A Prayer for the Ukraine and its People

 

PRAYER FOR UKRAINE

Eternal One, Rock of our Existence, the Source and Sustainer of Life, as President Putin wages war on Ukraine, and the forces of autocracy wreak havoc, and attempt to instil terror and fear in every heart, we call on You to give strength to the people of Ukraine. Help them to muster the courage and the fortitude to withstand the onslaught. Let them also be strengthened by the knowledge that democratic nations across the world stand in solidarity with them, and will do everything necessary to support their efforts to resist the imposition of tyranny.

Meanwhile, as we, like ordinary people everywhere, witness the horror, and feel helpless and hopeless in the face of overwhelming events beyond our control, may You enable us to understand that we are not powerless to help. Our deeds, however small, matter. And above all, knowing that despair is the dearest friend of tyrants, we have the obligation to hope,  and to demonstrate our constant fidelity to the enduring values of peace and freedom, equality and justice. May this be our will.

 

And let us say: Amen.

Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah

February 2022 / Adar I 5782

 

PREGHIERA PER L'UCRAINA

 

Eterno, Roccia della nostra Esistenza, Fonte e Sostenitore della Vita, mentre il Presidente Putin muove guerra all'Ucraina, e le forze dell'autocrazia scatenano il caos, e tentano di instillare il terrore e la paura in ogni cuore, Ti chiediamo di dare forza al popolo dell'Ucraina. Aiutalo a trovare il coraggio e la forza di resistere all'assalto. Fa' che siano anche rafforzati dalla consapevolezza che le nazioni democratiche di tutto il mondo sono solidali con loro e faranno tutto il necessario per sostenere i loro sforzi per resistere all'imposizione della tirannia.

 

Nel frattempo, mentre noi, come la gente comune ovunque, siamo testimoni dell'orrore e ci sentiamo impotenti e senza speranza di fronte a eventi schiaccianti che sfuggono al nostro controllo, possa Tu permetterci di capire che non siamo impotenti ad aiutare. Le nostre azioni, per quanto piccole, contano. E soprattutto, sapendo che la disperazione è la più cara amica dei tiranni, abbiamo l'obbligo di sperare, e di dimostrare la nostra costante fedeltà ai valori duraturi di pace e libertà, uguaglianza e giustizia.

 

Che questa sia la nostra volontà. 

E diciamo: Amen.

 

Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah

Rabbina Emerita, Brighton & Hove Progressive Synagogue 

February 2022 / Adar I 5782

I Will Really Miss Jan Pienkowski (RIP)

How much do I love the work of Jan Pienkowski? Let us just say that when the sad news of his death reached me, and I decided to write something, I didn't have to look up how to spell his name.

One of the boons of having a sibling one decade younger was getting to read another generation of books for younger readers. And when my sibling received a copy of Haunted House by Jan Pienkowski, they loved it so much they wouldn't let anyone else play with the pop-up parts. So I had to get my own copy.

Pienkowski changed what was possible with paper engineering (& I particularly appreciated that the backs of the moving parts were painted rather than only the clearly visible parts as in most pop-up books I'd experienced previously). Haunted House is one of my favourite books, and I still enjoy moving the parts, and noting the UFO coming closer and closer until the alien bursts into the book at the end!

And let's not forget Meg & Mog (not to be confused with Judith Kerr's Mog, another great literary cat). I love the drawings. And when the sibling was about 5, we took them to the Unicorn Theatre to see the stage version with Maureen Lipman as Meg. Although, I remember that the adults seemed to be much more involved than the children they were treating - we were all shouting, panto style, "behind you!", whilst the kids were rooting around in the bottom of their popcorn buckets.

So glad to have still these beautiful books to enjoy. Sad that the genius that created them has left us. As the obits say, he found a way to take the terrible monsters from his childhood and turn them into harmless toys. My condolences to his partner, his family and friends, and all who will miss him.

the Times obit

The world of Jan Pienkowski in pictures from the Guardian

the Guardian obit

 

What Rabbis Used to Do

In this screenshot from an online version of a video of a copy of an old TV recording of a football match played in 1986 on a dark damp night in West London, goalkeeper Eddie Niedzwiecki holds onto a shot from QPR's Robbie James.

Behind the goal, between 1986 and the G of the ad hoarding, there is a frizzy-haired photographer who, if you watch the moving version of this video, is applauding (rather than photographing). I added an arrow in case my description isn't clear enough.

Sorry this isn't the moment of either of the winning goals being scored but by extra-time it was so damp and dark that I could no longer take a decent photo and so I decamped to the shelter of the tunnel by the dugout. What a night, though! #RTID

We Love Lily!

Amici, one of my colleagues just shared with us a quote by Lily Montagu regarding the wearing of a kippah/yarmulke that I just had to pass on to you all:

"The custom of wearing a hat or not wearing a hat must be left to the choice of the individual. He must be impressed with the belief that the thoughts which prevail under the hat can lead him to God, not the hat itself."

[p 47, In Memory of Lily Montagu by E Conrad, Amsterdam 1967]

San Valentino Whatever

Note to self:  when leaving sweet chocolatey treats for one's beloved to find first thing in the morning, perhaps it's not so smart to hang them on the stove near the hob upon which said beloved will be brewing a morning cup of coffee.

Meanwhile, in this morning's English language class we learned that Saint Valentine, who may or may not have existed, apart from being the patron saint of lovers, is also the mentor of people with epilepsy and beekeepers.

Earthquake Virgin No More

 

A couple of hours ago something a bit weird happened - I felt as if someone had pushed me in the back like they were trying to get past my chair. The cat ran away, but L noted that our lights that hang down from the roof were utterly still. Thus I was left to consider whether or not ghosts might actually be real, and annoyed at me for some reason.

An hour later, whilst L was out at a meeting, and I was blithely watching some Big Bang Theory, the sofa the cushions the lamp the floor the cat everything moved sideways for a few seconds; and then the messages started arriving. It was an earthquake. As was the first.

According to Corriere della Sera, "a series of earthquakes has been striking Emilia Romagna since Wednesday evening, with the epicentre between the provinces of Reggio and Modena. There has been a lot of fright and people have taken to the streets, but for the moment the Civil Protection has not reported any damage. According to the Ingv data, the first tremor was of magnitude 4.0, at a depth of 7 km, and was recorded a few minutes before 8 pm. A second tremor was felt an hour later. The INGV estimates the magnitude of the latter event at 4.3, which is more violent than the previous one."

Unlike my sisters, I have never lived in California (though I was visiting Los Angeles in 1994 but left on maybe the last plane out, utterly unaware of what would happen a couple of hours later). So this was a little scary. I have plenty of memories of feeling the Piccadilly Line thundering beneath Kent House, and the trembling of the living-room floor. But this was my first 'quake in person, and whatever I may have imagined, I was incorrect. Although our ancient palazzo has clearly gone through this for several hundred years (pu pu pu), I have not, and am still shaking a bit. The important things are: L is fine, I am fine, Sara the Cat is shaken and won't come out from under the bed for more than a few seconds but she is fine. And as far as we know so are all our friends here and hopefully everyone else. 

Bees in Conversation

Found this old bee pic and wondered what they might be saying to each other. This was my thought - but maybe you think otherwise ...?