Kingsbury Synagogue

We are happy to welcome you

to the third edition of the

Kingsbury Courier. The last six

months have seen many

interesting activities in the shul.

It was a truly memorable

occasion when the Chief Rabbi

Lord Jonathan Sacks spent

Friday night with us. The

congregation joined in the

celebrations for the Bar Mitzvah

of Rabbi and Rebbetzen

Cohen’s second son Shloimele

Zalman on Shabbat Noach.

The Ladies Guild continues with

their successful coffee mornings

giving the opportunity for

people no longer within walking

distance to stay connected to the community. A ten minute slot has been

introduced allowing anyone to speak on a topic of their choice.

Don’t be shy, if you have an idea for a magazine article but need help, we are

only too happy to oblige. Take the plunge – we want to embrace all members of

the synagogue.

We take this opportunity to wish all our readers Chag Sameach – Kasher

v’Sameach.

Joint Editors Irene Glausiusz and Leslie Rubner

CHIEF RABBI’S PESACH, 5773 MESSAGE

The Seder opens with a strange declaration: “This is the bread of affliction our

ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat.” What

kind of generosity is it to invite strangers to eat the bread of affliction?

In my Haggadah I offered a radical interpretation. We find that in the course of

the seder two conflicting interpretations are given of matzah. At the beginning, it

is called the bread of affliction, the food of slaves. Later, however, we speak of it

as the bread of freedom that our ancestors ate as they were leaving Egypt in such

a hurry that there was no time for the dough to rise.

How does affliction turn into freedom? When we share our bread with others. I

learned this from the harrowing account of the last days of the Second World War

by one of the survivors of Auschwitz, Primo Levi. Levi writes in If This is a Man,

that the hardest time was the ten days between the evacuation of the camp by the

Nazis and the arrival of the Russian army.

The only people left in the camp were prisoners deemed too ill to take part in the

“death march” as the Germans left. It was bitterly cold, mid-January. There was

no electricity, no heat, and no meals. Levi and a friend were digging desperately

in the frozen earth, trying to find vegetables, when they were observed by a fellow

prisoner who invited them to share the food he had found.

At that moment, writes Levi, we ceased being prisoners and became free human

beings again. As long as the Nazis were in power, it was suicidal to share your

food with a fellow prisoner. You would starve. This first act of generosity, of

empathy and altruism, was the sign that the survivors had recovered their

humanity. When we share our bread with others, it ceases to be the bread of

affliction and becomes the bread of freedom.

We are, thankfully, a very long way from that particular Egypt, but the principle

remains. There are Jews and non-Jews today who live in poverty, in Britain, in

Israel and elsewhere. Let us do what we can to help them. In the last month of his

life Moses warned the Israelites — children of the people he had led to freedom

that the biggest challenge they would face would be not poverty but affluence, not

affliction but freedom.

When we are affluent we tend to forget about others. Affluent societies

throughout history have tended to become self-centred and individualistic. People

lose the sense of solidarity they had when they and their friends and neighbours

were poor. The Jewish answer to this has always been tzedakah, giving to others,

and hachnassat orchim, hospitality to others.

So, before Pesach, the custom was to give ma’ot chittim, money to those who

lacked it, so that they could buy the requisites for the Seder meal. I can still

remember from my childhood how my late grandmother, who ran the Frumkin’s

wine shop in London’s Commercial Road, would give away free bottles of wine

to all needy Jews in the East End so that they and their families would have their

four cups for Seder night.

Please this year make sure that you give tzedakah to those in need. The move

from affliction to freedom begins in the act of sharing our blessings with those

who have less than us.

This is the last year that I will write a Pesach message as Chief Rabbi. The words

I most want to say are simple thanks for the privilege of serving this great

community these past twenty-two years. In that time Jewish life has been renewed

in ways none of us thought possible. There are more Jewish schools, more Jewish

learning, more cultural activities and outstanding welfare facilities than have ever

existed in British Jewry since the return of Jewish life in 1656.

As I wish my distinguished successor, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, every blessing, I

want to thank you for all you have done to bring about this renaissance. May our

children and grandchildren go further still, and may our re-invigorated community

bring blessings to all its members and nachat ruach, delight, to Heaven itself.

Wishing you all a chag kasher vesameach.

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks

A Visit by the Chief Rabbi By Leslie Rûbner

The Chief Rabbi visited Kingsbury on

16th November 2012 to share a Friday night with

us. On approaching the shul in Hool Close, there

were parking restrictions and two policemen

patrolling outside the Synagogue. In the shul foyer

there were unfamiliar men walking up and down

with phones plugged in their ears - the Chief’s

bodyguards. Lord Sachs conducted the service and

gave us a thought provoking shiur on Rashi.

Following the service we enjoyed a Friday night

seuda prepared by the Ladies Guild. The Chief

Rabbi was welcomed by Rabbi Stephen Phillips.

In response Lord Sachs reminded us of the coming

chag of Hanuka. He mentioned that the Hasmoneans exacted the greatest victory

over our oppressors unmatched until the establishment of the modern day State of

Israel. He brought to our attention the fact that should one have only one candle

on Erev Shabbat Hanuka, one must light the Shabbat candle in preference to

Hanuka, because Shabbat light

brings peace to the home and as

Jews we prefer peace to war,

however just it maybe. After his

speech he answered questions.

He enlightened us on the hard

work done behind closed doors to

negate the trends of opposition to

Brit Mila and Shechita. In his opinion Israel should cultivate relations with China

and India. Not only because they are the super-powers of tomorrow, but these

countries have no history of anti-Semitism. Finally Rabbi Cohen thanked Lord

Sachs for visiting us.

Pesach Message from Rabbi Cohen

Dai Dai Daiyeinu, Daiyeinu Daiyeinu! It’s one of the most rousing tunes we sing on

Seder night, perhaps strategically placed following the verses of Magid to ensure that

we are wide awake for the essential comments of Rabban Gamliel regarding Pesach,

Matzah and Maror!

The chorus word Daiyeinu, meaning ‘that would be enough for us’ help us focus on

our gratitude for the 15 stages of redemption, as we were taken from being slaves in

Egypt to free people with our Torah in our own homeland. Each stage would be

reason enough for us to sing G-d’s praises. Malbim (Rav Meir Yehuda Leibish

Malbim 1809-1879). Of course the big question is how often you sing the chorus!

When one looks at each stanza on its own one may be left with some questions. For

example: “If G-d had brought us to Mount Sinai and not given us the Torah…

Daiyeinu” Would it? What would have been the point of travelling into the desert to

stand at the foot of a mountain for nothing to happen?

Various answers are given to this question. The Torah tells us of the unity the Jewish

People had when they reached Mount Sinai, ‘one people with one heart’. For that

experience alone it would have been enough.

There is a Midrashic idea as well. The Sages tell us that Sinai was originally the peak

of Mount Moriah, the site of the binding of Isaac. The lesson this teaches us is that in

order to remain faithful to a life of Torah we must be willing to emulate Isaac. To

truly live a Torah life will entail some self-sacrifice. In modern parlance, ‘no pain, no

gain’. If something is valuable to us we are willing to work hard for it. In the positive

the things we take the greatest pleasure in and enjoy the most are the areas of our

lives where we have put in the most effort.

The Talmud writes (Shabbos 130a) that ‘any Mitzvah that the Jewish People were

willing to give up their lives for will remain with them’. Pesach is hard work, but that

makes it all the more meaningful, more widely observed and enjoyable.

