shofar march 2013
DESCRIPTION
Shofar March 2013 EditionTRANSCRIPT
March 2013
Shofarthe magazine of finchley progressive synagogue
פר שו
Journeys & Stories
mogilev update
Despite temperatures in the region of minus
20c in Belarus, our twinning relationship with
the Keshet community is getting warmer and
warmer! We have now established a monthly
Skype link with Mogilev. The first session took
place on the last Sunday of January, when we
introduced ourselves and told our young friends
about the history of FPS, in the light of our 60th
anniversary. The February session is about Purim
(comparing - hopefully on video - our Purim
spiels from the night before!) and antisemitism
- as experienced today in Belarus and Britain.
We are hoping to continue our exchanges on
the last Sunday of every month, at 2.30pm in
the synagogue library. Everybody is welcome to
come and say ‘hello’.
Meanwhile we are making good progress
in raising the money for our belated
Chanukkah gift to Keshet. It is not too late
to put something in the envelopes available
on the board of the Mogilev exhibition in
the synagogue corridor - or the jar for coins/
banknotes marked ‘Mogilev’ at the entrance. If
you would like to know more or get involved in
our twinning, please contact Wika on
Cover: Listening and learning at the Tu B’Shvat seder.
Copy deadline is the 10th of each month. Please email all content to [email protected]
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And so, at the beginning of March, as we start to
think about Pesach and the story of a truly epic
journey, our own FPS community is on a journey of
discovery at the Weekend Away in Hothorpe Hall.
Over two days of revisiting stories and sharing songs
and celebration, new memories will be made and
treasured. And as this journey becomes a memory and
perhaps, the source of a few new stories, too, I look
forward to Pesach and wait for Spring.
Wishing you all happy travels and fresh stories!
From the Editorpat lehner
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rabbi rebecca qassim birk
The theme of our FPS weekend away is the
story, our stories, stories in general. Indeed
the narrative that runs through our lives,
and makes for many of us, the connection to
Judaism so visceral. At the moment I find the
story the most compelling thing in Jewish
tradition and experience. The point of entry in
the Venn diagram where one’s own experience
meets with the collective imagination. Jung’s
discovery of the collective imagination and
consciousness appeals deeply to the Jewish
experience of sharing stories and memories.
Martin Buber wrote:
“To begin with oneself, but not to end with
oneself; to start from oneself, but not to aim
at oneself; to comprehend oneself, but not to
be preoccupied with oneself.” (Hasidism and
Modern Man, Humanities Press, 1988).
As Liberal Jews we need to connect with and
be informed by the narratives that run through
Jewish literature and liturgy. We want to know
and we want our children to know. We want to
have an intimate knowledge of Tanakh because
it’s the text that Jewish experience flows
from. We want to have a grasp of the order
of our liturgy and the prayers we offer, edited
so expertly in Siddur Lev Chadash by Rabbi
John Rayner z’l and others. We want to know
whether the traditional and very theistically
minded God that appears in the pages of the
siddur is the God we imagine and subscribe to
now. In other words, words matter to us. And
the stories that the words build matter even
more. We are made of them.
We navigate our life by the story. Philip
Roth in his novel ‘Patrimony’ relates the slow
death of his father and the intimacy therein. He
finds himself drawn to his father’s story which
is now in him:
“There was my patrimony, not the money, not
the tefillin, not the shaving mug, …It was his
Deuteronomy, the history of his Israel …Very
few who wound up sitting across from him
for any length of time didn’t get at least the
abridged version of his sacred text..”
This year, our 60th, starting with our
Weekend Away, we intend to take the story to
the heart of our celebration. We are embarking
on a story project of members listening to
each other’s story that got them here to FPS,
into their Judaism and on the journey of their
lives. We’ll start with the children listening and
recording but I hope it will be a significant part
of our community life.
So, “Once upon a time” will become
personal...
From the Rabbi
stories
pesach seder
Saturday 23 March - Our last morning at Ivriah
will be a Pesach Preparation morning for our
children and their families. Please join us.
