand and the events have even attracted diners from other surrounding communities. Sometimes large numbers have made it necessary to find a larger venue such as a local hall.

"This is a fantastic service to the community and the food is delicious... if only we could do it more often," says one customer.

"When we find a more suitable venue, we would like to try putting on these evenings more often," says Rabbi Brandman. "Perhaps even on a weekly basis."

Students and community members in Oxford are anticipating the expansion of a local Chabad-Lubavitch run library following a scheduled infusion of funds.

The next installment of a five-figure annual grant from Toronto’s Samson Family, whose daughter studied at Oxford University, will allow the Oxford Chabad Society’s current collection of more than 3,000 volumes to expand into the realm of medieval rabbinic literature.  Continue...

Hundreds of Jewish communities around the world will gather on Sunday, March 29th, to hear a live broadcast of an address by Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth.

Rabbi Sacks is the second of four speakers to address worldwide Jewry as part of the Unity Lectures - a series of webcast lectures being held to mark the year of Hakhel (year of gathering).

In the UK, twelve institutions, including Chabad Houses, student centres and synagogues, will bring together Jews from all backgrounds to participate in the Unity Lectures.

“These lectures are a fantastic idea and my congregants are really excited to hear the Chief Rabbi just before Pesach,” says Rabbi Mordchai Wollenberg, rabbi of Cardiff United Synagogue.

“The lectures give us the opportunity to unite with communities around the world and experience the concept of hakhel in the digital age,” adds Rabbi Wollenberg.

On campus in Leeds, Jewish students are looking forward to this month’s lecture. “Students think it is an amazing idea and are excited to be joining with thousands of people around the world to hear the Chief Rabbi,” says Rabbi Michoel Danow, director the Leeds Student Chabad House.

The Unity Lectures are designed for people with all levels of Jewish knowledge, and no prior experience or background learning is required to attend and enjoy this series.

The lecture series is a project of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI), the adult education arm of Chabad-Lubavitch which offers courses and educational programs in over 300 locations worldwide.

For full listings of the Unity Lectures in the UK, click here.

As Jews the world over busy themselves with preparations for Passover, Chabad centres are organising events to mark Birkat Hachamah (the sun blessing).

The once-in-28-years mitzvah will see Jews from all backgrounds taking to the streets in the early morning on Wednesday April 8th to participate in a rare prayer service which marks the point in time when the sun returns to the same point in the sky as it was on the fourth day of Creation.

Birkat Hachamah last took place in 1981. So, for many, this will be the first opportunity to witness and undertake this novel mitzvah.

Although the service is relatively short in its liturgy, the rarity and novelty of the event is expected to draw crowds of worshippers throughout the country.

“In the UK, the weather is one of the main considerations with the possibility of clouds causing a problem,” says Dayan L Y Raskin, rabbi of the Lubavitch community in London.

“People need to do their homework before the day. They should identify a suitable vantage point from where they can view the sun shortly after sunrise and undertake the mitzvah... Men, women and children should also share in the mitzvah,” advises Dayan Raskin.

Dayan Raskin has experienced a high demand to teach groups of people who want to fully prepare for this rare mitzvah. In the space of a week, he has given six such classes to a wide range of groups, including Neshei Chabad (Chabad Women’s Organisation) and Start the Day Torah Way men's groups in North and North West London.

One such class, given by Dayan Raskin at Chabad of Hendon, combined Torah with the latest technology. Using a high-speed internet connection and visual aids, residents in North West London linked up with members of Heichal Menachem in Salford to learn about Birkas Hachama. Participants were able to hear, see and be seen, and participate fully in the class despite being separated by almost 200 miles.

In Leeds, Rabbi Eli Pink will dispel some common misconceptions about this unique mitzvah with a lecture entitled “Thank G-d for the Sun – Idolatrous Origins?” as part of the Jewish Learning Institute.

For further information about Birkat Hachama, click here.

To find out what Birkat Hachama events are happening in your area, use the event finder or contact your local Chabad centre.

Some 250 people filled the streets of Hendon with music and dancing to celebrate the completion and consecration of a new Torah scroll donated to Chabad of Hendon on Sunday, March 15th.

“There was an electric atmosphere as the Torah scroll was completed and everyone spontaneously burst into song,” says Rabbi Gershon Overlander who runs Chabad of Hendon with his wife, Sara Leah.