As we sing Daiyeinu, united with our friends and families, let us think about how the

hard work, symbolized by Sinai, is worth the effort, ensuring the passing of the

unbroken chain of our tradition on to a new generation.

On behalf of Rivky, myself and our children I wish you a Chag Kosher veSameach, a

Happy and Kosher Pesach.

A Very Old Siddur By Irene Glausiusz

One day a neighbour knocked on our door holding a bag of tattered

old books “I’m moving and I don’t know what to do with them” she

said “but you will”! Thus we acquired a collection of time-worn

siddurim and machsorim. Out of curiosity I glanced through them

and found a collector’s item.

I had become the proud possessor of a siddur published by Hyam

Barnett, Hebrew Bookseller and Publisher of Duke’s Place Aldgate

in the year 5603. He claims it is “carefully translated from the

original Hebrew”. The first page shows a portrait of The Rev.

Solomon Hirschell, Chief Rabbi of the German and Polish Jews in

England.

Naturally I had to look at the prayer for the Royal Family “May

He….bless, preserve, guard, assist, exalt, and highly aggrandize our

most Gracious Sovereign Lord King GEORGE the Fourth and all

the ROYAL FAMILY. At the end, there is a Haggadah again

emphasising “According to the custom of the German and Polish

Jews”, obviously well used, complete with ancient wine stains. The

Revd E Strickland M.A. has inscribed his name inside the cover,

adding the year 1844.

However there is a conundrum. Looking at the year 5603 (i.e. 1843

C.E.) Queen Victoria was the reigning monarch (not George IV who

died in 1830). Victoria ascended the throne on the death of her

Uncle, William IV in 1837. Did the printer make a bad mistake just

printing from old copperplates? It seems likely; perhaps Barnett

inserted a page with the Queen’s name substituted, it remains a

mystery?

BOOK REVIEW By Irene Glausiusz

”Forty Years a Chief Rabbi, The Life and Times of

Solomon Hirschell” by Hyman A Simons ISBN 08605 10905

Have you ever wondered who was the first English born Chief

Rabbi? The answer, the author Hyman Simons asserts, was Solomon

Hirschell, the first to be recognised as such. Solomon, born in the

year 1761 within the City of London, was the youngest son of Rabbi

Zevi Hirschell (also known as Hart Lyon), Rabbi of the Great

Synagogue, Duke’s Place, and his wife Golde. Unable to adjust to

life in England, Solomon’s father returned to the Continent and was

appointed Rabbi successively to Halberstadt, Mannheim and Berlin.

Several rabbanim filled the vacancy at Duke’s Place until, following

a ballot, Rabbi Solomon Hirschell was elected in 1801, commencing

in 1802 - his rabbinate would last 40 years encompassing in part the

reigns of George III, George IV, William IV and Queen Victoria.

The author sets out to detail R. Hirschell’s activities and spheres of

influence. He was involved in the founding of the Jews’ Free

School, essential in his view because of the harm caused by

missionary groups establishing free schools that provided hot meals

and sets of clothing for the pupils. In 1807, in order to combat this

abomination, a Caution was read on a Shabbat morning at the Great

Synagogue, and the following week at the New, the Hambro and the

Westminster Synagogues, forbidding parents from enrolling their

children. If they did, they were to be “considered as if they

themselves had forsaken their religion” A grim warning indeed! The

missionaries continued, funded in part by the anti-Semitic Duke of

Kent.

1825 saw the founding of New York’s first Ashkenazi synagogue

B’nai Jeshurun They approached Chief Rabbi Hirschell for guidance

and accepted his rulings. On Purim they collected a half-shekel from

members and sent the money to R. Hirschell for the London poor. In

1832, he wrote to American communities asking for tzedakah to help

European Jews who had settled in the Holy Land. The Chief Rabbi

was known to travel to Gravesend accompanied by Dayan Solomon

Aarons to see any Jewish convicts about to be transported to penal

colonies in Australia (often for petty offences). He would persuade

them to sign a get/bill of divorce, in case they did not return. Without

such gittin, their wives may well have become Agunot.

A She’elah? (Question) Can Turbot be considered a kosher fish?

According to the rulings of his father and his uncle who both based

their ruling on the Beth Din of Venice, R. Hirschell said that Turbot

was allowed and this edict prevailed for 132 years, until following a

furore at a London festive dinner, and after much dispute, in 1954 the

Beth Din ruled against eating Turbot. This was an unknown

occurrence, going against two former heads of their own Beth Din.

He will be remembered for his unsuccessful attempt to stop the

spread of Reform Judaism.

On his death in 1842, R. Hirschell left a considerable fortune and in

his last Will and Testament he details at great length what his

children and others are to inherit. The author speculates that like his

brother Saul “he was known to be a fine mathematician” and that he

“successfully speculated on the Stock Exchange” helped no doubt by

his acquaintance with such Anglo-Jewish money moguls - the

Keysers, Goldsmids and Rothschilds. He asked for his papers to be

destroyed, so we can assume that many invaluable records were lost

for all time. He was laid to rest at Brady Street Cemetery and every

Jewish shop was closed along the funeral route on that day.

Obituaries appeared in the national press, extolling his “years of

devotion to the Jewish nation”.

Hyman Simons gives us a colourful glimpse into the life of Rabbi

Solomon Hirschell z’l, who coped admirably with all the

complexities and diversities of the early 19th

century Anglo-Jewish

community

Footnote: Hyman Simons also wrote “The Bayswater Synagogue

1863-1963”

Dear Editors

Re: The Life of Sidney Goldberg – Rosh HaShanah edition

Thank you so much for the copy of the Kingsbury Courier. It was magnificent,

beautiful and a tour de force. Dad z'l would have loved it because it was so artistic

and interesting. Thank you for the opportunity of writing about Dad and his

achievements. It was a very proud moment when I opened the article.

Rachelle Goldberg

KKW5

KKW5 meets on a Monday evening at Kingsbury, Kenton or Wembley Shuls.

At Kingsbury we have had lectures by Rabbi Cohen, Rabbi Black of Kenton, and

Rabbi Phillips.

If anyone would like any information about KKW5, please contact: Sharon

Linderman, e-mail: sharonlinderman@msn.com: tel: 0208 204 8051

Annual Quiz

A team from Kingsbury Synagogue, Simon Levy, Jonathan Brody

and Ruth Aharoni competed in the ELOSA (East London Orthodox

Synagogues Association) Annual Quiz and congratulations are due to

Kingsbury on achieving third place. The event took place at Chigwell

Synagogue on 10th February 2013 hosted by Rabbi Baruch Davis,

who spoke warmly of his childhood growing up in Kingsbury and his

involvement with the Shul.

Rev Malcolm Gingold spoke on behalf of ELOSA which is now

celebrating its Bar Mitzvah year, founded in the year 2000. Three

cheers for the team that battled their way through horrific snowy

driving conditions in order to compete.

Reported by Ruth Aharoni

KINGSBURY SYNAGOGUE LADIES' GUILD

By Sharon Linderman, Chairlady

Since last Pesach we have been kept very busy. Apart from kiddushim every

Shabbos and Yomim Tovim, we have had two breakfasts on Sunday mornings

with guest speakers: Rabbi Aubrey Hersh from the JLE, and Rabbi Yoni

Birnbaum from Hadley Wood Shul.