We are not three
months into the
sixtieth anniversary
year and already the
journey is one of
discovery. In preparation for the Founders’ Tea
and archive exhibition, long-standing members
are offering their memorabilia and stories that
connect them to FPS. At the same time old and
new members are preparing for the Weekend
Away, continuing the chain of relationships and
memories that pave the communal journey.
Our personal journeys are interwoven with
the synagogue’s and I write this following
Howard and Joan Shopper’s golden wedding
anniversary Shabbat celebration. The bimah
was filled with their children and grandchildren,
all of whom contributed to the service and
with whom the congregation shared the
marking of such a milestone. Our challenge is
to ensure that we offer the opportunities and
connection for succeeding generations to be
here to celebrate their own life cycle events.
The synagogue operates in a world of instant
gratification, global connectedness and non-
stop entertainment: on TV, on radio, online.
Friends are on Facebook, views on Twitter
and comment is instantaneous. Against this
backdrop, the synagogue must provide the
human touch and spiritual sustenance that will
draw people to its path.
Cafe Ivriah, the Purim spiel, Beit Midrash,
Services and suppers, skyping our twin Mogilev
community are all opportunities to strengthen
the bonds that make a community. Where
members get into the habit of coming and
children see their parents contributing to a
Jewish community, friendships blossom and
journeys are shared. Looking back and looking
forward, we see kin and kindred who are part of
our lives and with whom we share the way. In
the opening meditation in Siddur Lev Chadash,
Rabbi John Rayner wrote “...It is not merely a
feeling of the heart but a decision of the will,
a commitment to a task, a self-enrolment in a
great adventure.”
COMMUNAL SEDER
Tuesday 26 March at 6.00 p.m Each year our Communal Seder is oversubscribed and we are sure it will happen
again this year so use the enclosed form to book your place as soon as possible Prices are: Adults £15 Children under 12 £10 (members) Adults £18 Children under 12 £10 (non-members)
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laura lassman
From the Chair
journeys
security appeal - urgentCan you offer help to FPS by doing a security
rota at the gates on a Friday, Saturday
or festival? Would you like to take this
opportunity to welcome members, get to know
others on security and make a contribution to
the synagogue? Or would you rather make a
donation to pay for professional cover?
We need people at the gate to greet members
and visitors, to ensure the safety of our
children and the basic well-being of those
inside.
We also need a Security Officer to co-ordinate
activities: liaison with CST, with Angela
over the rota and encouraging members to
participate. If you can help, please contact
David Aarons through the synagogue office.
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the magazine but Lionel might think otherwise.
Who knows! I do recollect writing many feature
articles.
I remember my joy when I was first invited
to read the Haftorah, standing on the bimah
with my toddlers holding on to my skirt. When
I was 12, my closest friend, Maureen, and I
had to learn our portions by rote as the cheder
teacher didn’t know what to do with the 2 girls
in the class. We then experienced the indignity
of mouthing the words on the appropriate
Saturday mornings as a male member of the
community read “our” haftorahs.
In 1968 or 9, for family reasons, I sadly had
to leave the community, I had also lost contact
with Maureen.
I did, later, attempt a brief membership - as
a single member. I directed a Purim play for the
children and I was delighted that my daughter
took part. But, the discrepancy between
community and home didn’t work for me.
Once widowed, I felt very isolated and in
need of a ‘reference group’, I wasn’t sure I
wanted to evoke the past and so hesitated to
return yet again.
Then, something wonderful happened. After
40 years I found my girlhood friend, Maureen.
We joyfully reunited and I discovered, to my
amazement, that she and her husband Adrian
and family were members of FPS!
My grandmother used to say (in Yiddish of
course): “If the end is good – it’s all good.” –
and this is very good.
Adrian sadly died, but Maureen and I, in
our mid 70s, sit together in synagogue as we
did as girls, but this time surrounded by our
wonderful FPS family.
It was a Saturday morning in 1965 or 1966 and
I had tucked my two little ones into their twin
buggy and set off from Courthouse Road to take
the air.
With two babies born in 13 months, and
free time taken over by 2 demanding families
with somewhat limited interests, I was
underwhelmed socially and intellectually.
As I walked, I fell into step with a friendly
young man. We started to talk. The next thing
I knew was that John Lewis, on his way to
Hutton Grove, had invited me and the babes to
accompany him to the service.
