UK News

Provision for the burgeoning Radlett community will be increased with the opening of a new Chabad Lubavitch base on the high street within the next two months.

Rabbi Sendy & Rochel Dubrawsky have been running Lubavitch of Radlett for 10 years already but this upgraded presence in the Hertfordshire suburb — where Jews account for almost a third of the population — will offer coffee and kosher snacks during the day. Visitors will also be able to browse and buy a variety of Judaica and gifts.

It will additionally house youth programmes, including after-school clubs and informal courses, and evening events and educational sessions.

“The new place is intended to be a welcoming space for all Jews, with many opportunities to connect to informal Jewish life,” explained Rabbi Sendy.

“We expect it to be a positive addition to the Jewish community of Radlett and the greater Hertsmere area and offer even more exciting ways for all to enjoy meaningful Jewish experiences.”

In classic Judaic philosophy, worldly existence is divided into four strata: The inanimate, the growing (vegetative), the living (animal life) and the speaking (human).

It seems curious that we do not describe the human as “thinker” or “engineer” or by any other quality that humans exclusively possess.

The answer seems to be that the true potential of humanity, for good or evil, lies in the capacity for speech.

The individual human can accomplish but little. All the accomplishments and disasters wrought by humanity are by virtue of communication.

The accomplishment of the first farmer or shepherd lay in inspiring a group of people to work together to create nutrition and raiment in a new way that one person thought of.

This was through words, through communication.

All of human power has always been an expression of a plurality united and directed by words.

Abraham and Sarah taught monotheistic decency by words. Pharaoh enslaved the people of Israel by words of fear and prejudice directed at the Egyptians.

Beliefs promulgated by words held peoples in the thrall of autocracy, and beliefs expressed in words convinced yet others to throw off those chains.

The fate of the Armenians in 1915-17 was woven of words—in hate-filled sermons and telegraphed instructions.

The power of Hitler was in his words that convinced German people to join together in utter evil.

It was words over radio that set in motion the Rwandan massacre.

Yet, it was the power of Churchill’s words that inspired the British people, against all odds, to turn back the German menace.

It was words that caused Jews in the United States—in the depths of the Great Depression—to give of their often meager resources to the American Joint Distribution Committee and many other charities, thereby saving untold numbers in Europe.

It is words that have created every charitable endeavor in human history.

It is words that have led to equality of human rights that we enjoy in so much of the world.

It is words uniting citizens to action that have enabled these United States to be a source of so much benefit to humanity.

And now, it is words spread at the speed of light in a world where we each have more power to be heard than ever before—that threaten to tear us apart.

Words of hate like those chanted by neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Va., that not only inspire deeds of violence and even murder, but which create an increasingly fragmented archipelago of identities.

A world where smaller and smaller groups live in ever-shrinking echo chambers where we only hear ourselves and those just like us.

It has been suggested that the solution is that we talk to each other, but we often do, and end up screaming at the other for being an other. Something more is needed.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—once counseled the members of a newly formed ruling coalition in the Israeli Knesset who sought his advice.

He suggested that they ought not to begin by pushing for legislation that was most expressive of their views vis a vis the opposition.

Rather, they ought to find matters that needed rectification in Israeli society that all sides could agree upon and thereby create an atmosphere of trust, cooperation and mutual respect.

This is not just advice for politicians.

There is so much that needs repair in our nation, so many initiatives that can help us. We ought to identify them, starting at the most local level, speak to each other across divides about them, and then act together to make them real in our neighborhoods.

This also applies to online communities, where much good can be done in very creative ways.

It is words that will create shared deeds of goodness and kindness that in turn will create more shared words, which will drive out the words of division, which will enable the world to prevail over evil.

The key is to look for goals that we agree need accomplishing and can be attained without giving up on one’s core beliefs.

As Proverbs says (18:21 as per Ibn Ezra): “Death and Life are in the hands of the tongue, and one eats the fruits of that which [the type of words] we [choose to] love.”

Ibiza has long been famous for its pristine Mediterranean waters, stunning beaches, and perhaps - some may say infamous - for its nightlife...