We held a Melava Malka in honour of our Chatanim, Rabbi Cohen and Jonathan

Brody for over 50 people. In November the Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks, spent a

Shabbos in Kingsbury and Kenton. On the Friday evening we held a dinner in his

honour. He took the service, gave a shiur, and spoke during dinner, with

questions and answers. A very good evening was had by all. For the second

night of Chanukah we held an informal supper, and had a very entertaining

evening with our guest Rev. Shlomo Kreiman.

Once a month we hold a coffee morning. During the coffee-mornings, we have

had people volunteering to speak for about ten minutes about some aspect of their

lives, which have proved very interesting. However, just before Chanukah,

instead of coffee, we had a luncheon attended by 20 people. These coffee

mornings have been running for almost a year now, and are going from strength

to strength. We might be a small Kehilla, but we are very vibrant, and may we

continue to be so.

If anybody would like any information about our coffee mornings, future

functions, or would like us to arrange a kiddush for you, please contact either:

Sharon Linderman, Chairlady,

e-mail: sharonlinderman@msn.com: tel: 0208 204 8051

Cynthia Jacobs, Treasurer,

e-mail: harvncynjacobs@btinternet.com: tel: 0208 205 1310

May I take this opportunity to wish Rabbi and Rebbetzin Cohen, and their family,

the Honorary Officers and their families, and the whole Kehilla a Happy and

Kosher Pesach.

An Ofsted Inspector Cries By Cynthia Jacobs

I was privileged to teach

at Kisharon Day School

for fifteen years. In that

time I learned at least

as much, if not

more, from pupils,

their parents and a

remarkable lady,

Chava Lehman who

founded and headed

the organisation, than I

was able to give back to

them.

Kisharon is the Hebrew

word for talent or

aptitude and Chava

strongly believed that

each and every one of us

has a kisharon that can be

nurtured regardless of any

disability and so it was at the school.

Chava Lehman, a teacher of many years standing, was disturbed to

see what few facilities were available for children in general with

special needs and especially for Jewish children and she set about

remedying the situation. She felt it was imperative for Jewish special

needs children and their families, to have the opportunity to receive

both a secular and Kodesh education in an environment that reflected

their homes.

In 1976 Chava visited Lady Jakobovits to discuss the situation. Lady

Jakobovits, agreed to lay the matter before her husband the then

Chief Rabbi, meanwhile someone would need to work on the

proposal to make it a viable project. Which is just what Chava did,

totally committing herself to obtaining support and funding, guiding

and developing her dream and seeing Kisharon grow from a nursery

to a day school, providing senior centres and a respite and residential

home for young men.

Every effort was made to make the yiddishe side of the school as

vibrant as possible. The pupils did not just learn about it, they lived it

every minute of the day. These children have special neshomos and

this was evident in the way they reacted to anything connected to

Kodesh.

One of the aims was to make pupils feel comfortable and able to

participate to the best of their ability in all aspects of family life,

festivals and Simchas. No opportunity was neglected in furthering

this aim.

If a member of staff got married there would be Sheva Brochos for

them. Boys would celebrate their Bar Mitzvah and girls their Bas

Mitzvah in school. And what celebrations they were. Everyone was

involved, the excitement in the classrooms were palpable. No effort

was spared. The pupils would help decorate the hall and prepare

something to say, a wonderful group of volunteers would come in

and lay tables, arrange flowers and make it look as festive as

possible. The menu would be carefully selected with input from the

celebrant’s family and a cake ordered from Carmelli’s. Both staff

and pupils always dressed for the occasion in their Shabbos best.

In the case of Bar Mitzvah, a large classroom would be transformed

into a shul. A mechitza would be put up and followed by Shacharis.

The atmosphere and davening was quite remarkable.

The boy would be called up and with as little or as much help as

needed make the brochos. Then the men and boys would dance

around the makeshift bima with such joy. It was quite something to

behold. At the end of the davening there would be a l’chaim and

everyone would make their way down into the hall for the seudah.

It happened one year that the school was in the middle of an Ofsted

inspection when one of the boy’s Bar Mitzvah celebrations was to

take place. It was obvious from the expressions on the inspectors’

faces, and comments that they made, how impressed they were with

the morning service.

The four inspectors joined the rest of the school for the seudah. The

lady inspector sat with us on one of the girls’ tables, enjoying the

meal, music and entertainment. Soon it was time for the Bar Mitzvah

to say a few words and this was followed by his father, who was

quite emotional. His son had been in the school for less than two

years and he was so grateful for the progress that his child had made.

He said that at first his son was hardly speaking and when he did say

something it was difficult to understand. Little did he think that he

would have been able to stand up and make brochos in Hebrew as he

had that day.

The inspector on our table suddenly stood up and rushed out of the

room. Thinking she had been taken ill, I followed after her only to

find her crying in a corner. She was overcome with emotion. She said

that the whole event was one of the most touching and heart-warming

things that she had experienced.

Cynthia received the Teacher of the Year

Award, the “PLATO”, for the London Region

by the Department of Education and

Skills(DfES) in 2007.

My Mother and Munkács By Leslie Rubner

Following the Great War, on 4th

June 1920, the peace treaty,

signed at the Palace of Trianon

in Versailles, regulated the status

of an independent Hungarian

state and re-defined its borders.

Compared to the pre-war

Kingdom of Hungary (a part of

Austria-Hungary), post-

Trianon Hungary retained only

28% of her original territory. The

northern and north-eastern lands,

including the town of Munkács,

were awarded to the newly

created Czechoslovakia and

renamed Mukačevo. Eighteen

years later, 2nd November 1938

at the First Vienna Arbitration,

Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy

returned the largely Magyar-

populated territories of southern

Slovakia and Carpathian Rus to

Hungary. After WW2, it was the

Soviet Union who had annexed

Carpathian Rus and attached it to the Ukraine.

In the truly multi-cultural Munkács, there were Ukrainians, Ruthenians,

Czechs, and Slovaks, Gypsies and Magyars living side by side, but by far the

largest ethnic group was made up of Jews. The Jewish population of Munkács

grew from 2,131 in 1825 to 15,000 during the nineteenth century (a little over

half of the town’s population). There were Galician and

Hungarian Hassidic Jews rubbing shoulders with assimilated Jews, Zionists

from Hanoar Hatzioni on the left to Betar on the right. There were also non-

Chassidic, Orthodox Jews and even some Neolog (Conservative) Jews. Most

spoke Yiddish as their mother tongue and also some Hungarian.

The first purpose built synagogue in Munkács was founded in 1768. A yeshiva

was set up in 1851. The first recorded Chief Rabbi of Munkács was Rabbi

Haim Sofer, a direct descendant of the great Hatam Sofer of Pressburg. He

was followed in the post, by the first Munkácser Rebbe, Rabbi Shlomo Spira,

in 1881.

From 1913 until his death in 1937 the Chassidim were led by Chief

Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira, who had succeeded his father, the illustrious Rabbi

Zvi Hersch, Rabbi Shlomo Spira’s son. Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira, a highly

respected person, was of unsurpassed dignity. His vast knowledge of Jewish

as well as secular matters drew world leaders such as the Czechoslovak

presidents Edvard Beneš and Tomáš Masaryk, Queen Wilhelmina of

the Netherlands and many others to seek his advice. Some Jews as well as

Gentiles considered him capable of miracles. His work on Jewish Law, at the

tender age of eleven, started his literary career. He published about twenty

works on Torah Law, Chassidism, Jewish philosophy and customs as well as

on other subjects. His best known work, the six-volume Minchas Elazar, is a

highly regarded scholarly publication. The Rebbe had only one child, a girl

named Frima. Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira had considered Zionism an

anachronism, and therefore, he fought hard to eradicate it. In the 1920s a new

Jewish elementary school opened and it was followed, in 1926, by

the Hebrew Secondary School, the Gimnázium, where all tuition was

conducted in Modern Hebrew. These schools were catering for the

numerically small, but influential Zionists. The Rebbe considered them to be

heretics or atheists. He predicted that parents together with their families,

sending their off-spring to this “house of abomination”, would be “wiped out”.

