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From the joyous arrival of a baby, through to the difficult times during bereavement, as a member of Elstree & Borehamwood Masorti Community, we will provide all the necessary support you need.

Whether it is finding a Mohel, advice on Bar /Bat Mitzvahs, Halachah of getting married, or help with saying Kaddish, we are here to help you.

• BIRTH

• ADMISSIONS TO JEWISH SCHOOLS

• BAR & BAT MIZTZVAH

• WEDDINGS

• DEATH & BEREAVEMENT

• YAHRZEIT

BIRTH

The arrival of a new baby is a cause for rejoicing, not only by the immediate and extended family, but also by the Congregation and the community at large. A new child represents a world of possibilities and promise.

At EBMC we hold special naming ceremony during the reading of the Torah in a shul to celebrate your occasion. EBMC is a young community and we have been blessed with many new arrivals.

A baby boy is circumcised at the age of 8 days by a Mohel even on Shabbat and Yom Kippur, (delayed only with medical advice). Parents enter their sons into the covenant between the Jewish people and God through the ritual of brit milah, a religious circumcision. This practice began with Abraham who first made his covenant with God at the age of 99. 

To find a Mohel please see http://www.initiationsociety.org.uk/mohel.htm or contact enquiries@masorti.org.uk for a current  list of the Association of Reform and Liberal Mohelim.

ADMISSIONS TO JEWISH SCHOOLS

Application to some Jewish school requires attendance to be recorded for Shabbat services only, between 7th May 2011 and 15th October 2011. You may need to attend synagogue up to eight times to satisfy the criteria of the CRP for a United Synagogue (US) school. Attendance will only be recorded on those Shabbats and will not include any Yom Tovim, including Yom Kippur 2011.

Other criteria apply for other schools and people need to check accordingly.

For more information please click here.

BAR AND BAT MITZVAH

The most important life passage of Jewish childhood and adolescence is Bar Mitzvah for a boy and Bat Mitzvah for a girl.  It is about ritual maturity and about growing up as a Jew. It is about becoming a fuller member of the Jewish community and we hope, at EBMC. It is also about moral responsibility, about connecting to Torah, community and God. 

In Masorti Judaism, Bar and Bat mitzvah are treated with equal importance and both girls and boys have the opportunity to read from the Torah, Haftorah, and to take as much part in the service as they feel able.

EBMC does expect the family will attend our synagogue services regularly in the lead-up to the celebration.  We expect the family to attend at least 50% of our services in the year prior to the celebration. 

We have access to a number of Bar/Bat Mitzvah tutors who will guide boys and girls of all levels of Hebrew.  We will also check to ensure that your child is adequately prepared for the big day. 

As a small community you can have the flexibility to tailor the Bat / Bar Mitzvah to make it a very special day for your family. 

If your ceremony will have a large attendance please let us know in advance and we will be able to book a larger venue.

WEDDINGS

There are many beautiful customs and age old traditions that form part of a Jewish Wedding ceremony which are so symbolic and meaningful.  The ceremony takes place under a Chuppah which is often decorated with flowers and is a symbol of the hope to be built and shared by the couple. It is open on four sides, as was Sarah and Abraham's tent, in order to welcome friends and relatives in unconditional hospitality.

We do not yet have our own Rabbi, but we have close links with other Masorti communities and we will work with you to make your wedding a very special occasion.

DEATH/BEREAVEMENT

Losing someone we love presents us with possibly the most difficult set of emotions we ever have to deal with.  The Jewish way of mourning is both spiritual and  comforting. Traditionally we "sit shiva" for seven days giving us a purpose each day and the support and love of family and friends whilst we slowly emerge from our deepest sorrow.

EBMC will provide all the necessary support you need at this difficult time in your life.

If a member of the Shul dies, next of kin need to contact the Joint Jewish Burial Society (JJBS) on 020 8989 5252 to make funeral arrangements.

If you are a member of EBMC and you need to make arrangements for a Shiva please call Tony de Swarte on 07843 792 133.

FIRST JEWISH WOODLAND BURIAL SITE IN THE UK: The Jewish Joint Burial Society (JJBS), which provides funeral services for 35 Reform, Masorti and Liberal congregations, has acquired a freehold parcel of land for the purposes of woodland and other burials. This is the first time woodland burials have been possible in a Jewish cemetery in the UK and it is believed to be the first faith woodland cemetery in the country. Members can now choose to be buried in an ecologically friendly way in a natural environment surrounded by newly planted trees. The burial can include a coffin made from bamboo or cardboard which decomposes naturally and instead of a large headstone there will be a small memorial plaque.

