Category Archives: Community Events

The Bournemouth Golda Emunah dinner took place in the Menorah Suite on Sunday 3 April and raised more than £2,200 for Neve Landy, one of the children’s homes supported by this charity. The dinner was attended by more than 140 guests including Deborah Nathan from Emunah head office.

The guests enjoyed a 3-course meal prepared by the Thelma and her team. The work that Emunah does in Israel was summarised in an emotional 10 minute film. The main attraction of the evening was entertainment by the A-Sharp Trio, the siblings Anoushka, Amos and Aviva who played a varied repertoire of classical and contemporary pieces to the delight of the audience. It was wonderful to see the progress they had made since their last visit almost exactly two years ago.

We look forward to welcoming this delightful and talented family back to Bournemouth in the near future.

(Photos courtesy of M. Ozdamar)

The Purim Seudah at BHC was great fun, attended by more than 85 people. After the evening service and the reading of the Megillah the guests were treated to a tasty dinner of soup and salt beef with all the trimmings, organised by Thelma and her hard working crew.

After dinner there was entertainment provided by the members of the congregation, compared by Valerie Millin. Marilyn Dexter and the security team provided the ‘Israeli Dancing!’, Angela Sklan showed us some oriental moves with a fan, there was magic from the maestro himself Chris Woodward, a funny number from Lorraine and Stuart to the tune of ‘Food glorious food’ and traditional Purim songs from the Rabbi.

At the end of the evening the winners of the fancy dress competition were announced as follows:

Male winner: Rabbi Jesner;

Female winner: Rebbetzen Jesner;

The best headdress winner: Judith Adda;

Best home-made costume winner: Anne Ozdamar

(Photos courtesy of M Ozdamar)

We were privileged to host sixth form pupils from Yavneh College from Friday 4th March to Sunday 6th March here in Bournemouth. Led by their President Benjamin Perl MBE, Headteacher Spencer Lewis and Head of Jewish Studies Rabbi Andrew Davis some 75 young men and women joined us for the weekend services. It was also a pleasure to welcome once again Gordon Coleman whose late wife Dena was the first headteacher of Yavneh College and led it for 7 years to help make it the hugely successful institution that it is today. We fondly remember Dena who was a member of our Congregation and look forward to having Gordon in our midst for many years to come.

The Friday night service was very special, led by members of Yavneh College with plenty of singing and dancing. All present enjoyed welcoming Shabbat with joy and youthful energy.

Shabbat services were an enjoyable mix of members of our Congregation and visitors taking different parts of the services. After the morning service there was a kiddush organised by the Congregation in honour of our visitors during which Rabbi Adrian Jesner and BHC President Brian Lassman welcomed the teachers and pupils of Yavneh College.

Shabbat was concluded with a very special Motza’ei Shabbat Havdalah ceremony organised by the pupils in the Menorah Suite which was also attended by members of the Congregation.

Speaking of their visit to the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation, Headteacher Spencer Lewis said that the welcome had been exemplary and that they looked forward to returning to Bournemouth in the future. We wholeheartedly share that wish.

(Photos courtesy of M. Ozdamar)

On Sunday 24 January we hosted a BJRC event in the Menorah Suite with Tobias Ellwood MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs, as the principle speaker. We are grateful to Mr Ellwood for making time in his busy schedule to spend nearly 2 hours with us answering the many questions posed by the attendees.

The meeting was chaired by Greg Rubins and Michael Filer acted as the master of ceremonies. Henry Schachter from Bournemouth Action for Israel (BAFI) spoke first and made the case for Israel, pointing out the deteriorating security situation in Israel with daily knife attacks against the innocent Israeli population, resulting in deaths and injuries and the biased way these events are being reported in the world’s media.

Mr Ellwood then spoke and explained the British Government’s position, demonstrating a detailed understanding of the situation on the ground and supporting Israel’s legitimate security concerns and actions to keep its citizens safe. The formal speeches were followed by more than an hour of questions and answers covering a wide range of topics from the problems faced at British Universities by the supporters of Israel to the problems faced by BAFI making the case for Israel at the Tolpuddle Martyrs event.

Here are some photos from the event courtesy of Corinne Rein.

On Thursday 22nd October Rebbetzen Pamela Jesner led a challah making afternoon in the Gertrude Preston Hall. The event was attended by around 60 people, mostly women but also a few men. Rabbi Jesner explained the background and recited the prayer for separating challah.