The School sued the Rebbe in the secular courts and won. The Rebbe was

fined 1000 Korunas.

Munkács had many Jewish publications, including dailies in Yiddish, Hebrew

and even Hungarian; Munkács became an important Jewish publishing centre.

On the 2nd September 1917 Moshe (Mor) Bernstein and his wife Golda

Rochel (Gizella) nee Spira of Munkács, were blessed with a first born baby

girl, my mother to be. My Zeida, a talmid haham, was ignorant of the larger

world. He spoke little or no Hungarian. He made a modest living by selling

hay and fodder to the Hungarian Army garrison stationed in the

town. Gizella, on the other hand, was a worldly woman who spoke a couple of

the local dialects including Hungarian. They decided to name the

baby Zissel. As only a Hungarian name could be registered, my grandmother

instructed my grandfather to enter the name of Szerèn. By the time he reached

the Registry Office he had forgotten the name and put her down as Rozália,

but Szerèn remained her actual name. The couple was blessed with a second

little girl. My grandmother named her Gittel and in Hungarian Klari.

My Zeida had gone through the same procedure as before and registered her

as Sàra. One cannot help but wonder whether my grandfather had an agenda

here. One more child, a boy, was born to Moshe and Golda Rochel, Shimon or

Simon. Gizella

and her sister

Miriam (Mariska)

were very close

and she often came

for long visits. She

adored her sister’s

children. The Great

War presented a

dilemma for the

Jews of Munkács.

On the one hand,

they wanted to do

their duty to their

Motherland but on

the other, how

could they keep the

commandments in

a Christian Army?

As it happened, a

large number of

recent Jewish

immigrants

in Munkács seized

this opportunity to

gain Hungarian Citizenship by enlisting. At the start of the War my mother

was in the second year of a Hungarian language elementary school. After

school she usually made it her business to visit her aged great-grandfather or,

when it was her turn, to play with the Rebbe's daughter. In 1915, the Russian

Forces approached Munkács. One Shabbat, my mother’s great-grandfather

was left at home while the rest of the family went to shul; a Cossack rode his

horse into the house. In his fright, the old man fell off his rocking chair,

breaking his neck. During the Great War, Jewish refugees, mainly from

Galicia, including the Belzer and Vishnitzer Rebbes, were flooding

into Munkács. The community’s institutions were straining under the pressure

the influx created.The War brought famine and epidemics to Munkács and the

surrounding areas. My mother and grandmother went down with typhus. My

mother survived, but my grandmother did not. Mariska, after a decent time,

married my grandfather, for her nieces and nephew to have a mother figure,

but soon after the wedding she was also claimed by the epidemic. It fell on my

mother, being the oldest, to keep house. She was telling us the story about her

brother Simon’s new pair of trousers. The trouser legs were too long. My

mother shortened one leg and then the other, but one always ended up longer,

so she continued until there were virtually no legs left.

Bela Kun (Kohn) was a Hungarian Jewish prisoner of war in Russia where he

caught the Communist bug and took part in the Bolshevik October Revolution.

In November 1918, Kun with several hundred Hungarian Communists, Jews

and Gentiles, were repatriated. Rampant inflation, mass unemployment, food

and energy shortages followed the Great War, bringing about civil unrest and

widespread protests. In October 1918, a shaky democratic coalition

government was established in Budapest. On 4 November 1918 Kun founded

the Hungarian Communist Party and began a propaganda campaign against

the government coupled with frequent marches, rallies and organised strikes.

On 21 March 1919, Bela Kun declared a Soviet Republic in Hungary

(Magyar Tanácsköztársaság).

At the same time, in the south an alternative fascist government was formed

by Rear Admiral Miklos Horthy, a one-time Admiral of the Austro-Hungarian

Navy. The militia, called The White Guard, was enforcing this alternative

government’s orders by a campaign of murder, torture and humiliation.

Summary executions of people whom they suspected of being Communists

were common; these victims were often hanged in public and left hanging for

a long time to serve as a warning to others. Horthy blamed the Jews for the

many misfortunes that befell the Hungarians including, the Red Revolution.

On 6 August 1919 Admiral Horthy, with the aid of French-

supported Romanian forces, entered Budapest. The Communist government

collapsed and its leaders fled to the Soviet Union. In retaliation, these

reactionary forces exacted revenge in a two-year wave of violent repression

known as the White Terror. Horthy appointed himself Regent and Head of

State in March 1920. International events saved Munkács’ Jewry from this

rabid anti-Semite. On 4 June 1920, by the terms of the Treaty of

Trianon, Munkács, with the rest of Carpathian Rus, became part of the newly

created Czechoslovakia. My mother and her siblings, as the rest of the

children of the area, had to switch from Hungarian to a Ruthenian language

education.

My grandfather thought he would lighten my mother’s burden of house

keeping by getting married for a third time. As a Cohen he could not marry

a divorcee. Being middle aged, poor with no prospects, but with three

children, his chances of a decent shidduch were not too great. He was

introduced to a girl with a limp and they married. As it turned out, she was not

only lame, but clumsy too and in need of care. From then on, my mother had

an extra person with serious disabilities to look after too. Soon two new

sisters, Olga and Bluma, were born in quick succession. My Grandfather had

little patience with his latest wife and life became difficult. The wife, together

with her two daughters, left the family home.

The Munkacser Rebbe, Chaim Elazar Spira, found the competition of Issachar

Dov Rokeah, the Belzer Rebbe, difficult to handle. A war of words broke out

between the two Hassidic sects and in 1925 the Belzer Rebbe returned to

Poland and set up court back in Belz.

Jews in general and Carpathian Jews in particular were better treated in

Czechoslovakia, an enlightened and westernised country, than anywhere else

in continental Europe.

In 1933 the Rebbe’s daughter married his great-nephew, Rabbi Boruch

Rabbinovitz. The marriage was the highlight of Munkács’ social calendar. The

town was flooded with tens of thousands of Chassidim from all over the

world. The Czechoslovak government waived all formalities at the border

crossings to ease the journey of guests coming to celebrate. The wedding

lasted eight days beginning with 2,000 women leading the bride to the

cemetery as was customary. The Rebbe arrived at the venue in a carriage

pulled by four white horses, surrounded by his Chasidim. The groom was

carried overhead to the chupah. Finally, after the ceremony, the groom was

allowed to see the bride for the first time.

Zionism came late to Munkács and while they were never numerous, their

outstanding achievement was the establishment of the successful

Hebrew Gimnazium. The headmaster was Chaim Klugel a leader of the

Czechoslovak Jewish Party who was elected to the national parliament in

1935. (Here is an example from his maiden speech: “…It is completely

impossible to adequately describe the poverty in the area. The Jews… are

affected equally along with the rest…. I strongly wish to protest any attempt to

blame the poverty of the Sub-Carpathian Ruthenian peasantry on the Jews”.)