Now we felt we had ‘come home’ intellectually and spiritually.
I suddenly found a welcoming, stimulating
group of folk who quickly made me realise that
there was a world beyond domesticity. My
husband Barry soon joined me and we quickly
became active members of the community. Our
lovely ‘grandmotherly‘ neighbour had a weekly
Friday night baby sitting commitment and the
highlight of the week became the Friday night
service frequently followed by a discussion and
good conversation.
Our backgrounds in my Luton orthodox
community and Barry’s London Federation
Synagogue had led us both to alienation. Now
we felt we had ‘come home’ intellectually
and spiritually. I was the first convener of the
monthly ‘Minyan’, a social/cultural group and
Barry was quickly roped in to be the synagogue
treasurer.
We were around when Shofar was started.
It was not the glossy publication we know
today. I suspect that I suggested the name for
rochelle simmons
My FPS Journey
Spot the Bimah!
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coming soonEach month, we have planned either a special activity for the sixtieth anniversary or
focus on a regular event with a 50s perspective; three big events for the spring
friday 1 - sunday 3 march: away weekend
The Away Weekend will be in full swing at the beginning of March where old and new
members will have the opportunity to tell their stories and celebrate the FPS journey.
saturday 20 april: civic service
Our community will be joined by local MPs, the Mayor and Councillors,
representatives of Liberal Judaism, local clergy and synagogues for a special Shabbat
service that will include the best of what we are and where we have come from.
Following the service there will be a Kiddush lunch and we do need to know numbers
to ensure that everyone is well-fed! You should have received an invitation with last
month’s Shofar, but if not, please contact the office. Also please let Angela or Pauline
know if you are intending to come.
A very special honoured guest has been invited – if she accepts, we will reveal the
identity.
sunday 12 may: founders tea
Preparation for the Founders Tea is well underway. Lionel has been in touch with
many long-standing members and their offspring. He is collecting a wonderful array
of stories, photographs and memorabilia which will be exhibited during the year and
form the focus of the tea.
If you have not yet made a contribution, please contact Lionel
[email protected] or call 020 8445 3284. Invitations will be coming soon.
60th Anniversary
wika dorosz
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Finchley Progressive Synagogue presents
CANTOR GERSHON SILINS DEAN STAKER
FRANKLYN GELLNICK
54 Hutton Grove, London N12 8DR
Tickets £15 each (Concessions: £7.50)
£100 Group booking for 10 ticketsemail: [email protected]
saturday 6 april
Yom HaShoah & Czech Scroll Service Our guest speaker will be Neil Pike from
Nottingham Progressive Synagogue and we will
honour our scrolls and our loved ones. This year
Sofer Rabbi Ron Berry has been attending to our
Czech Scrolls and will continue to work on them
over the coming months. Our own Diana King
will share her story of Kindertransport with the
congregation as well.
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Beit Tefillahservices at fps
Friday 1 March Shabbat Resouled Unplugged FPS Away Weekend at Hothorpe Hall
Saturday 2 March Shabbat service
FPS Away Weekend at Hothorpe Hall
Friday 8 March Kabbalat Shabbat family service
Saturday 9 March Shabbat service
Friday 15 March Shabbat Resouled
Saturday 16 March Shabbat morning service including
Daniel Dolan Bar Mitzvah
Friday 22 March Kabbalat Shabbat service
Saturday 23 March Shabbat service including
Maeve Silver Bat Mitzvah
Tuesday 26 March Pesach morning service
Communal Seder at 6pm
Friday 29 March Kabbalat Shabbat service
Saturday 30 March Shabbat service
Sunday 31 March Erev 7thDay Pesach Short service
& supper at Rabbi Rebecca’s home
shabbat services - march
tuesday 26 march
Our wonderful Communal Seder planned and
executed by Corinne Oppenheimer is again
returning this year Sign up and be in touch with
Rabbi Rebecca if you’d like to work on a short
play on the theme of slavery and persecution to
illuminate the evening.
congratulations & mazal tov b’nei mitzvah
Daniel Dolan and family on his Bar Mitzvah
Maeve Silver and family on her Bat Mitzvah
Many members are celebrating important
life milestones by hosting and accepting a
mitzvah at a Shabbat service. If you have a
celebration you would like to share with the
community please contact the office.
