Events

 

 The Community Year       Recent Events        Not So Recent Events

 

The Community Year

 

Highlights of our calendar include both the religious - a communal Seder at Pesach, a Purim party and a Chanukah tea - and the purely social - such as quizzes, brunches and garden parties.  Where appropriate, we read in both Hebrew and English to allow everyone to participate.

 

Our annual quiz attracts fierce competition, often leading to a nail-biting conclusion to win the coveted CHC Challenge Cup.  In May of each year, we celebrate the inauguration of the Synagogue with a brunch.  Other events have included an auction which sold promises as well as items and a Bring and Buy Sandwich lunch which proved a sociable fundraiser.  

 

Further opportunities for members to come together are provided by members who informally arrange groups to attend concerts and lunches.  We welcome good ideas for new events and volunteers to help organise them!

Women’s Association of Cheltenham Synagogue (WACS)

The Women's Association has been running for over 50 years.  It is a warm social network that plays an important part in organising many of the Synagogue's events and has raised funds for a range of good causes. The monthly meetings provide a good place for making and renewing friendships.

Jewish Film Group

We show a range of films, generally with a Jewish theme. Naturally all members and their guests are welcome to attend and make suggestions for future screenings.

 

Our first film was “Paper Clips”, an inspiring story about children from an insular town in Tennessee, USA, finding out about the Holocaust in a way that was meaningful to them.  Their small classroom assignment on diversity grew to an event that transformed the entire community.  The eponymous paperclips were collected in memory of Holocaust victims; the collection was inspired by the Norwegians who wore paperclips on their collars to demonstrate their sympathy for groups being persecuted by the Nazis.

 

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Recent Events

Summer Lunch

Clear blue sky and hot sunshine completed the Summer Lunch's Mediterranean theme perfectly in June when guests relaxed and ate al fresco.  Funds were raised by a raffle with many prizes and a book and video stall on the day.

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks visits Cheltenham

Lord Sacks, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth held us spellbound when he addressed the Community and  guests in the Synagogue on Sunday 15 May.  He spoke powerfully and enthusiastically about small communities and how they can and do play a role disproportionate to their size.  This was illustrated with biblical as well as modern examples. 

A report in the Jewish Chronicle quoted Lord Sacks as saying "It was wonderful to discover this gem of a Synagogue.  It is a miniature treasure to be cherished and it was wonderful to see how the small but enthusiastic congregation are keeping it, and Jewish life, alive in this lovely part of Britain.  I came away surprised, inspired and enthused."

And so did we.

Left: Martin Horwood MP, Anne Regan Mayor of Cheltenham, Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks, Rev Malcolm Wiseman, Michael Webber Chairman of Cheltenham Hebrew Community; Middle: Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks speaking with Abigail Fisher: Right James Silverston and David Silverston

Chanukah Tea

Sunday 5 December saw our annual Chanukah celebration. As dusk fell, we retold the story of Chanukah and said B'rachot. The children carefully lit the candles before making dreidles, solving fiendish mazes and testing the Chanukah knowledge through a quiz.

 

A particular highlight was the food, with not only traditional latkas to go with the viennas but donuts freshly made on the spot. And there were many winners in the raffle, where prizes included a beautiful edition of the Tanach.

 

Interfaith

The Cheltenham Hebrew Community is actively involved with local Inter Faith Activity and has participated in a number of recent events.

 

At Cheltenham Inter Faith in November 2010 Dr Melissa Raphael, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at University of Gloucestershire gave a masterful lecture, illustrated by slides of relevant artwork on “How Jewish does Jewish Art have to be?” 

 

Rev. Brian Torode, a local Anglican priest and author of the definitive history of the Gloucestershire Hebrew Community gave a fascinating talk on “The Story of the Jewish Community in Gloucestershire” in December 2010.

 

Cheltenham Community Members took part in the Cheltenham Interfaith event marking the first National Interfaith Week (November 22—27), graced by both the Lord Lieutenant, Dame Janet Trotter, and the Mayor of Cheltenham, Janet Regan. Different cultural and religious communities gave brief presentations to give a taste of their religious and cultural identity and brought traditional foods to share.

 

“Can Jews and Christians own the same Scripture?” was the question posed by Professor Gordon McConville, Professor of Old Testament, University of Gloucestershire

in January 2011. 

 

For information about Cheltenham Inter Faith and its events, past and future, do visit cheltenhaminterfaith.org.uk. 

 

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Not So Recent Events

National Holocaust Memorial Day 2010

Two services marked National Holocaust Memorial Day in Cheltenham, attended by many of our members.

An Act of Remembrance organized by Allan Sanis and Michael Webber from Cheltenham Hebrew Congregation and Rev. Brian Torode was held in the Council Chamber in Cheltenham in association with other local faith groups.

Candles were lit for peace and a two minute silence commemorated the deaths of the twenty million who died in the First World War.  We were reminded that one third of the world's Jewish population was killed in the principal concentration camps of the Second world War with chilling statistics taken from "The Holocaust - The War Against the Jews" by Lucy Dawidowicz.  Prayers, including the Shema and Psalm xxiii, A Psalm of David, were said in Hebrew and in English by Readers and by all participants.   Councillor Lloyd Surgenor, Mayor of Cheltenham read an extract from the book “Chasing Shadows” by Rabbi Hugo Gryn.  All stood while The Mourner's Kaddish was recited by the Jewish men.