The Czechoslovak President, Thomas Masaryk, by giving a personal donation

of 10000 Korunas for this unique school, made a point of supporting

Jewish aspirations.

Sadly, the Second World War put an end to this golden age in

Czechoslovakia. After the restoration to Hungary, Sub-Carpathian Jews were

the first ones deported to Auschwitz by the Germans and Hungarians, putting

an end to a thriving, vibrant and unique community.

My mother married my father in 1935 and settled in Subotica, Yugoslavia,

where I was born. In 1938 the Yugoslav authorities expelled them for being

enemy (Hungarian) nationals. They found a flat in Budapest where they lived

untill 1956. Staying in Budapest saved my mother’s and our lives. Owing to

the Red Army’s rapid advance, the Nazis had no time to liquidate the Jews of

Budapest.

Rabbi Boruch Rabbinowicz, who took over from his father-in-law, also

managed to escape to Budapest and eventually, despite his anti Zionist

convictions, found refuge in Palestine, but moved to America as soon as he

could.

The Soviet Authorities re-settled Russians in the newly acquired Carpathian

Rus and among them were Jews too. Today there is a Jewish community in

Mukachevo, but this community has no connection to the one that was

destroyed in 1944.

Leslie Rubner

Joan Fish In conversation with Irene Glausiusz and Leslie Rubner

Joan Fish (nee Pyser) has led an eventful and

fulfilling life. Born in 1922 to parents

residing in Kilburn, the family attended the

original Brondesbury Synagogue under the

ministry of the late Dayan Lazarus. Joan

was educated privately at the Bellevue

School in Willesden, having missed taking

the 11plus exam through illness.

Round about 1938 when many refugees

were arriving from Germany, Joan’s

parents opened their house to an

Austrian refugee, a former actress

who was fond of reciting poetry, so

instilling a love of poetry in Joan.

At age 17, with WW2 looming on

the horizon, the family decided to

evacuate to Cheltenham staying with

friends who had a small estate - thus

mother, brother Dennis, a cousin and

Joan took up residence – but not for

long. Mr Johnson, the master of the house, decreed that no talking was allowed at

mealtimes. Joan says they had always had jolly family meals at home with lots of

chatter, so there was no way they would put up with this ban. Mother decided to

look for a flat, and they moved out pronto! Joan’s father was Chief Lighting

Engineer of Westminster, a very responsible position, so it was impossible for

him to leave London.

Joan’s ambition was to join the war effort and, for a time, she worked in a hairpin

factory that had been adapted to making munitions. Come 1942 she joined the

WAAF. There were three occupations to choose from: a) Batwoman, b) Cook or

c) Clerk SD. (special duties). Joan didn’t fancy being a Batwoman or a Cook, but

with her office training, becoming a clerk was the obvious choice.

Training took place in Morecombe where she was kitted out – only problem was

shoes! Joan took size 2, which was considered a child’s size, so until shoes were

specially made for her, she was allowed her own footwear. Strictly lace-ups, you

understand. Then followed posting to Belfast and shift work in the Operations

Room at Stormont Castle, the seat of the

Northern Ireland Parliament, where all the

treasures i.e. anything of value had to be

covered over. The vital work of tracking

aircraft was carried out with the girls

working 8 hour shifts. Joan explained that

there was a huge table with a map of

Ireland, both north and south. Each girl

had a headset and mouthpiece and

information was fed to them. Then

magnetic rods placed markers on the map

as they plotted the routes of incoming or

outgoing aircraft. Each had to be checked

to be sure the Spitfires and Mosquitos were

in the correct range. There was helpful co-

operation from the Republic of Ireland

although strictly speaking a ‘neutral’

country. Later a ground controlled radar

station opened near the border to track low

flying aircraft.

Luckily for the girls, the WAAFs were billeted nearby on a beautiful estate

owned by a whiskey millionaire.

About a year later in 1944, Joan was posted to the Isle of Man doing similar work

where around 100 pilots were in training. A memorable day dawned when the

troops were

visited by King

George VI and

Queen

Elizabeth (later

the Queen

Mother). The

idea was to

show the King

and Queen a

typical day’s

work, but the

weather was so

bad, no aircraft

were flying.

Joan remembers

the Queen speaking to her saying “I can’t believe the boys are flying in this”.

Obviously she realised it was just a mock-up. As Joan admitted “even the

seagulls weren’t flying”!

Joan said the Queen had such a gentle manner and an impressively flawless skin.

“How come the Queen spoke to you and not the others”? Joan replied “it

happened that I had a special position passing down information to the girls

around the table, so doubtless I stood out”.

After D-Day, Joan was posted to Hendon Airport. One of her jobs there was to

balance the weight of aircraft which until that time had not taken passengers. And

then with VE Day came demobilisation. The girls handed in their uniforms and

received a small sum of money. Joan decided to blow the lot on a smart pair of

shoes that she tracked down to a Bond Street Shop. What joy! Brown suede and

leather, with peep toes and HIGH HEELS! No more the unglamorous lace-ups.

The Pyser family house had suffered bomb damage and they decided to move to

Hove but Joan preferred

London staying with cousins

who had a flat in Kensington.

It was back to safe and sound

office work.

But romance was on the

horizon when Joan was

introduced to her husband to

be, David Fish. In 1949 they

married at the prestigious New

West End Synagogue in

Bayswater. David, a solicitor

from Leeds, joined the

practice of Victor (later Lord)

Mishcon & Co. located in

Brixton. Joan added “actually

Victor Mishcon was more

interested in politics, so left

much of the work to David”.

They started married life in a

flat in Eccleston Square,

Victoria at a rent of 4 guineas

per week (that’s £4.4s.0d in

old money) a large slice of

David’s salary then around

£10. Their daughter Marilyn

was born a year later. Apart from the expense, there were lots of stairs up to their

flat making life difficult, what with baby, pram and shopping. A move became

essential but Joan had no intention of moving to Brixton – she had always lived in

NW London so they picked on Queensbury, where they bought a little house. Her

son Robin was born in 1954 in a Nursing Home in Queensbury. During her stay,

the home was visited by Princess Margaret. Beat that - Joan has met Royalty

twice! They lived in Queensbury for 13 years.

Joan and David joined the Kingsbury Shul in the days when the congregation

davened in an old house. David immediately set about fund raising for a new

shul. They became involved with all the usual activities, such as WIZO and the

building committee. Joan recalled “It took 20 years to get the money; in those

days there were 600 members and overflow services on Yom Tovim”. She

remembered Louis Domb with great affection as a very special person. David

was also on the committee to choose a new Minister when Rabbi Hool was

appointed.

Circa 1967 Joan was offered a job at the Kingsbury Jewish Kindergarten and

continued to work there for 30 years until David became unwell and needed home

care. Joan still meets people when she’s out shopping who knew her from those

days. She also helped the Kingsbury Friendship Club especially when the group

had theatre outings.

Now living in a cosy

retirement flat in Bushey,

Joan is as lively as ever.

She continues her

association with Kingsbury

Shul enjoying the Ladies’

Guild Coffee Mornings.

Joan gave a talk at the

October meeting, speaking

about her WAAF

experiences. That triggered

the idea for a longer

interview. After her talk,

Irene couldn’t resist asking

Joan if there were any

romances at that time. Her

reply an emphatic “No” -

but with a twinkle in her eye

she added “But I could’ve!”