Guests were invited to sponsor and write a letter in the Torah scroll. The final letter was written by Mr Yisroel Margulies who commissioned the new scroll in honour of his father, Zvi Margulies.

With live music and dancing, the new sefer Torah was carried under a traditional chupah (canopy) through the usually quiet streets of Hendon. Some 250 people joined in the procession, including local rabbis and students from the nearby Kingsley Way Yeshiva.

As the procession moved towards the Chabad House, people emerged from shops and pedestrians stopped to view the procession as it passed through the streets.

“Lots of people came out to have a look at what was going on and were genuinely happy to see the procession go by,” says Rabbi Overlander.

Chabad of Hendon is no stranger to such celebrations. Since it opened its doors in October 2004, several Torah scrolls have been donated. However, this year’s celebration was particularly significant being a Hakhel year - a year of Jewish unity.

“Carrying the Torah scroll through the streets of Hendon and seeing all the people join in the celebration gives one an idea of the sort of power the Torah has to unite and inspire Jews from all walks of life... and even non-Jews!” says Rabbi Overlander.

Lively hakafot dancing and an appetising banquet followed the procession with words of inspiration being delivered by Rabbi Dovid Halpern.

A Passover shop has opened in Essex which is the first of its kind in the area.

The volunteer-run Passover Shop, sponsored by the Chabad centre in Ilford, is the first to cater for the East London and Essex communities. Some 15,000 Jews in the Ilford and Essex area will have the opportunity to benefit from a conveniently located shop from which to purchase a full range of reasonably priced kosher for Passover products.

"There are no other kosher shops in the area and people usually have to spend time travelling across London to Golders Green, Hendon or Edgware to do their Pesach shopping," says Rabbi Odom Brandman, director of Chabad of Buckhurst Hill.

With a full range of kosher for Passover products at competitive prices, Rabbi Brandman expects the shop will not only attract Jews from the surrounding area. He anticipates Jews coming from as far afield as Westcliff and Southend, some 60 miles away, where there is a sizeable Jewish community.

The Passover Shop is the first project of its kind in the area and is "quite an experiment" according to Brian Mitchell, the local treasurer of Chabad who is heading the operation.

The idea came about after a local shop closed providing the opportunity for a short-term 3 month lease. "We have also managed to establish good contacts with kosher food suppliers, many of whom are located near by," adds Mr. Mitchell.

The shop, which will be open until 10pm Sunday to Thursday, is conveniently located across the road from the Chabad house in the heart of Ilford, close to all other amenitites. In addition, customers will benefit from online ordering, delivery and pick up services, as well as free car parking after 6pm.

More information can be found at the Pesach Shop in Essex website.

Chabad centres across the UK brought the joy of Purim to Jews from all walks of life and religious backgrounds this week.

Hundreds of events provided a diverse spectrum of people with modern and refreshing ways to celebrate the ancient festival of Purim which marks the survival of the Jewish people and the renewal of Jewish identity in the face of annihilation.

Chabad centres hosted an array of colourful parties with novel and innovative themes in cities throughout the UK with all ages and tastes catered for.

Children and parents dressed up as cowboys and Indians in Hampstead Town Hall where Rabbi Yisroel and Devora Weisz hosted Chabad of Hampstead’s Wild West Purim party. The event, which attracted over 110 people, included megillah readings with a multimedia presentation as well as Wild West fancy-dress, children’s activities and a cowboy show.

“The Purim party was brilliant this year,” says Xaviere Hassan, a local mother of two who attended Oxford Chabad’s annual Purim party celebration.

The party included fancy dress with music, buffet, pony rides, arts and crafts, and megillah readings. “The highlight for the kids was the pony ride in one of Oxford's oldest cobbled streets,“ adds Xaviere.

Bournemouth Chabad celebrated "Purim in China" with Chinese costumes, food and what might be the world's first fortune-cookie hamantaschen.

Chabad centres, with the help of energetic yeshiva students, offered hundreds of megillah readings throughout the UK, including a marathon string of hourly megillah readings in Manchester and Edgware.

Readings were not just confined to the synagogue either, with many taking place in people’s homes, places of work, academic institutions, hospitals and old age homes. Chabad of Bloomsbury teamed up with London Hillel and UCL Hebrew and Jewish Studies department to offer students and faculty members the opportunity to hear the megillah.

Chabad on Campus, with new centres in Bristol, Edinburgh, London and Nottingham, brought the joy of Purim to more students than ever in universities throughout the country.

