Museum suspends Shabbat opening

The Jewish Museum has had a change of heart on Saturday opening and will be closed on Shabbat from this week.

In May, curator Rickie Burman said Saturday opening was geared to attracting non-Jewish visitors as part of the museum's brief to further interfaith understanding.

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Get me to the shul on time

My grandfather used to leave shul at the same time every Shabbos. I have a feeling it was 11.30 but that does seem a little early. Maybe it was closer to midday. Regardless of what was going on - praying, preaching, singing - we walked out and headed for the café where my grandmother was waiting. Enough was enough. In the afternoon, I would often go to watch Leeds United with my uncle, his son.

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What's with Friday nights?

I'm annoyed with you, Jerry Seinfeld. The reason for my irritation, Jerry, would seem trivial to many, but to me, Jerry, it's a matter of principle - and it's something that has happened once too often. This was the straw that broke the camel's back, the touchpaper that lit the fuse, the…I'm aware, all too aware, that I'm coming across a bit like George Costanza. I don't care.

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Bikes, babies and Shabbat lunch

Having only made it to a JSoc Friday night dinner twice in my first year at Cambridge, I was flattered but somewhat surprised to be invited by the Jewish Chaplain to his house for Shabbat lunch.

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Scroll of honour for Alyth

North Western Reform Synagogue in Golders Green has taken possession of the first newly written Sefer Torah in its 78-year history.

The scroll was written in London and funded by members' contributions ranging from £1 to £400.

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New chapter for up and coming leaders

Ten up and coming Manchester Jewish community leaders were given a reading list by the Chief Rabbi during a weekend in London when they met top communal personalities.

Manchester UJIA United Jewish Leadership Group members spent Shabbat with Rafi Zarum, head of the London School of Jewish Studies, hearing how he had helped to turn around the former Jews' College.

The group then split between Masorti's New North London Synagogue, Finchley Synagogue and the North Western Reform Synagogue in Golders Green.

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Sephardi minyan has popular launch

A first monthly Shabbat service for a Sephardi minyan at Stanmore Synagogue attracted a congregation of close on 50 men and boys. The majority were Sephardim, with a sprinkling of "curious and enthusiastically engaged Ashkenazi members", reported Nissan Moradoff, the driving force behind the venture.

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Religious party puts up Shabbat pay-wall

Interior Minister Eli Yishai has opened a new front in the battle between state and religion by ordering his ministry's website to close down its payment facilities on Shabbat.

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Synagogue saved in New Zealand quake

The small Jewish community in Christchurch, New Zealand, is reeling from a massive earthquake last Shabbat.

The tremor did not affect the city's only shul but may have devastated Chabad house, in the worst-affected area. Rabbi Mendel Goldstein, director of Chabad NZ, has not been able to get close to the Chabad house because authorities have sealed the area, fearing after-shocks.

Rabbi Goldstein, whose dining room roof was blown off, went to the city's only shul, Canterbury Hebrew Congregation, just hours after the tremor.

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I got much more than I bargained for upon the high seas

I recently returned from two sun-soaked weeks aboard a Mediterreanean cruise ship. As you would expect, I made sure that it had a strong sporting theme.

After seeing the caves, tunnels and monkeys of Gilbraltar, we moved on to Corsica and Cannes before the piece de resistance, Barcelona. Visiting the city for the first time, a few hours away from the wife and kids were spent at the Nou Camp, an experience that I will never forget.

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Jerusalem prepares for Pop Idol clashes

Major clashes are expected next month in Jerusalem around the broadcast of the A Star is Born finale from the Sultan's Pool in Jerusalem.

The final of Israel's equivalent to Pop Idol is scheduled for Saturday night and strictly Orthodox rabbis object to it for fear that the preparations for the broadcast will take place on Shabbat, and that the heavy traffic expected will block the road for those planning to get to the Western Wall for the first night of selichot (penitential prayers said before the High Holy Days).

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Shtetl show for Leeds children

Leeds is opening a Jewish educational centre where children can take a walk through time into a 19th century eastern European shtetl.

The Jewish Heritage Centre for Children, due to open in October, is the brainchild of Leeds Lubavitch education director Shoshana Angyalfi and her project co-ordinator Ruth Bell, who gave the JC a sneak preview of the museum.

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Shabbat service in Dundee

The small Dundee community held a Shabbat service for visitors to the British Open golf in St Andrews.

Dundee's Torah scrolls were transported to the Neil Anderson Conference Room at St Andrews where some two dozen people attended the event, organised and led by Harry Riffkin. Sharon Levy and Lisa Romalis were also involved in the service.

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Rest and renewal - a liberal guide to shabbat celebration

Celebrating Shabbat is about embracing the gifts of the seventh day. Here is a framework for doing just that:

Ceasing
We inhabit a 24/7 society — an endless round that never ceases for a moment. So, whether it is on Friday evening or Saturday afternoon, celebrate the beginning of your Shabbat by stopping whatever you are busy doing.

Liberating
Work is essential, creativity is a special gift, but without rest, we are all slaves – so experience the liberation of getting off the treadmill and “switching off” in every sense.

Setting apart

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Shabbat wars erupt over Intel Jerusalem factory

Attempts at mediation have failed so far to prevent another round of Shabbat protests in Jerusalem, this time over a high-tech factory working seven days a week.

The Intel plant in Jerusalem’s Har Hotzvim business park has carried out limited work on Shabbat for over three decades. The start of a new manufacturing process, which will greatly increase the work taking place on Shabbat, had sparked calls for renewed protests. It has been two months since the previous Shabbat protests against an open municipal car park petered out.

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