For the past month, however, it’s seen something new: a Chabad House, co-directed by Rabbi Mendel and Rina Baitz, who recently moved from Ukraine after 5 years of assisting that community.

Just days after the couple arrived, they received a call from Esther, based in California. As she planned to visit the island with a friend, a quick Google search led her to the couple’s brand-new Facebook page, and she “connected instantly with the rabbi and his wife,” whom she describes as “super nice and welcoming.”

“Welcoming” is an apt term to describe the couple who station themselves portside, offering Jewish yachters challahs for Shabbat, information about the Jewish services they provide and even the opportunity to do a mitzvah on the spot.

“We reach out to every single Jew we meet,” attests the rabbi. “Many of them did not come here looking for Judaism, but we are here for everyone, no matter what.”

He continues: “Immediately after we came last month, someone called saying he would be here during his father’s yahrtzeit and wanted to know if I could put together a minyan for him to say Kaddish. It was a challenge but we managed.”

This past Shabbat, Esther and her friend found themselves sharing Friday-night dinner with a family from France and a young man from New York. She says, “it is so comforting to know that wherever I go in the world, there are people working to make sure that others can have a place to pray with a minyan, get kosher food and celebrate Shabbat… they went above and beyond.”

“It’s tourist season right now,” reports the rabbi, “and every day, we meet new people and help them get kosher food, challah for Shabbat, access to prayer services and everything else they may need while here.” Situated some 5 hours by ferry from Valencia, and another 3 hours by road to Madrid, the island is not a place that carries kosher supplies so it’s all down to Rabbi & Rina Baitz but the rabbi says the daylong schlep is worth it. “There are people from all over from the world who heard we are here and are asking that we help them with kosher,” he says. “If not for these trips, there would be nothing kosher for them.”

Chabad has been in Spain since 1977, when Rabbi Yitzchok and Meyta Shifra Goldstein settled in Madrid. In the following decades, centres were opened in Barcelona, Marbella and Valencia. 2017 has also seen the launch of the centre in Girona.

Rina Baitz says that her children - aged 2, 4 and 6 - are a big part of their work. “We walk around with them near where the yachts dock, and Jewish people from all over the world come over to us, attracted by the sight of an obviously Jewish family in a place you’d least expect it. In addition to serving tourists from all over the world, the couple is also getting to know the Jews who live on Ibiza full-time - some 60 households, including many children.

For the time-being, until they can arrange a permanent building on this prohibitively expensive island, the couple has been hosting Shabbat dinners, Torah classes, and other events in their home, which also doubles as a bakery, catering facility, synagogue and community centre. “We came knowing there was no Jewish infrastructure,” attests the rabbi, “but that challenge is part of what drew us here in the first place. In Odessa, there were kosher restaurants, schools, synagogues—everything. We were one of 12 Shluchim families in the city. Here, there is so much for us to do and accomplish.”

Visitors to Copenhagen now have something else to access on their itinerary: Taim Restaurant – the only kosher restaurant in the entire country.

While the restaurant is barely a month old, Chabad of Copenhagen’s Rabbi Yitzi and Rochel Loewenthal have been working on the concept for a long time. The rabbi, originally from London, stresses the idea of hyggespisenings: the Danish concept of a community social meal.

"The Danes place a real emphasis on food culture - encouraging people to sit and savour their food, spending time enjoying good company and quality ingredients; even including children in the kitchen and the cooking process," he says.

Bo Aronsohn, a car mechanic originally from Sweden, added "After many years of living here, it is fantastic to have this opportunity - for myself and my family - to both enjoy tasty kosher food and have the social benefits a restaurant brings. We are happy and very excited." 

Having the opportunity to eat a kosher meat meal out in Denmark is no small matter. Since February 2014, all animals slaughtered in Denmark must be stunned before being killed; effectively banning all kosher and halal slaughter. Kosher meat is now only available if imported.

The menu includes smoked Norwegian salmon, caramelized noodles, grilled chicken, rib-eye steak, grilled salmon, goulash, a varied children’s menu; and a full bar.

While meals for Shabbat & Yom Tov have always been available at the Chabad House, locals and tourists can now enjoy kosher every weekday evening from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (except Shabbat and Yom Tov when the Chabad House takes over again.) Taim also offers catering and delivery to area hotels and conference centres.

