North Western Reform Synagogue
| North Western Reform Synagogue | |
|---|---|
| Basic information | |
| Location | Alyth Gardens, Temple Fortune, London Borough of Barnet |
| Affiliation | Reform Judaism |
| Status | Active |
| Leadership | Rabbis: Mark Goldsmith, Josh Levy, Maurice Michaels Cantor: Cheryl Wunch |
| Website | www |
| Completed | 1936 (original synagogue), 1958 (Leo Baeck Centre), 2004 (social spaces and kindergarten) |
Alyth (also known as North Western Reform Synagogue) at Temple Fortune in north west London is a Jewish community that was founded in 1933. Three years later, in 1936, the synagogue was built in Alyth Gardens, on land carved out from the West London Synagogue’s cemetery in Hoop Lane.[1] Alyth is one of the largest Reform synagogues in the United Kingdom. It has around 2100 adult and 1000 child members, and is twinned with the Leo Baeck Community Centre in Haifa and the Jewish community in Kerch, a city in Ukraine.
Contents
Music
The Alyth Choral Society, with over 40 members, sings at least two concerts with an orchestra every year.
Alyth's Kids Choir leads the singing on many Friday nights and is made up of children aged from 5 to 12.
The Alyth Youth Singers has over 20 years performed Jewish, Israeli and songs from musicals at Jewish community events of all kinds. They performed at Simcha on the Square in Trafalgar Square, at the Jewish Museum and annually at the London Borough of Barnet Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration. This choir of 13- to 18-year-olds has an annual international tour. The cities they have visited include Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Paris, New York, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem where they have performed at synagogues, schools and community centres.
Services
Alyth is a fully operational congregation with Shabbat services on Friday nights and Saturday mornings and all Jewish festivals. On most Saturday mornings one or more parallel services take place. These include a Classical Reform service including the synagogue's members' choir, the Kollot Minyan which is focused on participative unaccompanied song and nusach, the Big Bang family service where every participant is given a percussion instrument in order to enable all ages to pray. Many Shabbatot include a Tefilah Laboratory service such as the Shira u'Shtikah (Song and Silence) service, a Healing service, the Supertots Superheroes service for young children, the Horrible Histories explanatory service for 6–12 year olds. Kuddle up Shabbat is a half-hour service for the very youngest children on Friday afternoons.
Community
As well as services Alyth also operates as a community centre, housing a kindergarten, senior club, Israeli dancing, a youth department, a performing arts group and many one-off or serial cultural events.
Social justice
Alyth is a Fairtrade synagogue[2] and in 2012 hosted its first major Social Justice Showcase, a fair with where the 150 participants could visit stalls run by over 20 charities.[3] Alyth also runs a monthly drop-in afternoon for refugees who have recently received official leave to remain in the UK.[4]
Since 2012 Alyth has partnered with the Golders Green Parish Church to run a weekly winter shelter for local homeless people. This is run at the church with volunteers from both communities.
Alyth members have participated in the UK National Mitzvah Day since its inception in 2006. Mitzvah Day founder Laura Marks is a member of the synagogue.
Rabbis and cantors
Alyth's Clergy team is Rabbis Mark Goldsmith (since 2006), Josh Levy (since 2008) and Maurice Michaels (since 2011) and Cantor Cheryl Wunch (since 2014).
The synagogue's previous Rabbis were:[1]
- 1933 – 1938 Rabbi Solomon Starrels
- 1938 – 1942 Rev. Maurice Perlzweig, who had been elected chair of the World Union of Jewish Students in 1933 and had helped to create the World Jewish Congress
- 1942 – 1943 Rev. Vivian Simmons, on secondment from West London Synagogue
- 1943 – 1958 Rabbi Dr Werner van der Zyl, founder of Leo Baeck College[1]
- 1958 – 1972 Rev. Philip Cohen
- 1972 – 1983 Rabbi Dow Marmur
- 1983 – 2003 Rabbi Charles Emanuel, now Emeritus Rabbi at Alyth
- 2003 – 2011 Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, now Movement Rabbi at the Movement for Reform Judaism.[5]
Notes and references
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See also
- List of Jewish communities in the United Kingdom
- List of synagogues in the United Kingdom
- Movement for Reform Judaism
External links
- Official website
- The Movement for Reform Judaism's official website
- North Western Reform Synagogue on Jewish Communities and Records – UK (hosted by jewishgen.org).
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