UK News

In a case of East meets West and South joins North, adventurers and spiritual-seekers from London, Israel and South Africa teamed up to take on the challenge of the Chabad of Hendon's Great Wall  of China trek.

Eleven participants, aged sixteen to seventy, flew to China to hike along the Great Wall. The Wall snakes over mountain tops and along cliffs through almost 4000 miles of varied and breathtaking landscape. The Chabad team got a taste of it by undertaking a four day hike.

Currently in its fifth year, the annual trek has seen Rabbi Dovid Katz, educational director of Chabad of Hendon, lead Jewish expeditions to exotic destinations such as Nepal, India, Tanzania and Peru. While Rabbi Ari Shishler of Chabad of Strathavon in Johannesburg, South Africa, joined Rabbi Katz for the second time, this time bringing some members of his own community.

“This trip,” Rabbi Katz explained, “unified Jews from around the world and brought together three Chabad communities: Hendon in London, Strathavon in Johannesburg and Beijing.”

Beginning each day with Morning prayers and a simple breakfast, the team headed off for the day’s hike. While sturdy and breathtaking in parts, the Wall is also crumbling in others, with endless stairways, some almost vertical.

Amidst the physical challenge of hiking along the Wall, there were also opportunities for reflection and learning. Along the way, the rabbis shared Chassidic insights, peppered with lessons from the Wall experience. The group held a ‘farbrengen’ (traditional Chassidic gathering) together with each person took on a resolution at the end of the hike.

Shabbat was spent at Chabad of Beijing, directed by London-born Rabbi Shimon Freundlich and his wife Dini. The hikers joined with over 200 guests from all over the world, including tourists, people on business, exchange students and local Jewish residents.

“Although the hikers travelled to see a foreign nation’s heritage,” said Rabbi Katz, “they returned with a renewed appreciation of their own heritage having witnessed the work of Chabad emissaries in a far-flung Jewish community.”

Queuing for Wimbledon? No need to take your own kosher sandwiches this year as Chabad of South London Campuses will be offering kosher food at the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world.

The Kosher Café trailer, situated in the Wimbledon Golf Club car park by ‘The Queue’, is ideal for those standing in line for tickets or anyone who would like a kosher snack before or after play.

This is the second year running that Chabad of South London Campuses, a branch of Chabad on Campus, based in Wimbledon, will be serving hot and cold kosher food and tennis enthusiasts will be able to enjoy kosher snacks throughout the competition, including: kosher barbecue, sandwiches, baked potatoes as well as the British favourite strawberries and (parev) cream.

Rabbi Dovid Cohen, director of Chabad of SLC, said: “I am delighted that we are able to provide kosher food at Wimbledon this year. Tennis lovers can enjoy the beautiful game while enjoying a hot dog or the traditional Wimbledon treat of strawberries and cream!”

The Kosher Café trailer will be running from 21st June – 4th July from midday until end of play. For further information contact Rabbi Dovid Cohen, on 07801 491 386 or visit http://www.chabadslc.com/tennis
 

Students, faculty and community members converged on the Oxford Chabad Society last week to celebrate a historic Friday night meal with the first Jewish speaker of the House of Commons, Mr. John Bercow, MP.

Bercow joined Parliament as the MP for Buckingham following the 1997 General Election. After filling various roles in the Conservative’s shadow cabinet, he was elected to the office of speaker in June 2009, and was subsequently re-elected last month following the dissolution of Parliament.

Speaking about his Jewish upbringing in Edgware, North West London, Bercow told those present that spending Shabbat in Oxford takes him back to his childhood when his family would celebrate Shabbat in their home.

As someone who is proud and open about his Jewish heritage, Bercow stressed the importance of not being ashamed of one’s background, saying that it troubles him that, “in an un-oppressed society, someone would conceal one’s Jewish identity.”

Asked by a student about anti-semitism in Parliament, he suggested that the best way to deal with anti-Semitism is to “just get on with it and be successful at what you are doing – this really bothers them!”

“It was great to share a traditional Friday night meal such a prominent public figure who is not ashamed to be proudly Jewish,” said one student who attended.
 

On Monday, The Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks officially opened the first UK Lubavitch Children’s Centre (LCC) in Stamford Hill. The Lubavitch Children’s Centre is a pioneering modern, welcoming space catering for the physical, emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual wellbeing of children from all backgrounds of the Jewish communities in Stamford Hill. 

Supported by the Hackney Learning Trust and Haringey Council and designated a Sure Start Children’s Centre by Together for Children, the LCC is more than just a children’s centre. Fundamental to Chabad Lubavitch ethos, learning should not be confined to childhood or the classroom, but is a lifelong process. A child’s potential is best achieved in an environment in which parents develop and learn alongside their children, which is why the development of an innovative learning space for the entire family is so important to the community. 

In addition to daily activities for children and their parents, the LLC also provides: healthcare services; information and support advice; a modern nursery school; and is complemented by Vista Education and Training and the largest lending and information Library in the UK on site. 

Each room in the centre has been designed with the interest and comfort of children and their parents in mind, no matter their needs or requirements. All design elements of the centre such as the installation of speaking lifts and full wheelchair accessibility allow the centre to cater for those with special needs.

The state of the art facilities allow children and adults of all ages to enjoy all the services and facilities and include: activity rooms furnished with age-appropriate toys and equipment; a split-level secure outdoor playground in our nursery; educational technology such as interactive whiteboards; and the first Jewish nursery in the area offering extended hours from 8am until 6pm.

