WELCOME TO CHABAD HAVERING
Chabad North East London & Essex launches the foundation for its latest Chabad Branch.
Chabad N.E. London & Essex are delighted to announce the recent launch of its newest chapter in the area of Havering, which covers amongst others the area of Collier Row, Romford, Hornchurch, Upminster & Rainham.
With the ongoing migration of the Jewish Community across Essex, Chabad locally have been mapping where families are choosing to live outside the well-known areas of Ilford, Redbridge & beyond.
Activities began in January with regular meetings, discussion groups, one to one learning and a Challah bake led by Mrs Devorah Sufrin. Last week a joint Challah bake was held in Romford Synagogue to which there were some twenty five participants. A new website displaying recent and ongoing services is live on www.chabadhavering.co.uk.
Rabbi Sufrin MBE, Exec Director Chabad N E London & Essex says; “continuous requests have been made to us over a fair period of time, asking Chabad to get more involved in the area of Havering. In discussion with my wife Devorah, we decided that we must respond. In addition to three thriving Chabad Houses, based in Ilford, Buckhurst Hill & Epping with full time Chabad Emissaries, regular activities are held in Southend and now Havering.”
For now, these additional areas are serviced in the main by Rabbi & Mrs Sufrin, as the foundations are laid and relationships are built, scouting the wider areas mapping where Jewish people are living. This is often the way that in due course the seeds are sown in order to secure further Shluchim (emissaries) leading to full time Chabad Centres.
Funding will have to be secured to bring these new areas into realities, but as Rabbi Sufrin tells us,
“even though funding is always a concern and a challenge, however, as the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Schneerson zy”o taught us so well, that when it comes to Jewish Education and the needs of securing Jewish Communities, we cannot allow funding to hold us back”
Rabbi & Mrs Sufrin celebrate their 37th anniversary of Chabad leadership locally picking up the baton of his late Parents Rev Aron Dov & Hennie Sufrin z”l who laid the first seeds for Chabad back in 1976, from which Chabad across Essex continues to flourish.
Thought for the week from Rabbi A. M. Sufrin MBE
VAYEILECH—— and he went…
This week the ninth section of the Book of Deuteronomy, continues the description of Moses’ third and final farewell address to the Jewish people.
Moses told the people, “today I am exactly 120 years old.” (31:2)
The fact that even Moses’ last year of his life was not left unfinished, indicates that he lived his life to its fullest, wasting no time or leaving undone any part of the task with which he was charged.
The fact that Moses’ physical life so perfectly mirrored his spiritual life indicated, that he successfully overcame the division between the spiritual and material; his spiritual perfection was mirrored in these manifestations of physical perfection.
Moses’ life should inspire us to live our own lives to the fullest, the consciousness of our Divine mission permeating every minute and every item in our lives. When we do so, we dissolve the artificial division of the spiritual and the physical, revealing the innate Divinity underlying and reality.
This Shabbat is called “Shabbat Shuva” (the Shabbat of return) as it falls in the midst of the “10 days of repentance, between Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur. Also named after the first words of this week’s Haftorah portion – “shuva Yisroel – return o Israel”
In the secular calendar, this Shabbat is 20 years since the horrific attack on the twin towers in New York. Some 3000 innocent people lost their lives that day whilst changing the world that we live in.
During these auspicious days and this significant anniversary, let’s commit to undertake some act of kindness in the memories of the heroes of that horrific day, thus turning the day of mourning into a day of acts of kindness to make this world a better and more pleasant world.
Wednesday evening through Thursday is the holy day of Yom Kippur, a 25 hour day of fast and prayer.
May we
all be inscribed for a year of health, happiness and contentment.