The Gloucestershire service was held this year in the National Star College and the theme was "The Legacy of Hope".  Students from the college and the local Severn Vales school took an active part through readings and guiding participants around the College facilities.

"Holocaust Memorial Day 2010 marks 65 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. On it we can become part of the Legacy of Hope.  Our responsibility is to remember those who were persecuted and murdered. Our challenge is to make the hope of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides part of our future."

Introductory Reading by Alex Giles: Student, National Star College

Students with disabilities often feel apart from the rest of the world and their inclusion in a banner making project was very important.  Reminders of what a national policy of exclusion can lead to were given in moving readings and a DVD made by the STAR College students “On Top of the World”.

Banners made were inspired by  students of the National Star Centre and Severn Vale School by year’s theme “Legacy of Hope”.  Students designed their own symbols after first looking at those already relating to the subject.  Themes of hope, patience, forgiveness, love and strength were explored.

 

 

 

"It wasn’t just the Jews.  It was also the mentally ill, the physically handicapped, the Gypsies and the Gays who were imprisoned, tortured, shot, gassed and turned to ash because they didn’t fit someone’s narrow template of what it means to be human. 

May the memory of the victims of the Holocaust become our immune system against hate; may we stand together; fighting prejudice together.”

Reading from Sir Jonathon Sacks, Chief Rabbi by Gill Oxley, Equalities Manager, Gloucestershire County Council

170th Anniversary

 

A packed synagogue listened enthralled to a moving concert by the London Cantorial Singers in celebration of our 170th Anniversary.  Traditional Jewish liturgical music together with songs from Israel and the Yiddish repertoire were sung to the delight of the listeners, a highlight no doubt being "Chazonim Oif Probe" performed by charismatic soloist David Rome.  Traditional favourites included "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" memorably sung by the whole choir and soloists David Shine and David Rome.

 

Special guests included the Mayor of Cheltenham and our local MP, Martin Horwood. 

 

The London Cantorial Singers have performed widely in concerts, religious and social events and are drawn from leading Synagogue choirs.  They include several "Chazanim"  (Cantors).  The aim of the Choir is to perform synagogue music, once popular but now rarely heard, as far as possible in the composer's original settings.  Find out more about the singers by clicking here and clips from the concert here.

Music Festival 2009

The 2009 HSBC Cheltenham Music Festival, 3 - 18 July, marked the 200th anniversary of Felix Mendelssohn's birth with a celebration of music by composers of Jewish heritage.

Highlights included:

A talk by Norman Lebrecht on Mendelssohn and Mahler in Cheltenham Synagogue.

Sephardic chant performed by Joglaresa and primary schoolchildren. 

A range of Mendelssohn works, including the Octet, Violin Concerto and Hebrides Overture

Viol Consort music for Henry VIII's court by Venetian Jewish emigres

Jazz-infused klezmer from Swiss quintet Kol Simcha

A Hollywood film music night, featuring classic scores by Steiner, Berstein, Waxman, Rosza, Herrmann and Korngold

Festival of Jewish Culture

Festival 2009 was a special day to remember - thank you to everyone who came and participated - it was a sell out!  We were delighted to welcome so many visitors.

 

Throughout the day, guests took part in lectures, discussions and a guided visit to Cheltenham Synagogue.  

 

 

Clockwise from top left: Chairman, Sam Stone, welcoming the Mayor and Mayoress of Cheltenham; attendees sign up for lectures in the Mozart Room; Elkan Levy ready to go; Sam Stone discussing the day with Robert Landberger (a participant in the Memories DVD) and his guest

 

Pleasures of the day included Dr Alan Ford, from the University of Gloucestershire, speaking about Jewish art and architecture in the 20th century and impressing with an encyclopaedic knowledge of his subject, Rev Brian Torode, author and local historian,  giving an authoritative and entertaining presentation on the history of the Jews in Gloucestershire and a literary journey by Mrs Marge Clouts, writer and poet.  Elkan Levy, Director of the Office of Small Communities, gave an extremely interesting introduction to Judaism, especially valued by those with little knowledge of Jewish life; he also shared his insights on the pleasures and challenges of life in small communities.

 

A highlight for many was seeing a DVD containing memories of life in the community.  This had been made especially for the day in collaboration with the Faculty of Media, Art and Communications of the University of Gloucestershire. 

 

 

Clockwise from top left: Dr Alan Ford; Rev Brian Torode and Martin Horwood MP; Marge Clouts; the organising committee (Judy Bavin, Christine Dyer, Lea Elliott and Abigail Fisher), together with Elkan Levy and Betty Stone; Malcolm Wiseman

 

Particularly memorable for many visitors was a visit to the synagogue where Rev Malcolm Weisman, Minister for Small Communities, and community members led a guided tour.  Also on offer were a Passover Seder table with expert advice on hand, and a bookshop.

 

The Festival ended with a foot-tapping celebration of the music of George and Ira Gershwin and their, mostly Jewish, contemporaries given by the charismatic Tony Jacobs and the brilliant Jim Barry Quintet.

 

You can still see our programme for the day on the Festival flyer [320 Kb].

Most computers will open the flyer automatically, but you may need Adobe reader.