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

By Leslie Rübner

“My life’s dream has now been realized:

Jewish self-defense in the ghetto is now

an accomplished fact…I have been

witness to the magnificent, heroic

struggle of the Jewish fighters.” Mordecai Anielewicz

This year, on the

19th April, we

remember the

70th anniversary of

the beginning of the

Warsaw Ghetto

uprising in 1943; it

was the eve of

Passover.

Ghetto, the Jewish

area of Venice, gave

name to Jewish

neighbourhoods

everywhere. On 21

September 1939

Heinrich Himmler

decided to segregate

the Jewish people

from the “Aryans”

by locking them into

ghettos. The first

modern day ghetto

was established on

28 October, 1939 in

the Polish town

of Piotrkow. The

Jews of the town

and the surrounding

area after their

properties had been confiscated and were stripped of all of their belongings before

being incarcerated there. Soon all of Poland’s Jews were locked in ghettos in the

General Government (that part of Poland not incorporated into the Reich, but still

occupied) of which the largest ones were in Łodz and Warsaw. Jews from the

dismantled Czechoslovakia were also transported and dumped in these ghettos.

The overcrowding in the Warsaw ghetto was unbearable; at one point 450,000

people were crowded within its walls, an estimated 307 hectares of space. The

German authorities established Jewish Councils to run the Ghettos, to serve the

Reich’s interests. Conditions were so bad that between 1940 and 1942 100,000

people died of disease and hunger, but for Germany it was nowhere near enough,

they wanted the Jews dying in much larger numbers. Between 22 July and 21

September 1942 some 265,000 Jewish men, women and children were taken to

Treblinka and gassed, 11,580 were taken for slave labour and more than 10,000

people were murdered on the spot. The German authorities officially allowed only

35,000 to remain alive in the Warsaw ghetto, but there were about 20,000 more

hiding inside the ghetto.

Heinrich Jöst, a sergeant in

the Wehrmacht and a

photographic enthusiast, on

19 September, 1941 took his

Rolleiflex camera in the

expectation of taking

interesting photos, entered

the Warsaw Ghetto. What he

encountered was Dante’s

Inferno surrounding him. He

took a number of high quality

pictures, documenting the

true horrors of the place, and

put them away. These photos

eventually reached the Yad

Vashem as testaments of

German brutality. Please,

take a look at some of his

photos with his comments under them.

It had come to the attention of the Ghetto’s Jews, that on 18 January 1943 the

Warsaw Ghetto was to be liquidated; all the inhabitants were to be transported to

Treblinka for gassing. In response, some of the younger elements of the Ghetto

organised themselves into defence organisations. The Z.O.B. (the initials stand for

Jewish Fighting Brigade) consistied of about 500 members under the leadership

of the 23 year old Mordecai Anielewicz and Betar’s ZZW with about 250

members. In true Jewish fashion the two organisations were at loggerheads, but

they soon realised that in the interest of the resistance they had to co-operate.

When the Nazis came to round up people for the next transport, some of the

Jewish fighters joined the columns of Jews at the Umschlagplatz (transfer point)

and attacked their German escorts with small arms smuggled in from the Free

Polish Army. Most of these brave boys died on the spot, but the surprise had

disoriented the Germans, giving a chance for the Jews to disperse, and the troops

retreated.

Expecting further deportations, the boys of the ghetto built shelters and bunkers to

make it difficult for the Nazis. When the Wehrmacht returned on 19 April 1943,

erev Pesach, the Germans found the streets deserted. The inhabitants had gone

into hiding. At 3am the soldiers surrounded the ghetto and battle commenced.

2000 Germans armed with a tank, two armoured cars, three light-anti-aircraft

guns, one medium howitzer, heavy and light machine guns, flame throwers, rifles,

pistols and grenades etc. were faced off by 700-750 Jewish resistance fighters

with a stockpile of a few thousand grenades and a few hundred rifles, some

revolvers and pistols. Two or three light machine guns were their most

advanced weapons The Germans planned to clear the ghetto of 60,000 in three

days but the Jews were planning to hold out as long as possible.

The heroic youngsters set upon the mighty German Army, killing a few, and the

Nazis were forced to withdraw. Following this initial setback, Himmler replaced

the German commander with one Jürgen Stroop, an experienced and ruthless

partisan fighter, but he also failed to quash the uprising. Though small

in numbers and poorly equipped, the Jewish boys and girls stood their ground for

27 days. Losing patience, Stroop ordered the burning down of every building in

the ghetto.

On the 8th May, the bunker where the ZOB operated from was captured and

Mordecai Anielewicz and a large part of his brigade were killed. Several dozen

fighters managed to escape through the sewers, so the Germans raised the water

levels there. It took months and months of combing through the ruins and sewers,

demolishing burnt out buildings, before finally every one was captured. On 16

May, Stroop announced that the fighting was over. The Germans shot 7,000 on

the spot and transported the same number to Treblinka, 15,000 to Majdanek, and

the remainder to slave-labour camps. The Germans captured 9 rifles, 59 pistols,

and several hundred grenades, explosives, and mines. Among the Germans and

their collaborators, the stated losses were 16 dead and 85 wounded. As a symbol

of victory Stroop blew up the Warsaw Great Synagogue. It took 28 days for the

Germans to vanquish the Warsaw ghetto.

Footnote:

An exhibition was held recently in the Star Gallery, Headquarters of

the Westminster based UK European Commission, commemorating

the life of the heroic Dr Janusz Korczak (1878-1942). Korczak, an

outstanding teacher, author and social activist was deported on

August 5th

or 6th

, along with nearly 200 children and 12 staff

members from the Orphans’ Home in Warsaw, to the death camp of

Treblinka where all perished. He was offered sanctuary on the Aryan

side but persistently refused. Memorial sculptures were raised to Dr

Korczak and the children, both at Yad Vashem and in Warsaw and a

commemorative stamp was issued in Israel in 1962.

The exhibition was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of

the Republic of Poland and supported by the UK European

Commission.

Joe Coral, Bookmaker

By Dr Melvyn H Brooks reprinted with his kind permission

First appeared in “The Hackney Terrier” Friends of Hackney Archives

Newsletter Summer 2012

One of the joys of collecting ephemera is the unexpected find. I recently

came across an advertisement

that came into this category.

In a programme from the Alex

(Alexandra) Theatre, Stoke

Newington Road, dated 10th

April 1950, there is a one-

page advertisement for Joe

Coral, Turf Accountant. It is

probably significant that the

head office at this time was at

91 Stoke Newington Road,

very near to the theatre.

The logo “No Limit –

Anything” was probably a

common claim to reliability

and assurance by bookmakers

at this time. Cooper, Bretts

Ltd made a similar claim of

“Genuine No Limit Rules” in

an announcement in a

Hackney Empire programme

dated 9th March 1953.

My eye was drawn to four words in Hebrew text printed upside down

under the rubric “No Limit – Anything” in the Coral advert. They read in

Yiddish “Vifeel Iyar Hartz Gloost” which means “However much your

heart desires” or in a freer translation “How much you want.” This was

obviously aimed at Jewish gamblers. In 1950, the area around the Alex

Theatre had many Jewish inhabitants.

Gambling was a common addiction for young Jewish men during this time.

There were many who were ruined financially by the habit, which would

have been enhanced by the “No Limit – Anything” attraction. The only

explanation I can give for printing the Hebrew text upside down is a

mistake by the copywriter. Hebrew is written and read from right to left

and many scholars can read the text from any direction. However, I do not

believe that these scholars would have been customers of Joe Coral!