our sincerest condolences
To Colin and Paul and their families on the
death of their mother Margie Glinsman
We wish the families long life.
yahrzeit list
There is an FPS Yahrzeit list from which we
remind those who would like a Yahrzeit to be
announced, that the date is coming up. If you
do want to be reminded please provide the
office with:
Name of the Honoree, Date of Yahrzeit
(Hebrew or secular depending which date is
to be observed), Name of Observer/s
a warm welcome to new members
Jon & Yasmin Gale
Jasmine & Tom Horna
Phillip & Alison Raphael
Karen Glaser
Braham Fredman
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Beit Knessetwhat’s happening at fps
cafe thursday
Thursdays @12.45pm7 March: Lunch & poetry and prose reading
14 March: Lunch & music
21 March: Lunch & Passover quiz
28 March: Passover lunch & family/friends day
Please book by 21 March
yoga
Mondays @7.oopmTuesdays @7.30pm Contact Richard on 020 8349 9602
film club
Sunday 3 March @7.30pm, ‘Roman Holiday’. For details please see page 11.
curtain up!
Wednesday 20 March @7.30pmFor details please see page 11.
people
rosh chodesh
Celebration of the new moon by women
gathering for learning and spiritual exploration
(over a glass of wine).
Rosh Chodesh Nissan: Tuesday 12 March -Lillith and Eve
fps breakfast shiurim
No Shiur in March
Saturday 6 April @8.45amAlan Ereira / Swimming in St Paul’s CathedralThe top of St Paul’s cathedral stands 67m above
sea level. It has been calculated that when
the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets finish
melting, that is exactly where the sea will be.
What else is going to happen? How will this
affect the Northern Line? And are we really
meant to take this seriously?
Thursday evenings from 7.30pm | The Sermons and Intellectual Legacy of Rabbi John Rayner z’l, with Liberal rabbis and others that knew him well, Hebrew & Delving into Judaism: A Course to
Refresh and Illuminate Judaism. | £5 donation/session For more information, contact Adrian Lister
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Beit Midrashlearning at fps
pilates at fps
We have re-started a weekly Pilates class with
professional Pilates trainer Tali Swart. Tali is
a specialist of the lower back but covers all
aspects of Pilates and will tailor exercises to
suit each individual. The classes take place on
Thursday evening 6.30-7.15pm, before the Beit
Midrash discussion. The cost is £10 per session,
payable half-termly in advance, but this will go
down if more members join. If you would like
to join the class or have any queries, contact
Adrian Lister [email protected]
or 07966 222953 (evenings preferred).
cafe ivriah
Shabbat mornings, from 9.30amAn informal lively discussion over coffee for Ivriah parents & others2 March: Richard Greene - Does Jewish
law forbid me from telling my friend how
brilliant you are? What exactly is lashon hara?
9 March: James Levy - Is a Jew obliged to give
tzedaka?
16 March: Karen Glaser - Secular conversion
23 March: Alan Milner - Zionism
30 March: Adrian Lister - How eastern mystics
made me a better Jew
Also in Beit Midrash...
ma
rch
7
7.30pm 8.30pm
ma
rch
14
ma
rch
21
HebrewBeginners & Intermediate
HebrewBeginners & Intermediate
HebrewBeginners & Intermediate
Delving: Liberal Jewish Theology and
Recollections
Delving: Death & Mourning in Jewish
Tradition and the rhythm of customs
Delving: Seizing the Seder and understanding
the power of Pesach
Rayner - Radical or Rooted: His Relationship with Jewish Tradition & History
with Rabbi James Baaden & Rabbi Rebecca Qassim Birk
Rayner: The Acerbic Correspondent
with Rabbi Andrew Goldstein
Rayner: The Wider World and Us: ‘Jews and Non-Jews’
with Rabbi Danny Rich
to let may 2013 january/february 2014
Bright, spacious and furnished studio flat
Purpose-built block in peaceful location
Close to shops, bus routes (82, 125 and 460) and short walk from
Finchley Central Underground
Separate kitchen and bathroom, ground floor and backing onto park
£450 per month including service charge, council tax, utilities etc.