To mark the final day of National Family Week and in honour of the opening ceremony, a craft and fun day was held for children and their families the day before. 

The event was chaired passionately by Rabbi Yitzchok Sufrin,  senior Administrator and Trustee of Lubavitch Foundation.  He pointed out that this celebration takes place in the jubilee year of he Foundaion's existence and sketched the highlights of the movements growth over he 50 years. During the programme, Rabbi Sufrin read a guest book entry by the late Lady Jacobovits who had visited the centre shortly before her passing

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks commented on the new Children’s Centre saying: “I want to wish Lubavitch tremendous success on the opening of the Children’s Centre. Standing here today brings back many memories of being here 40 years ago for the opening of Lubavitch House and building such positive connections with Lubavitch for which I am grateful.”

Addressing the children from the Lubavitch Girls School, he added: “May we always see you, our Jewish children, smiling and know that you are the future of the Jewish people.”

Speaking at the opening, centre managers Rabbi Sholom Ber Sudak and Devorah Leah Sudak said: 

“Chabad Lubavitch place a strong emphasis on valuing each child for who they really are, so we have created an atmosphere of love, warmth and respect which enables everyone to develop and grow, realizing their ultimate potential. Since that potential is best achieved in an environment in which parents develop and learn alongside their children, we have created an innovative learning space for the entire family. 

“The Lubavitcher Rebbe taught us the importance of education, from before birth through all stages of a person’s life. At the Lubavitch Children’s Centre we endeavour to instil a love of Judaism and Torah at every stage.”  

To ensure that the Centre really is a place for the family to learn together, two additional services are incorporated. Vista Education and Training is the most experienced, accredited vocational training centre in Stamford offering education and vocational training to adults in the community. Vista offers a broad range of courses including: Information Technology; Childcare; and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). Vista helps young adults build confidence and self-esteem, get qualifications and acquire skills, all in a manner sensitive to the cultural needs of the community. The Lubavitch Lending Library, the largest Jewish lending and information library in the UK carries an extensive range of books in English, Yiddish and Hebrew housed in a modern, relaxing and stimulating environment. There are 15,000 volumes of fiction, biography, history and religious texts covering a wide range of subjects including Jewish tradition, heritage and culture, as well as a well-stocked collection of books for children.

The United Kingdom was honoured to receive the man who wrote the law on medical ethics in Israel. Professor Avraham Steinberg flew over from Israel to speak to Imperial College students and interested parties about the ethics of ending life. He headed the committee in Israel which wrote the Dying Patient Act 2005.
 
The talk was opened by Professor Edwina Brown, who posed the question: is extending life really extending dying? Prof. Steinberg didn't address this issue in as many words, but he gave enough information for us to think about that ourselves.

The talk opened with a couple of jokes, to ease the tension on a rather sombre topic. Steinberg was anxious to emphasise that the end of life dilemma is primarily social - encompassing ethics, legality, religion and culture; it is not just a medical issue. Over the past 30 years, exponential changes in technology have put the medical field in a position where is has never been before.

Today, there are so many ways to prolong patient life that ethics is a serious consideration. In 1976, Karen Ann Quinlan entered a vegetative state after mixing a number of legal drugs. Her parents pressed for her to be removed from a ventilator, and after long court procedures, she was taken off life support. Despite the fact she lived for another decade, this case exemplifies the slippery-slope nature of ending life.

Karen Ann Quinlan has been in the centre of the "Right to Die" debate.
Once it became acceptable to remove life support, stopping foods and fluids became commonplace, leading to the Oregon Act 1994. This enables patients with a life expectancy of under 6 months to receive lethal injection. Although Kevorkian is universally regarded as a second-degree murderer, the fact that his actions were considered ethical by those who chose to use him exemplifies the grey area in which Steinberg treads.

Four united sub-committees of personnel from medical-science, law, philosophy-ethics and halacha (Jewish law) comprised the committee of 45 men and 14 women. The debates proceeded with mutual respect and after 2 years, 95% of the laws were accepted by all committee members, and 80% of committee members accepted everything.

The law was monumental in defining a dying patient. A patient is dying if they are suffering from an incurable medical condition where, with any medical treatment, life expectancy is under 6 months. A patient is in the final stage of life if they are in a medical condition where a number of vital systems are at end-stage failure and life expectancy with medical treatment is under 2 weeks.

In all of these decisions which must be made, it is a balancing act between the patient, treatments, decision-makers and procedures. There are three types of patient who are dying: currently competent; previously competent, now incompetent; and incompetent.

The first are 17 years of age or more, able to express their wishes, and not declared incompetent. Their wishes are therefore followed. In the case of the second type of patient, physicians must follow advance medical directives (AMD), a close person's statement, or a court-appointed surrogate. The AMD is legally binding, renewed every 5 years/after diagnosis of a life-threatening medical condition, and held in a national database.

Currently incompetent patients are dealt with via a National Ethics Committee (which is instead of court of law). Steinberg examined both the Halachic and secular perspectives, and came to the conclusion that in areas such as withdrawing continuous life support (e.g. respirator), the former says no, and the latter says yes.

Unfortunately time ran out before he could elaborate further and delve into the ethics of treatment. Anthony Warrens ended with question time, which was far too short, but broached on the subject of the ethics of suicidal patients. The answer was to refer them for psych analysis. All in all, the talk was exceptionally informative, and made the fitting point that this can be applied in any country - just swap the Halachic sub-committee for any religion of your choice!