HAve a sweet and happy new year!

Today is rosh Hashanah eve, the festival itself starts tonight at sunset. Every thing is prepared for tonight's meal and Seder. So all whilst I put my feet up for a couple of hours, I would wish everyone a shanah tova. 

Have a good one :)

Reflecting

That month leading up to rosh Hashanah is supposed to be reflective and about forgiveness. So I have been reflecting, using the daily psalm singing to help me focus. 

How do other people reflect on the almighty and what have you been reflecting on?

Scottish portent?

Oy vey, I know.

Scottish independence!!

The biggest political  issue in Britain at present, arguably  the biggest story in Britain. Whilst I'm trying to be a niche here, I feel compelled, moth to candle like to pass some form of comment. So I'm glad I've come across this picture(see below).

Well, it vaguely looks like the UK with Scotland drifting off towards the west. I wonder if this is a portent for Thursday's vote? I think that Scotland would be foolish to vote yes, but I guess we'll have to see how they vote. I also think the rest of the UK should have  had a say on this, but I guess that was never going to happen.

There will be more discussion, whatever the outcome . Vote yes and they'd be a divorce negotiations. Vote no and there will be discussion on the devo max  option Gordon Brown came up with at the last minute. It was an option Cameron refused to put on the ballot.... but that option comes with as much change and constitutional issues as independence does (well almost). Either way, the rest of the UK will get a say once the result is in.

substitution of the day...

This one is a laugh...not that I get my meat from Tesco, but I do get bread.  Never thought a loaf of bread would equal a whole octopus....

comparison of denominations

An ecumenical post.

Here is how I think Christian and Jewish denominations compare:

Anglican: Conservative Judaism

Charismatic: Hasidic Judaism

Evangelical/ protestant: Haredi Judaism

Liberal mainline protestant Christianity: Reform Judaism

Roman Catholicism: Orthodox Judaism/Sephardic Judaism

Orthodox Christianity: Sephardic Judaism

Are these approximate comparisons valid? If so why, if no why? Does anyone else have an alternative set of comparisons?

Thought for today

And do you agree with it or not ?

Knowing everything?

One thing I've noticed about blogging and the j blogosphere in particular is that people seem to think that we do or should know everything about our faith, the other that we should all be pigeon holed , so if you are orthodox and you say something controversial, then you are suddenly #gasp# conservative or reform.

I really do detest this idea that anyone can know everything about a faith system, Judaism included. Sure we should know the basics, but we are all surely learning more as we grow into our faith and as we get to know God more? We aren't God.

As for the labels. Who actually cares? What matters is finding the truth. And orthodox do not have a monopoly on that; there has been some good conservative and reform Rabbis who I've found helpful in the past. There is also the interesting matter of the internet and power of communication which seems to be shaking things up a bit. There is the phenomenon of the post denomination Jew, who takes bits of Judaism as their own without dogmatic adherence to all,for example-

I've known a few reform Jews who are inspired by the fire of Hasidic mysticism, but don't want to start adopting the full lifestyle of that tradition. Likewise I've met many Ashkenazi orthodox who prefer the relaxing intellectual and cultural atmosphere of Sephardic Judaism or haredi who like the practice of their tradition, but not the rigidity of its dogma. I could go on, but this is a new world for Judaism and we should welcome it. Barriers are being brought down. Perhaps this might lead to a more unified Judaism; when we agreed to accept the Torah at Sinai, we weren't Sephardic, Ashkenazi, orthodox, reform,conservative, but just the children of Israel. May we be so again and say:

Na 'ase ve-nishma

' We will do. We will hear'

The fight back begins

I've been on a bit of a blog break during August,for obvious reasons, namely because of having to look after my children, alongside the usual stuff that I do, whilst they were not at school due the summer holidays. Now that they are back at school, I have more time to write out blog posts.

The summer months have been difficult for Jews in Europe, as they always are whenever the middle east Arab- Israeli conflict spills over into open conflict. We have the sights of mass rallies directed not just against Israel, but seemingly against Jews as well(or at least that is how it feels) . In France there was more or less several pogroms and in Britain we even had kosher food being removed from a supermarket shelf because of the fear the store would be trashed otherwise. This may sound minor, except this is liberal, tolerant, multicultural Britain we are talking about, a country which has always been tolerant towards Jews, at least since the 17th century when we returned to this country( it was the Sephardi who first settled here). 

Then there have been the increasing antisemitism, the verbal and physical abuse, the intellectual attacks on Israel, the lack of appreciation as to what and why Israel has to fight. There was also a feeling that our community leaders were not speaking out more and when they did, they messed up(as in the recent furore over the board of deputies / Muslims council joint statement).

I was therefore relived to hear that there was going to be a demo against antisemitism in London last Sunday. Representatives of the whole British Jewish community attended the rally, which about 5,000 attended, Jews of various stripes, differences temporarily forgotten, as well as Christians & non Jews. I am glad we are starting to fight back against this antisemitism, which is simply not acceptable. I'm saddened that we even have to do this nowadays.

I have put a video of the rally which includes highlights of the speeches given, including  the Azshkenazi chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis,Senior Reform Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner & most passionately,the new Senior Sephardi Rabbi Joseph Dweck .

Kol hakavod