Rebbetzen Jesner demonstrated how to plait the challah and as the loaves were proving in the ovens the attendees enjoyed coffee and Danish.

Here are some pictures from the event courtesy of Josie Lipsith.

On Wednesday 3rd June, Doreen Lee hosted a coffee morning at her home in order to raise funds in support of the Emunah Walk the Wall Challenge being undertaken by Anne Ozdamar and Marilyn Dexter in July. Some 30 ladies attended the coffee morning and watched a flower arranging demonstration by Eve Cowan and Judy Menton, who very kindly offered their creations as raffle prizes. Corinne Rein described the importance of Emunah’s work; the focus of the current fundraising is to provide vital therapies and extra curricular activities for Neve Landy, a residential home in Even Shmuel, which is a secure and nurturing refuge for 74 of the most disturbed and dysfunctional boys in Southern Israel.

The coffee morning, together with further donations received on the day, raised over £400.  On behalf of Emunah, thank you to everybody who contributed to the success of the morning.

Photos courtesy of Corinne Rein. Please click on the photo to see it full size.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and his wife Valerie visited our congregation from Friday 15 May to Sunday 17 May. It was a truly unforgettable weekend for everyone who attended one or more of the many events that took place.

The Chief Rabbi arrived in Bournemouth on Friday afternoon and visited Hannah Levy House. Later in the day, the twenty-five or so congregants who attended the Friday night service got to meet the Chief Rabbi and talk to him in a relaxed and informal environment.

The Shabbat morning service was a very special occasion when we were treated to a wonderful service taken by Tony Nairn, Cantor Anton Ereira and Rabbi Jesner, ably supported by the Shul Choir led by Frank Morris. The service was also attended by the Bishop of Salisbury, The Right Reverend Nicholas Holtam, the Rector of Bournemouth Town Centre, the Rt Rev Dr Ian Terry, the Mayors of Bournemouth and Christchurch and the Chief Inspector of Bournemouth Police Michael Claxton. The sermon, given by the Chief Rabbi, was fun as well as being thought provoking. At the heart of his sermon was the message that we must treat all our fellow human beings with kindness and dignity.

After the service 170 people attended Shabbat lunch in the Menorah Suite organised by the Ladies Guild. The 3-course meal was delicious as always. In between the courses, the Chief Rabbi gave another talk, the theme of which was the importance of giving gifts to others, reminding us that the giver gets more out of giving than the receiver.

Later during Shabbat evening, the Chief Rabbi participated in the Seudah Shlishit.

On Sunday morning the Chief Rabbi joined us again for the morning service and took part in a special breakfast laid-on in honour of Yom Yerushalayim. After that the Chief Rabbi addressed the members of the Bournemouth Jewish Community in a packed Menorah Suite. After his speech the Chief Rabbi took questions from the audience.

This was the first time many of us had had the opportunity to meet Chief Rabbi Mirvis in person. It would be fair to say that we were all very impressed with his warm personality and what he had to say; we can’t wait to welcome him and Valerie to Bournemouth again.

Here are some photos from the events of Sunday morning courtesy of Mahir Ozdamar. (As usual, you can click on the photos to enlarge them or to save them onto your computer).

Many of us will remember that, as part of the Chief Rabbi’s ‘Empowering the Communities to Reach Their Potential’ initiative, Rabbi Shalom Hammer visited our community.

The Chief Rabbi’s Office has compiled a brochure which summarises the experiences of the communities right across the country, including Bournemouth. Please download this interesting document using the link below; Bournemouth is covered in page 6.

http://www.chiefrabbi.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Brochurepdf.pdf

On Sunday 26 April, 146 guests were treated to a wonderful brunch in aid of Hannah Levy House. The guest speaker was Simon Johnson who gave a very interesting, informative and entertaining talk entitled ‘From Sport to Communal Leadership’. Simon, who had previously held senior management positions in ITV and the FA, is now the CEO of Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) and explained how he applies the lessons learnt from his days in sports management to dealing with the issues that effect the Jewish community in the UK.

The whole event was very well organised and the food was delicious.

Here are some photos from this event courtesy of M. Ozdamar.

Photos from the Purim Seudah.

BHC Member Alf Sylvester celebrated his birthday by entertaining the congregation at the Purim Seudah!

Rabbi and Rebertzen Jesner having fun at the Purim Seudah with the Evergreen singers.

Photos courtesy of Josie Lipsith.