A further interesting piece of ephemera in my collection is an advertising

card from about the same time for Joe Coral with the logo “Genuine No

Limit”. The Coral Empire was founded in 1926 probably originating from

a stand at Clapton’s greyhound track. Joe Coral (1904-1996) left school at

the age of 14. According to biographical accounts, he was taking bets in a

Stoke Newington billiards hall during the General Strike of 1926. By 1930

he had a network of between 70 and 80 street runners.

By 2010 Joe Coral employed 11,500 people with an annual turnover of

over £2billion and in 2011 had over 1,600 betting outlets, including one

that now occupies the Old Town Hall Hackney.

Footnote - Irene Glausiusz

Warsaw born Joseph Kagarlitsky (latterly Coral) arrived in England with

his family in 1912. Joseph was a bright child with an undoubted flair for

mathematics. By 1939 Joe was one of the largest regional bookies (sorry,

Turf Accountants) in England. The Betting and Gaming Act was passed in

1960 which licensed Betting Offices in England and Wales.

Of local interest – There is a large Coral Betting Shop next door to the

NatWest Bank in Wembley Park. Is there a message in there somewhere?

Should you be tempted (has-ve-shalom), there are two more Coral shops,

one at each end of Preston Road!

These fit so well they should be in a dictionary.

ADULT:

A person who has stopped growing at both ends

and is now growing in the middle.

BEAUTY PARLOUR:

A place where women curl up and dye.

CHICKENS:

The only animals you eat before they are born and after they are dead.

COMMITTEE:

A body that keeps minutes and wastes hours.

DUST:

Mud with the juice squeezed out.

EGOTIST:

Someone who is usually me-deep in conversation.

HANDKERCHIEF:

Cold Storage.

INFLATION:

Cutting money in half without damaging the paper.

MOSQUITO:

An insect that makes you like flies better.

RAISIN:

A grape with sunburn.

SECRET:

Something you tell to one person at a time.

SKELETON:

A bunch of bones with the person scraped off.

TOOTHACHE:

The pain that drives you to extraction.

TOMORROW:

One of the greatest labour saving devices of today.

YAWN:

An honest opinion openly expressed.

And MY Personal Favourite!

WRINKLES:

Something other people have,

Similar to my character lines.

A woman goes to the post office to buy stamps for her Chanukah cards.

She says to the clerk “May I have 50 Chanukah stamps”?

“What denomination”? replies the clerk.

The woman says “Oy vey! Has it come to this? “Ok give me 6 Orthodox,

12 Conservative and 32 Reform.”

Jewish Telegram: Begin worrying, details to follow.

What is a genius? An average student with a Jewish mother.

NASA sent many shuttles into orbit with passengers of all races, colours

and creed. They recently sent a Priest, a Minister and a Rabbi. On their

return the Priest emerged first, beaming and happy. “It was amazing. I saw

the sun rise and set and the beautiful oceans”. The Minister emerged

happy and at peace. “I was in awe”. The Rabbi emerged, completely

dishevelled, his beard tangled, his tallit wrinkled. “ENJOY? What was to

enjoy? Every five minutes the sun was rising and setting! On with the

tefilin, off with the tefilin, mincha, maariv, mincha, maariv, mincha,

maariv! GEVALT!

Translation of the poem published in the Rosh Hashanah edition

Sabbath Candles by Zerach HaLevi

A poet who was born and lived in Jerusalem Free translation by Rev Gershon Glausiusz

Daughter of Israel tell me please, in your own words to the poet

What is the light upon your face this evening?

Behold the setting sun still flickers in the west

And its rays of light beautify the world

“It is Shabbos”, declares the horizon

Now there is relief to the sad at heart

Daughter of Israel tell me please in your own words to the poet

The blessing upon your lips, what does it express?

Look! happiness has arrived with the lighting of the Shabbos lights

And my blessing rests upon my home

The eyes of the children shine with a golden sparkle

Even the stars say a silent prayer with me.

Daughter of Israel tell the poet with a few words

Why are there teardrops in your eyes this evening.

Understand, full of sorrows is the portion of a mother

And tears will quieten down the pains

It is best to rest from evening to evening

And now we will rejoice with the Shabbos eternal.

Daughter of Israel respond please with your words to the poet

What is the song of joy in your home this evening

Listen, this is a prayer about our peace and love

Sung by the father of the children

There is nothing better than to be purified by the glow of these lights of supreme

joy

As now illuminated by them, the father intones the words of the Kiddush.

Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration 2013 at City Hall

Communities Together: Build a Bridge By Irene Glausiusz

In an opening address, Jeannette

Arnold OBE Chair of the

London Assembly spoke briefly

about Frank Foley, the British

hero who was brave enough to

break the rules, later honoured to

be Righteous Among the Nations

at Yad Vashem, She added “He

was an example to us all, who

made a commitment to build

bridges.”

The Testimonial was presented

by Hungarian born Susan

Pollock, whose plea was to alert

and inspire people against

discrimination. She asked “Is it difficult” She thought it more difficult “not to do

it.” She was a witness to the dark horrific days in her small Hungarian town, and

wondered if the Jews would survive, which indeed she did, surviving slave labour

at Auschwitz.

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks spoke movingly and with admiration about his friend

Yaffa Eliach, who came from the shtetl of Eishyshok, author of “There Once Was

a World”. Her survival was miraculous and she went on to forge a distinguished

career in the USA. Lord Sacks concluded with the Memorial Prayer in Hebrew

and English.

A musical interlude came from the Zemel Choir with their performance of “Enosh

Kechotsir” and teenagers, who had participated in the Holocaust Education

Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz Project, gave a Statement of Commitment.

JEWISH HERITAGE DAY 2012 By Cynthia Green and Pat Goodman

To mark Jewish Heritage Day

2012, Jeff and Ann Levinson

arranged a coach outing from

Hendon, to visit the former

estate of Sir David

Salomons who was the first

Jewish Sheriff of London,

first Jewish Alderman,

first Jewish

magistrate and first

Jewish Lord Mayor

of the City of

London - and also

a founder of the

London and

Westminster Bank

(now NatWest) plus

the first Ashkenazi

President of the Board

of Deputies.

The estate, formerly known as Broomhill, now called Salomons, is just

outside Tunbridge Wells and was bought by David Salomons in 1829.

David Salomons was related to Moses Montefiore and Nathan Meyer

Rothschild by marriage.

He had no children and on his death the estate passed to his nephew, David

Lionel Salomons. He was a keen scientist, added workshops and

laboratories to the house and experimented with electricity; one of the first

houses to have electric lighting.

David Lionel Salomons had four daughters and one son, who unfortunately

was killed during WW1, therefore the line ceased. The last remaining

daughter gave the estate to Kent County Council in 1936 for use as a

public institution and is now a part of Canterbury Christ Church

University. Our guide was the Head Librarian who gave a very interesting

talk in the Science Theatre, which contains the Welte organ. We then

commenced a tour of the Main House which contains a museum housing

many artefacts and pictures illustrating the history of the family, including

the bench from the Houses of Parliament from which David Salomons first

spoke in 1851. It was presented to him by friends when new seating was

installed there.