Phone: Lillian 07854 786990
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Arts at FPS
The monthly theatre group will meet on
Wednesday 20 March at 7.30pm for a general
discussion on theatre in the West End and
Fringe. The focus will be on the following
five plays: The Captain of Kopenick (National
Theatre to 4 April); Paper Dolls (Tricycle to 13
April); Quartermaine’s Terms (Wyndham’s);
Trelawny of the Wells (Donmar to 13 April);
Longing (Hampstead Theatre to 6 April).
All are welcome to join this interesting and
informal group. For more information, contact
The Book Club in March are reading The Old
Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. This
book was first published in 1953, 60 years ago,
and is the Book Club’s contribution to the 60th
anniversary. Meetings are held in people’s
homes, 7.30pm on the second Wednesday of each month. Contact [email protected]
if you’d like to join.
curtain up! the screen on the grove
book club
Sunday 3 March | Roman Holiday
Kicking off Screen on the Grove’s 1953 season!
£5 includes refreshments.
Contact Wika [email protected].
fps bridge groupIf you enjoy a game of Bridge, do come and join
us, on Mondays at 7.45pm at FPSIt only costs £4 for an enjoyable & friendly
evening of Chicago scoring bridge, including
light refreshments.
You do not need to bring a partner, as we can
always match you up with someone.
For any further details, please contact
Gunter Lawson at 020 8346 5208
♣♦♥♠
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Tu B’Shvat
A wonderful time was had by all at this year’s Tu B’Shvat, planting, learning and eating.
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Tu B’Shvat
MARCH Friday 1 – Sunday 3 FPS weekend away @ Hothorpe Hall Friday 1 4.30–6.30 Friday Ivriah Shabbat 2 9.30 – 12.30 Shabbat Ivriah Friday 8 4.30 – 6.30 Friday Night Family Service with
Kiddush hosted by Kita Dalet & Hey Shabbat 9 9.30-12.30 Shabbat Ivriah Friday 15 4.30-6.30 Friday Ivriah followed by Shabbat
Resouled Shabbat 16 9.30 – 12.30 Shabbat Ivriah 11.00-
12.30 Shabbat Service including Daniel Dolan BM
11.00 Kids Kehillah Friday 22 4.30 – 6.30 Friday Ivriah END OF TERM Shabbat 23 9.30 – 12.30 Shabbat Ivriah END OF TERM 11.00-12.30 Shabbat Service including Maeve
Silver BM
Key: Shabbat Ivriah Friday Ivriah Family events
PESACH ACTIVITIES Monday 25 March
Pesach begins & 1st night Seder
Tuesday 26 March 11.00 Pesach morning service 6.00 FPS Communal Seder Sunday 31 March 6.00 Erev 7th day Pesach short service and
supper @ Rabbi Rebecca’s home Monday 1 April
11.00 7th Day Crossing the Sea Service at Dollis Brook. Bring your last matzahs!
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This half term Ivriah have been
learning about the environment, and
how we as Jews can help to preserve
it. Kitah Gimmel were given the title
‘What makes a greener synagogue?’
and made posters in response to it.
The whole of Ivriah then voted for the
best one and this is the one that won!
Kezia & YaseminKita Gimmel teachers
MARCH Friday 1 – Sunday 3 FPS weekend away @ Hothorpe Hall Friday 1 4.30–6.30 Friday Ivriah Shabbat 2 9.30 – 12.30 Shabbat Ivriah Friday 8 4.30 – 6.30 Friday Night Family Service with
Kiddush hosted by Kita Dalet & Hey Shabbat 9 9.30-12.30 Shabbat Ivriah Friday 15 4.30-6.30 Friday Ivriah followed by Shabbat
Resouled Shabbat 16 9.30 – 12.30 Shabbat Ivriah 11.00-
12.30 Shabbat Service including Daniel Dolan BM
11.00 Kids Kehillah Friday 22 4.30 – 6.30 Friday Ivriah END OF TERM Shabbat 23 9.30 – 12.30 Shabbat Ivriah END OF TERM 11.00-12.30 Shabbat Service including Maeve
Silver BM
Key: Shabbat Ivriah Friday Ivriah Family events
PESACH ACTIVITIES Monday 25 March
Pesach begins & 1st night Seder
Tuesday 26 March 11.00 Pesach morning service 6.00 FPS Communal Seder Sunday 31 March 6.00 Erev 7th day Pesach short service and
supper @ Rabbi Rebecca’s home Monday 1 April
11.00 7th Day Crossing the Sea Service at Dollis Brook. Bring your last matzahs!
