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I have been asked to set out what I said today at the Board.

In January the Oxfam tie-up was approved with the following safeguard:

We will discontinue our involvement if OXFAM GB:

MEMO 352 A weekly overview of information of interest to minority ethnic communities in Scotland, including parliamentary activity at Holyrood and Westminster, new publications, consultations, forthcoming conferences and news reports.
http://www.scojec.org/memo/2013/memo_352_20_may_2013.pdf

Ruth Weyl – Rut bat Peretz

We have made many connections over Shavuot and today between the Biblical Ruth and ‘our’ Ruth: Quite rightly so because both have been role models. We deeply admire the Biblical Ruth, her loyalty, her determination, her desire only to use the past to create a better future and the incredibly special relationship that she enjoyed with women living within a patriarchal society to negotiate and create that future life, a life that would ultimately produce important descendants.

All this could be said of ‘our’ Ruth and yet as my father spoke about in his eulogy to Ruth this afternoon soon to be found on our Synagogue website, the book of her incredible life is yet to be written. Fortunately, we who are here can all participate in writing and compiling it and perhaps a beginning will be found in the video interview that Ruth gave to our member and Ruth’s dear friend, Judi Herman.

SCoJeC and the Board of Deputies have issued a statement in response to the Church of Scotland's revised report on "The Inheritance of Abraham?".
http://www.scojec.org/news/2013/13v_cos/cos_3.html

Somehow it is fitting that we should be mourning Ruth Weyl at Shavuot time. But then Ruth's was always on time. Today is the day after the Giving of the Torah and the text does not seem to record what the Israelites did on the day after, except to hint at the fact that they were shell-shocked, just dealing with the awesomeness of the events they had witnessed. I know many of you are at a loss trying to come to terms with the fact that Ruth is no longer with us. My son Aaron in ringing to ask me to preach today said "I can't imagine life without Ruth she was always there." And indeed she was for such a significant part of so many of our lives.

For Celia and Maya, of course, for all their lives....for Jessica, Claire and Annick
and the great-grandchildren the same....what will life be without Ruth....hopefully the host of memories will keep her alive in your thoughts and conversation as long as you live.

I first met Ruth over 40 years ago when she appeared, unannounced at a Friday evening service in our old shul, the converted Methodist chapel at the bottom of Hallowell Road. Fitting symbolism because she came on the arm of Bill Simpson, her partner in the Council of Christians and Jews and with her, sort of co-founder of the International Council. Bill the Methodist who, I believe brought Ruth back to organised Judaism, much to her Israeli families puzzlement. Christian and Jewish relations being at the heart of Ruth's later life and amongst her greatest and lasting achievements. From Bill you got a warm beatific smile and a "Bless You". From Ruth you got a rib crushing hug....though physically slight, boy did she have physical strength...and mental strength....overcoming difficulties...fighting her final illness to the very end....optimistic....trying ever to lead a busy life though her leg was failing and her eyes clouded...her mind and spirit and intellect as sharp as ever.

The Jewish Chronicle recently ran an interesting feature in which they asked numerous people, some of them well known, some of them not, to define their Jewish identity. The range of answers was diverse. Everybody identifies Judaism in their own way and at their own level. For some it is religious believe and for others it’s cultural identity or being part of a group who have one thing in common, ie that they are Jewish.

We are well aware that the phenomena of polarisation is apace within our community with a significant increase in the numbers of Haredin and also increased levels of secularisation. But even secularisation has changed.

We are pleased that at Nightingale House and Hammerson House we welcome residents from all parts of the community, from all levels of religious adherence and from all sorts of different backgrounds. Some are devoutly religious, some are totally areligious, agnositic, or atheist. One thing that they all have in common is that they are Jewish.

Rabbi David Rose was the speaker at "Time for Reflection" in the Scottish Parliament.
http://www.scojec.org/pov/tfr.html

MEMO 351 A weekly overview of information of interest to minority ethnic communities in Scotland, including parliamentary activity at Holyrood and Westminster, new publications, consultations, forthcoming conferences and news reports.
http://www.scojec.org/memo/2013/memo_351_13_may_2013.pdf