“It was a really good party. The food, wine and desserts were delicious and the atmosphere was great,” says Eddie Rabinovitch, a student at Cass Business School and regular attendee at Chabad of Bloomsbury which hosted an Italian themed Purim party.

“It was such a pleasure to step into the Chabad House to be taken into a different world from the drab skies of Bristol,” says Tikva Blaukopf who was lecturing in Bristol on Tuesday.

She found herself celebrating Purim with Rabbi Dovid and Leah Usiskin who were themselves celebrating their first Purim in Bristol having founded a Chabad centre there in September 2008. “Jokes, laughter and of course some lechaims made it a fantastic Purim,” says Tikva.

Chabad centres across the UK are busy putting the finishing touches to preparations for a lively and exciting array of events to celebrate Purim this coming week.

Thousands of Jews from all walks of life and religious affiliations are expected to celebrate Purim with Chabad by attending hundreds of Megillah readings, parties, farbrengens, family events and festive meals up and down the country.

This year sees a wide variety of colourful and exotic themes. In Cambridge, the Chabad House will be transformed into a Persian Café serving Persian delicacies. Whisky will be flowing (metaphorically speaking) at Oxford Chabad where students will be celebrating an Irish-themed Purim replete with live Irish music, fancy dress and entertainment provided by comedian Dave Schneider. In North East London, residents will don fancy dress in the style of Fiddler on the Roof to recreate the shtetl atmosphere in Gants Hill and Buckhurst Hill.

From Brighton to Edinburgh, hundreds of Megillah readings have been organised allowing thousands of Jews the opportunity to fulfil the mitzvah of hearing the Purim story. In Manchester and Edgware, there will be Megillah readings every hour, on the hour throughout the festival.

Groups will also be visiting hospitals and old age homes to read Megillah and bring the joy of Purim to those who would otherwise be forgotten.

Mishloach manos, traditional Purim food packages, will be distributed to Jews throughout the country. Edgware Chabad aims to distribute over 2000 mishloach manos, including over 500 to Israeli soldiers

With Purim falling during term time, Chabad on Campus in the UK will be providing university students with an assortment of fun and imaginative ways to celebrate. Having opened in September last year, five new Chabad Houses in Bristol, Edinburgh, Nottingham, South London and South Kensington will allow more students than ever before the opportunity to celebrate Purim in a traditional, yet refreshing environment.

People who are looking to spend Purim with Chabad can use the online Purim event finder.

International relations came to the front door of Oxford University’s Chabad Society as several pro-Palestinian demonstrators launched a loud protest on the busy thoroughfare of George Street Friday night.

Waving flags, handing out leaflets and raising their voices at passersby, the group objected to the appearance of veteran Israeli diplomat Yehuda Avner at the inaugural Shabbaton of campus-based Chabad-Lubavitch centers in the United Kingdom.  Continue...

Leeds Student Chabad House is to move to new larger premises in April, it was announced this week.

The new building, which measures 400 sq metres (4300 sq foot), is described as one of nicest buildings in the area and is located on one of the main streets of university campus. It will house the expanding activities of the Leeds Student Chabad House directed by Rabbi Michoel and Chana Sara Danow.

The purchase of the new building has been made possible with the help of a generous supporter who has donated the start up funds for the project.

The Danows moved to Leeds from Sweden where they ran a Chabad House for 12 years serving the Jewish community in Gottenberg.

In July 2007, upon their arrival in Leeds, they established the Student Chabad House with the goal of providing a home away from home for more than 1500 Jewish students studying at the University of Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan University.

"Thank G-d, we were met with instant success. The students started to come... and come. It did not take long for our Shabbat meals and events to numbers anywhere between 30 and 70 students in a dining room that can fit 35 at a squeeze," says Rabbi Danow.

When students started to overflow from the dining into the kitchen on Friday nights, the need for a larger place soon became apparent.

The new building will allow the Chabad House's activities to expand. Rabbi Danow says: "Here we can see the potential to continue to grow."

The new building has been met with enthusiasm by students. "The Danows are like my family while I'm at university in Leeds. The new Chabad House will let them grow even bigger and spead their warmth, genrosity and love even further," says Rachel Symons.

Jordan Jay, a final year law student, says, "Leeds Student Chabad House has been vitally important in my development at University. The new building will enable Chabad to diversify its activities."