15
bar & bat mitzvah at fps by rabbi rebecca
Ivriah is growing and we are, as we hoped,
attracting new families to our Shabbat
religion school. Because we are bigger, we
have more B’nei Mitzvah, many more! So
this is a plea and an explanation that families
need to have booked the date for Bar or Bat
Mitzvah by the time their child turns 12, and
preferably a few months earlier.
We are now booked up completely for 2013,
have several bookings for 2014 and one for
2015! We’ve established a clear timeline for
B’nei Mitzvah preparation at FPS which starts
with families booking a Bar/Bat Mitzvah
date with Pauline in the office and an initial
meeting with me no later than 15 months
before the ceremony.
I ask parents and the Bar/Bat Mitzvah
to meet with me again one year before
the ceremony in order to explain the FPS
minhagim and to agree a tutor who should be
booked for regular one-to-one lessons.
For the year preceding the ceremony,
prospective B’nei Mitzvah are expected to
attend a weekly Friday or Saturday service
so that they all become familiar with our
customs. Equally important in the Bar/Bat
Mitzvah journey is weekly attendance at
Ivriah classes to support learning. We host
three Chavurah suppers for the full B’Nei
Mitzvah group and teachers so that families
get to know one another socially and come
together for learning.
In the final 3 months before the ceremony,
students have regular meetings with me so I
can get to know them better and support all
learning as well as clarify practical details.
The FPS Beit Tefillah Chairperson also offers
further support.
Our aim is to ensure that each Bar/Bat
Mitzvah candidate feels comfortable on this
part of their Jewish journey. It’s a very special
time and we look forward to it with every
family.
16
Contactsfps who’s who
finchley progressive synagogue
54 Hutton Grove N12 8DR
www.fps.org
020 8446 4063
Charity Number: 1071040
Rabbi: Rebecca Qassim Birk
[email protected] / 07939 227480
Emeritus Rabbi: Dr Frank Hellner
Synagogue Manager: Pauline Gusack
Community Manager: Angela Wharton
executive
Chair: Laura Lassman
[email protected] / 07957 545 569
Vice-Chair: Joan Shopper & David Aarons
01582 792 959
Joint Treasurers: Richard Kravetz & Martin Silk
020 8349 9602
Honorary Secretary: David Pelham
020 8445 8111
Board of Deputies Reps: Stanley Volk
& Janet Tresman
Life President: Clive Winston
President: Sheila King Lassman
synagogue committees & groups:
Beit Midrash (Education): Co-ordinated
by Laura Lassman. Working groups with
responsibility for Ivriah; Young families; Adult
Education; Youth Club
Beit Tefillah (Rites & Practices): Co-ordinated
by Joan Shopper. Working groups with
responsibility for Shabbat; Life Cycle; Festivals;
High Holydays
Beit Knesset (Community): Co-ordinated
by David Aarons. Working groups with
responsibility for Contact; Membership; New
members; Events
Operations: Co-ordinated by David Pelham
Working groups with responsibility for
Premises; Finance; Security.
If you would like to join any of these working
groups, please contact the relevant co-ordinator
shofar editor
Pat Lehner / [email protected] assistant Sarah Aldridge
FPS is a constituent of Liberal Judaism
21 Maple Street W1T 4BE
020 7580 1663
LJY Netzer (youth dept) 020 7631 0584
ashley pageinsurance brokers
Commerce House2a Litchfield Grove
London N3 2TN
Tel. 020 8349 5100
janet tresmanmediator & collaborative
family law solicitor
consultant now at hoffman-bokaei.co.uk
Lithos House, 307 Finchley Road
London NW3 6EH
Tel. 020 7433 2380 / [email protected]