NEWSLETTER APRIL 2006 -

Dateline 9 March 2006. Chief Executive Rabbi Danny Rich writes:

Please include this special re-admission prayer, in your community’s Shabbat Service on 18 March 2006.

This was written for Liberal Judaism communities by Rabbi Eli Tikvah Sarah of Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue in response to a request from the Board of Deputies to mark the occasion of 350 Years of British Jewry.

In joining the Reform, Masorti and Orthodox communities, who will also be reading their own prayers, we will be creating a communal unity throughout British Jewry on this special Shabbat.— Rabbi Danny Rich

LIBERAL JUDAISM PRAYER FOR RE-ADMISSION SHABBAT
Saturday 18 March 2006

Tzur Yisrael, Rock of Israel, as we celebrate the 350th Anniversary of the Re-admission of the Jews to these shores, we pause to express our gratitude to You for inspiring and sustaining the myriad Jewish communities and communal institutions, which have taken root throughout the years.

Eternal God of all the generations of our people, as we look back over the past thirty-five decades, we give thanks for the courage and vision of Manasseh ben Israel and his company, who set about re-establishing a Jewish presence in England. We also pay tribute to all those women and men, who contributed their wisdom and their energies during the succeeding centuries to the development of vibrant forms of Jewish life in every sphere of our existence – religious, cultural, social, economic and political.

On the occasion of this special Anniversary Shabbat, we acknowledge those who have gone before us, rejoice in the rich legacy they have bequeathed to us, and resolve to do what we can to ensure that Jewish life in this country continues to flourish and thrive today and during the decades that lie ahead. May the joy of this moment inspire us to dedicate ourselves to this sacred task, as we say together:

Baruch Attah, Adonai Eloheynu, melech ha’olam, shehecheyanu v’kiyy’manu v’higgianu lazz’man hazeh.

We praise You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe, that You have kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season.

And let us say: Amen.

Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah
March 2006 – Adar 5766