Our last port of call at Salomons was to the Stable complex, now called

Runcie Court. It was built by David Lionel Salomons from 1892-1894 at a

cost of £27,000, a very elaborate structure of brick and Portland stone and

could house 21 horses and 12 carriages; it also included a fireproof forge,

an undercover washing yard and a large rainwater collection tank. Above

the stabling were large hoppers from which the feed could be distributed

mechanically to each stall. Living accommodation was provided on the

first and second floors for the coachmen, grooms and stable hands. In 1900

Sir David Lionel Salomons built garages or “motor stables” to house his

new motor cars, first purpose built garages in this country.

On the return journey we stopped at Tudeley village in Kent to see the

church windows which were designed by Marc Chagall. The main window

was commissioned by the parents of Sarah d’Avigdor Goldsmid who

drowned aged 21 years. The remaining 11 windows depicting Creation,

Death and New Life, Joy and Hope, were completed by Chagall over the

next few years, by which time he was 90 years old. Our time there was too

short and the opportunity to look in depth at the windows was not possible,

but suffice it to say that they were extremely beautiful.

Many past and present members of the Kingsbury community with others

joined the trip and it was great meeting up with old friends on such a

pleasant outing. The entire day was extremely interesting and informative

and I’m sure that we all look forward to whatever Jeff and Ann are going

to plan for 2013.

To Abigail Phillips on her making Aliyah to Eretz

Yisroel (10 January 2013)

To Irene and Gershon Glausiusz on the marriage of their

grandson, Tzvi Yehudah Badichi to Idit. (November 2012)

To Della and Tony Brown on the engagement of their

daughter, Vivienne Saskya, to Andrew Monchar. (15

December 2012)

To Vivienne Saskya Brown on her engagement to Andrew

Monchar. (15 December 2012)

To Lionel Belkin on the marriage of his

granddaughter, Adina Felsenstein, to Jordan Kent.

(December 2012)

To Mrs Helen Drucker, and to Sharon and Michael

Drucker, on the birth of a Great

Granddaughter/Granddaughter, a daughter for Daniel

Drucker and his wife. (December 2012)

To Cynthia Green on the Bar Mitzvah of her

grandson, Noam. Mazal Tov also to Noam's parents,

Andrew and Alisa Green. (December 2012)

To Rabbi Yoni Birnbaum upon being awarded a Master's

Degree, with Distinction, in Jewish Studies from UCL.

(November 2012)

To Cynthia and Harvey Jacobs on the birth of a

granddaughter, Rivka, a son for Raphael and Ruthie

Jacobs (8 November 2012)

To Yisroel Jacobs, son of Joel and Debbie Jacobs and

grandson of Harvey and Cynthia Jacobs, on his Bris (19

November 2012)

To Cynthia and Harvey Jacobs on the birth of a

grandson, a son for Joel and Debbie Jacobs (13

November 2012)

To Dr Gerald Green on the engagement in New York City of

his grandson, Alexander, to Chaya Gamss (November 2012)

To Janice Cowan Donoff on the engagement in New

York City of her son, Alexander, to Chaya Gamss

(November 2012)

To Helen Drucker on the marriage of her granddaughter,

Matel Shupack, daughter of Sandra and Yosef Chaim

Shupack, to Pesach Froimovitz (25 October 2012)

To Shlomo Zalman Cohen on becoming Bar Mitzvah

(Parshat Noach)

To Rabbi Zvi and Rivki Cohen on Shlomo Zalman

becoming Bar Mitzvah (Parshat Noach)

A pictorial representation of Shloimele, at his Bar Mitzvah.

Coffee Mornings

15 October 2012 Joan Fish discussed

her experiences as a WAAF.

On the 3rd

of November the Ladies’

Guild served a pre-Hanukah lunch.

On the 7th

of December and on the 7th

of February Leslie Rubner gave talks

on his experiences in South Africa and

his escape from Hungary, respectively.

7 January 2013 Ruth Aharoni told of her

experiences during WWII.

3 September, 2012 Irene Glausiusz gave a

talk on her school days at the Skinners’

Company’s School for Girls in Stamford

Hill.

Other Events

On the 5th

of September Mary Ann and

Jonathan Landaw celebrated the Siyum of

Mishnayot he had learned for his late

father’s neshamah.

On the 9th

of September 2012 Rabbi

Yoni Birnbaum spoke to us at

breakfast.

On the 9th

of September we dined with

Judge Shloime Kreiman.

On the 14th

and 21st of January Rabbi

Stephen Phillips gave two lectures on

the laws of Shabbat entitled ‘The

Hitchhikers Guide to the Laws of

Shabbos’.

from Rabbi and Mrs Cohen and family.

Wishing everyone a happy and Kosher Pesach, from Harvey and

Cynthia Jacobs and family.

Irene and Gershon Glausiusz wish Rabbi and Mrs Cohen and all the

community a Happy Pesach – Kosher v’sameach.

Henry and Sylvia Malnick together with Hannah and Avi Friedwald

and Ruth, Avraham, DinaMalka and Yehoshua Klein wish everyone

a very happy and kosher Pesach.

Sylvia and Harold Stone, together with their families here and in Israel, wish

Rabbi Zvi and Rebbetzin Rivkie Cohen and their family, and the Kingsbury

Community a Happy and Kosher Pesach.

The Hanouka family wishing the Kehilah a Happy and Kosher

Pesach.

Happy Pesach from Simon Levy to all readers.

Greta and Lawrence Myers, together with all of their family in Israel,

wish all of the community and all of their friends, whether here or

there, a Happy and Kosher Pesach, and look forward to seeing you

all here with us very soon.

Wayne and Ruth with Sami and Doron Birnbaum; Rabbi Yoni and Elisheva

with Nechama, Shimi, Tobi and Sara in Hadley Wood; Dov and Tehilla with

Gavriel, Chaya, Shmuel and Yaacov Yosef in Yerushalyim; Ben and Abi

Kurzer in New York wish Rabbi Cohen, Rivki and their family and all the

community a Chag Kasher V’Sameach.

Pat, Stanley and Jonathan Brody and their family in Israel wish all

our friends in Kingsbury a happy and Kosher Pesach.

Wishing the community a Pesach Kosher v’sameach from Jonathan and

Mary-Ann Landaw, Jacob, Raphy, Asher and Rochelle, Yitzi and Rachel,

Rachel, Naomi and of course Wembley.

Chag Sameach to all from Pat Goodman and family, here and in

Israel

Chag Sameach from Reuven, Jeanne and Joseph Lavi, Gabriella, David,

Tehila, Shimon and Yonatan Berrebi.

Roz, Stephen, Tammi and Abigail Phillips together with Rochel,

Chagai, Refael Yosef, Moriah, Uriel Moshe, Chana and Achiya

Cohen and Samantha, Daniel and Shemaya Phillips hope you all had

a Kosher Purim and wish you all a Happy Pesach (and a Kosher one,

of course).

Julian and Rosalind Mann, Stefanie and Daniel Dasa, Shirelle and Itamar,

Rabbi Benjamin Mann, Rabbi Michael and Chana Mann, Tuvia Yoseph,

Yisroel and Shalom Chaim, wish the whole community a happy and kosher

Pesach.

We wish all our friends in Kingsbury a happy and Kosher Pesach –

Cynthia Green and family.

Rayner and Michael Barnett and family wish everyone a happy and Kosher

Pesach.

Deborah and Leslie Rubner wish the Kingsbury Kehila a Pesach

Kasher v’Sameach.

Della and Tony Brown together the newly engaged couple Vivienne and

Andrew wish the community a kosher and a happy Pesach.

Gerald Green, Janice and Ian Donoff and family wish a happy and

peaceful Pesach to all their friends in the Kehilla.