NEWSLETTER MARCH 2006 - NOTICEBOARD

PURIM MEGILLAH Members of the PJC are invited to join the NHC for a Purim Megillah reading, on Monday, March 13th at 5pm, the Synagogue, Earlham Road, Norwich. You may know, this is quite an entertainment. The children (girls) and women of the congregation take turns in reading — in English! The early start is for the benefit of the children. Refreshments

GENIZAH VISIT A visit to the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit, Cambridge Univiersity Library, Thursday, April 27th, 2006. The Genizah Collection is a window on the medieval world of the Mediterranean area. Its 140,000 manuscripts and manuscript fragments, mainly in Hebrew and Arabic, shed light on the mundane as well as the religious and cultural activities of that world. The visit proper will start at 2:30 pm and will last about two hours

Please note that in order to finalize arrangements for the trip (travel etc), it is essential that we have a good idea of numbers. Contact Joanna Cummin (email J.Cummin@uea.ac.uk) or Byron Simmonds (email bsimmonds@clara.co.uk) as soon as possible, to register your interest

This is a cross-communal event. Support our local Jewish community!

NJHS Yes — another acronym! George Willson of the Norwich Hebrew Congregation would like to arrange an inaugural meeting of the Norwich Jewish Historical Society, whose aim would be to discover the history of the Jewish community in Norwich. If you are interested and have a research or field archaeology background, or if you have no history training at all but would be willing to learn, please give George a ring (email Byron for contact details)

BOOK CLUB The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 14th at 7:30 pm, at the home of Jonathan Dangour. The book: Daniel Deronda by George Eliot

The meeting after that will take place on Tuesday, April 25th. The book: The Speckled People by Hugo Hamilton

The Jewish Book Club meets about every six weeks and is open to members and friends of both the PJCEA and the NHC, as well as to Jews who are members of neither congregation. The group meets every six weeks or thereabouts, in members’ homes. Contact: Andy Sluckin (email asluckin@aol.com)

NORWICH JEWISH PEACE GROUP The next meeting of the Norwich Jewish Peace Group will take place on Wednesday, March 29th at 7:30 pm, at the home of Jo Bissonnet. Members of PJCEA and NHC welcome (email bisson@rmplc.co.uk)

The group is in the process of producing a Recipe Book made up of Jewish and Muslim recipes, to be launched at a garden party in early July. Let Phyll Mendelsohn know if you would like to contribute (email phyll@mendelsohn.me.uk). You will receive an instant invitation to the party!

ETHICAL EATING A new leaflet, entitled “Ethical Eating”, has been published in the “Liberal Judaism in Practice” series. Written by Rabbi Janet Burden, it replaces the “Where We Stand on Kashrut” leaflet. Copies of the new leaflet are available from the shul, or take a look on line at http://www.pjcea.org.uk/overview/wherewestand/eating.htm

LIBRARY BOOKS Members and Friends of the PJCEA are encouraged to borrow any title held. For a complete list, check out the website. Or have a word with Kathy Worsencroft (email k.worsencroft@btinternet.com)

If you have any PJCEA library books on loan which are not doing anything much, now is the time to return them to the library (I know who you are! —Kathy)