In addition to serving the community, the restaurant also helps support the local kosher store, Gil’s Deli, which provides meat for Taim and has created local jobs. For more information click here.

Velbekomme! (That’s Danish for ‘bon appétit!’)

Hundreds of Nigerian children now have their first pair of glasses, thanks in part to a rabbinical student, a New York City opticians and Chabad of Nigeria.

For years, Mendy Sternbach would visit Cohen’s Fashion Optical in Manhattan each Friday to wish employees Shabbat Shalom and put tefillin on with some of the staff.

One week, he mentioned that he was going to Nigeria to help with Jewish programming for an upcoming holiday. “The store manager said that he had a big box of old donated glasses and asked if I had any use for them in Nigeria,” says Sternbach. “Realizing the potential, we discussed some of the practical aspects of glasses, like getting the children checked by an ophthalmologist and how to best to fit second-hand glasses.

“Then I called my friends and family asking them for their old pairs of glasses that were sitting around and not being used,” he continues. “They, in turn, called their friends. We got more glasses than I was able to bring for that trip!”

That’s when the vital work of Rabbi Israel and Haya Uzan, co-directors of Chabad of Nigeria, came into play. Living in the most populous country in Africa where more than 70% of people live on less than 80p a day they knew there was a definite need for the glasses.

The glasses distribution program is just one of several humanitarian projects the Uzans have undertaken since establishing their Chabad House in 2013, part of the extended network begun by Chabad Lubavitch of Central Africa, overseen by Rabbi Shlomo and Miriam Bentolila.

Uzan estimates that they donated a total of 300 pairs of glasses and plan to give away more thanks to the partnership with Cohen’s Fashion Optical, which continues to collect used eyeglasses from other outlets as well.

As for how many more they may need, the rabbi replies: “We’re not sure because in many villages, people don’t even know they might need glasses.”

One fateful week in June 1967 redrew the map of the Middle East forever. Fifty years later, Israel continues to face numerous existential threats.

The latest course offered by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, Survival of a Nation: Exploring Israel Through the Lens of the Six-Day War offers a fascinating & captivating insight into what was at the time considered by many to be the most improbable and astonishing victory in military history. Topics include:

* Jewish Homeland | If Judaism is a religion of ideas, why do we care so much about land?

* Anti-Israel Sentiment | Why does Israel perpetually raise the ire of the entire world?

* Pre-emptive Strikes | What are the ethics of pre-emptive strikes and collateral damage?

* Civilian Casualties | How should Israel protect itself against an enemy that hides behind human shields?

* Captured Territories | What should Israel do with territories captured during the Six-Day War?

* Land for Peace | What lies at the heart of the land-for-peace debate?

As with all JLI programmes, this course is designed to appeal to people at all levels of knowledge, including those without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning.

Chabad Lubavitch UK are delighted to offer this course to the public once again in October/November – if you are interested in attending please click here to register your interest and a tutor will be in touch.

JLI, the adult education branch of Chabad Lubavitch, offers programmes in more than 1,100 communities across the world and is undoubtedly the largest Jewish education network.

More than 156,000 people have taken JLI courses in English, Hebrew, Russian, Spanish, French & Braille.

The Chabad Lubavitch junior girls’ school in Stamford Hill has maintained its status as a ‘good school’ after a fresh inspection from Ofsted.

Esther Kesselman, acting headteacher for the past nine months at the state-aided Lubavitch Ruth Lunzer Primary School, was told she had provided “effective leadership”.

“You have identified and tackled weaker teacher and supported teachers to improve their practice,” Ofsted said. “Consequently, school assessment information indicates that pupils are making faster progress.”

The school first earned a good rating from inspectors in 2013.

“Staff are positive role models to pupils and demonstrate the values of tolerance and respect for others,” Ofsted reported after the latest visit.

Pupils behaved well, showed high levels of confidence and were keen to talk about their work.

The ablest pupils were making accelerated progress in maths, although the brightest in English needed more challenging books, Ofsted said.

Previously low attendance rates were now close to the national average.