The new land is presently part of an unused field adjacent to the existing JJBS cemetery at Bulls Cross Ride, Cheshunt. With an independent entrance and fenced roadway on the southern boundary of the existing cemetery, the woodland cemetery will be segregated and screened by landscaping from the rest of the property. In addition to woodland burials, there will be an area dedicated to conventional burials for members and their families. Burials in this section will be in double depth graves. JJBS is also constructing a columbarium in a separate landscaped area where cremated remains may be interred, a facility not possible in the existing cemetery. It is planned to construct a prayer hall on the site.

JJBS has bought the land for this new cemetery so that it may have a greater freedom in the type of funeral offered to their members and their dependants. It will have space for over 10,000 burials in addition to the 14,000 spaces JJBS has in the existing cemetery at Cheshunt. Liberal Judaism has also acquired 1,000 spaces adjacent to the new woodland cemetery and JJBS and Liberal Judaism will work together in developing the facilities.

Work on paths and landscaping will start in the next few weeks and the first burials could take place towards the end of the year.

Mike Frankl, Chairman of JJBS said: “This significant step for the Society will enable us to offer a much wider range of funeral services for our members including those who want an environmentally friendly method of burial and also in separate areas for those in mixed faith relationships who cannot be buried in the existing Jewish burial ground. JJBS will continue to bury in the existing cemetery with conventional headstones so members can now choose what sort of burial they want.”

Rabbi Paul Freedman, the Assembly of Reform Rabbis UK representative on JJBS said: “The thrust of Jewish burial practice is to speed the return of the body to the ground. A biodegadable coffin is very much in keeping with the Jewish practice of requiring biodegradable materials and the emphasis on the coffin being modest. Moreover, woodland burials exemplify the general mitzvah of "Bal Tashchit" our traditional Jewish responsibility for environmental care. Although headstones have been customary, the real requirement is simply to be able to identify the grave site. As Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel taught: tombstones are not erected for the righteous, as their words are their memorials.

A separate part of the new cemetery which is dedicated for double depth burials for non-Jewish partners follows the example of the pre-war Berlin Jewish community which had a separate section on the edge of its Jewish cemetery where the burial of a non-Jewish partner was permitted. Recognising the increasing number of Jews with non-Jewish partners and acknowledging the pain caused by the possibility of separation in burial, in 2002 the Assembly of Reform Rabbis UK proposed a separate section of the cemetery for such burials. This separate section recognises the need to keep faith with those who have been buried in the past, or who wish to be buried in the future, on the assumption that they will lie together with other Jews in an exclusively Jewish cemetery.

YAHRZEIT

This is the annual commemoration of the death of a Jew by a mourner, i.e. the spouse, parent, child or sibling of the deceased.  The date of the Yahrzeit is the anniversary of the death calculated according to the Hebrew calendar.  The mourner recites the mourners Kaddish and lights a special memorial candle which burns for 24 hours. We invite members commemorating a Yahrzeit to be called up in Shul and include the names of their loved ones in the Shabbat service. (back to top)

USEFUL LINKS

http://www.europeanmasortibetdin.org - The European Masorti Bet Din provides advanced Rabbinic services to Masorti communities in Europe. We oversee conversions and divorce procedures, supervise the catering of Kosher food, and rule on complex issues of Jewish Law.

http://judaism.about.com/od/lifecycleevents/Lifecyle_Events.htm - Articles about Jewish Lifecycle Events, including information about Hebrew names, Jewish naming customs, Simchat bat and Brit Milah (Bris) ceremonies, Jewish weddings, and mourning practices.

http://www.jewfaq.org/tocevents.htm - Pages discussing major life cycle events in Judaism, from birth to death

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Death/index.htm - UK Government produced information on what to do when someone dies.

http://www.jvisit.org.uk/jbcs/index.htm - Jewish Bereavement Counselling Service

For more information about joining our community, please contact our membership secretary via email: membership@ebmc.org.uk.

Can You Help?

We are looking to recruit volunteers for various roles within our community. If you can assist us please get in touch. Details below:

• Mother & Toddler Group We are looking to establish a Mother & Toddler group which will be run by Mums. Anyone interested in helping or joining should e-mail: admin@ebmc.org.uk

• Can you help with Children's Services? We need people to take both toddlers and juniors Shabbat morning service. No previous experience required. All resources and help in preparation provided.

• Security Volunteers for Shabbat and High Holyday Services

• kiddush - We need people to set up and clear away our kiddush after Shabbat morning service. You can also sponsor a kiddush if you are commemorating a special occasion.

• Can you leyn or take a service? We would be especially happy to hear from those who would like to become involved in leading our services.